TfL season ticket refunds are dated from your call, not the death

Last updated 30 May 2026

Reviewed by the After Loss Guide editorial team · updated 30 May 2026

Researched from primary sources. See our editorial policy.

Transport for London touches more of a Londoner’s daily life than most people realise. An Oyster card in a wallet, a Freedom Pass in a coat pocket, a Congestion Charge Auto Pay account connected to a bank account, a Santander Cycles annual membership – any of these might be part of the estate you are dealing with after a death.

The good news is that TfL has a clear bereavement process for the products that carry real financial value: Oyster cards, season tickets, and the various accounts that continue charging until actively closed. This guide covers every TfL product that matters after a death, explains exactly what to do with each, and flags the gotchas that can cost the estate money if you do not act quickly.

Tell Us Once does not notify TfL. The government’s death notification service covers HMRC, DWP, DVLA, and local councils – not Transport for London. TfL must be contacted separately. (Source: gov.uk – Tell Us Once)

Oyster card balance and pay as you go credit

If the person who died had pay as you go credit on an Oyster card, that balance is an asset of the estate and can be claimed back from TfL.

Who can claim: An immediate family member (spouse, civil partner, son or daughter) or a solicitor acting on behalf of the estate can make the claim. Other relatives or executors may also be able to claim – contact TfL directly to confirm your position.

How to claim: Call TfL on 0343 222 1234 (Monday to Sunday, 08:00–20:00). You cannot claim online or by post using a standard form – all bereavement refund claims for Oyster balances are initiated by phone.

What you will need:

  • A copy of the death certificate
  • If the refund is over £100, a certified copy of probate (or letters of administration)

TfL will guide you through the next steps after your initial call. Keep the Oyster card safe until TfL has processed the refund – you may be asked to return it.

Note on Oyster deposits: Oyster cards issued before 4 September 2022 carried a £5 refundable deposit. Cards issued from that date onwards have a non-refundable card fee. If the card was issued before September 2022, the deposit can be refunded along with the credit balance.

(Source: TfL – Refund on behalf of someone who has died)

Season ticket refunds

If the person who died held a registered Oyster season ticket or a Travelcard season ticket, the unexpired portion of that ticket can be refunded to the estate.

Important: Season ticket refunds are calculated from the date you contact TfL, not the date of death. Contact TfL as soon as you are able – every week of delay is a week of unused value you cannot recover.

What refunds are available:

  • Annual season tickets: you can claim a refund if at least 6 weeks of validity remain
  • Monthly season tickets: you can claim a refund if at least 7 days remain
  • Weekly season tickets: you can claim a refund if at least 3 days remain

A £5 administrative fee applies. Below the minimums above, no refund is payable – which makes prompt action particularly important for monthly and weekly tickets.

How to claim: Call 0343 222 1234 (Monday to Sunday, 08:00–20:00). The process is the same as for Oyster credit – TfL handles bereavement refund claims by phone. A copy of the death certificate is required, and a certified copy of probate if the refund exceeds £100.

For paper Travelcard season tickets (rather than registered Oyster), TfL will advise on the process when you call. These are less common and the handling is slightly different.

(Source: TfL – Apply for a refund)

Congestion Charge and ULEZ Auto Pay

The Congestion Charge Auto Pay account is one of the most financially urgent things to deal with after a death. If the deceased drove into central London or the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) regularly, the Auto Pay account continues billing after their death – until someone closes it.

What Auto Pay covers: The Auto Pay system covers:

  • London Congestion Charge (central London, currently £15/day for most vehicles)
  • Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charge (most of Greater London, currently £12.50/day for non-compliant vehicles)
  • Blackwall and Silvertown tunnel tolls

Any vehicle registered on the Auto Pay account continues to accrue charges every time it passes through those zones. The direct debit funding the account will keep running.

The key point: Cancelling the direct debit at the bank is not enough. The Auto Pay account itself must be closed with TfL. If the direct debit is cancelled but the account is left open, TfL may issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for unpaid charges to vehicles still registered on the account. PCNs carry significantly higher charges than the original daily rate.

How to close the account:

The Auto Pay account is managed online at tfl.gov.uk. If you can access the account (for example, if you know the login details), you may be able to close it through the account settings. If you cannot access the account, contact TfL’s Congestion Charge team:

  • Phone: 0343 222 2222 (Monday to Friday, 08:00–20:00)
  • Textphone: 020 7649 9123

Explain that the account holder has died and you need to close the account and stop all charges. TfL will advise on what documentation is required.

