Age Limit Advised on Collection

[47271]

I had an odd thing the other day when I was collecting an Advance First ticket which covered a through journey between Scotrail and Transpennine.

As the tickets printed a message popped up advising that the ticket was valid only for those aged 55 plus.

I have been known to accidentally select a Senior Railcard discount for myself through having bought tickets online for elderly neighbours and forgetting to uncheck the box, but clearly this was something else.

I looked very closely at the printed ticket and it had no age restrictions showing on it, and I went on to use it without difficulty.

I can only assume that the discount applied to the Scotrail part of the booking must have been some sort of hangover from First Scotrail's Club 55, but does anyone know if it's something I should've paid more attention to when I made the booking? There's nothing out of the ordinary on the confirmation email either.

 

[yorkie]

Can you log into your account and look at the booking confirmation there? I suspect, if the email confirmation shows no such restriction, the website won't either.

Sounds like an issue with the machines, which is absolutely not part of the contract. So you have nothing to worry about.

You could try contacting them to see if they can fix it. Did you get a photo?

 

[bb21]

Obviously without knowing the ticket involved, it would be impossible to say.

 

[najaB]

I looked very closely at the printed ticket and it had no age restrictions showing on it, and I went on to use it without difficulty.

What's the restriction code if there's one printed?

 

[47271]

Many thanks for the swift replies.

It was a Perth to Manchester stations Advance Single 1st, but booked on VTEC's website and printed on a VTEC machine well ahead of travel. I used it last week without difficulty, and I can't see anything unusual relating to the booking when I log on to the site.

I didn't have time to take a photo, it was just a message that flashed up on the screen as the tickets printed.

The ticket is a new style one with masses of detail crammed on it, but there isn't anything specifically identified as a restriction code.

Looks like it's just a weird machine glitch like you say.

 

[najaB]

The ticket is a new style one with masses of detail crammed on it, but there isn't anything specifically identified as a restriction code.

Oh, wait - you did say it was an Advance, my bad. How much did it cost?

 

[47271]

oh, wait - you did say it was an advance, my bad. How much did it cost?

£54.80

 

[najaB]

That's priced by FTPE who did (and will) have a Club 55 offer, so that is likely why. A machine glitch as you thought it would be.

 

[richw]

It's this fare/restrictions

http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=PTH&dest=0438&rte=456&tkt=1BF

 

[47271]

Mystery solved, thank you all

 

[Mojo]

That's priced by FTPE who did (and will) have a Club 55 offer, so that is likely why. A machine glitch as you thought it would be.

Yes, if it appeared on screen as you printed it, I see these garbage messages on Shere machines all the time that bear no relation to the actual ticket being printed.

 

[causton]

Yes, if it appeared on screen as you printed it, I see these garbage messages on Shere machines all the time that bear no relation to the actual ticket being printed.

I got one about National Express East Coast restrictions on an EMT advance

 

[Wallsendmag]

Sounds like a hangover from a restriction code change should be an easy fix for VTEC


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Paul Kelly]

Sounds like a hangover from a restriction code change should be an easy fix for VTEC

It could even be human/typographical error: TPE advances tend to have restriction code TG, whereas their Club 55 tickets have restriction code TJ - the two letters G and J are quite easy to get confused, e.g. in French the pronunciation of them is more or less transposed from the English pronunciation. This is obviously wild speculation but could it be that there was a non-native English speaker involved in adding the message to the machines?

 

[Wallsendmag]

Geordie maybe even


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lightning76]

Yes, if it appeared on screen as you printed it, I see these garbage messages on Shere machines all the time that bear no relation to the actual ticket being printed.

I collected a Swindon to Worcester ticket last week, and while printing the machine told me it was only valid on services operated by Northern.