Tickets failed to print - what now?

[captainpp]

I bought some tickets from Avanti's website yesterday and then attempted to collect them at a machine at Seven Sisters. The machine failed to print any of the tickets and advised me to contact the travel centre. I asked at the ticket desk at Enfield Town for them to print the tickets, but hey were unable to do so as the code had been used - they said I needed to call the agent and get a new collection code.

I can't find a phone number for Avanti ticket sales customer services so sent an email to their customer resolution address, but the auto reply suggests I could be waiting for a month for a response. I really want the tickets rather than to take a print out and have to argue my case with ticket inspectors as it's a many leg journey, and I'll be travelling with 2 small children and a railcard.

Any suggestions how I can get in touch with Avanti customer services "live" to get this sorted out?

 

[megabusser]

Twitter is probably a good bet? Easy to create a new account if you don’t use it and train companies usually respond quickly.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Found this number on the Avanti site may be worth a try 0345 528 0253

 

[Andy Pacer]

I bought some tickets from Avanti's website yesterday and then attempted to collect them at a machine at Seven Sisters. The machine failed to print any of the tickets and advised me to contact the travel centre. I asked at the ticket desk at Enfield Town for them to print the tickets, but hey were unable to do so as the code had been used - they said I needed to call the agent and get a new collection code.

I can't find a phone number for Avanti ticket sales customer services so sent an email to their customer resolution address, but the auto reply suggests I could be waiting for a month for a response. I really want the tickets rather than to take a print out and have to argue my case with ticket inspectors as it's a many leg journey, and I'll be travelling with 2 small children and a railcard.

Any suggestions how I can get in touch with Avanti customer services "live" to get this sorted out?

Hope you get this sorted, i'd agree with trying instant messaging on Twitter.

Please let us know how you get on and how it is resolved.

 

[Snow1964]

Wonder why the message is programmed to say contact a Travel Centre, how many of those are open and sort the problem.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Wonder why the message is programmed to say contact a Travel Centre, how many of those are open and sort the problem.

Good point - and a follow up question being what else would be appropriate?

 

[Wallsendmag]

Wonder why the message is programmed to say contact a Travel Centre, how many of those are open and sort the problem.

If the TVM has flagged the transaction as a print error we can reprint the tickets. The problem comes when the TVM hasn't sent that status.

 

[sonic2009]

As others have mentioned - Avanti Twitter may be the best option - they usually reply quick.

 

[northwichcat]

Wonder why the message is programmed to say contact a Travel Centre, how many of those are open and sort the problem.

While it's a completely different scenario, when Northern did their £1 ticket sale last year and I went to collect one at the station it failed to print, showing a message like that. When I mentioned it at the ticket office the first thing he asked was if it was a ticket purchased as part of the ticket sale, as he'd received an email saying there was a bug and the machines weren't printing them. He wasn't able to print it there but he was able to give the correct advice of if it's for today you can board a train showing your confirmation and if it's for a later date try again on another day.

 

[Wallsendmag]

While it's a completely different scenario, when Northern did their £1 ticket sale last year and I went to collect one at the station it failed to print, showing a message like that. When I mentioned it at the ticket office the first thing he asked was if it was a ticket purchased as part of the ticket sale, as he'd received an email saying there was a bug and the machines weren't printing them. He wasn't able to print it there but he was able to give the correct advice of if it's for today you can board a train showing your confirmation and if it's for a later date try again on another day.

That was a very different case where there was a known fault.

 

[pdq]

As others have mentioned - Avanti Twitter may be the best option - they usually reply quick.

How does a non twitter user manage in a situation like this? It's not as ubiquitous as SMS or just a phone number.

 

[sonic2009]

How does a non twitter user manage in a situation like this? It's not as ubiquitous as SMS or just a phone number.

I suggested it as sometimes it's easier - but then if someone doesn't have twitter, then maybe the old fashioned way would be to phone. There are some TOCs who use Whatsapp to communicate also.

 

[captainpp]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not a fan of talking to customer services on twitter. I phone up Avanti, and despite the dire automated warnings about hold times got through to someone straight away. She confirmed what others here had said that the ticket office should have reissued the tickets and they couldn't give me another collection code. They advised the best route would be to get a refund and rebuy the tickets, and they issued the refund over the phone. Now to rebook ...