What to do about any outstanding charges: Check whether there are any outstanding charges or Penalty Charge Notices on the account before it is closed. Outstanding charges form a debt of the estate and should be settled or formally queried before closing.

(Source: TfL – Auto Pay; TfL – Contact Congestion Charge)

Freedom Pass

A Freedom Pass is a concessionary travel card that allows free travel on London’s transport network. There are two types:

  • Older person’s Freedom Pass – for London residents aged 60 and over (the qualifying age varies by borough)
  • Disabled person’s Freedom Pass – for London residents who meet certain disability criteria

Freedom Passes are not issued by TfL. Each Freedom Pass is issued and administered by the holder’s home London borough council. TfL simply accepts the pass as valid for travel.

When a Freedom Pass holder dies, the pass should be returned. Because boroughs administer the passes independently, the return process varies slightly. The central contact point is:

  • Freedom Pass helpline: 0300 330 1433 (Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00, excluding bank holidays)
  • Email: info@freedompass.org
  • Post: Freedom Pass, PO Box 6618, Arbroath, DD11 9AT

Notify Freedom Pass of the death by email or phone. They will update their records and advise whether the physical card needs to be returned. Some boroughs may ask you to return it to the local council directly – Freedom Pass will tell you which applies.

There is no financial value in a Freedom Pass – it is a concessionary benefit, not a paid-for product. There is nothing to refund.

(Source: freedompass.org – Contact)

Santander Cycles membership

Santander Cycles (the public bicycle hire scheme, also known informally as Boris Bikes) offers annual and monthly membership alongside casual pay-per-ride options. If the deceased held a paid membership, it should be cancelled to stop the recurring charge.

How to cancel: The cancellation process for memberships is handled through the Santander Cycles account. If you can access the account:

  1. Log in at santandercycles.tfl.gov.uk
  2. Navigate to account settings and cancel the membership

If you cannot access the account, contact TfL’s general customer services line on 0343 222 1234 and explain the situation. TfL manages the Santander Cycles scheme and can assist with account closure for deceased members.

Annual and monthly memberships are billed through the payment card or bank account linked to the Santander Cycles account. If the bank account has been frozen as part of the bereavement process, the payment will fail – but it is still better to close the account formally to avoid any debt collection activity.

(Source: TfL – Santander Cycles)

TfL Go app and Oyster online account

The TfL Go app (and the associated Contactless and Oyster online account at contactless.tfl.gov.uk) is where many people manage their Oyster card, view journey history, and store payment card details.

If you are handling the estate of someone who used TfL Go or had an online Oyster account:

  1. Deal with the Oyster card refund first – follow the process above to claim any pay as you go credit or season ticket refund
  2. Remove payment methods – if the account has a stored payment card (debit or credit card), contact TfL to have it removed. Stored cards on registered accounts can be used for contactless billing
  3. Close the account – once any refunds have been processed, contact TfL on 0343 222 1234 to close the online account

TfL does not currently have a self-service account closure option for bereavement situations – you will need to contact them directly.

(Source: TfL – Contactless and Oyster account)

Contactless payments and bank card charges

If the person who died regularly used a bank card (debit or credit card) to travel on TfL services, TfL does not hold a separate “contactless account” in the same sense as an Oyster account. Instead, TfL links journey data to the card number and applies daily or weekly caps.

Key points:

  • There is no TfL account to close for contactless travel – the card-level account is held at TfL’s backend but is not a customer account in the traditional sense
  • Charges stop as soon as the bank card is cancelled, which will happen as part of the bank bereavement process
  • Outstanding contactless charges (for journeys made before the death) will typically appear as a single debit from TfL on the bank statement for the period in question – this is a legitimate charge of the estate
  • If the bank account is frozen before an outstanding balance is settled, the balance will be collected by TfL through its normal debt recovery process

Contact the bank as a priority – once the bank account or card is cancelled, no further TfL charges will accrue through that card.

For full guidance on bank account freezing and direct debit cancellation, see what happens to direct debits when someone dies.

Zip card (Zip Oyster)

A Zip card gives discounted travel to under-18s in London and, in an extended form (18+ Zip), to young people aged 18–25 who live in London and receive certain benefits. Zip cards are registered against a young person’s name and home address.

