GWR confirmed as charging for tickets by post

Peter Mugridge · 27 Oct 2018

Deafdoggie said:
Remind me again, what happens if the tickets are lost in the post? There are pitfalls to all methods.

Precisely. On those occasions where I have done tickets by post I have always preferred to pay the extra for Special Delivery.

I would never trust ordinary post or Recorded Delivery for things like tickets.

RailUK Forums

Bookd · 27 Oct 2018

I write as a treasurer of several sport and social organisations for which I collect subscriptions and other income - obviously no where near the scale of a railway company.
The point is that if I receive payments online it is a quick job to match that to the sum due - if people pay by cheque this involves banking the cheque which incurs a charge and more paperwork in the bookkeeping.
Although I do not do so a modest charge for manual transactions does not seem unreasonable.

Wallsendmag · 27 Oct 2018

Do GWR not use FRT( Fast Rail Ticketing) for postal fulfilment ?

alistairlees · 27 Oct 2018

cjp said:
Remind me again what happens if one chooses TOD and on the day of travel the machine is broken or breaks and there is no ticket office so you have no ticket to travel.

Then you may travel providing you collect the tickets at the earliest reasonable opportunity. One such opportunity may now be on train - some TOCs now offer this. The customer is not disadvantaged in any way just because they are using ToD.

alistairlees · 27 Oct 2018

cjp said:
What is the most effective or cost effective means of delivery? Ticket offices, TOD,or by post.

None of these. It's eTickets, as it should be.

Wallsendmag · 27 Oct 2018

More e-Ticket flows being activated in the next few weeks

Bletchleyite · 27 Oct 2018

alistairlees said:
None of these. It's eTickets, as it should be.

As long as it is media-agnostic e-tickets and not m-tickets.

Joe Paxton · 28 Oct 2018

Cdd89 said:
Interestingly, their email about it is quite defensive, pointing out that they’re not raising a profit from the charges and that other issuers charge more, and also that there won’t be a charge for stations which do not have ToD collection facilities.

Surely this is a preferable approach over trying to spin it some other way.

Joe Paxton · 28 Oct 2018

So which TOC sites still offer free postal delivery?

DarloRich · 28 Oct 2018

Cdd89 said:
Sorry if this is old news. I remember reading on this site that GWR launched a pilot in a small area, trialling the charging for tickets issued by post.

I just got an email from GWR confirming this will be rolled out nationwide from 29th October and the cost will be £1 for First Class.

As I live and work very close to a mainline station, I didn't really "need" this service - but it's a shame for those who live in more remote places and who will now have to choose between arriving earlier at the station, or paying an extra £1.

Good for them!
Passengers should print at home or at a station ticket machine.

Don't whine on if you don't have a printer. Either buy one and join the 20th century or live in your cave.

bnm · 28 Oct 2018

tiptoptaff said:
£1 is hardly the end of the world, is it....

Save 35p by putting a Devonport to Dockyard Child Single (65p) in your basket first. You won't be charged postage then!

John @ home · 28 Oct 2018

bnm said:
Save 35p by putting a Devonport to Dockyard Child Single (65p) in your basket first. You won't be charged postage then!

Good idea. But you can save an extra 15p by buying a Stourbridge Town to Stourbridge Junction Child Single (50p).

bnm · 28 Oct 2018

John @ home said:
Good idea. But you can save an extra 15p by buying a Stourbridge Town to Stourbridge Junction Child Single (50p).

Not a good idea. I chose the stations I chose because they don't have a TVM/ticket office for ticket collection. If you buy your suggestion from GWR and opt for postal delivery you will be charged for it.

From GWR:

Exemption examples
If you're travelling from a station where it isn't possible to collect your ticket free of charge, via a ticket office, ticket machine or an e-Ticket, then the postal charge will not apply.

Fares Advisor too. :rolleyes:

island · 28 Oct 2018

Bookd said:
I write as a treasurer of several sport and social organisations for which I collect subscriptions and other income - obviously no where near the scale of a railway company.
The point is that if I receive payments online it is a quick job to match that to the sum due - if people pay by cheque this involves banking the cheque which incurs a charge and more paperwork in the bookkeeping.
Although I do not do so a modest charge for manual transactions does not seem unreasonable.

Unreasonable is one thing, but it is also probably illegal to charge different fees depending on the payment method (section 6A, Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012).

