rail travel voucher

[mac]

I had 4 £12 travel vouchers from a refund, on saturday i got on a train at a unmanned station and wanted a £31 return so going to use 2 vouchers and cash but the conductor said the vouchers are not valid on train and must be used at a manned station so charged me £11 to get to manned station where i had to get off and go to ticket office then catch next train.Was he right i thought vouchers wouid be like money as there was nothing on them to say not valid on train.

 

[transportphoto]

No, you are able to use them on train where there were no available facilities to pay for your ticket at the initial station. Write to the Customer Services of the train company involved and request a Cash refund of any extra monies spent out and compensation for the inconvenience and delay caused.

 

[yorkie]

The guard was wrong, and incorrectly caused a delay to your journey. Definitely write to the TOC concerned. I would also ask for assurances that appropriate training will be provided to guards, and a date by which this training will be complete.

 

[GadgetMan]

As above, the conductor should've accepted the vouchers on the train.

This should bear no affect on the passenger, but the rail voucher acceptance process has recently changed slightly. They used to be taken and processed like cash, however now they have to be entered into the Avantix machine as a warrant which some revenue staff may not be comfortable with doing due to lack of training or laziness.

 

[island]

Transportphoto is right. I think it's a bit of a faff to put vouchers through an Avantix mobile so the guard mightn't have wanted to.

 

[Z12XE]

This should bear no affect on the passenger, but the rail voucher acceptance process has recently changed slightly. They used to be taken and processed like cash, however now they have to be entered into the Avantix machine as a warrant which some revenue staff may not be comfortable with doing due to lack of training or laziness.

Interesting. In Tribute you can put them through as Cash or Warrant (TOC Voucher or Other TOC Voucher), what matters is how you account for them on your shift sheet.

 

[mac]

Thank you for your quick replies will write to them.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

The guard was wrong, and incorrectly caused a delay to your journey. Definitely write to the TOC concerned. I would also ask for assurances that appropriate training will be provided to guards, and a date by which this training will be complete.

As above, the conductor should've accepted the vouchers on the train.

This should bear no affect on the passenger, but the rail voucher acceptance process has recently changed slightly. They used to be taken and processed like cash, however now they have to be entered into the Avantix machine as a warrant which some revenue staff may not be comfortable with doing due to lack of training or laziness.

Agreed. There is no reason why they shouldn't have been accepted, they go through Avantix as warrants. However, from my own experience, I know that retail training for Guards in many TOCs is poor, and at times completely incorrect, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Guard genuinely believed they could not be accepted, as opposed to just being lazy.

 

[Wolfie]

As above, the conductor should've accepted the vouchers on the train.

This should bear no affect on the passenger, but the rail voucher acceptance process has recently changed slightly. They used to be taken and processed like cash, however now they have to be entered into the Avantix machine as a warrant which some revenue staff may not be comfortable with doing due to lack of training or laziness.

Interesting and possibly explains a lot. A couple of weeks ago I arrived at Euston 15 minutes or so before my LM train was due to depart and went to the LM ticket window clutching LM issued rail vouchers to the value of the ticket. The guy at the window refused to issue a ticket, claiming that to do so would delay other passengers - there was no queue when I arrived and no one behind me! - and insisted that I go to the main Euston ticket office. It took the Virgin staff there less than 5 minutes to issue a ticket! However, the 15 minutes I queued for before being served meant that I missed my train and was forced to take a service over half an hour later which resulted in missed connections later in the journey and ultimately an arrival just under an hour later than originally planned. A complaint went into LM the next day.....

 

[district]

I'm happy to proofread any letters you want to send, if everything you are saying is wholly accurate then the conductor acted incorrectly.

 

[GadgetMan]

Interesting and possibly explains a lot. A couple of weeks ago I arrived at Euston 15 minutes or so before my LM train was due to depart and went to the LM ticket window clutching LM issued rail vouchers to the value of the ticket. The guy at the window refused to issue a ticket, claiming that to do so would delay other passengers - there was no queue when I arrived and no one behind me! - and insisted that I go to the main Euston ticket office. It took the Virgin staff there less than 5 minutes to issue a ticket! However, the 15 minutes I queued for before being served meant that I missed my train and was forced to take a service over half an hour later which resulted in missed connections later in the journey and ultimately an arrival just under an hour later than originally planned. A complaint went into LM the next day.....

Stories like this always make me laugh. The amount of time the clerk spent turning you away and risking further time consuming arguments, would probably take up more of his time than to issue the ticket in the first place.

 

[district]

Stories like this always make me laugh. The amount of time the clerk spent turning you away and risking further time consuming arguments, would probably take up more of his time than to issue the ticket in the first place.

A few members were trying to get future travel tickets at the standard VT desks at Euston one evening after future travel desks had closed. The clerk refused, saying that 'passengers could miss the last train'. This came to mind!

 

[Wolfie]

Stories like this always make me laugh. The amount of time the clerk spent turning you away and risking further time consuming arguments, would probably take up more of his time than to issue the ticket in the first place.

In retrospect I can smile about it.....I was FAR from smiling at the time.....

 

[John @ home]

A complaint went into LM the next day.....

Please keep us informed about the outcome of the complaint.