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Help! Problem changing Advance ticket on XC

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gray1404

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Can anyone provide a solution to this? I have just tried to change an advance ticket on the XC site. Now to get this ticket up on the usual XC booking engine (or any trainline powered site) I have to do a usual search then click at the bottom of the page to display cheaper slower trains, then I am presented with the fare list and I select the fare I want and it brings up journeys at that price.

However, when going to change the ticket I do through the process but the options to change (i.e. my new ticket) and am presented with only the main search results and, unlike when making a from new booking, there is no option to display cheaper slower fares from a fare list. Is there a workaround for this?
 
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Clip

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Doesnt look like you are doing it right from how you describe it to how the website does

How to amend your Advance ticket.
Please follow the steps below to refund your ticket.

  1. Sign in to your CrossCountry account
  2. Select "my account"
  3. Click “view your bookings” – located in the 'my bookings' section.
  4. Select “amend journey” next to the ticket(s) you would like to change
  5. Select the ticket(s) you would like to amend and continue.
  6. Input the amended 'date and/or time' you would like to change your ticket to.
    (Also, let us know If you have your old tickets, as we will need these back to process a refund.)
  7. Select the new journey you would like to book
  8. Confirm your seat preferences
  9. Confirm your delivery method
    (Note: if you select options other than Post, Self-service ticket machine or e-Ticket you will not be able to change the ticket again) .
  10. Continue to pay and confirm your new journey
Have more questions? Take a look at our FAQ's page for more information.
 

gray1404

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Thanks for your reply. I can confirm that I am following those steps and getting up to step 7. But because it is NOT giving me the option to click:
"Click here to check if cheaper tickets with longer journey times are available"
I am unable to bring up the fares list to then be able to see the fare I want (which is routed to a different TOC and then click "Check For Trains"to display only trains with the fare I want offered.

This is what I am seeing (attachment) when I try to make an amendment and you will see that option is missing.


XC1.jpg


This is by contrast to when you are offered when you start a new booking - rather then an amendment - on the XC (and any train line powered site). There is an option to click "Click here to check if cheaper tickets with longer journey times are available" at the bottom of the search results page.


XC2.jpg
 

gray1404

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I really don't know if there is any chance of me getting this refunded by XC and being able to start from scratch. Or could it be quite a time consuming matter as even phoning them up I doubt they will be able to load the fare I want without difficulty as I suspect they will be using a similar system.

I could still travel at my original booked time, not ideal but not the end of the world.

But anyone has any suggestions though please say.
 

ForTheLoveOf

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I really don't know if there is any chance of me getting this refunded by XC and being able to start from scratch. Or could it be quite a time consuming matter as even phoning them up I doubt they will be able to load the fare I want without difficulty as I suspect they will be using a similar system.

I could still travel at my original booked time, not ideal but not the end of the world.

But anyone has any suggestions though please say.
When I've had similar issues before, I've phoned their web support and they've been happy to refund the old ticket there and then after confirming that, whilst we've been on the phone, I've rebooked for the same journey with the same passengers on a different day, time or route.
 

jawr256

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If you can't resolve it on the website and don't mind a phone call too much it might be worth calling XC. I was once amending an Advance booking on the website but couldn't get it to give my desired itinerary (to do with choice of service for the second leg of a three-leg journey). I explained that other operators' websites offered me the fare I wanted and eventually they offered to instead give me a full refund if I could provide evidence of rebooking with another operator.
 

gray1404

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Is Cross Country telesales outsoured to Trainline as well? The problem I have is that with the ticket I require I can never get them to be able to bring up over the phone as it requires them doing advanced options. I can only get it on their site through doing the steps above.
 

ForTheLoveOf

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Is Cross Country telesales outsoured to Trainline as well? The problem I have is that with the ticket I require I can never get them to be able to bring up over the phone as it requires them doing advanced options. I can only get it on their site through doing the steps above.
It may be Trainline outsourced but as I say, when I have had a similar issue before, they agreed to refund me if they could see I had booked the same journey for a different date/time etc.
 

ForTheLoveOf

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and how did you provide this to them? The proof.
I booked the new journey whilst on the phone to them (I already had it in the basket), and then they agreed to the refund there and then when they saw the new booking. They didn't ask for proof of the problem rebooking on the website, but it's not as if I was gaining anything by doing it over the phone - I was losing time, if anything!
 

gray1404

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I will try adding the new tickets to my basket as a new booking and calling XC. The worst they can say is no.

Does anyone know what number I should phone them on for this and what time they are open until tonight? Thanks
 

ForTheLoveOf

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I will try adding the new tickets to my basket as a new booking and calling XC. The worst they can say is no.

Does anyone know what number I should phone them on for this and what time they are open until tonight? Thanks
0371 244 2389. They may still be open now.
 

gray1404

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Phoned XC around 9.50pm. Explained the problem, in short I was getting a cheaper fare making a new booking rather then an amendment. They offered to book some new tickets then refund. I explained I already had the tickets in my basket and would it be ok if I gave them the new booking reference. They said yes, asked them to wait while I processed payment, which I did then they refunded my first booking. They didn't need to new reference as she said you could see my new booking in my account already. Thanks for your advise people!
 

ForTheLoveOf

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Phoned XC around 9.50pm. Explained the problem, in short I was getting a cheaper fare making a new booking rather then an amendment. They offered to book some new tickets then refund. I explained I already had the tickets in my basket and would it be ok if I gave them the new booking reference. They said yes, asked them to wait while I processed payment, which I did then they refunded my first booking. They didn't need to new reference as she said you could see my new booking in my account already. Thanks for your advise people!
If only all ticketing problems were this simple to resolve!
 

gray1404

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Yes, I wasn't expecting them to be so helpful and fine with it. I wonder if the fact they might have been closing at 10pm helped with the fact I was offering them a quick solution to my question. But this has served as a lesson to me. The XC free changes to advances works as long as the new ticket you want is listed in a standard search based on the fastest trains. Anything more advanced then you can't do it online and there are no assurances they will give you the exact solution you want on the phone.
 

ForTheLoveOf

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Yes, I wasn't expecting them to be so helpful and fine with it. I wonder if the fact they might have been closing at 10pm helped with the fact I was offering them a quick solution to my question. But this has served as a lesson to me. The XC free changes to advances works as long as the new ticket you want is listed in a standard search based on the fastest trains. Anything more advanced then you can't do it online and there are no assurances they will give you the exact solution you want on the phone.
No assurances, but I've had reason to phone them a few times (I think a few times the journey I'd booked simply wasn't in the list of "My journeys" for some strange reason), and I've not had any problems at all.
 

gray1404

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They must be under a general instruction then to all call centre staff that as long as another ticket is purchased, be that online or over the phone on the call, then they are fine to do a refund.
 
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