£235m is left unused on Oyster cards..

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Money left on unused Oyster cards is increasing by £1 million a month and now stands at more than £235 million, official figures reveal today.

The number of “dormant” cards - those that have not been used for more than 12 months - has jumped to nearly 43.7 million, up two million since the end of June last year.

The figures sparked fresh demands for Transport for London (TfL) to make it easier for passengers to claim refunds.

The amount of money left on the cards has risen to nearly £236.6 million, with one of the reasons the 48-hour restriction on Oyster refunds. This means that if someone buys an Oyster card, pays the £5 deposit and puts money on it they can only claim a refund after 48 hours, which is hitting tourists and visitors to the capital.

The increase in contactless travel is another explanation.

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat member of the London Assembly who highlighted the statistics, said: “Fourteen years since the start of Oyster the amount left on dormant Oyster cards has reached a staggering level with TfL now sitting on a massive cash pile of a quarter of a billion pounds.

“TfL should never forget that this is the public’s money they are holding and people should be able to reclaim it as easily as TfL take money from passengers in the first place.”

Ms Pidgeon added: “Ending the 48 hour restriction facing passengers before they can claim back their deposit and any remaining balance on a card is long overdue, and is just one of the many changes TfL need to make to ensure that people can easily get back their own money left on unused Oyster cards.”

A recent report by the watchdog London TravelWatch examining the impact of the Tube ticket offices closures recommended changes to the system including the removal of the 48-hour restriction.

It stated: “Passengers currently have to wait 48-hours from purchasing an Oyster card before being able to get back their deposit and any remaining balance on the card.

“This does not represent good customer practice especially for visitors to London who are only here for a short period of time.

“It should be possible for customers to get a refund on their Oyster card whenever required.”

Shashi Verma, TfL’s chief technology officer, said: “We’re committed to ensuring that our customers can get back the credit on their Oyster cards if that is what they want.

“That is why we regularly publish the amount of credit on cards and how people can obtain a refund whenever they wish.

“These can be obtained from any Tube station ticket machine, our Visitor Information Centres or by contacting our customer team on 0343 222 1234.”