Can I claim back on a miss-sold monthly ticket ?

[thedbdiboy]

It should. But, despite ATOC claiming that most of us wish to take the shortest route, the booking engines and journey planners tend to be programmed to give us the fastest route.

In reality, many people actually want the cheapest!

Who says that then? In reality most people want the cheapest within reason (i.e. they'll pay a bit more if it means a much quicker journey and/or frequent service). But journey planners and staff should never just assume what's wanted...!

 

[Starmill]

Who says that then? In reality most people want the cheapest within reason (i.e. they'll pay a bit more if it means a much quicker journey and/or frequent service).

Very true. Most people want to travel according to a balance of factors to suit their own needs and preferences, mainly journeytime, frequency and price. Does anybody ever want to travel by the route because it is the shortest one though, rather than the cheapest, fastest, most frequent, or some trade-off thereupon?

 

[John @ home]

Does anybody ever want to travel by the route because it is the shortest one ... ?

I doubt it. The demand for long-distance NE-SW travel via Nuneaton instead of Tamworth is very small.

 

[yorkie]

Who says that then? !

That customers want the shortest route?

It's here:

Most customers wish to make journeys by through trains or by the shortest route.

However I'd dispute this as people generally want quicker and/or cheaper journeys and don't really mind about the distance.

Most booking engines cater for people who want quicker journeys but don't do so if there are no permitted routes for the quickest journeys, but very few cater for people for whom price is the biggest consideration - despite many people wanting that.

I doubt anyone particularly wants the shortest, but there will be many people who will look at the speed and price and make a decision that suits their needs based on those two factors. Any other factors may be qualitative such as the quality of rolling stock, or train frequency etc. I really doubt anyone cares about the distance at all, so I think someone made that up to try to justify denying us longer routes

 

[34D]

No, the station is in zone 2 AND 3. The ticket you need to travel there has to be valid for zone 2 OR 3.

As the zones touch (and don't overlap) thereby allowing a 19A split ticket I'd argue that 'either' is the clearer word and not 'both'.

The minor semantic point is of negligible use to this OP, however, so I won't pursue it further.

 

[Robo1]

Thank you all for the replies, as of yet I have not had a response or reply but I will need to wait the normal 28 days which I think is the norm.

 

[RJ]

It should. But, despite ATOC claiming that most of us wish to take the shortest route, the booking engines and journey planners tend to be programmed to give us the fastest route.

In reality, many people actually want the cheapest!

The journey planners give the fastest permitted route, rather than the fastest route. If there are no permitted routes (missing fares or use of a route qualifier), then it'll give the fastest route it can find.

I think journey times are too fluid to be an effective benchmark. The shortest route is generally fine. The only time when it's not is when lines with a sparse service are designated as the shortest route and are not addressed with sensible mapped routes. That Syston North curve between Loughborough and Melton Mowbray is an example if travelling between Loughborough and Ely and beyond, I'm sure there are plenty more.

Thank you all for the replies, as of yet I have not had a response or reply but I will need to wait the normal 28 days which I think is the norm.

Please do keep us updated. My offer of help still stands.

 

[sheff1]

In reality most people want the cheapest within reason (i.e. they'll pay a bit more if it means a much quicker journey and/or frequent service).

I would reverse that with regards to walk-up tickets. In my experience most people buying walk-up tickets want the route which will get them to their destination as quickly as possible. They may consider a slower route if the price differential is attractive enough.

I agree with yorkie and others that the actual physical distance travelled by the train(s) is not, contrary to the assertion in the Routeing Gude, something people factor into their decision.

 

[Robo1]

:-x

UPDATE

Have received a letter of apology and have been refunded the difference in cost for 1 month (£13.00) but they have said that they cannot refund any further back as they are not certain on the route I take (Well it is a commuting route and there is only 1 way of travelling, which I have been using for the last 5 years !!)

I am rather annoyed now.

Any advice welcomed on the best way forward.

Also as a test I went to another ticket office and asked for a monthly from the 2 stations (Lower Sydenham to Dartford AND Dartford to Lower Sydenham) and was again quoted the higher price !!

 

[RJ]

:-x

UPDATE

Have received a letter of apology and have been refunded the difference in cost for 1 month (£13.00) but they have said that they cannot refund any further back as they are not certain on the route I take (Well it is a commuting route and there is only 1 way of travelling, which I have been using for the last 5 years !!)

I am rather annoyed now.

Any advice welcomed on the best way forward.

Also as a test I went to another ticket office and asked for a monthly from the 2 stations (Lower Sydenham to Dartford AND Dartford to Lower Sydenham) and was again quoted the higher price !!

Maybe try Watchdog. If Southeastern are doing their own thing when it comes Travelcard Zones, then don't want to compensate when a valid complaint is raised, it's a serious matter that needs looking into. With a bit of publicity, perhaps other people that have been overcharged will come forward and claim their money back - and Southeastern might be prompted to get someone useful to train their staff on tickets.

Honestly, you couldn't make this stuff up.

 

[bb21]

Also as a test I went to another ticket office and asked for a monthly from the 2 stations (Lower Sydenham to Dartford AND Dartford to Lower Sydenham) and was again quoted the higher price !!

Do you mean you are quoted the Travelcard price via Zone 2?

 

[RJ]

I went on a supermarket sweep today to clear Tesco's shelves of the new Pay.com cards. As there are a few in South East London, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone in Lewisham and make some enquiries at the ticket office.

I asked how much a weekly return to Oxford Circus would be. I was given the correct fare of £32.10 for a Zone 1-2 Travelcard.

I then asked how much a weekly season from Dartford to Lower Sydenham would be. I declined the offer for the inclusion of buses. After a few seconds of intrigued tapping into the computer, the clerk offered the correct fare of £47.70 for a Dartford to London Zones 3-6 Travelcard.

I could tell this particular clerk was quite switched on before I started asking about the fares. His customer service was very good.

At this point it was around 18:40. After successfully rinsing out Lewisham's supplies, Tesco Woolwich Arsenal was my next checkpoint - at this point I discovered that there are no trains shown in the timetable to Woolwich in the evening peak! Apparently there was too much demand for the Lewisham to Woolwich flow for them to deal with, so they removed the service during peak hours only. The circular service via Sidcup is not shown in the timetable, but has a false ultimate destination of Woolwich Arsenal. The alternative being to use the DLR to Greenwich, which is all very well if you're happy to pay the extra. I chose to wait until the next service at 19:08. The staff present on the gateline were helpful and accommodating, even helping out with getting my phone charged up. It seems there is a good team at Lewisham.

 

[MikeWh]

The alternative being to use the DLR to Greenwich, which is all very well if you're happy to pay the extra.

What extra? Surely you weren't actually using paper tickets? Oyster is the same either route given that the DLR south of the river is all dual zoned on that line.

 

[RJ]

I was using a paper ticket which had no validity on the DLR.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

I went on a supermarket sweep today to clear Tesco's shelves of the new Pay.com cards...

OT, I realise, but... why?

Is there some advantage offered by these cards that I'm missing?

 

[RJ]

OT, I realise, but... why?

Is there some advantage offered by these cards that I'm missing?

I'm a Head For Points type air miles hobbyist. Once the logistics are done, it's essentially free miles (or rail tickets if you prefer) plus a bit of free money.

But yes, the main point of the post was to highlight Lewisham as a potential place to get an acceptable level of service.

 

[Mojo]

OT, I realise, but... why?

Is there some advantage offered by these cards that I'm missing?

Excellent for spending online at places that don't take American Express. You also get bonus Clubcard points, and Tesco Fuelsave credit.