 

[skyhigh]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not a fan of talking to customer services on twitter. I phone up Avanti, and despite the dire automated warnings about hold times got through to someone straight away. She confirmed what others here had said that the ticket office should have reissued the tickets and they couldn't give me another collection code. They advised the best route would be to get a refund and rebuy the tickets, and they issued the refund over the phone. Now to rebook ...

At least that's better than just saying 'not our problem'. If you had booked Advance tickets and the price has since gone up, I would suggest making a complaint to customer services and asking for a refund of the difference in price as it's not your fault you couldn't collect the tickets.

 

[captainpp]

At least that's better than just saying 'not our problem'. If you had booked Advance tickets and the price has since gone up, I would suggest making a complaint to customer services and asking for a refund of the difference in price as it's not your fault you couldn't collect the tickets.

Well they did say "not our fault" a few times, but also that it wasn't my fault either. Off-peak return tickets, this time getting the tickets delivered to me.

I just received an email from Avanti customer services saying they couldn't refund to my credit card, and instead offering me vouchers or a cheque.

 

[northwichcat]

I just received an email from Avanti customer services saying they couldn't refund to my credit card, and instead offering me vouchers or a cheque.

If you pay by card you are entitled to receive a refund by card if the product or service you paid for isn't delivered. Visa and Mastercard will both reverse transactions where chargeback claims against retailers are successful. It's in Avanti's interest to avoid these as it'll create additional admin work for them. If you accept a voucher, then it may be deemed you reached an acceptable settlement and the chargeback will be unsuccessful.

 

[Haywain]

If you pay by card you are entitled to receive a refund by card if the product or service you paid for isn't delivered. Visa and Mastercard will both reverse transactions where chargeback claims against retailers are successful. It's in Avanti's interest to avoid these as it'll create additional admin work for them. If you accept a voucher, then it may be deemed you reached an acceptable settlement and the chargeback will be unsuccessful.

That’s really rather irrelevant, as this is quite clearly a goodwill refund and the OP will use it to buy replacement tickets.

 

[captainpp]

I've asked for a cheque (partially because I've now bought the replacement tickets). As suggested, if I end up not receiving a refund, I will approach the credit card company, making a s75 claim if necessary (as the tickets were over £100).

 

[185143]

That’s really rather irrelevant, as this is quite clearly a goodwill refund and the OP will use it to buy replacement tickets.

Strongly disagree. The OP has booked tickets, tried and failed to collect them due to no fault of their own.

The retailer admittedly is seemingly also not at fault, but they have openly acknowledged the OP is *also* not at fault. If their systems will not allow the tickets to be printed then this is clearly not a "goodwill refund".

 

[northwichcat]

Strongly disagree. The OP has booked tickets, tried and failed to collect them due to no fault of their own.

The retailer admittedly is seemingly also not at fault, but they have openly acknowledged the OP is *also* not at fault. If their systems will not allow the tickets to be printed then this is clearly not a "goodwill refund".

Indeed. Not to mention if a customer they may go overdrawn and incur fees if the operator's cheque doesn't clear in time. And if they didn't collect their tickets in advance of making the journey then the cheque or voucher would almost certainly not have been received in time to buy the same ticket again.

If Avanti advertise a 'ticket on departure' option and another train operator are responsible for the machine, then the problem needs resolving between Avanti and the other operator. Avanti can't ignore their legal obligations because one of their suppliers is at fault.

 

[gray1404]

Avanti are at fault here because the operator of the ticket machine is in essence acting as their agents on their behalf. It is one of the reasons I always make a point of selecting at the booking stage that TVM I think I am most likely to collect the ticket from in the event of problems. I HAVE PROOF THAT COLLECTING THE TICKET FROM THE SAID STATION WAS PART OF THE CONTRACT FORMED.

 

[Hadders]

There is a procedure for dealing with TOD collection problems which is detailed in the Internal Knowledge Base.

This is what it said in 2019, specifically section 5. Some, but not all tickets are printed/part printed. I doubt it's changed since then but perhaps someone who works in a ticket office can confirm.

There is no requirement for customers to be inconvenienced by purchasing new tickets and refunding the original ones. While this sort of problem happens very infrequently it is disappointing that staff cannot follow the correct procedure.

iKB said:
Duplicate tickets can only be issued if a ToD CTR reference number can be supplied and the CTR successfully recalled for ticketing. Any part printed tickets must be handed over by the customer.

