Implied contract terms - ticket delivery methods

Hi,

• In short, I purchased several tickets from a TOC. The TOC advertised that tickets could be added to Apple wallet, and this influenced my decision to purchase from them and thus became an implied contract term
• The Apple Wallet versions their app created for me were invalid as some displayed incorrect times compared to what I booked (as reflected on the confirmation email)
• When I contacted the TOC post-purchase, they advised me that this was an internally known issue, but they couldn’t resolve it for me and it should be rectified when they switch supplier in the future, and I’d have to use a printed version or in app version in the meantime
• I only like using Apple Wallet for my tickets. This is because they are stored locally, and I know how to find the right one easily. I find managing paper really difficult, and often misplace things due to a condition. The app wasn’t suitable as it kept logging me out, and I’d need signal to reconnect and log in.
• Therefore, I had to print my tickets, and then several times when I realised I’d left it at home I had to try to find the confirmation email or the PDF download in a panic worrying I wouldn’t be able to produce my ticket at a barrier/when ticket checked.

Therefore, as I see it, under UK Consumer Law I feel a price reduction of the tickets is due to recognise that the contract was not fulfilled as the tickets I desired were not provided correctly. The TOC had a chance to rectify it, and failed to do so. As a result, I incurred additional costs to print the tickets and also the added stress and inconvenience that came with using a method I was unfamiliar with - which was particularly difficult due to my conditions.

They have advised that nothing is due other than reimbursement of printing costs, but I wanted to get the forums opinions on this first - particularly @Watershed if possible please! Seems unlikely a gesture of goodwill from them would come to fruition, so it’s just what I’d be entitled to under Consumer Law I think.

Thank you

Probably too late now but best option would probably have been for them to refund you and you then purchase from a different retailer where you know Apple Wallet works properly.

(I use Virgin Trains ticketing and it works fine).

A quick search with a duck led me to this site: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/implied_contract.asp

It suggests that an implied contract term is created by actions, behavior or circumstance. Whilst I don't really want to go into the detail of law myself, I wouldn't have thought that the ability to use Apple Wallet as a method for holding tickets a key part of the contract, unless you had contacted them before purchasing the tickets to make it one. They could still fulfil their part of the contract by sending you physical tickets in the post, or a collection reference for pick up at a station. I think they have been very good in re-imbursing you the cost of printing the tickets - presumably at home (although I tend to see that as part of the cost of owning a printer).

The issue with the Apple Wallet is clearly a software bug of some description that may only affect a limited number of Apple phones, of which unfortunately you are one. Software bugs are part and partial of modern life I'm afraid and the workround in this case is their ability to supply valid tickets in an alternative form at no additional expense to you, which they have done.

But you might be within your rights to have cancelled the contract and requested a full refund, so you could go to an alternative supplier who could fulfil suppling valid tickets using Apple Pay - not sure if you requested this before going down the self-print route.

I hope you get safely to wherever the tickets are taking you.

What sort of proportion of the face value are they offering regarding the printing costs? If it's say around 10% it seems proportionate to just accept it? Alternatively if it's more like 0.5% then it might be worth thanking them for their offer of "printing costs" but digging in.

I don't get why they didn't just offer you a refund proactively, or offer to print them for you themselves and post them to you.

jon81uk said:

Probably too late now but best option would probably have been for them to refund you and you then purchase from a different retailer where you know Apple Wallet works properly.

(I use Virgin Trains ticketing and it works fine).

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I've used virgin trains ticketing before and it worked as well. Every retailer other than this TOC seems to be able to manage it correctly.

They were advance purchased fares, and the TOC didn't offer a refund. I was reluctant to fill out the rescheduled journey within the short period after purchase form for an admin fee free change, as I was still waiting to hear back from them about getting the error fixed.

Sultan said:

A quick search with a duck led me to this site: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/implied_contract.asp

It suggests that an implied contract term is created by actions, behavior or circumstance. Whilst I don't really want to go into the detail of law myself, I wouldn't have thought that the ability to use Apple Wallet as a method for holding tickets a key part of the contract, unless you had contacted them before purchasing the tickets to make it one. They could still fulfil their part of the contract by sending you physical tickets in the post, or a collection reference for pick up at a station. I think they have been very good in re-imbursing you the cost of printing the tickets - presumably at home (although I tend to see that as part of the cost of owning a printer).

