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Beware Londoners- Contact-less payment may be costing more than you think
Other | Wednesday 26th February 2014 | Sukaina
On the surface, TfL’s fairly new system of contactless payment by card may seem like an innovative, faultless answer to resolve the problem of topping up but, dig a little deeper and you face a world of accidental payments and what is essentially stolen money.
Do you keep your credit card in the same wallet as your Oyster card? Then you’re in the same boat as most of us who could potentially be in danger of being charged twice; once on your oyster card and again on your credit card. This can occur for people who pay before-hand for their journey, for example by using a weekly travel card which automatically puts money onto your Oyster. What’s worse- you will probably only become aware of the problem once you get your bank statement a few months later. There will also be some who will not spot the negligible £1.45 and be left to question how they are losing countless pounds a year! Be warned haha LT is out to get you!
Does it seem like such a faultless idea now? This problem can be particularly frustrating if you’re a student who is free on the buses anyway but ends up paying because you were simply oblivious to a system you did not opt into. The idea of not signing up to the system is the biggest dispute that TfL faces when dealing with complaints from angry commuters.
The fact that one person a day sends a complaint about being charged through the contactless card payment system is surely an indicator that it is not an innovation in “changing the way we pay” as TfL expected. Especially considering that these complaints only cover the number of people who realise that they have been charged.
To avoid falling foul of the contactless payment system make sure that you keep your oyster card and bank cards in separate wallets. So despite TfL promoting the phrase, “It's cheaper than paying cash” when it comes down to it; cash may have been a better alternative.
With plans to allow contactless payment on the tubes, rail and DLR; expect a correlated rise in your bank statement in the near future.
Written by Sukaina Kadhum
