Practicalities of a misplaced railcard

Today, I misplaced my railcard after arriving at my destination (significantly far from home). I have tried unsuccessfully to retrieve it, and think it was likely dropped at the station, however, I was informed the lost property office was closed and I would have to come back tomorrow.

I am hoping that I will be able to retrieve it in the morning, however, failing this, what are my options?

I bought the railcard online- will I be able to replace the physical card with a digital one, meaning I can obtain it before I intend to return (tomorrow afternoon)?

I have my old expired railcard in my wallet, along with months worth of booking confirmations (including after the expiry date of the old card), all with railcards included- is it likely that, after explaining my situation to a guard that they would authorize travel? There should also be an e-receipt for the card, however, I don't currently have it on my email as I was bought the card for a gift.

Thanks in advance for any advice- I really cannot afford to have to purchase another ticket.

I think your best option is to buy a new Railcard if this doesn't exceed the value of the tickets. Assuming it isn't a 26-30, with the faff going on at the moment the easiest way is probably going to be to buy one at the station.

Shotton said:

I bought the railcard online- will I be able to replace the physical card with a digital one, meaning I can obtain it before I intend to return (tomorrow afternoon)?

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Yes.

Shotton said:

I have my old expired railcard in my wallet, along with months worth of booking confirmations (including after the expiry date of the old card), all with railcards included- is it likely that, after explaining my situation to a guard that they would authorize travel? There should also be an e-receipt for the card, however, I don't currently have it on my email as I was bought the card for a gift.

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Varies hugely based on the individual member of staff. The rules say "no". I wouldn't rely on it.

Shotton said:

I really cannot afford to have to purchase another ticket.

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If you had left your railcard at home and would be able to produce it at a later date then you would be able to purchase a new ticket and then have it refunded. A railcard user is able to do this once per year. However, I do not think this applies as you will not be able to produce your railcard at a later date.

Personally, I would buy the digital railcard and chalk it up to experience. If any Guard wishes to charge you then you are bang to rights, and if you refuse to pay, intent to evade the fare could easily be proven as you knowingly travelled without a valid ticket.

Intermodal said:

Personally, I would buy the digital railcard and chalk it up to experience. If any Guard wishes to charge you then you are bang to rights, and if you refuse to pay, intent to evade the fare could easily be proven as you knowingly travelled without a valid ticket.

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I wouldn't. I'd buy a conventional one at the station.

Thank you for the responses.

Would I be able to buy a completely new railcard? I didnt consider this because I figured already owning a card would make me ineligible for a 2nd purchase, if this is not the case, then if all other avenues are exhausted, I will do this.

The website seems to indicate I can apply for a replacement card, for a £10 administration fee, but to do this I'd have to login (I think I could obtain the details to do this tomorrow), would I be able to have the replacement card in digital form?

The railcard is a 16-25 railcard.

I don't know if you can get the admin fee replacement in a different format or not I'm afraid.

No, there is nothing to stop you buying another one at the station. It'll be a two piece laminated "orange card" style one which isn't as convenient to carry, though.

Thank you.

I do have ID on me, luckily. I'll try and work out if I can obtain the replacement digitally, and if not, will just have to bite the bullet and buy a new card.

Hopefully it will be in the lost property office.

I am wondering if you might be able to phone up tomorrow morning the helpline and report your's as lost and buy a replacement over the phone there and then for £10. If they must send another physical one out to you then I wonder if you would be able to travel tomorrow and produce the railcard later? This is because the replacement will be doing just that, replacement of the first one and it will have the same expiry date as the original.

Shotton said:

Would I be able to buy a completely new railcard? I didnt consider this because I figured already owning a card would make me ineligible for a 2nd purchase, if this is not the case, then if all other avenues are exhausted, I will do this.

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No problem doing this. You could buy as many Railcards as you want. Having one doesn't make you ineligible to buy a brand new one.

Shotton said:

The website seems to indicate I can apply for a replacement card, for a £10 administration fee, but to do this I'd have to login (I think I could obtain the details to do this tomorrow), would I be able to have the replacement card in digital form?

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If the lost Railcard is a physical one, then no - the replacement will be in the same format. So if it was a plastic one bought online and posted to you, then for the £10 fee you can have a replacement posted out to you.

In any case if you have less than a third of the validity period left it's not worth paying the £10, you might as well buy a new one (unless you're going to have exactly the right number to take you through to 30 if that makes sense).

If you have got a return ticket you can ask for it to be validated at the ticket office / lost property office for the return journey home. Or you could in the old days.

HSP 2 said:

If you have got a return ticket you can ask for it to be validated at the ticket office / lost property office for the return journey home. Or you could in the old days.

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You can ask... I wouldn't expect to get very far though.

HSP 2 said:

If you have got a return ticket you can ask for it to be validated at the ticket office / lost property office for the return journey home. Or you could in the old days.

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Paying the difference to the undiscounted fare works wonders in my experience