The issue with the Apple Wallet is clearly a software bug of some description that may only affect a limited number of Apple phones, of which unfortunately you are one. Software bugs are part and partial of modern life I'm afraid and the workround in this case is their ability to supply valid tickets in an alternative form at no additional expense to you, which they have done.

But you might be within your rights to have cancelled the contract and requested a full refund, so you could go to an alternative supplier who could fulfil suppling valid tickets using Apple Pay - not sure if you requested this before going down the self-print route.

I hope you get safely to wherever the tickets are taking you.

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From a previous thread which @Watershed helped with, I think the fact that the TOC advertised Apple wallet tickets as a feature is enough to make it an implied term. May alternatively fall under false advertising I suppose.

They cannot now send the physical tickets or issue a collection ref as the journeys have been taken. They have not currently refunded printing costs. I imagine it'll be hard to claim, as I can't get a receipt from my printer. Guess I'll create an invoice or something showing the breakdown of costs.

The issue with Apple Wallet was confirmed by the TOC to be a TOC fault that would likely be resolved when they switched supplier. It seems to occur when tickets for different days are purchased in the same booking. It's not due to my device. As of yet, they didn't supply the tickets in an alternative form at no additional expense.

Unfortunately they didn't offer a refund, and advance tickets are non-refundable.

Starmill said:

What sort of proportion of the face value are they offering regarding the printing costs? If it's say around 10% it seems proportionate to just accept it? Alternatively if it's more like 0.5% then it might be worth thanking them for their offer of "printing costs" but digging in.

I don't get why they didn't just offer you a refund proactively, or offer to print them for you themselves and post them to you.

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It seems they want to refund the costs 'at cost' upon production of a receipt. Therefore, I'll total up the cost of the paper and the ink and then divide as appropriate to get a per page figure. We are talking like 5.225475% of the ticket costs as they were for short commute journeys. Not sure how they'll actually do it though, as I don't have a receipt.

I'm not sure why either - can confirm they didn't offer a refund or to print out and post.

Just to confirm, I did raise this issue with the TOC before the journeys were taken. The tickets were for a few journeys over a period of a month or so and I also was following up with them throughout this period. They just didn't take the opportunity to fix the issue, or reissue the tickets somehow with the correct details.

Therefore the journeys were taken using the printed tickets etc., but it doesn't change the fact that I was unable to use Apple Wallet as advertised, I incurred additional costs to print the tickets, and also the added stress and inconvenience that came with using a method I was unfamiliar with - which was particularly difficult due to my conditions.

800Travel said:

can confirm they didn't offer a refund

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Did you actually ask for a refund?

I'm still a bit confused as to why you printed the ticket - even if you don't get it on Passbook, you can show the QR code from the email confirmation. That's how Avanti West Coast does it. There is no need to print an e-ticket at all.

Haywain said:

Did you actually ask for a refund?

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No. Looking back at the contact between myself and the TOC I asked them if they could fix it, they then raised a complaint saying 'We have raised your complaint/compensation request/ delay repay appeal/cheque'. General CS was telling me the team was working on fixing it, despite previously saying it'd require a new supplier. I think the problem came from the fact the complaints team replied much much later, but they still didn't offer a refund. I wanted the issue fixed, not a refund. Had I been told by the support team that the issue was unfixable I may have requested a refund but I was hoping they'd fix it. I waited and waited (and chased them too), and then by the time the complaints team replied all the journeys had been taken.

It's just now I've taken all the journeys, and the issue was never resolved. Of course, as I've taken the journeys I don't feel a full refund is warranted. However, I selected an e-ticket and wanted to use the advertised apple wallet feature which was unavailable, and therefore the breach of this implied contract term may warrant a price reduction of the ticket IMO.

AlterEgo said:

I'm still a bit confused as to why you printed the ticket - even if you don't get it on Passbook, you can show the QR code from the email confirmation. That's how Avanti West Coast does it. There is no need to print an e-ticket at all.

