redspottedhanky.com

[First class]

A user asked about commission earlier:

All online retailers get a small(ish) 2% commission fee for selling the ticket. At a booking office staffed by a TOC, they get 9%.

Merseyrail, TrainLine, RailEasy also levy a booking fee/card fee so additional revenue can be collected that way.

The 2% or 9% is deducted from the fare, and whatever is left is allocated through ORCATS,

 

[shinkansen1966]

As you can see, buying the "right" ticket is "straightforward" and the "majority of customers" buy the right ticket

The fact that ATOC are trumpeting this kind of 'Head of Olympic Deliverance' spin makes you wonder what's really going on with public confidence in buying rail tickets.

100% of all ticket sales should be correct. Not the majority of ticket sales. Does this happen with BA or Sainsbury's or National Express coaches ?

I can hear it now from Sainsburys Head of Communications:
buying the "right" tean of beans is "straightforward" and the "majority of customers" buy the right groceries for the week.

 

[Deerfold]

I can hear it now from Sainsburys Head of Communications:
buying the "right" tean of beans is "straightforward" and the "majority of customers" buy the right groceries for the week.

Supermarkets have their own list of problems - it's not uncommon for a larger size -or even a multipack - to cost more per unit.

 

[wibble]

The issue about selling an advance fare for a train where the regular single is much cheaper is a whole different ball game and yet another con!

This is due to the way many long distance TOCs price their Advance fares. To make the Advance fares easy to manage, they will group stations by large areas and price from one area to another.

Online booking systems should be looking at all the fares presented for a given journey and filter out Advance fares which cost more than the a walk-up fare. This shouldn't be too difficult - or so you'd think!

 

[barrykas]

A user asked about commission earlier:

All online retailers get a small(ish) 2% commission fee for selling the ticket. At a booking office staffed by a TOC, they get 9%.

Not quite...There are different levels of commission depending on point of sale and ticket type, and those are enshrined in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (now up to version 9.3).

Standard rates are 2% for season tickets and 9% for almost everything else.

Internet and Business Travel Office sales earn a reduced rate of commission compared to stations, on-train and Telesales issues.

The 2% or 9% is deducted from the fare, and whatever is left is allocated through ORCATS,

If only it were that simple!

The seller gets a debit for the full cost of the ticket, but then gets a credit for the commission (if any).

The operators that get revenue from the ticket get credits for their percentage and debits for their share of the commission.

So if you have a ticket costing £120 and TOC A gets 50%, TOC B gets 25% and TOCs C and D get 12.5% each, and it's sold by TOC E at a station:

• TOC E gets a debit for £120 and a credit for £10.80.
• TOC A gets a credit for £60 and a debit for £5.40.
• TOC B gets a credit for £30 and a debit for £2.70.
• TOCs C and D get credits for £15 and debits for £1.35 each.

Thus ensuring the debits and credits balance each other.

Things get more complicated with season tickets, as the revenue from those is spread across the validity of the ticket and paid every four weeks.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[mickey]

Standard rates are 2% for season tickets and 9% for almost everything else.

Internet and Business Travel Office sales earn a reduced rate of commission compared to stations, on-train and Telesales issues.

Any idea how much lower? 2% as FC suggested, or higher?
And does anyone know how much the TOC with the Fast Ticket machine gets?

 

[Paul Kelly]

Today 4%, tomorrow 3% - according to this page: http://www.atoctravelagents.org/licensing

 

[Deerfold]

Today 4%, tomorrow 3% - according to this page: http://www.atoctravelagents.org/licensing

They could do with updating that page with dates in July 2010 being talked about as in the future!

 

[barrykas]

Any idea how much lower? 2% as FC suggested, or higher?

5.5% for web sales by a TOC through their own site, 3 or 6% for TOC Business Travel Offices (depending on what level of fees they charge) and 3% for Travel Agents.

And does anyone know how much the TOC with the Fast Ticket machine gets?

Around 50p IIRC.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[mickey]

5.5% for web sales by a TOC through their own site, 3 or 6% for TOC Business Travel Offices (depending on what level of fees they charge) and 3% for Travel Agents.

Thanks Barry. Presumably the hanky and trainline count as travel agents then?

 

[barrykas]

Thanks Barry. Presumably the hanky and trainline count as travel agents then?

That's a good question, given Trainline was originally set up by Virgin, and QJump (which TTL later bought) by National Express. And then there's the issue of the TOC-branded versions of TTL and WebTIS.

I'd guess they'd get the full 5.5%, though that's obviously a commercial agreement between them and RSP.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[yorkie]

The TOCs / ATOC had better hope that we don't get nationalisation or there are going to be hundreds or even thousands of jobs of bean counters, money shifters, blame shifters, negotiators, meeting organisers and attenders, debaters, delay attributers and all sorts of other jobs at risk. The long term savings to the taxpayer and farepayer would be enormous.

barrykas - thanks for the informative posts! I bet not many people realise it is that complicated.

 

[shinkansen1966]

The TOCs / ATOC had better hope that we don't get nationalisation or there are going to be hundreds or even thousands of jobs of bean counters, money shifters, blame shifters, negotiators, meeting organisers and attenders, debaters, delay attributers and all sorts of other jobs at risk. The long term savings to the taxpayer and farepayer would be enormous.

barrykas - thanks for the informative posts! I bet not many people realise it is that complicated.

You can meet some of the Delay Attribution Board members here
http://delayattributionboard.net/bios.htm

Personally, I'd sack the lot of them and tell them to head to the job centre and get a more meaningful occupation like hotel reception work or a taxi driver.

