VisitBritain Shop - Reviews and experiences

Tried ordering Oyster cards weeks before our trip, they never showed up — awkward. Calls went unanswered, voicemail ignored, and replies by email took days, so plan on delays. In the end we bought them at the station (much easier), and surprisingly the desk staff were friendly and quick, so that saved us. If you need them on time, don’t trust this delivery service; bring a backup plan or buy in person.

I tried to be clever and used the Day Out code, thinking it’d be easy. Bought five tickets from the Visit Britain shop but no tickets arrived — just a code, which the site then says is UK-only, even though I was ordering from the UK. I used their 'request a callback' and waited by the phone; nothing. We showed up at two attractions with no tickets and had to pay again. Not a total disaster compared to past messes with other vendors, but the no-ticket/no-follow-up part ruined it.

I ordered an Oyster card on Oct 5 and pretty much checked the mailbox every day. I put Oct 13 as the “date of departure” and didn't realise VisitBritain/Post Office actually work to that date — my fault. Nothing showed up on the 9th, 11th or 12th so I started to think I’d been scammed, which was annoying. It did arrive on the 13th though, right on time, and it made my daily sightseeing and tube commutes so much easier — saved me queuing every morning. Not flawless because of the worry, but overall efficient. I'll tell friends to allow that date buffer.