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What is passbook?

Printed the e-tickets due to concerns re signal. Apple wallet doesn't require mobile signal to show ticket, emails do. I also downloaded the PDF into files, but I find it hard to find files quickly on my phone (as would be required at a ticket gate), so had to print.

800Travel said:

What is passbook?

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Passbook, similar thing to Apple Wallet, whichever OS you use.

800Travel said:

Printed the e-tickets due to concerns re signal. Apple wallet doesn't require mobile signal to show ticket, emails do.

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My Outlook doesn't, it's cached. But in any case you just screenshot the tickets and QR codes. This is completely fine and normal and is what I do on every trip.

You really ought to have come here for advice about how to sort this pragmatically but now you're stuck working out 5.225475% of the ticket costs and trying to waste your time invoicing a retailer.

AlterEgo said:

Passbook, similar thing to Apple Wallet, whichever OS you use.


My Outlook doesn't, it's cached. But in any case you just screenshot the tickets and QR codes. This is completely fine and normal and is what I do on every trip.

You really ought to have come here for advice about how to sort this pragmatically but now you're stuck working out 5.225475% of the ticket costs and trying to waste your time invoicing a retailer.

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Ah, thank you.

I use apple mail - recently viewed emails cache attachments I think but in this case, the confirmation email was for quite some time before the final ticket on it.

I did: https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...rect-time-when-adding-to-apple-wallet.261219/

A method that was suggested was downloading 'on my iPhone', and I did try this feature but found navigating to the right file not a quick process and therefore unreliable for needing to quickly produce my ticket for a barrier or revenue inspection.

The railway really need to learn a thing or two about customer service. They really should've been able to fix it, or rebook my tickets across different confirmations or something. Given the journeys have now passed, a simple 'we are sorry for the issue, and we'd like to give you a £5 e-voucher towards future purchases with us to cover your printing costs and the inconvenience. If the printing costs were more [which they weren't], please let us know' would've gone a long way in ameliorating the situation.

As you didn't ask for a refund, you can't really complain about not being offered one. As for compensation, if you feel they should be offering you a £5 voucher, then tell them. Sometimes when dealing with businesses you have to tell them what it is you want, rather than assuming they will figure it out.

Haywain said:

As you didn't ask for a refund, you can't really complain about not being offered one. As for compensation, if you feel they should be offering you a £5 voucher, then tell them. Sometimes when dealing with businesses you have to tell them what it is you want, rather than assuming they will figure it out.

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I'm not really complaining about not being offered a refund, as I just wanted the problem fixed. I'm more agreeing with @Starmill that it would've been good proactive customer service to offer a refund if they were unable to fix the problem.

Haywain said:

As you didn't ask for a refund, you can't really complain about not being offered one. As for compensation, if you feel they should be offering you a £5 voucher, then tell them. Sometimes when dealing with businesses you have to tell them what it is you want, rather than assuming they will figure it out.

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I agree with this. Just tell them what you'd like to fix the situation and they can only say no.

Given the tickets were in the £1 sale and the OP could have just screenshotted the tickets anyway, I think my life advice to the OP is to write this off and enjoy a stress free life from here on in. Invoicing them for pennies is a really small act and I would be embarrassed to be doing it, to be honest.

Section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) provides as follows:

(1) Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including as a term of the contract anything that is said or written to the consumer, by or on behalf of the trader, about the trader or the service, if—
(a) it is taken into account by the consumer when deciding to enter into the contract, or
(b) it is taken into account by the consumer when making any decision about the service after entering into the contract.

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The precise wording of the statement may matter, but I take it that its effect was "you can add the e-ticket to your Apple Wallet". If you took this into account when deciding to enter into the contract, it became a term of the contract.

The question, then, would be what recourse you have. Section 56 of the CRA sets out the right to a price reduction when a service is provided in breach of an implied term of the contract, and where 'repeat performance' (i.e. performing the service again, correctly) isn't possible - as is the case here.

