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Posted by Lili Bolero and the band played on (U10534540) on Monday, 17th August 2009
I got 2 Oystercards at the beginning of this year - one for OH and one for me. One of them has only been used once, but the other one has been used twice. I want to give the one with the most credit on it to Younger Bolero to use next weekend when he goes to the Smoke, but I don't know which is which.
Is there some way of telling? They are both Pay-as-you-go, I haven't 'registered' them, and we don't live near any TfL stations or undergrounds...
Thanks in anticipation (sorry for being such a Yokel).
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
, in reply to message 1.
Posted by Nomadnomore - XNo - Quiz Queen (U3180380) on Monday, 17th August 2009
Give both of them to Younger Bolero and ask for the return of the one with least credit. YB can interrogate both cards at an Oyster top-up point.
XNo
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
, in reply to message 2.
Posted by Lili Bolero and the band played on (U10534540) on Monday, 17th August 2009
Ah thanks, XNo. Do these top-up points exist in Kent (outside the reaches of the underground?) Otherwise, I'll have to remind him to check when he is on his way there, and he'll probably forget!
What would happen if he tried to get on eg. in Zone 5 and there wasn't enough on the card to make a journey in to Zone 1?
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
Lili, here is the link to the website dealing with oyster cards:
(if it doesn't work just google "oyster card").
I think if you sign up (choose user name and password) you should be able to check how much is on your card. I always check and if necessary "top up" before going to London.
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
, in reply to message 4.
Posted by Lili Bolero and the band played on (U10534540) on Monday, 17th August 2009
Thanks for that, guagliona. I just feel even more of a Numpty now. Apparently one of the cards has been registered, and I should know a security question; and the other card /hasn't/.
This is all too much for a Bear of Little Brain. I think I'll have to go along with XNo's suggestion and let him take both of them.
Any idea what would happen if he tried to board with insufficient credit on the card?
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
, in reply to message 5.
Posted by Nomadnomore - XNo - Quiz Queen (U3180380) on Monday, 17th August 2009
I don't know what happens at the end of the journey if there is not enough credit.
If he makes sure there is at least £5.00 on the card at the start of the journey then the problem does not arise.
XNo
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
If not enough for a minimum journey on the card when you go in to the tube station it won't let you through the barrier.
If you don't have enough credit for the journey you have covered and you are stopped en route it's an automatic instant fine.
But I don't know what would happen if you tried to exit from a tube station without enough credit.Can he jump?
Bus you would be ok getting on if you had the minimum fare ( I think it's £1) but again if you got checked en route and you hadn't got credit for the journey you'd taken - instant fine. No need to use an oyster card when you exit the bus.
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
, in reply to message 7.
Posted by Lili Bolero and the band played on (U10534540) on Monday, 17th August 2009
I'd just like to make it clear that I am not advocating that YB breaks the law! Having only used the cards twice, I know that if you look quickly when you are checking in it tells you the balance, but I wondered what you do if you decide not to use that card (coz it might be the one with only £3 left on it), and change your mind and use t'other one.
Or I could just hang the expense and put another tenner on it (which I'll probably never use).
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
if there isnt enuff credit on the thing when you cross the barrier, it lets you thru but knocks the difference off next time you top it up.
trust me, I've done this
more than once, with a gap in between trips...
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
At the underground station there will be a ticket machine with a yellow touchpad on it. If he touches each card to the touchpad, it will tell him what the balance is. I suggest that you write on the card in permanent marker so that he can tell which card is which. How old is he? Bear in mind that he will be charged adult fares as he is not using a specified young person's card. There is also a phone number for Oyster, and I have always found them very helpful when I have had to phone them. They may be able to help with the answer to your security question. It is worth registering the cards btw, because they will be replaced if they are lost. Young male owlet lost his with £30 on it and it was replaced minus an admin fee.
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
Or if you go "overdrawn" by more than three pounds (cost of Oyster card) then ditch it and get a new one.
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
Lili, if you live in Kent and Youngest needs to get a train to the Smoke then he/she won't be able to use the Oyster card to do so. Train journeys must be paid for separately. It might be cheaper to get a joint train/tube ticket (travelcard) for the whole day rather than using the Oystercard.
mags
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
If you're in Kent, I'd recommend that you get a train ticket into London, which will let him through the barriers into a tube station. There, he finds a top-up machine, and presses the oyster card to the yellow circle (usually on the right hand side). His balance will flash up on screen. Press 'cancel' and repeat with the other card!
If he does find himself on Oyster with insufficient credit, the outcome varies - if it's the underground, the barriers let you through and you go into minus balance on the card.
If it's the overground (unlikely on your route into London) then sometimes this doesn't work. In that scenario, they *can* fine you, but when it happened to me, a station person asked where I'd travelled from, asked me to give him the fare, went to the machine on the other side of the barrier and bought the appropriate ticket for me. As I said, though - this is unlikely on your route into London.
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
, in reply to message 13.
Posted by Lili Bolero and the band played on (U10534540) on Tuesday, 18th August 2009
Thanks, everyone. We don't live in Kent. YB will be staying in Kent for a couple of nights, and then (sorry this is complicated) I have bought him a ticket from Euston to Bangor, but I haven't made provision for the bit in between.
It looks like he will have to pay in cash for the journey from Orpington to Victoria (?) and then can use the Oyster Card from Victoria to Euston. Is that right?
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
If you'd got a ticket from Orpington to Bangor, that would have covered the crossing London bit (though you're not allowed to come out of the tube early or take a break to look around.)
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
Lili, I think if you buy a ticket from Orpington to London Stations, you can get to St Pancras by changing at Herne Hill and it shouldn't cost any more. From St Pancras it's a 5 min walk to Euston.
I know this works going from Sunningdale into London, you can stay on the train and go into Waterloo or change at Clapham Jct and go to Victoria.
Link to this forum: How can I tell how much credit is on an Oyster card?
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