Transport for London (TfL)has refunded overcharged passengers in the capital thousands of pounds due to device clashes.
Data from TfL showed £8,369.25 was refunded for 609 cases between 12 June and 26 June 2023 - the equivalent of £217,594 across the year.Passenger watchdog TravelWatch has warned that these refunds could be “the tip of the iceberg.”
Device clashes occur when customers use one device to tap into a station as they start their journey, and another on the way out. TfL’s systems are unable to recognise that the transactions belong to the same customer.
Paul Harper, who discovered the data after submitting an FOI request, said: “I was stunned by how much was taken out of my bank in such a short space of time. One journey from Watford to London and back cost £42 which is ridiculous.
“In fairness, TfL refunded me very quickly within a week. But it did make me wonder how many other passengers are being overcharged without knowing, particularly people visiting the city for a day or weekend who probably pass it off as expensive travel.”
TfL said estimated refunds by TravelWatch equate to less than 0.001 per cent of the approximately £3billion in total annual fares revenue correctly collected via pay as you go with contactless.
It added it is always happy to investigate and refund where it can and assured it “will also look to automatically correct contactless journeys where we can based on previous journey patterns.”
Michael Roberts, CEO of London TravelWatch, said: “The level of TfL refunds is startling, but could be the tip of the iceberg as it doesn’t reflect the impact of device clash on passengers who just don’t realise that they have paid over the odds.
“We need TfL, banks and tech companies to re-double their efforts to find a permanent fix to this problem and to do more in the meantime to advise people to use just one device.
“Until then, we urge people who pay for travel using smart devices to check your bank statements regularly so as not to lose out.”
