Londoners could be eligible for a pre Christmas bonus as Transport for London’s (TfL) refund website is back online following a cyber attack. Regular commuters could in line for a substantial sum as the rebate period dates back three months.
Broken contactless card readers can result in passengers failing to tap out and being overcharged. Unfortunately, Oyster Card users are unable to apply for a rebate online past two months due to a TfL GDPR policy that stipulates data must be wiped after eight weeks – but a hotline dealing with refund requests has opened.
Passengers have been collectively overcharged by millions of pounds over the last few months since the TfL was hacked, according to London Centric. It follows Kings Cross and St Pancreas train stations being evacuated due to an emergency last week.
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(Image: Getty Images)
Check your eligibility and apply for the refund here and Oyster Card users can call 0343 222 1234 for claims into September. The reopened website is also good news from staff at workplaces that allow them to claims travel expenses as the details of their travel is finally available again.
Applications for discount Oyster cards for children, students, and the over-60s have also reopened so anyone eligible can transfer their old balances to the new card.
And many will be able to claim the price difference between between the two cards – but London Mayor Sadiq Khan has admitted some will not have kept records of their travel.
TfL chief Andy Lord told a board meeting that “a cyber incident is inevitable” and said his staff has achieved “remarkable things from a non-technical perspective” to keep services running, according to the London Centric. He added: “All agencies [the involved believe that we responded well to the incident and potentially prevented a far worse outcome.”
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