Section 56(1) states that the price reduction should be "an appropriate amount". Ultimately this is a subjective question of value, but I would tend to agree with @Starmill that as a bare minimum, they should be covering your printing costs plus a bit more if you decided to print the e-ticket rather than use it as a PDF. And I probably wouldn't expect to receive more than 20% of the ticket back, because ultimately you were able to receive and use the ticket - just not in the format you were promised.

Unfortunately, as you say, the railway really doesn't "get" customer service on the whole. So I can't say I'm surprised at the rather unhelpful response you've received from TPE so far. The problem you have is that it's unlikely to be worth your while to pursue this in Court given the small amounts in question, and as we have seen in many other cases, the Rail Ombudsman is utterly useless.

Therefore the only suggestion I can make, if you are at a stalemate with TPE, is to consider making a partial chargeback through your card issuer. They may decide not to process this if they don't believe it to meet the criteria under the scheme rules - but at least there is more recourse if this happens, as you can proceed to the Financial Ombudsman if so, which has real teeth.

AlterEgo said:

Given the tickets were in the £1 sale and the OP could have just screenshotted the tickets anyway, I think my life advice to the OP is to write this off and enjoy a stress free life from here on in. Invoicing them for pennies is a really small act and I would be embarrassed to be doing it, to be honest.

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I’d agree. The loss here, which could have been easily avoided as mentioned, would make me put this firmly in the “life’s too short” bucket in deciding whether it’s worth my time (let alone anyone else’s) taking it any further.

800Travel said:

I'm not really complaining about not being offered a refund, as I just wanted the problem fixed. I'm more agreeing with @Starmill that it would've been good proactive customer service to offer a refund if they were unable to fix the problem.

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I think the problem is that ultimately these companies running the trains aren't really that bothered about these kinds of details. Sometimes they'll get it right and sometimes they won't. You have to learn to live with it, while agitating for change, or simply ignore it. If you keep "sweating the small stuff" every time you're let down you'll risk making yourself ill. The reality is that they will probably keep letting you down.

AlterEgo said:

I agree with this. Just tell them what you'd like to fix the situation and they can only say no.

Given the tickets were in the £1 sale and the OP could have just screenshotted the tickets anyway, I think my life advice to the OP is to write this off and enjoy a stress free life from here on in. Invoicing them for pennies is a really small act and I would be embarrassed to be doing it, to be honest.

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AIUI, a screenshot would be invalid.

I'm not just asking for the pennies. I'll ask for at least £5 as an e-voucher, which isn't really unreasonable given the issue, the length of time it went on for (~2 months), the number of times I've had to get in touch (I sent more than 14 messages (excl simple 'thank you' etc.)), the additional costs etc. I can't believe it was so difficult just to get them to try to fix the issue.

Besides, they are the ones who have thus far said they won't pay any compensation or a gesture of goodwill and will only cover the printing costs. I personally wouldn't have bothered pursuing the complaint just for that.

Watershed said:

Section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) provides as follows:


The precise wording of the statement may matter, but I take it that its effect was "you can add the e-ticket to your Apple Wallet". If you took this into account when deciding to enter into the contract, it became a term of the contract.

The question, then, would be what recourse you have. Section 56 of the CRA sets out the right to a price reduction when a service is provided in breach of an implied term of the contract, and where 'repeat performance' (i.e. performing the service again, correctly) isn't possible - as is the case here.

Section 56(1) states that the price reduction should be "an appropriate amount". Ultimately this is a subjective question of value, but I would tend to agree with @Starmill that as a bare minimum, they should be covering your printing costs plus a bit more if you decided to print the e-ticket rather than use it as a PDF. And I probably wouldn't expect to receive more than 20% of the ticket back, because ultimately you were able to receive and use the ticket - just not in the format you were promised.

Unfortunately, as you say, the railway really doesn't "get" customer service on the whole. So I can't say I'm surprised at the rather unhelpful response you've received from TPE so far. The problem you have is that it's unlikely to be worth your while to pursue this in Court given the small amounts in question, and as we have seen in many other cases, the Rail Ombudsman is utterly useless.

