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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/may/25/contactless-cards
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Why contactless cards can leave you with a losing deal | Why contactless cards can leave you with a losing deal |
| (25 days later) | |
| You hop on a bus and pay the fare with your Oyster card – then, weeks later, you're going through your finances and discover that the money was taken from your "contactless" credit card instead. You're left scratching your head as to how this could possibly have happened. Not only have you been charged on the wrong card, you've effectively been charged twice for the fare, because you pay for a weekly travelcard to be loaded on to your Oyster card. | You hop on a bus and pay the fare with your Oyster card – then, weeks later, you're going through your finances and discover that the money was taken from your "contactless" credit card instead. You're left scratching your head as to how this could possibly have happened. Not only have you been charged on the wrong card, you've effectively been charged twice for the fare, because you pay for a weekly travelcard to be loaded on to your Oyster card. |
| This scenario is already being played out in London now that passengers on the capital's buses can pay using credit and debit cards displaying the contactless payment symbol. | This scenario is already being played out in London now that passengers on the capital's buses can pay using credit and debit cards displaying the contactless payment symbol. |
| It has emerged that several hundred people a year are unwittingly having their bus fare taken from their contactless card instead of their Oyster – and these are only those who actually spot the £1.40 fare among the rest of the items on their bank or credit card statement and complain. | It has emerged that several hundred people a year are unwittingly having their bus fare taken from their contactless card instead of their Oyster – and these are only those who actually spot the £1.40 fare among the rest of the items on their bank or credit card statement and complain. |
| There may be many others out there who don't check their statements or have not noticed the rogue payment. It is theoretically possible that this could push some people into the red on their account, thereby triggering bank charges. | There may be many others out there who don't check their statements or have not noticed the rogue payment. It is theoretically possible that this could push some people into the red on their account, thereby triggering bank charges. |
| While this "clash of the plastic" is currently only a problem for Londoners using buses, it is about to become a much bigger issue because, from the end of this year, travellers will be able to use contactless cards for journeys across the capital's whole network, including the tube, overground, Docklands Light Railway and trams. | While this "clash of the plastic" is currently only a problem for Londoners using buses, it is about to become a much bigger issue because, from the end of this year, travellers will be able to use contactless cards for journeys across the capital's whole network, including the tube, overground, Docklands Light Railway and trams. |
| What all this means is that millions of commuters and visitors to London are going to have to change the way they carry and use their plastic cards if they want to avoid the risk of money being taken from the wrong card. | What all this means is that millions of commuters and visitors to London are going to have to change the way they carry and use their plastic cards if they want to avoid the risk of money being taken from the wrong card. |
| Transport for London (TfL) is warning people to stop keeping their Oyster card and contactless payment cards together in one holder/wallet/purse to avoid problems caused by clashing technologies. | Transport for London (TfL) is warning people to stop keeping their Oyster card and contactless payment cards together in one holder/wallet/purse to avoid problems caused by clashing technologies. |
| "Our advice is to choose which card they want to pay with, and to keep it separate when touching it on the reader, so that they pay with the card they intend to use," it says. TfL revealed that a "widespread advertising campaign" to hammer home this message is planned for this year. | "Our advice is to choose which card they want to pay with, and to keep it separate when touching it on the reader, so that they pay with the card they intend to use," it says. TfL revealed that a "widespread advertising campaign" to hammer home this message is planned for this year. |
| With this warning coinciding with reports that some Marks & Spencer and Pret A Manger customers have complained that payments had mistakenly been taken from their contactless cards when they did not intend to use them, some will wonder whether this was really what the experts meant when they breathlessly said that the contactless revolution was going to "change the way we pay". | With this warning coinciding with reports that some Marks & Spencer and Pret A Manger customers have complained that payments had mistakenly been taken from their contactless cards when they did not intend to use them, some will wonder whether this was really what the experts meant when they breathlessly said that the contactless revolution was going to "change the way we pay". |
