Oyster "card clash"

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Had this in an email from Transport for London

I am writing to remind you to only touch the card you intend to pay with on the yellow card reader. Keeping your Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) cards and any contactless payment cards separate helps to avoid ^card clash^.

If you touch the reader with a wallet or purse containing lots of cards, this may lead to ^card clash^ and the ticket gates not opening, slowing down your journey. It could also result in payment being taken from a card you did not intend to use. This could currently happen on buses but cannot happen on London Underground, DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway), London Overground, Tramlink and National Rail services until contactless payment is introduced later this year.

We will let you know well in advance when contactless payment will be available across the rest of the network. Using contactless will mean you don^t have to top up or buy a ticket, so you can get on board quicker.

For more information, please visit tfl.gov.uk/oyster
 

[grahame]

I got that too - wondered if I had done something silly in the last 48 hours as I'm in London and using underground and DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway) - but I suspect it's a circular to all oyster card users.

[trainer]

I rarely use my Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services), but I have the same email.  Just a mass mail out to anyone who has registered their address as you say, Graham

[paul7575]

I think it's a good idea to send this out now, to educate the public before they turn on contactless patient on the tube.  Get people used to having a separate wallet for travel and all the other stuff we cart about nowadays?

Paul

[Phil]

Keep your Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) cards and any contactless payment cards separate helps to avoid ^card clash^.

That's going to be a bit difficult for me, given that my contactless payment card is also an Oyster card 

[paul7575]

Keep your Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) cards and any contactless payment cards separate helps to avoid ^card clash^.

That's going to be a bit difficult for me, given that my contactless payment card is also an Oyster card 

They are supposedly cancelling them all in May, according to a poster in another forum.  I've no idea if that's true or not, but they clearly aren't going to work on Oyster any more as they'll permanently clash.

Paul

[didcotdean]

Yes I have received a letter from Barclays about the replacement - guess you will soon.

[Tim]

I like the contactless nature of Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services), but simply don't want it on my bank cards.  I have therefore disabled the contactless feature on all my credit cards by cutting the loop aerial with a  sharp pair of scissors.  A 1cm cut from the edge did the job nicely.

Clearly, I am not advising anyone else to butcher their back cards.  This is very much at your own risk, but it works for me.

[rogerpatenall]

I am amazed that, with all the wondrous technology that exists, a simple 'matching' pulse or code is not incorporated into the card which enables only that card to interact with the 'mate' and ignores all other non-matching codes. Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) has caused me problems in places as diverse as entry to the Emirates stadium, and entry to the Shanghai metro. I am sure that the technical people will have all sorts of arguments of capacity etc, but, where there is a will there is usually a way. Do you remember for how many years the Post Office Counters Ltd always argued that a central queueing system would not work in post offices? A change of management and change was instantaneous.

[Brucey]

I am amazed that, with all the wondrous technology that exists, a simple 'matching' pulse or code is not incorporated into the card which enables only that card to interact with the 'mate' and ignores all other non-matching codes.

Contactless credit and debit cards will soon (next few months) be accepted on all rail and tube services in London.  As the system doesn't know whether you want to pay by Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) or credit card, it is better to reject the card than make an assumption about which you intend to use.

[SDS]

And if the contactless card overcharges you, to whom do you complain to? Clearly you cant go to a ticket office as there wont be any. The person with the iPad wont be able to access your bank details, yet the bank will pass the buck back to TfL^» (Transport for London - about). Ah fun times ahead.

I also was one of the very first people to get a OnePulse card. The oyster card number on the back is mostly zeros. 04000000XX XX. Cue funny looks from staff when you waved a Barclaycard over the yellow pad, and bemused looks when you paid with it in shops.
"Yeah can I pay with my Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services)?"
"Err no sir"
"Just try it and see :-p"
"Wow thats clever I want one"

[Brucey]

And if the contactless card overcharges you, to whom do you complain to? Clearly you cant go to a ticket office as there wont be any. The person with the iPad wont be able to access your bank details, yet the bank will pass the buck back to TfL^» (Transport for London - about). Ah fun times ahead.

The Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) helpline, who are usually very helpful.  There is also a positive over using an Oyster card: refunds can be processed directly back to the card remotely rather than forcing the customer to nominate a station and make a journey to collect the credit.

[Phil]

Cue funny looks from staff when you waved a Barclaycard over the yellow pad, and bemused looks when you paid with it in shops.
"Yeah can I pay with my Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services)?"
"Err no sir"
"Just try it and see :-p"
"Wow thats clever I want one"

yeah, mine's an early one too and I used to have enormous fun with it. The very first contactless purchase I made was for a book, bizarrely, in one of the old record & Tape Exchange shops in Notting Hill Gate, who it transpired were very early adopters. Just as you said, when I mentioned paying with my Oyster card I got some very odd looks! I went around buying coffees and snacks with it just for the hell of it thereafter. I've now received my letter terminating the card just as was promised up there - be a sad day when it goes.