 

[Clip]

Clubcard points can now turn £5 into £15 ticket with redspottedhanky

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets#tesco

 

[Magicake]

if you're worried about calling their premium customer service line, you can also get them on: 01902 627981

 

[route:oxford]

Clubcard points can now turn £5 into £15 ticket with redspottedhanky

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets#tesco

Had the brochure through the post today from Tesco.

Very handy, will be making use of this offer!

 

[Stats]

They offer a price promise too... so I can get the East Coast discount and the RSH loyalty scheme.

We are confident you will always find the best deal on our site, so much so that we offer the redspottedhanky price promise. If when you have bought your train ticket from us, you subsequently find the same fare cheaper on another website that day we will refund the difference in the fares as loyalty points to your account.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Very good. I'm almost sure I read that shortly after the website launched and they were excluding special TOC-specific discounts that were only available through one website, but I can't see that condition there any more. Seems they're really making an effort to be actually useful.

 

[Class49]

I've just made my first ticket purchase from redspottedhanky, but only because I could use my Tesco Clubcard vouchers. If it wasn't for the Tesco tie-in I would have booked on the Virgin site because the half-of-an-off-peak-return fare that Virgin offer for one half of a return journey was cheaper than any of the advance fares on offer for the outward journey and the Virgin site found a cheap advance fare for the return journey that redspottedhanky didn't pick up. I know some people say that fares for the same train are the same on all sites, but that assumes that the sites all pick up the same ways of making the journey. If anyone wants to check this out, try the Virgin site for a journey from GLC to MKC on a weekday starting after 9:45 for a quiet day towards the end of the 12-week booking window. It comes up with a great £24.50 ticket on the 10:10 TPE train to Manchester for a change onto the Virgin train to MKC. Even with the "show slower routes" box ticked on redspottedhanky it doesn't find this combination and the fare that goes with it. And like some other contributors to this thread, I think that offering only a £1-per-minute telephone contact number is despicable.

 

[bnm]

They offer a price promise too... so I can get the East Coast discount and the RSH loyalty scheme.

Hmm.... I'd rather pay the cheaper price up front than go through a long winded claim process only to find that I don't get the difference refunded but instead added to my 'loyalty account'.

 

[All Line Rover]

Hmm.... I'd rather pay the cheaper price up front than go through a long winded claim process only to find that I don't get the difference refunded but instead added to my 'loyalty account'.

It's not that bad. The loyalty points are added within a day, and can then be immediately converted into another evoucher (the same evoucher you are given when you use Tesco Clubcard vouchers). All you have to do is convert a few extra Tesco Clubcard vouchers upfront.

 

[bnm]

Yes, but the difference in price should I buy AP from East Coast, EMT, XC or SVH from Virgin, is in my pocket not in a 'loyalty account' tied to one retailer.

 

[dzug2]

At least some other TOCs sell Virgin's 'half off peak return' tickets

 

[bnm]

Don't get me wrong. It's nice to see a new retailer enter the market place with a couple of USPs (loyalty scheme and acceptance of Tesco Clubcard vouchers), and I may use some of my Clubcard vouchers with them. But if a particular journey involves a route where I can get a TOC specific discount, then I'll be going to that TOC's website to purchase. Not faffing about claiming under redspottedhanky's 'Price Promise'.

Meanwhile, where I can't get a discount, I'm using SWT via a cashback website. 2.62% cashback on all ticket purchases via topcashback.co.uk

And let's not forget, if I have a problem with tickets bought from a TOC website, I won't be facing an eye-watering £1 a minute call to their helpline. With nearly all TOCs I can find an alternative 01/02 number instead of their published 084xx numbers. Ain't found an alternative to redspottedhanky's 09 number.

 

[All Line Rover]

Don't get me wrong. It's nice to see a new retailer enter the market place with a couple of USPs (loyalty scheme and acceptance of Tesco Clubcard vouchers), and I may use some of my Clubcard vouchers with them. But if a particular journey involves a route where I can get a TOC specific discount, then I'll be going to that TOC's website to purchase. Not faffing about claiming under redspottedhanky's 'Price Promise'.

Meanwhile, where I can't get a discount, I'm using SWT via a cashback website. 2.62% cashback on all ticket purchases via topcashback.co.uk

And let's not forget, if I have a problem with tickets bought from a TOC website, I won't be facing an eye-watering £1 a minute call to their helpline. With nearly all TOCs I can find an alternative 01/02 number instead of their published 084xx numbers. Ain't found an alternative to redspottedhanky's 09 number.

I have. I've been using it loads. I know - £1 a minute is ridiculous! I've PM'd the alternative number to you.

I will PM the number to another other reputable member of this forum who wants it too!

 

[MikeWh]

To save you any further PMs, just search for redspottedhanky at saynoto0870.com.

 

[sheika]

The trainline should be boycotted - their fees are ridiculous.

+ 1 i think

 

[All Line Rover]

To save you any further PMs, just search for redspottedhanky at saynoto0870.com.

Don't tell everyone Mike!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

+ 1 i think

+2 I think.

 

[Aldaniti]

I have been using First Transpennine via Top Cashback but they are very slow to pay out - I'm still waiting for a payout for transactions from last September. I tried Redspottedhankey the other day (after seeing this thread) and the loyalty points and a bonus were credited, and ready for use, the next day. I agree that £1.00 per minute to call them is rip-off but I think they do provide an email address as well. Anyway, I've collected my tickets from a Fast Ticket machine and there were no problems at all.