Therefore the only suggestion I can make, if you are at a stalemate with TPE, is to consider making a partial chargeback through your card issuer. They may decide not to process this if they don't believe it to meet the criteria under the scheme rules - but at least there is more recourse if this happens, as you can proceed to the Financial Ombudsman if so, which has real teeth.

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Thanks @Watershed - I'll use this to help me write my response

Starmill said:

I think the problem is that ultimately these companies running the trains aren't really that bothered about these kinds of details. Sometimes they'll get it right and sometimes they won't. You have to learn to live with it, while agitating for change, or simply ignore it. If you keep "sweating the small stuff" every time you're let down you'll risk making yourself ill. The reality is that they will probably keep letting you down.

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It just really annoys me what these companies get away with. If I make a single mistake, I could be charged £100 (reduced to £50 etc.) or prosecuted etc. Yet they can falsely advertise a feature they know to be faulty, not help fix the issue in any way, and then do nothing to compensate.

Anything with this specific TOC has been an uphill battle. They've always eventually agreed things should've been upheld and paid out the minimum, then increased it after I emphasised the time spent.

800Travel said:

AIUI, a screenshot would be invalid.

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You understand wrongly. There is no need to display the actual PDF, or a Wallet pass. A screenshot is fine, either of the PDF, the ticket image attached inline to the email, or the Wallet pass if you have that. Makes no difference.

800Travel said:

It just really annoys me what these companies get away with. If I make a single mistake, I could be charged £100 (reduced to £50 etc.) or prosecuted etc. Yet they can falsely advertise a feature they know to be faulty, not help fix the issue in any way, and then do nothing to compensate.

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Unfortunately that's just the way the system works; it's tilted against the consumer to an overwhelming degree. But very little (if anything) is going to come from that entirely justifiable frustration - it's better just to be pragmatic and to get whatever recourse you can and then move on.

I have to agree with your sentiments that NOT getting ticket’s in Apple Wallet is a major faff - especially if split ticketing is used, you would quickly find the bits of paper unmanageable. I gave up using my local TOC and switched to the Forum’s site which wherever possible supplies a wallet-compatible ticket, and conveniently manages to have it pre-selected for my journey. My TOC tickets required (usually) a live data connection to display - and when the WiFi switched from station to train, it disappeared asking my for a password I hadn’t needed to use in months.

As for seeking some form of compensation after-the-event, I doubt any would comply, it is much easier to vote with your wallet and go elsewhere in future and take satisfaction in that. Trainsplit hasn’t let me down yet and I like being TOC-less in my purchases!

AlterEgo said:

You understand wrongly. There is no need to display the actual PDF, or a Wallet pass. A screenshot is fine, either of the PDF, the ticket image attached inline to the email, or the Wallet pass if you have that. Makes no difference.

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"Screenshots of eTickets can’t be used to travel."

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Watershed said:

Unfortunately that's just the way the system works; it's tilted against the consumer to an overwhelming degree. But very little (if anything) is going to come from that entirely justifiable frustration - it's better just to be pragmatic and to get whatever recourse you can and then move on.

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I suppose - wish the ombudsman actually helped consumers like the FOS does. I feel that, although my case wouldn't merit ombudsman referral, having some kind of powerful mediator available to consumers would result in TOCs being much more helpful in resolving in the initial stages of a complaint.

Buzby said:

I have to agree with your sentiments that NOT getting ticket’s in Apple Wallet is a major faff - especially if split ticketing is used, you would quickly find the bits of paper unmanageable. I gave up using my local TOC and switched to the Forum’s site which wherever possible supplies a wallet-compatible ticket, and conveniently manages to have it pre-selected for my journey. My TOC tickets required (usually) a live data connection to display - and when the WiFi switched from station to train, it disappeared asking my for a password I hadn’t needed to use in months.

As for seeking some form of compensation after-the-event, I doubt any would comply, it is much easier to vote with your wallet and go elsewhere in future and take satisfaction in that. Trainsplit hasn’t let me down yet and I like being TOC-less in my purchases!

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I generally just go around with who has good offers. Though when the offers inevitably dry up, I probably will switch to the forum site. I certainly intend to switch away from this TOC once I've used my balance with them.

