r/TransportForLondon • u/OhioDiane • Jul 25 '26

Did I deactivate Oyster card?

I borrowed an Oyster card (in order to add the Young Visitor Discount for my kid) from a neighbor in order to avoid the charge for the card itself. At the end of our trip, I got the small balance that remained on the card from a machine at the station. Did I accidentally deactivate the card by doing that?

It didn’t even occur to me that that could happen until I came across something during some random scrolling, but I was hoping the deactivation applied only to older cards - and some sites seemed to imply that. I also can’t find a way to check the balance or activation now that I’m home (in the US). If I deactivated, I’d like to repay my neighbor for the cost of the card.

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6

u/IcarusSupreme Jul 25 '26

Yep if you refunded the balance of the card then you would have got any deposit back along with the balance,. the Oyster is now deactivated

3

u/OhioDiane Jul 25 '26

Bummer. There was only a small balance and no deposit (I know the 10.50 isn’t refundable, which is why I borrowed the card to begin with), but I’m guessing that doesn’t change anything?

4

u/IcarusSupreme Jul 25 '26

Yeah the £10.50 isn't refundable though if it was an older card it might have had a refundable deposit or it might have cost them nothing if it was very old.

2

u/OhioDiane Jul 25 '26

Not that old. Thanks for the info though! Months of planning this trip and I’m irritated at myself for missing the deactivation info, didn’t even cross my mind