An upvoted answer on Do you need to take the most direct route with an Oyster Card? inspired me to ask this question.
I do not live or work in the UK and don't have intention to use the Oyster Card system any time soon, but I was curious about this anyway.
I read some more about this "maximum journey times" and about the fines that are charged when exceeding them, and while it appears possible to claim a refund in certain cases, up to three times per month, it also appears some of these refunds are automatic (https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/refunds-and-replacements/exceeded-maximum-journey-time), which I assume are performed whenever the exceed was due to problems outside the traveler's control, like inclement weather, accidents or strikes. Do these automatic refunds count towards the limit of at most 3 maximum fare refunds per month? It would be disappointing to, for example, have a very harsh winter cause many delays, but only get 3 of them refunded per month because there's a cap.
