No way should this be considered until the train companies get their act together, stop being incompetent, and stop mistreating customers who had the misfortune to try out this technology.
Examples:
GTR gateline staff falsely claiming Cambridge to London Season not valid via Hitchin:
GWR Guard falsely claiming Seaford to Reigate isn't valid on GWR
Multiple issues with The Key on GTR:
And there are many more issues, such as changing an Advance being problematical, and some TOCs requiring a nominated form of ID, and then claiming the ticket is invalid if the customer has that ID stolen.
Oh yeah and group tickets... you have to nominate a "lead passenger" and if that person is ill on the day, everyone may be screwed!
Some people who are employed to inspect tickets cannot be trusted not to mistreat customers with "smart" or "mobile" ticketing.
Examples:
GTR gateline staff falsely claiming Cambridge to London Season not valid via Hitchin:
... I asked at Cambridge station to get it put onto a Smart Card. I really did not think it would matter which Smart Card as it's one season ticket valid between Cambridge and London however when I get on/off at Hitchin the gate staff keep questioning me and told me to get confirmation from Greater Anglia that it's valid. Now I appreciate their turnstiles can't read my GA Smart Card but surely this is a bit of a ludicrous situation whereby my ticket would be valid if on paper but currently I'm almost being refused travel?...
...
...I got a refund at King's Cross which took over 45 minutes ...
GWR Guard falsely claiming Seaford to Reigate isn't valid on GWR
I have a season ticket from Seaford to Reigate, issued on GTR Key smartcard.
My regular commute is to Gatwick Airport, but today I needed to use the full validity to Reigate, changing at GTW for the Reading GWR service.
I came very close to being thrown off the train at Redhill by the GWR guard, who stated thus:
'We don't have card readers, so how do I know whether you have a ticket on there? That's a Southern product, and it isn't valid on our trains.'
I stated my understanding that season tickets have 'any operator' validity unless specifically restricted/priced. The fact GWR staff aren't provided with card readers isn't my concern.
However, I'm now struggling to find an online source to confirm my point of view. Southern's 'Key' pages don't answer the question definitively, either way.
Am I right, or do I owe the guard an apology?
Multiple issues with The Key on GTR:
So, had a very long conversation with GTR (TSGN) customer services this morning, and am none the wiser.
I now commute by train irregularly, and don't necessarily know when until the night before. Given the massive queues and barely-functioning machines at my local station, buying Anytime Single/Return tickets for my Key smartcard the night before seems like an ideal solution, no?
Well, I tried it for a one-way and it worked a treat. Well, apart from a ticket inspector on the train who insisted it could only be used for season tickets, I needed to carry the season receipt and he had no reader to verify... But the barriers opened, and I touched out OK.
Booked a return a week later. But then I ended up having to work from home. Looked to see if I could get a refund, but the "refund guarantee" seems to apply to paper tickets only. There is an offline refund process that involves form-printing and sending off, but it "may have a fee of £10". So I just shrugged and thought, well, that's £5 sunk, who cares.
Big mistake.
Bought a single this morning. Tried to touch in, but I got a "ticket expired" error. Asked station staff, they told me they can't do anything with the Key, but I managed to get a paper ticket in time and got on the train.
Phoned customer services. Turns out the unused ticket was "blocking" the new ticket from being uploaded, and that I should have applied for a refund (not that the form would have reached them in time). But it gets more confusing.
In order to get a ticket removed/refunded, it has to be uploaded to the smartcard. So if you're not travelling, you have to go to the departure station and touch in in order for it to be uploaded and cancelled. If you've got two in a queue, you have to hold it over for 10 seconds or something. And you can't use any new tickets until you've done this, then got the refund processed.
But then they're insisting that, to process the refund, they have a copy of the paper ticket because "barrier staff have been letting people through with the confirmation email". Being a one-way, though, it was retained in the barriers. So now I have a bunch of unused tickets, and an unusable smartcard.
Quite apart from the awful, convoluted design on this, does this advice sound right to you? I need to return to the departure station to touch in on a ticket I'm not going to use, given them a paper ticket that's been swallowed by the barriers, and send them a bunch of offline forms before I can use the card again? Seriously?
And there are many more issues, such as changing an Advance being problematical, and some TOCs requiring a nominated form of ID, and then claiming the ticket is invalid if the customer has that ID stolen.
Oh yeah and group tickets... you have to nominate a "lead passenger" and if that person is ill on the day, everyone may be screwed!
Some people who are employed to inspect tickets cannot be trusted not to mistreat customers with "smart" or "mobile" ticketing.
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