Millions of Brits could be eligible for share of £560,000,000 in unclaimed Oyster card refunds, warns Martin Lewis

MONEY-saving expert, Martin Lewis, has warned Brits they could be eligible for a share of £560million in unclaimed Oyster card refunds. Millions of Brits are currently believed to be sitting on unused Oyster cards and haven’t realised they could get their money back. Over 95 million Brits could be eligible to claim their share of £560million in unclaimed Oyster refunds Credit: Alamy Whether you’ve moved out of London, or you’ve decided to ditch your physical Oyster in favour of contactless, anyone with unused Oyster cards at home could be sitting on a decent sum. According to the finance expert, the latest Transport for London (TfL) figures from June 2026 reveal there are more than 95 million Oyster cards that haven’t been used for at least a year. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! The money left untouched on these cards now amounts to around £560million. Around £267million of this sum is the initial deposits paid when purchasing cards, while the other £292million ready to claim is in unused pay-as-you-go credit. Am I eligible for a refund? When it comes to reclaiming the initial deposit for an Oyster card, there are only certain travellers who are eligible. Unfortunately, if you purchased an Oyster card on or after September 4, 2022, you won’t be able to claim back your initial fee. This would be the cost of buying the card before topping it up. Currently, the cost of an Oyster card is £10.50, so this sum would be non-refundable. Most read in Money The rules are slightly different for anyone who bought a card before this. If you paid for a card between February 23, 2020 and September 4, 2022, your initial deposit of £5 would have been automatically refunded within a year of purchase. But for those who nabbed an Oyster card before February 23, 2020 a deposit would not have been sent back. As such, anyone who bought a card before this date can now reclaim the initial £5 fee; however, this will mean that your card will be cancelled and you won’t be able to use it again. While the rules may vary on deposits, all travellers with unused Oyster cards can reclaim any pay-as-you-go credit currently left on the card. This credit is the money you top up the card with to pay for your travel. How do I get a refund? If you think you’re sitting on some unused credit or an unclaimed deposit, the process for getting your money back is very straightforward. Firstly, you’ll need to check your balance. You can do this by registering the card online and then downloading the TfL Go app, or check your card at a Tube station ticket machine. You can then sign into your Contactless and Oyster account, select which card you’d like refunded and hit the ‘Apply for a product refund’ button. Travellers with £10 credit or less can get their money back at any Tube station by using the ticket machines. Simply tap your card on the yellow card reader, select ‘Oyster refund’, follow the instructions and you’ll be delivered a cash refund. You can also get in touch with Oyster by email, phone or post. Comment now