Travelling Eurostar, refused ticket to StP Int'l

[travellinglight]

We have a booking on Eurostar from St Pancras International. Confirmation email said to collect tickets from the above station.
I go to my local station (South West Trains) asking for tickets to St P Int'l.
The following conversation took place.
"Are you travelling by Eurostar?"
- Yes.
"Do you have your Eurostar tickets?"
- No, I have been told to collect them at St Pancras International.
"I cannot sell you a ticket to St Pancras International unless you have a Eurostar ticket."

Looks like we're gonna miss our special break

 

[travellinglight]

He did offer Kings Cross (not St Pancras). I thought St P and St P Int'l were one and the same.
I did not find his reply helpful. Was he following a standard procedure?
I have not tried the ticket machines, presumably I would have the same problem.

 

[Max]

There is a way of getting these without having the tickets in your hand. I believe if you book them through Eurostar domestic bookings you don't need to actually have the tickets yet, just confirmation numbers. We have also booked them through Hull Trains telesales and we were not asked for Eurostar ticket numbers at all.

 

[Mojo]

I presume because the OP wants a ticket to London International to take advantage of the protections afforded under CIV. From many locations tickets to London International are also cheaper than to Zone U1 Londn.

As suggested above, try telesales.

 

[WestCoast]

Nope, just ask for a ticket to London St Pancras (don't say 'International'!), and you should be fine. They are technically two different stations, certainly as far as ticketing goes. As for the standard procedure, I don't know, but he certainly shouldn't refuse to sell you one to 'St Pancras' only.

I think we are talking about 'London International' tickets here, which offer special international CIV protection, in case of a delayed train.

 

[travellinglight]

What's CIV?

 

[Max]

CIV is a set of EU rules which governs passenger rights for rail and sea travel amongst others. It gives passengers additional protection, for example for missed connections when crossing International borders. So, if your SWT train was late into Waterloo and you missed your connection at St Pancras as a result, you would be allowed to take the next available Eurostar. I think this is what we assumed you were asking for?

 

[travellinglight]

Thanks all
Seems to me that I can't get from my local station direct to StP Int'l, or maybe not at all!! Could someone explain the exact type of ticket I need? (with Senior Railcard, return journey a few days later)?

 

[Max]

What station are you travelling from?

 

[travellinglight]

A station on SWT. Sorry, my mention of "direct" was misleading, I know we will need to change at Wimbledon, then we go direct to StP Int'l... so what did the man at the ticket office mean about Kings Cross?

 

[Mojo]

Which station?

 

[travellinglight]

Cannot my question be answered unless I mention the name of our home station?
For home security reasons I don't want to do so until we return! - I hope you think this is reasonable, if cautious.
We will try again to buy the tickets.

 

[Intermodal]

Most likely what the station retailer was refusing to sell you was a ticket to London International and most likely didn't want to sell you a more expensive London Terminals ticket so may have actually been doing you a favour. A London International ticket has the same validity as a London Terminals ticket except it is usually less expensive and cannot be used without a valid international connection ticket (for example, a Eurostar ticket). You could've asked to have been sold a London Terminals ticket which he would be obliged to sell you regardless of whether you have the Eurostar ticket on you or not, but most likely the London International ticket would be cheaper for you.

 

[travellinglight]

He didn't say anything about cost of the tickets!
If we try to use a ticket machine, what do I enter?
"Off-peak return (travelling after 0930, not returning on same day) to St Pancras International with Senior Railcard"? or what?

Is the machine programmed to ask whether or not I have a Eurostar ticket? If there is no such option, surely the ticket issuer should not have asked the question.

 

[Intermodal]

I am unsure whether London International tickets are available from a ticket vending machine.

You could try selecting the destination search screen ("other destinations" or something similar) and then typing in "London International" and see if it will sell you the ticket. If not, it should definitely sell you a ticket to "London Terminals" but alas this will not be valid to St Pancras, you would need to take the underground at your own expense from somewhere like Waterloo or Victoria to get there.

If you have a Eurostar booking confirmation email you could try printing that out and taking it to the station requesting London International tickets. If this fails, you may have to buy London Terminals instead. Remember that a London International ticket is not valid without your Eurostar tickets.

 

[John @ home]

Cannot my question be answered unless I mention the name of our home station?

It cannot be answered in full without knowing the name of your origin station.

Some stations have through fares to St Pancras avoiding the Underground, eg. Raynes Park - London St Pancras route Not Underground. Others don't.

Off-Peak Returns allowing the return journey on a different day from the outward leg are available for some journeys, but not for others.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Eurostar domestic sales do not ask for any details of your eurostar ticket, other than departure/arrival time

 

[travellinglight]

Remember that a London International ticket is not valid without your Eurostar tickets

Oh! Would a printout of the email confirmation (saying "tickets to be collected at station" be acceptable, I wonder?

