Oyster card London
 

I have an old Oyster card last used about 4 years ago, I expect any credit I may have had left on it will be gone, but does anyone know if it will still be active i.e. able to be topped up and used? I expect so, since from memory you pay a deposit for it, but would be good to know for sure. Otherwise I might add a travelcard on to my train ticket down from Cambridge.
Thanks for your help.

From what i've read on tfl, oyster cards expire after 24 months if not used, however a refund for an expired card can still be obtained

Ah dammit. Thanks, I looked on tfl but didn't find that info. I'm only there for an afternoon/morning so possibly not worth fussing over too much. I'll ask at King's Cross anyway I suppose.

I've done a bit more looking online (completely failed to find it on TFL, useless, you would think that would be in the FAQs or somewhere obvious) it seems that the credit doesn't expire (if I even had any) but the card may need to be reactivated or maybe a refund/new card obtained. It's all a bit vague, I might see if I have time to call them tomorrow.

i had to type it in their search bit when in their help section, depending on how much tube travel you're doing in london, a travel card can be cheaper, if i'm traveling on a weekend (also cambridge-london!) then i'll get a travelcard instead of using my oyster card especially if i'm going out of zone 1-2

Right, I've found the relevant bit now. Totally makes sense that the help section search engine is separate from the main search engine :)

Yeah, I tend to like the flexibility of the Oyster card i.e. not feeling like "damn I spent all this money and then I only took the tube once". But since it looks like my card will have expired, I suppose a travelcard it is! In any case, I think I'll be taking the tube at least 3 times (Zones 1-2) on the first day and then perhaps only once the next day, so maybe stick with cash for that.

Thanks for your help!

It would do no harm to ask at a ticket office if there's any record of credit still on it. It's possible that after some period of time you could only get it back if you'd registered the card, but nothing venture, nothing win - ask.

The value on Oyster cards never expires, although the card may be deemed "inactive" after 24(?) months and need to be reactivated by a ticket agent.

From BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10162991

<i>A total of 16.5m PAYG cards sat idle during the year from April 2009 to April 2010. The average amount on each card was £1.80.

Transport for London (TfL) says no card is deemed as expired and users can always claim the balance back.

"Pay-as-you-go Oyster cards do not expire and customers are able to return their cards at any time for a refund of the remaining balance and card deposit," Transport for London said."</i>