The statement on that website is incorrect - screenshots of m-tickets are not valid, there is no issue at all with screenshots of e-tickets. This is why m-tickets didn't come as PDFs so you couldn't print them out either.

As long as the Aztec code can be read, it doesn't matter what medium it is shown via. You can show it in an app, screenshot, pdf, printed copy or even tattooed on your arm.

skyhigh said:

The statement on that website is incorrect - screenshots of m-tickets are not valid, there is no issue at all with screenshots of e-tickets. This is why m-tickets didn't come as PDFs so you couldn't print them out either.

As long as the Aztec code can be read, it doesn't matter what medium it is shown via. You can show it in an app, screenshot, pdf, printed copy or even tattooed on your arm.

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Thanks for explaining this - I often use the favourites section of my camera roll and could've easily put screenshots of the tickets in there. My phone can store photos locally, and while it isn't my desired method it is one I would've been much more comfortable with. At least I know now for the future.

The industry is really great isn’t it? You can quote the terms and conditions from a TOC site and find out it’s just plain wrong

skyhigh said:

The statement on that website is incorrect - screenshots of m-tickets are not valid, there is no issue at all with screenshots of e-tickets. This is why m-tickets didn't come as PDFs so you couldn't print them out either.

As long as the Aztec code can be read, it doesn't matter what medium it is shown via. You can show it in an app, screenshot, pdf, printed copy or even tattooed on your arm.

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It's probably worth making it absolutely clear that your second paragraph relates to e-Tickets only.

While m-Tickets share the same Aztec code format as e-Tickets, they are only valid when displayed in the app.

AlterEgo said:

The industry is really great isn’t it? You can quote the terms and conditions from a TOC site and find out it’s just plain wrong

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Yet the industry has so many apologists for the lamentable state of affairs we have!

800Travel said:

It just really annoys me what these companies get away with. If I make a single mistake, I could be charged £100 (reduced to £50 etc.) or prosecuted etc. Yet they can falsely advertise a feature they know to be faulty, not help fix the issue in any way, and then do nothing to compensate.

Anything with this specific TOC has been an uphill battle. They've always eventually agreed things should've been upheld and paid out the minimum, then increased it after I emphasised the time spent.

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Sometimes the only winning move is not to play.

Starmill said:

What sort of proportion of the face value are they offering regarding the printing costs? If it's say around 10% it seems proportionate to just accept it? Alternatively if it's more like 0.5% then it might be worth thanking them for their offer of "printing costs" but digging in.

I don't get why they didn't just offer you a refund proactively, or offer to print them for you themselves and post them to you.

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The cost of printing a ticket is unrelated to its face value. The cost is whatever it cost the OP to print the tickets.

Given the cost of the tickets, I would think in this particular case you'd struggle to get more than the cost of printing out of them. It might be a completely different situation if the tickets were substantially more expensive than they were.

AlterEgo said:

Passbook, similar thing to Apple Wallet, whichever OS you use.

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Passbook is what Apple Wallet used to be called a very long time ago (hence .pkpass files and the likes)

skyhigh said:

The statement on that website is incorrect - screenshots of m-tickets are not valid, there is no issue at all with screenshots of e-tickets

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I wouldn't advise doing screenshots of e-tickets unless you also have the means to show the PDF. They shouldn't be but some staff can be funny. I have heard of occasional issues with doing this.

By the way even if the passes contained the wrong time they probably still would have scanned as the barcode would probably still be correct?

Who was the TOC in question?

Bletchleyite said:

Passbook is what Apple Wallet used to be called a very long time ago (hence .pkpass files and the likes)



I wouldn't advise doing screenshots of e-tickets unless you also have the means to show the PDF. They shouldn't be but some staff can be funny. I have heard of occasional issues with doing this.

By the way even if the passes contained the wrong time they probably still would have scanned as the barcode would probably still be correct?

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I asked the TOC if the Aztec code would be fine anyway, or if it would be invalid and wouldn't be accepted. They asked me to 'disregard the apple wallet ticket' as they 'may not work'.