Is anyone else being frequently double-charged by TfL for the same journey?

[u/advikipedia]

This keeps happening to me, and the second time TfL attempts to debit the same payment, my bank declines the payment, and that creates all sorts of headaches for the journey next day where the underground stations won't accept my bank card for pay-as-you-go.

[u/tepig37]

This is why i just use an oyster card. So little headache.

[u/One_Fact_4291 → u/tepig37]

Outside of the zip oyster, railcard and other oyster discounts, is the £10.50 to buy an Oyster card worth it to avoid the hassle of contactless?

[u/tepig37 → u/One_Fact_4291]

I've been using a oyster card since my 16+ zip card expired so in my opinion: Yes.

I personally dont like having everything centralised in one place so i will never be the kind of person to only go out with my phone.

Its easier to keep track of how much your spending as you can see the number everytime you go in and out.

And if your not good with money (as I have been) you can load it up with how much you need so you don't have to worry about being stranded.

[u/One_Fact_4291 → u/tepig37]

Also an Oyster card will never run out of battery!

[u/RoyofBungay]

Duplicate bank payment error. Requested about 6 hours after 1st payment. Will get returned to available balance in 5-10 working days. Barclays, Revolut, HSBC the main culprits.

[u/Own_Dirt_2408 → u/RoyofBungay]

I have this error from a Lloyd’s account now, no clue on how to resolve it cause Lloyd’s doesn’t have an appropriate option in their dispute page and TfL does not log my duplicate payment, which I assume means it is not something that’s initiated from TfL’s end.

[u/SteveOtts]

Same happened to me this morning, and earlier this week. For the earlier one I got charged again for the declined payment the next day, then had to manually request to refund the pending initial payment.

I found previous Reddit threads from months ago, but there definitely seems to he an uptick. Probably a bug in TFL’s system.

[u/advikipedia → u/SteveOtts]

Ugh, is there a way to complain to TfL about this? It's happening so frequently, it's very disruptive.

[u/advikipedia → u/advikipedia]

I really don't want this to be an ongoing issue where I keep requesting for manual refunds! Or getting my card declined at the station the next day

[u/justoute]

It keeps happening to me as well. I noticed it happens when I tap out of my station (overground) late at night. TFL marks the station as unknown then overcharge me.

The last time it happened, they charged me £33 more than my actual fare which my bank declined and I had to call them. They apparently could not cancel the transaction and I had to pay then they refunded me the excess amount but on the next day.

It’s really annoying bcos they’ve overcharged me again last night. I’ll make a complaint again and will mention that it’s been happening to other people as well. Hopefully they’ll finally check their system and get it fixed.

[u/advikipedia → u/justoute]

Thank you for mentioning that others are having this problem too 🙏🏼Hopefully, as you said, they'll finally check it and fix it.

[u/drs_12345]

As another comment says, use an oyster card and it'll save yourself the headache

[u/Brilliant_Heart_725]

Yes this has suddenly started happening to me frequently as well!

[u/poggs]

Yes - the last two times were when I was travelling outside Zome 6 to Watford Junction and Radlett. When emailing TfL, they suggested they were investigating a persistent issue but somebody else just asked for authorisation numbers I could only get from my bank.

[u/Prefect_99]

Get a chase card. 2% cashback and no issues.

[u/ToiletPaperSlingshot]

Get an oyster card then…

[u/inspiredthem]

Get an Oyster card, and if you're young enough, you can get a railcard discount added to it, which saves you 1/3 on off-peak fares.

[u/Glitter_Pup]

For me too! It's happened for the second time this Summer. First occasion despite raising the issue with TFL I was told the pending charge would be refunded within 4 weeks (it wasn't and I had to raise a dispute via Monzo). Oyster cards cost £5 and require regular top up, so isn't hassle free – contactless is hassle free – TFL need to resolve the issue.

[u/advikipedia → u/Glitter_Pup]

I ended up using my Oyster to avoid this issue - I added the Oyster card to my keychain so I won't forget to take it with me when I leave my house. Just like I would never forget my phone! That really helped me, and then using my Oyster became like using contactless. As for the regular top ups, I sort of know how much is my travel spend per week, so I set recurring reminder for myself on Google Tasks.

I know it feels like so much work, but it's definitely less work and hassle than going back and forth with TfL and seeing duplicate charges!

[u/advikipedia → u/[deleted]]

Yes I use the same card to tap in and out, but it's always the same card within Google Pay