[crewmeal]

An example of their fare structure.

Trainline.com: B'ham - Aberystwyth cost £20 + £1 insurance + £3.50 credit card charge.

Arriva same trip - £20 no extra charges.

Why pay 22% more for the same trip. I guess someone has to pay for those stupid ads.

[island]

Yup, this is well-known on this forum. Unfortunately their pervasive advertising has got several misconceptions into people's heads, of which people like us have to spend a lot of effort disabusing them. And I don't even succeed all the time.

[bb21]

Glad that you have realised what a con they are.

On this forum, we go so far as to say that thesheepline never offers the cheapest purchase, as whatever they are offering can be had from somewhere else for less.

[HST Power]

If they don't actually save you any money then how come they are getting away with these annoying adverts?

[IanXC]

Originally Posted by HST Power

If they don't actually save you any money then how come they are getting away with these annoying adverts?

As I recall the Advertising Standards Authority has found against them in the past. They just move on to another terrible advert then though.

[Failed Unit]

Originally Posted by HST Power

If they don't actually save you any money then how come they are getting away with these annoying adverts?

Because thier adverts compare the savings to walk on fares, an AP is normally cheaper them a walk on. They don't say we are always the cheapest.

[LexyBoy]

Originally Posted by HST Power

If they don't actually save you any money then how come they are getting away with these annoying adverts?

Their current adverts aren't breaking any rules as they are careful to compare apples with oranges: "buying product A through Thesheepline is cheaper than buying product B at the station". The fact that products A and B are different (albeit comparable) and product A can be obtained more cheaply from other outlets (including the station) is misleading but doesn't make the wording of the ad factually incorrect.

That's my understanding anyway!

[hairyhandedfool]

Originally Posted by HST Power

If they don't actually save you any money then how come they are getting away with these annoying adverts?

The key is in the wording and the small print, I believe the ASA have found against them twice, but each time it was little more than a technical issue about when the small print is seen and how big it is, rather than the stats which, according to the ASA, are sufficiently accurate.

Bear in mind that the advertised savings are an average based on the price paid by their customers in advance of travel, compared with if they had tickets bought at the station on the day of travel for the same journey. Thetrainline provided statistics to back this up, although it is hardly surprising that the facts back the claims, even if the claims are deliberately worded to confuse users.

This form of advertising is quite effective and has been used by other rail ticket retailers.

[Clip]

Spot on HHF. I remember the last discussion regarding the adverts and they are generally exactly the same apart from the wording being a little bit bigger.

Pretty much what I said back then but people still said the advert wasnt on the telly yet it still is.. Amazing.

[island]

What really gets me is when people buy walk-on tickets in advance from thetrainline and swear blind they got a bargain!

[bignosemac]

To the OP. It's heartening to see one more person realise that thetrainline.com are a rip off.

Let's not forget, this is a company that used to regard rail passengers as sheep. Unfortunately the trainline.com was attempting to herd them toward their company where they would always end up paying more than at the station or from a Train Operating Company's own website.

[jonmorris0844]

Someone should advertise the fact that Trainline.com will NEVER be cheaper than anywhere else, due to the booking fee.

'More expensive in 100% of cases' would be a good slogan, perhaps for other retailers to use when mentioning trainline.com.

The only way it could ever be genuinely cheaper is if it actually sold tickets for less than the face value, and waived any fees, or introduced a discount scheme (e.g. 10% off) for regular customers - again without any fees.

Only then could it ever actually offer better value than other sites that don't charge that booking fee.

[142094]

Originally Posted by island

What really gets me is when people buy walk-on tickets in advance from thetrainline and swear blind they got a bargain!

That is because people don't know the difference between an Advance Purchase ticket, and buying a ticket in advance.

[hairyhandedfool]

Originally Posted by jonmorris0844

Someone should advertise the fact that Trainline.com will NEVER be cheaper than anywhere else, due to the booking fee.

'More expensive in 100% of cases' would be a good slogan, perhaps for other retailers to use when mentioning trainline.com.

The only way it could ever be genuinely cheaper is if it actually sold tickets for less than the face value, and waived any fees, or introduced a discount scheme (e.g. 10% off) for regular customers - again without any fees.

Only then could it ever actually offer better value than other sites that don't charge that booking fee.

I think it is fair to point out that at no point do they say they are the cheapest retailer or that they are cheaper than other retailers, all they say is that people who buy from them in advance save an average of 43% on the price of a ticket bought at the station on the day of travel. This misconception is precisely why the marketing works.

[LexyBoy]

Originally Posted by island

What really gets me is when people buy walk-on tickets in advance from thetrainline and swear blind they got a bargain!

This! I have argued at length with someone who categorically stated that it's cheaper to buy in advance, even for flexible tickets. Although on one occasion I was somewhat undermined when it turned out he was buying a Southern Off Peak ticket when there was in fact a discount booking through Southern's website