| Since December 2012, passengers on London buses have been able to pay for single journeys using contactless credit and bank cards by touching their card on the reader in the same way they would use an Oyster card, the blue, credit card-sized smart card carried by millions of people. It's noticeably cheaper than paying cash – a single fare costs £1.40 instead of £2.40 – and is a convenient alternative for people who are visiting the city. | Since December 2012, passengers on London buses have been able to pay for single journeys using contactless credit and bank cards by touching their card on the reader in the same way they would use an Oyster card, the blue, credit card-sized smart card carried by millions of people. It's noticeably cheaper than paying cash – a single fare costs £1.40 instead of £2.40 – and is a convenient alternative for people who are visiting the city. |
| TfL says that if you keep your contactless debit or credit card and Oyster card together – for instance in a wallet or holder – and touch them on the yellow card reader together, the reader will normally reject them both, and no payment will be taken from either. "This is because we can't be sure which card you want to use," it says, adding that there is "no possibility of both cards being charged". | TfL says that if you keep your contactless debit or credit card and Oyster card together – for instance in a wallet or holder – and touch them on the yellow card reader together, the reader will normally reject them both, and no payment will be taken from either. "This is because we can't be sure which card you want to use," it says, adding that there is "no possibility of both cards being charged". |
| So how come some people who intend to pay their fare with one card are later discovering that they paid with another? This seems to be happening in some cases where people routinely keep their Oyster card in a wallet or purse that's stuffed with plastic and other bits and bobs, including one or more contactless payment cards and/or other smart cards such as a workplace security pass, gym or library card. | So how come some people who intend to pay their fare with one card are later discovering that they paid with another? This seems to be happening in some cases where people routinely keep their Oyster card in a wallet or purse that's stuffed with plastic and other bits and bobs, including one or more contactless payment cards and/or other smart cards such as a workplace security pass, gym or library card. |
| TfL says that in such cases, if you tap your wallet and there is a "significant time gap" before the correct card is detected, this can result in another card being charged, which may not be the one you wanted to pay with. | TfL says that in such cases, if you tap your wallet and there is a "significant time gap" before the correct card is detected, this can result in another card being charged, which may not be the one you wanted to pay with. |
| Shashi Verma, director of customer experience at TfL, explains: "If you present a thick wallet full of cards and other metallic devices, there may be so much magnetic interference that it's possible that the card that is closest to the reader gets read." | Shashi Verma, director of customer experience at TfL, explains: "If you present a thick wallet full of cards and other metallic devices, there may be so much magnetic interference that it's possible that the card that is closest to the reader gets read." |
| He says TfL is receiving approximately one complaint a day on average from people who have had their bus fare taken from their contactless payment card when they intended to use their Oyster card: "We have given these customers a full refund. However, we have had no instances of two cards being charged simultaneously for the same fare. In terms of people being charged twice, we don't have a single incident of that which is verifiable." | He says TfL is receiving approximately one complaint a day on average from people who have had their bus fare taken from their contactless payment card when they intended to use their Oyster card: "We have given these customers a full refund. However, we have had no instances of two cards being charged simultaneously for the same fare. In terms of people being charged twice, we don't have a single incident of that which is verifiable." |
| For someone who has already paid ahead for their travel by loading a travelcard on to their Oyster card, if fare payments are deducted by mistake from a contactless card instead of the pre-paid Oyster, this means paying twice for their fares – something they may be unaware of until they check their next statement. | For someone who has already paid ahead for their travel by loading a travelcard on to their Oyster card, if fare payments are deducted by mistake from a contactless card instead of the pre-paid Oyster, this means paying twice for their fares – something they may be unaware of until they check their next statement. |
| Guardian Money has heard from readers recently who complained that their Oyster card would not work at tube stations because, they later discovered, they had a contactless card in the same wallet. Only when they removed the contactless card and presented the Oyster alone would it work. | Guardian Money has heard from readers recently who complained that their Oyster card would not work at tube stations because, they later discovered, they had a contactless card in the same wallet. Only when they removed the contactless card and presented the Oyster alone would it work. |
| Top credit cards | Top credit cards |
| Barclaycard | Barclaycard |
| Barclaycard | |
| NatWest | NatWest |
| Powered by MoneySupermarket for the Guardian | Powered by MoneySupermarket for the Guardian |