 

[John @ home]

He did offer Kings Cross (not St Pancras).

so what did the man at the ticket office mean about Kings Cross?

He was probably offering to sell you an inclusive ticket including rail travel to London and tube travel from the London terminus you arrive at to the tube station for St Pancras. The name of that tube station is Kings Cross St Pancras. Such an inclusive ticket will show the destination "Zone U1* Londn". Depending on the full circumstances, this may or may not be the most appropriate ticket for you.

 

[Greenback]

I wonder what the SWT instructions to its staff actually are regarding these tickets. Do they allow any discretion when the Eurostar tickets are to be picked up at St Pancras and the customer only has an email confirmation? It's certainly worth a try.

As AndrewNTH points out, the tickets to London Intenrational are only valid with the Eurostar tickets, so would the OP encounter any problems on the day of travel if they were able to get these tickets?

 

[WestCoast]

Cannot my question be answered unless I mention the name of our home station?
For home security reasons I don't want to do so until we return! - I hope you think this is reasonable, if cautious.
We will try again to buy the tickets.

I respect your decision however you are pretty much anonymous (especially to non-members) on here, I don't think there is any risk unless you give more details about your location (i.e. street). You haven't given any dates either (they are not needed). Just giving your local station isn't going to tell a potential burglar anything.

Perhaps give a station or two along the line instead? It will help the fare experts on here.

 

[button_boxer]

Eurostar domestic sales is definitely the way to go. Phone 01233 617913 to book the tickets and they won't ask for any proof of your Eurostar journey when making the booking (though you should make sure you take a printout of your Eurostar booking confirmation with you on the day in case you meet an unfriendly revenue inspector).

If you ever need to book another similar journey in future I would recommend getting print-at-home Eurostar tickets if you have access to a suitable printer.

 

[embers25]

SWT have issued a letter instructing staff not to issue London International tickets without the customer having a physical Eurostar ticket to prove travel. Confirmation number or letter from Eurostar is not enough. (Helpful SWT as usual)

 

[AlterEgo]

SWT have issued a letter instructing staff not to issue London International tickets without the customer having a physical Eurostar ticket to prove travel. Confirmation number or letter from Eurostar is not enough. (Helpful SWT as usual)

That's quite unfortunate. London Midland (who I have always found to be helpful) had no problems with issuing me with a CIV ticket in August. They didn't ask to see any proof I was using Eurostar.

 

[swt_passenger]

SWT have issued a letter instructing staff not to issue London International tickets without the customer having a physical Eurostar ticket to prove travel. Confirmation number or letter from Eurostar is not enough. (Helpful SWT as usual)

SWT will be following the rules laid down in the ATOC instructions about sale of CIV tickets. In NFM 99 the wording was:

Tickets for travel to London International are available only to
holders of Eurostar* and Rail/Sea tickets from London to
continental destinations. The continental travel ticket must be
produced at the time of purchase unless Local Train Company
instructions have been issued to the contrary.

So SWT wouldn't actually need to issue a letter, if that wording is still in 'the manual'...

 

[AlterEgo]

London Midland have clearly found reason to "issue local instructions to the contrary". SWT may be entitled to refuse sale, but it is a little galling that the OP can't take advantage of the generous CIV rights simply because he needs to pick up his Eurostar ticket at the end of his journey.

Do Eurostar know of this situation?

 

[travellinglight]

This is appalling! If the SWT ticket issuer does issue tickets to StP Int'l on the basis of seeing a printout of the confirmation email, are we travelling illegally? Would we risk a fine, a crimimal record?? Should we cancel the Eurostar trip?
BTW, there was no option to print the tickets... my computer does have a printer <sigh> The email just stated, "collect tickets at station".

 

[barrykas]

So SWT wouldn't actually need to issue a letter, if that wording is still in 'the manual'...

Current wording in The Manual is: "The Continental travel ticket must be presented at the time of purchase. Some TOCs allow presentation of proof of purchase in lieu of the actual Eurostar ticket, e.g. booking confirmation on Eurostar / Travel Agent headed notepaper or by email, showing reference numbers travelling, date and time of Eurostar - see local instructions."

AFAIK, it's ONLY SWT that require you to present a ticket, other TOCs are quite happy to accept a booking confirmation.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[AlterEgo]

This is appalling! If the SWT ticket issuer does issue tickets to StP Int'l on the basis of seeing a printout of the confirmation email, are we travelling illegally? Would we risk a fine, a crimimal record?? Should we cancel the Eurostar trip?
BTW, there was no option to print the tickets... my computer does have a printer <sigh> The email just stated, "collect tickets at station".

I wouldn't call it appalling, more unfortunate.

I would contact Eurostar by telephone and ask them for their advice before proceeding.

 

[travellinglight]

What is the penalty for travelling with tickets to StP Int'l and a confirmation letter? Maximum fine? (Do they take credit cards or do we need to pay fines by cash?) And will we automatically get a criminal record?