Joe Paxton · 28 Oct 2018

DarloRich said:
Good for them!
Passengers should print at home or at a station ticket machine.

Don't whine on if you don't have a printer. Either buy one and join the 20th century or live in your cave.

Meanwhile some of those in the 21st Century are increasingly paperless - 'a printer, what's that?' ...

(And of course they never bloody work when you need them to!)

Kite159 · 28 Oct 2018

From another thread:

cactustwirly said:
However you can book it online via GWR.com, you may want to book before the 29th to avoid a postage fee...

Would buying rovers from the GWR have the postage fee on grounds they can't be issued at a TVM [or as an e-ticket for the multi-day rovers]?

Silver Cobra · 29 Oct 2018

Cdd89 said:
Interestingly, their email about it is quite defensive, pointing out that they’re not raising a profit from the charges and that other issuers charge more, and also that there won’t be a charge for stations which do not have ToD collection facilities.

I wonder if Rovers such as the ALR will also be exempt from the new charge? Seeing as they cannot be issued via ToD, the only option is to have them sent by post.

**EDIT: Whoops. I should have seen this question was asked in the post above :P

FQTV · 29 Oct 2018

Wallsendmag said:
Why not use self print for Advance ?

Does GWR offer self-print?

kristiang85 · 30 Oct 2018

I think its fine to start charging for post; it is an overhead.

However, given that some older folk won't be au fait with the tech, this charge should be waived if using an over 60s railcard.

AlterEgo · 30 Oct 2018

Peter Mugridge said:
Precisely. On those occasions where I have done tickets by post I have always preferred to pay the extra for Special Delivery.

I would never trust ordinary post or Recorded Delivery for things like tickets.

Why not? If they don’t arrive you just ring up and they arrange for ToD/collection.

Bletchleyite · 30 Oct 2018

AlterEgo said:
Why not? If they don’t arrive you just ring up and they arrange for ToD/collection.

Do they? That means two sets of tickets in circulation.

AlterEgo · 30 Oct 2018

Bletchleyite said:
Do they? That means two sets of tickets in circulation.

Yes, they have to by law, provide the ticket. If it doesn’t turn up, you call them and they arrange a replacement.

Wallsendmag · 30 Oct 2018

Double post

Wallsendmag · 30 Oct 2018

kristiang85 said:
I think its fine to start charging for post; it is an overhead.

However, given that some older folk won't be au fait with the tech, this charge should be waived if using an over 60s railcard.

Isn't that discriminatory against younger people?

ooo · 30 Oct 2018

kristiang85 said:
I think its fine to start charging for post; it is an overhead.

However, given that some older folk won't be au fait with the tech, this charge should be waived if using an over 60s railcard.

If they can use the website they can pick up tickets from a machine. It's hardly difficult just put your card in and type in the code1

Peter Mugridge · 30 Oct 2018

AlterEgo said:
Why not? If they don’t arrive you just ring up and they arrange for ToD/collection.

1) Because ordinary post is so unreliable,
2) Recorded Delivery is not tracked; it is scanned at the point of posting and delivery only - in between it is lumped in with the ordinary post.
3) I'm cloth eared.
4) I don't trust the local ticket machines not to be out of order at the critical moment...

sprunt · 31 Oct 2018

Peter Mugridge said:
1) Because ordinary post is so unreliable,

Is it? I don't use the post that often, but the number of times I can remember something I posted or that was posted to me not turning up is zero.

Deafdoggie · 31 Oct 2018

I posted something Saturday morning last weekend, second class, & it arrived Monday morning. I can’t ever recall anything not arriving in the post. Or at least, nothing you know has been posted!

Bletchleyite · 31 Oct 2018

sprunt said:
Is it? I don't use the post that often, but the number of times I can remember something I posted or that was posted to me not turning up is zero.

I had a big issue in the early 2000s with stuff taking ages/going missing in MK. But since then the regular post has touch wood caused me no issues bar one cheque that got lost on the way to my bank, and it could as easily have been the bank who lost it.

Peter Mugridge · 31 Oct 2018

I have had a business in Skegness tell me that post regularly takes up to three weeks to reach them, from all over the place.

Post here in Epsom seems to frequently take a day or two longer than the stated targets for delivery.

Roughly 6% of all Recorded Deliveries never generate a signature.

( We should probably be starting a separate thread to discuss the performance of the Royal Mail... )

GWR confirmed as charging for tickets by post

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