COMMUTERS in Brentwood have to pay £1,000 more for rail fares into London than Greater Anglia had first predicted.
Following the inclusion of Brentwood Station within the Oyster Card system on January 2, the same day as the fare rise, it now costs £2,584 for an annual season ticket into the capital.
Molecular biologist Dr Matthew Caley, 32, is furious, having been told by the rail operator that fares would be cheaper this year.
He said: "Adding Zone 7 to my Zone 2 to 6 season ticket would have cost £50. Adding Brentwood costs an extra £1,064."
In an e-mail from Greater Anglia on October 27, Dr Caley was told that Brentwood would be included in Zone 7.
The London rail network is divided into nine zones, which commuters can access using an Oyster Card. The first three zones are in the centre of the capital with zones 4 to 9 stretching from the outer London boroughs into Essex, Surrey and Hertfordshire.
The greater the number of zones travelled, the higher the charge to the customer.
Customer relations adviser Sandra Woods wrote: "The Oyster extension will be taking place in January 2013 and Brentwood will be in Zone 7."
Dr Caley contacted TfL and Oyster earlier this year in view to extending his zone 2-6 season ticket to one covering zones 2-7, as Brentwood now accepted Oyster Card payments.
He was told Brentwood was in an additional national rail zone, outside the nine zones, and instead would cost him £2,584.
A follow-up e-mail from Ms Woods on January 8 said: "At the time of your inquiry, information provided was correct in the terms of the zonal extension areas and the time this would be taking place.
"The finalisation of the fare structure had not taken place between Transport for London and Greater Anglia."
Dr Caley, who works at Queen Mary College at the University of London, said: "I did not renew my season ticket from Brentwood to Zone 6 in October, instead buying monthly tickets, waiting until this January when Brentwood was due to enter Zone 7.
"TfL have had 14 months to get their pricing right. Why did it take so long for them to finalise it? Why is Brentwood treated like a second-class station? We have no fast trains but the ticket's still very expensive."
A Greater Anglia spokesman said: "We have worked with our partners in agreeing the pricing and zonal structure for the implementation of Oyster at Shenfield and Brentwood, which has been introduced on time and in line with our franchise commitment. The introduction of Oyster has provided more choice and flexibility for our passengers at Shenfield and Brentwood."
