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How it works
Tapping in and out with a contactless card, phone, watch or Oyster card counts as a ticket. The train company that delayed you pays Delay Repay as usual, and your TfL journey history is the proof: the date, where you touched in and out, and the cost.
Automatic Delay Repay schemes don't usually cover pay as you go (Southern, Gatwick Express and c2c say so), so you claim on the form, which Railhop fills in for you.
Get your TfL journey history
- Sign in to your TfL account at contactless.tfl.gov.uk and add the bank card you tap with. For Oyster, register the card in your Oyster account.
- Open Journey history for the card you used.
- Download the statement as a PDF and add it to Railhop, which checks every journey on it.
Several companies need the card registered with TfL (GWR and Chiltern Railways say so). Southeastern and South Western Railway don't accept card payment statements that don't show the time of travel or the journey.
How to claim
- Download your TfL journey history. Sign in to your TfL account, open Journey history for the card you tap with and download the statement as a PDF.
- Add it to Railhop. Railhop checks every train journey on it against how the trains really ran and lists the delays you can claim, and any forgotten tap-outs.
- Railhop fills in the train company's claim form. In the Railhop iPhone app, or with Railhop's browser extension on a computer, Railhop fills in the form of the company that ran each delayed train, with the journey from your statement.
- Check it and press submit. You check each claim and press submit on the train company's own form, within 28 days of the journey. The train company pays you directly.
What each train company says about pay as you go
Train companies whose Delay Repay pages mention contactless or Oyster:
| Train company | What it says | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| c2c | Contactless and Oyster pay as you go are covered by manual claims only, not Automatic Delay Repay: send your TfL journey history, which you can download from contactless.tfl.gov.uk if you have registered an account there. | Guide |
| Chiltern Railways | Oyster and contactless pay as you go are covered: include a TfL usage statement with your claim. Your contactless card needs to be registered with TfL. | Guide |
| Gatwick Express | Pay as you go with a contactless card or phone is covered, but Automated Delay Repay isn't available for it: claim on the form with a TfL journey statement showing where you touched in and out and the cost. | Guide |
| Great Northern | Contactless and Oyster pay as you go are covered: attach a print-out of your TfL journey history showing the date, where you touched in and out and the cost. | Guide |
| Greater Anglia | Contactless pay as you go is covered: include a copy of your TfL contactless statement showing the journey. The claim form also takes an Oyster card number. | Guide |
| GWR | Oyster and contactless pay as you go are covered: register your card with TfL and send a statement showing where you touched in and out and the cost of your journey. | Guide |
| London Northwestern Railway | Contactless and Oyster pay as you go are covered. Contactless pays a share of your single journey cost, or of your daily capped fare (04:30 to 04:29). For Oyster, upload your TfL statement and enter your 12-digit Oyster number: other screenshots, receipts or bank statements are not accepted. | Guide |
| South Western Railway | Oyster and contactless pay as you go are covered and treated as single tickets: send your registered TfL Oyster or contactless statement showing the journey, where you touched in and out and the cost. Images of bank cards, and card statements that don't show the time of travel, are not accepted. | Guide |
| Southeastern | Oyster and contactless pay as you go are covered and treated as single tickets: send a TfL journey statement. For an unregistered card you can get proof of travel by entering your card details on the TfL website. Card payment statements that don't show the time of travel or the journey are not accepted. | Guide |
| Southern | Contactless and Oyster pay as you go are covered: attach a print-out of your TfL journey history showing the date, where you touched in and out and the cost. | Guide |
| Stansted Express | Contactless pay as you go is covered: include your TfL contactless journey history showing the transaction. | Guide |
| Thameslink | Contactless and Oyster pay as you go are covered: attach a print-out of your TfL journey history showing the date, where you touched in and out and the cost. Paying by tapping your phone or watch counts as contactless. | Guide |
| West Midlands Railway | Swift smartcard tickets are covered. If you used Oyster, give your Oyster card number and an image of your journey history. | Guide |
Other companies' pages we checked don't mention pay as you go. If you paid that way on one of them, your TfL journey history is still your record of the journey, and Railhop fills in its form with the journey from your statement.
Elizabeth line, London Overground, Tube and DLR
These are run for TfL, so delays aren't claimed as Delay Repay. TfL refunds the single fare when a Tube or DLR journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more, or a London Overground or Elizabeth line journey by 30 minutes or more, if the delay was within TfL's control. Claim through your TfL account within 28 days.
Forgot to tap out?
That's a different refund, from TfL. TfL refunds most incomplete journeys by itself, so wait 48 hours. If yours isn't refunded, ask through your TfL account within 8 weeks of the journey. Railhop spots these on your statement too.
Questions
Can I claim Delay Repay if I paid by contactless?
Yes. A pay as you go journey on a National Rail train is covered by the train company's Delay Repay scheme. You claim from the company that ran the train, with your TfL journey history as evidence.
Does paying with my phone or watch count?
Yes. Tapping a phone or watch is contactless pay as you go, and your TfL journey history shows it the same way as a card.
Do I need to register my card with TfL?
To download a journey history, yes: add the card to a TfL contactless or Oyster account. GWR and Chiltern Railways say the card needs to be registered.
Will automatic Delay Repay pick up my contactless journeys?
Usually not. Southern, Gatwick Express and c2c say their automatic schemes don't cover contactless or Oyster, so claim on the form, which Railhop fills in for you.
How far back can I claim?
28 days from the journey at every train company we checked. Add your statement to Railhop at least once a month.
Sources
- TfL online account terms
- TfL: service delay refunds
- TfL: incomplete journey refunds
- GWR: Delay Repay
- Southeastern: Delay Repay
- Thameslink: Delay Repay
Train company terms checked 6 October 2026. Terms change: if something here doesn't match the train company's own page, the company's page is right. Tell us and we'll fix it. Railhop fills in the train company's own claim form, and you check it and submit it yourself. Railhop is not affiliated with any train company, TfL or National Rail.