If there is a print failure during ticket printing at the SSTVM, a message will appear on the screen advising the customer to collect their tickets from the Ticket Office.

a) Collect from the customer all the tickets that were printed.
b) If possible, recall the CTR and check the status of the ToD booking using a TIS.
c) If the CTR cannot be recalled by the ticket office TIS, station staff should use the Live Sales Management (LSM) Console to review the status of the ToD booking.
d) If the LSM Console displays the status of the CTR as set to ‘P’ (print failure) the users of some TIS may be able to over-ride this status and re-issue the full set of tickets.
e) If the LSM Console reports the status as ‘Locked’ then;
(a) Users authorised to unlock CTRs should request an ‘Unlock’ using the LSM console.
(b) Users not authorised to unlock CTRs should call the LSM helpdesk. Requests to unlock CTRs will be managed by Smart421’s technical support team. The service is available seven days a week between the hours of 08:00 and 18:00 and can be contacted on [redacted] .
When calling the LSM Helpdesk, station staff must have the following information available in order to proceed.
1. Name
2. Location (Station).
3. Answer to a secret question which has been defined by the TOC.

Unlocking should allow the ToD to be recalled and the tickets issued.
f) Ask the customer to complete Parts 1 & 2 of a ToD Duplicate Tickets Record Form.
g) If possible, check how many tickets were printed, using the SSTVM Supervisor Terminal. Keep evidence of this and submit with the operator’s balance sheet at the end of the shift.
h) If there is more than one journey booked under a single CTR, then the operator must select the ticket/tickets to be issued.
i) Complete Part 3 of the ToD Duplicate Tickets record Form with the details of the tickets issued.
j) Ask the customer to sign the ToD Duplicate Tickets Record Form in Part 4.
k) Provide the authorisation in Part 5.
l) Give the complete set of new tickets to the customer.
m) Mark the part printed tickets as cancelled and attach to the ToD Duplicate Tickets Record form.
n) Retain the ToD Duplicate Tickets Record Form at the TOC central accounting point.
Unlocking should allow the ToD to be recalled and the tickets issued.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

 

[gray1404]

I think there is an ongoing issue with these procedures of what to do when there is a problem, not being followed at the station when the problem has occurred on the day. Too often customers are referred back to the retailer when they should not be.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Of course if you'd have bought an eTicket none of this would have happened

 

[northwichcat]

Of course if you'd have bought an eTicket none of this would have happened

Not sure if that's a sarcastic post or not. It's true the machine not working wouldn't have been a problem but different technical problems could have occurred instead.

 

[Flying Snail]

Of course if you'd have bought an eTicket none of this would have happened

If they'd just hopped in the car and driven to theor sestination it also wouldn't have happened.

The bannana skin issues with ALL railway ticket methods are all the industry's doing but all too often are left for the customer to solve or bear the inconvenience and financial penaltys involved.

 

[Watershed]

Of course if you'd have bought an eTicket none of this would have happened

Of course if the industry had enabled eTickets on all flows and made it possible to print copies at TVMs, none of this would have happened...

 

[Wallsendmag]

Not sure if that's a sarcastic post or not. It's true the machine not working wouldn't have been a problem but different technical problems could have occurred instead.

No it wasn't sarcastic, if it's available I'd always choose an eTicket nearly impossible to lose much easier for aftersales. Available on the vast majority of flows. I seriously question why people choose ToD.

 

[trover]

Of course if the industry had enabled eTickets on all flows and made it possible to print copies at TVMs, none of this would have happened...

I really can’t see why a barcode can’t be printed on magstripe stock. It actually benefits the railway as traceability is retained, it prevents the situation that magstripe tickets don’t open barriers when they should (e.g. when changing trains, BOJ), and can be used at LU.

When all facilities are upgraded to support QR code scanning they can simply replace the stock with those without a magstripe at the back - a pure credit card size paper card.

 

[northwichcat]

No it wasn't sarcastic, if it's available I'd always choose an eTicket nearly impossible to lose much easier for aftersales. Available on the vast majority of flows. I seriously question why people choose ToD.

And if your phone dies or the app corrupts you have to buy a new ticket because your device is at fault.

When I was travelling abroad recently I was happy to have things like boarding passes and a COVID pass saved on my phone but I printed out copies to act as backup.