If the deceased was under 18 and held a Zip card, any credit on the card can be claimed in the same way as a standard Oyster card refund – call TfL on 0343 222 1234. The same death certificate requirements apply.

For the 18+ Zip card (a means-tested product), contact TfL on the same number.

Documents needed

Document When needed
Death certificate (copy) All TfL refund claims; Freedom Pass notification; Auto Pay closure
Certified copy of probate or letters of administration Required if any single refund exceeds £100
Letter of indemnity If claiming on behalf of a company (not usually relevant in personal bereavement)
The deceased's Oyster card Keep safe until TfL advises – you may be asked to return it
Account login details Helpful for Auto Pay and Santander Cycles closure; TfL can work without them if you can verify identity

How long it takes

TfL does not publish a specific processing time for bereavement refunds. Call 0343 222 1234 to initiate any claim and ask for an expected timeframe at that point. In practice, straightforward cases where no probate is required tend to be resolved within a few weeks. Cases where probate is needed – any refund over £100 – will depend on how quickly you can obtain and certify the probate document.

For Auto Pay and Santander Cycles, account closure should be possible in a single call or online session, with any outstanding charges settled from the estate.

Tips and things to watch

Act quickly on season tickets. Refunds on season tickets are calculated from the date you call TfL, not the date of death. Every week of delay is a week of value lost.

Do not just cancel the direct debit. For Congestion Charge Auto Pay, cancelling the direct debit at the bank without closing the TfL account can trigger Penalty Charge Notices. Close the TfL account first, then cancel the direct debit – or contact TfL and the bank at the same time.

Contactless travel charges keep coming until the card is cancelled. Any bank card that the deceased used for contactless TfL travel will continue to be charged for any journeys made after the death but before the card is cancelled. Cancel the card as a priority.

Probate adds time. If the Oyster balance or season ticket refund comes to more than £100, TfL will not release it until they have a certified copy of probate. If probate has not been granted yet, the claim can be lodged but will be held.

Freedom Pass holds no financial value. There is nothing to refund on a Freedom Pass – it is a concessionary benefit. Notifying Freedom Pass is a courtesy and an administrative task, not a financial one.

TfL is not part of Tell Us Once. The government’s death notification service does not contact TfL. Every TfL product must be dealt with separately.

TfL tasks at a glance

Product Action How Priority
Oyster card (pay as you go credit) Claim refund Call 0343 222 1234 with death certificate Within a few weeks
Oyster season ticket Claim refund on unexpired portion Call 0343 222 1234 – refund runs from date of call, not date of death Urgent – act quickly
Congestion Charge / ULEZ Auto Pay Close account to stop charges Call 0343 222 2222 or manage online; do not just cancel the direct debit Urgent
Freedom Pass Notify Freedom Pass of death; return card if asked Email info@freedompass.org or call 0300 330 1433 Within a month
Santander Cycles membership Cancel membership to stop recurring charge Log in to account or call 0343 222 1234 Within a few weeks
TfL Go / Oyster online account Remove payment cards; close account Call 0343 222 1234 after Oyster refund is processed After refund claimed
Contactless bank card charges Cancel the bank card via the bank's bereavement team No separate TfL action needed – card cancellation stops charges Urgent
Zip card Claim any credit refund Call 0343 222 1234 with death certificate Within a few weeks

Summary

TfL is not on Tell Us Once, so the accounts need to be handled directly. The financially significant items are the Oyster card balance, any season ticket with time remaining, and the Congestion Charge Auto Pay account – all of which carry real money either to recover or to stop leaking.

Call 0343 222 1234 (Monday to Sunday, 08:00–20:00) to start the refund process for Oyster credit and season tickets. Have a copy of the death certificate ready and, if any refund is likely to exceed £100, obtain a certified copy of probate before calling.

For Congestion Charge Auto Pay, call 0343 222 2222 (Monday to Friday, 08:00–20:00) and close the account formally – do not rely on cancelling the direct debit alone.

For Freedom Pass, email info@freedompass.org or call 0300 330 1433.

Key TfL links:

For the full list of organisations to notify after a death, see our complete guide to what to do when someone dies. If the deceased had recurring direct debits more broadly, see what happens to direct debits when someone dies. If you used Tell Us Once for government departments, see our Tell Us Once guide to understand what it does and does not cover. If the deceased also held a railcard or national rail season ticket, see our railcard and season ticket guide.

Sources