Oyster card expiring?

[181]

I have an unregistered PAYG Oyster card, which I've had for many years but only used occasionally (I'm not in London, other than the very edge, that often, and when I am, I often have a paper outboundary Travelcard or a through ticket from one side of London to the other). In late September I used the card for the first time since pre-Covid, and it worked fine; a few weeks later I used it again to tap in at Surbiton without noticing anything unusual, but when I tapped out at Waterloo, instead of being shown how much the journey had cost, I got the message 'card expiring soon'.

Can anyone shed any light on this? I can't find anything relevant on the TFL website, or via Google, and while I vaguely remember reading something here about older Oyster cards being withdrawn, a search didn't reveal anything (apologies if I've missed something). Am I likely to find that next time I try to use the card it won't work, and if so, how do I get the balance (and deposit) transferred to a new one? (I would ask at an Underground ticket office next time I'm in London, except that I don't think there are any these days).

 

[yorkie]

When did you get it?

Is there any reason you can't use Contactless instead? (e.g. if you have a Railcard discount loaded)

(I would ask at an Underground ticket office next time I'm in London, except that I don't think there are any these days).

Staff use the machines in concourses instead of sitting in offices these days.

 

[Surreytraveller]

I thought an Oystercard flashed up 'expiring soon' meant the Pay as You Go balance was getting low. Might be wrong, though

 

[zero]

I thought expiring soon referred to a travel card/season stored on the oyster.

Why do you need to transfer the balance and deposit to a new card?

Just use the balance to less than £10 and get an instant cash refund (including deposit) at one of the bigger more central tube stations that have machines containing cash.

Then if you want a new oyster buy one - there are no more deposits but a £5 card fee which is refunded onto your PAYG balance as long as you use the card at least once between 12 and 18 months after purchase.

 

[Dstock7080]

First generation card info:

First-generation Oyster cards

Information on how to replace first-generation Oyster cards

tfl.gov.uk

If you travel using a first-generation Oyster card, replace it with a new one to use our TfL Oyster and contactless app and manage your card on the go.

 

[181]

Thankyou for the replies. I'm not sure how old the card is, but probably at least 10 years. I suppose I could use contactless (I wondered if I could add a Network Railcard to an Oyster card, but it appears not), but I'm not really keen on TFL (or anyone else) taking money out of my bank account without my knowing how much until they've taken it; I know Oyster errors are usually only a few pounds, but it just seems odd to me.

In any case, if I had to to stop using the current card, whether or not I got a new one and whether or not I did that as part of the same transaction, I'd still want to avoid losing the deposit and balance on the old one, and I wasn't sure how to do that. I think the 'first generation Oyster cards' link provides the information that I would need, but I don't think there's currently any advantage to me in getting rid of the old card unless it really is expiring, which I still don't know; I'll see what happens next time I'm in London.

I'm fairly sure it said 'card expiring soon', not 'credit expiring soon', and completely sure that it didn't tell me what the credit balance was, as a low credit warning ought to (I think it's about £6.50, which is not right on the point of running out).

 

[matt_world2004]

Sometimes machines flash up random.messages if not configured correctly

 

[Surreytraveller]

Obviously if you had a season on your Oystercard, the expiring soon message would refer to the expiry of that. But I am sure (I cannot find any reference to it now), that it also refers to PAYG balance getting low too. I'm probably taking about something I read 15 years ago, so my memory might be hazy, or things may have changed. But it might be relevant

Thankyou for the replies. I'm not sure how old the card is, but probably at least 10 years. I suppose I could use contactless (I wondered if I could add a Network Railcard to an Oyster card, but it appears not), but I'm not really keen on TFL (or anyone else) taking money out of my bank account without my knowing how much until they've taken it; I know Oyster errors are usually only a few pounds, but it just seems odd to me.

In any case, if I had to to stop using the current card, whether or not I got a new one and whether or not I did that as part of the same transaction, I'd still want to avoid losing the deposit and balance on the old one, and I wasn't sure how to do that. I think the 'first generation Oyster cards' link provides the information that I would need, but I don't think there's currently any advantage to me in getting rid of the old card unless it really is expiring, which I still don't know; I'll see what happens next time I'm in London.

I'm fairly sure it said 'card expiring soon', not 'credit expiring soon', and completely sure that it didn't tell me what the credit balance was, as a low credit warning ought to (I think it's about £6.50, which is not right on the point of running out).