Firstly, before I post my views on this matter, here are some examples of people reporting this problem:
https://twitter.com/Rochdale_Cowboy/status/1194150542701932544
This is normally of no real problem; after all under contract and consumer law, tickets remain valid, and in theory TOC staff are all trained to adhere to relevant laws.
Furthermore National Rail Enquiries (NRE) states:
So, not a problem, right?
Unfortunately no, there is a problem: several GWR staff at stations such as London Paddington do not comply with relevant laws and instead ask passengers to purchase an excess fare in order to travel as per the original contract. Clearly this is not lawful. Just one recent example (out of many) can be found in the following thread:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/off-peak-ticket-validity-heyford-to-paddington.194346/
This is not a new phenomenon but there does appear to be a lot of reported cases recently, so I thought it was worth highlighting the issue again.
https://twitter.com/Rochdale_Cowboy/status/1194150542701932544
@RantsravesofLA said:Your app is only offering me off peak tickets today. Is there a special offer on?
https://twitter.com/charlie5tevens/status/1194165346481127425GWRHelp said:Hello, this is a known fault with fares on the London Thames Valley route. We are working to rectify this, if you purchase a ticket for a journey we will honour this. - Bradley
https://twitter.com/arb_1965/status/1193857243810283525@charlie5teven said:I have an Off Peak Ticket to Slough from Brighton on the basis that I would be able to leave Paddington on the 8:08 or 8:21 service, I have just been told this isn’t the case and had to upgrade my ticket, even though the booking says it can, why is this?
@arb_1965 said:Hi - the wrong price is being displayed in your app (and others) for peak day returns between Maidenhead and Paddington. It’s the off peak price. Tempting - can you clarify your position on honouring the price quoted. Thanks.
https://twitter.com/Fuzzlette/status/1193799545639112704GWRHelp said:Hello Andy, this is a known fault and we are working to rectify this. If you have purchased a ticket for a journey plan, we will honour this ticket. - Bradley
@Fuzzlette said:I think there's something wrong with your app. Trying to buy a return ticket from DID to PAD 08:21-18:37 and all its giving me is an option to purchase an off peak return ticket for that journey. Those times are definitely not off peak.
This recent occurrence is just one out of many. On a regular basis, the restriction data associated with many restriction codes set by GWR are altered to allow travel on trains the company does not intend to be valid in conjunction with tickets that correspond to the relevant restriction code.@GWRHelp said:Hello. Thanks for pointing this out. There seems to be a problem with the fares universally. I have raised this with our control team. My apologies! - Jake
This is normally of no real problem; after all under contract and consumer law, tickets remain valid, and in theory TOC staff are all trained to adhere to relevant laws.
Furthermore National Rail Enquiries (NRE) states:
And, helpfully and quite rightly, the Twitter staff have confirmed the tickets "will be honoured".NRE said:When you book your journey online, any ticket offered in connection with the timetable or itinerary produced by the journey planner will be accepted as a permitted route.
So, not a problem, right?
Unfortunately no, there is a problem: several GWR staff at stations such as London Paddington do not comply with relevant laws and instead ask passengers to purchase an excess fare in order to travel as per the original contract. Clearly this is not lawful. Just one recent example (out of many) can be found in the following thread:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/off-peak-ticket-validity-heyford-to-paddington.194346/
My wife was charged a penalty fare recently. She bought a off-peak return from Heyford to Paddington (with a student railcard).
The trains were the 07.41 from Heyford and 16.52 from Paddington (both journeys change at Oxford). The ticket was purchased from the Trainline and she travelled to the itinerary she entered when she booked the ticket. (The inspector was not interested in this.)
Subsequent checks show the same ticket is available via the GWR app and the Network Rail website also gives this off-peak ticket. I do know off peak tickets are not valid on the 16.52 to Oxford (two stops before Heyford).
Can we assume her ticket was fine? And if so, is there anything we can say to the inspector to prove this?
Thanks,
Keith
This is not a new phenomenon but there does appear to be a lot of reported cases recently, so I thought it was worth highlighting the issue again.
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