Can I use Rail Travel Vouchers online or by phone?

[swaldman]

Hi - I'm new here, so apologies if this is frequently-asked, I couldn't find the answer in a brief search.

Following a dispute with a TOC a while ago, I was issued with £90 worth of Rail Travel Vouchers.

In the next few weeks I shall be moving to Orkney. This means that
(a) I shall be using trains quite a lot to travel between the north of Scotland and... well, anywhere.
(b) I will not be able to book my tickets in person at a ticket office, since the nearest ticket office (Thurso) is a 90-min ferry ride away and is usually shut anyway.

So, is there any way that I will be able to use the vouchers when I'm there? i.e. online (ideally) or over the phone? Thanks for any advice.

 

[wintonian]

They are accepted at ticket offices or on-board, however some TOC's telesales departments apparently do accept them. Give Scotrail a ring and ask them.

I assume you need to allow 14 days because you will be asked to post the vouchers in?

National Rail Travel Vouchers
What are National Rail Travel Vouchers?

National Rail Travel Vouchers are issued as compensation under a Train Operating Company’s Passenger's Charter, ex-gratia payments for other compensatory reasons, as goodwill gestures or for marketing purposes.

These are of varying values, usually £1 (green), £5 (blue), £10 (orange) and £20 (yellow). Some train companies also issue their own bespoke vouchers for very specific amounts depending on the circumstances in which they have been awarded.
How can I use them?

They can be exchanged for ticket(s) to travel on National Rail services.

They can be exchanged at station booking offices or through some Telesales – if purchasing through a Telesales Department enough time must be allowed for processing, this can be up to 14 days. (Please check with the specific retailer).

They cannot be exchanged for cash.

Change cannot be given if the cost of the ticket(s) purchased is less than the value of voucher(s) tendered.

NRE

 

[maniacmartin]

East Coast is a TOC that accepts them by telesales. You have to post them in and once received the tickets are posted to you.

First Great Western also accept them via telesales, but they apparently bill your card, then refund your card once the vouchers arrive.

See this thread

 

[wintonian]

First Great Western also accept them via telesales, but they apparently bill your card, then refund your card once the vouchers arrive.

That doesn't seem fair and seems a bit unnecessary, why don't they just send out the tickets once they have received the vouchers? Personally I wouldn't risk them not refunding the payment - intentionally or not.

 

[cjohnson]

That doesn't seem fair and seems a bit unnecessary, why don't they just send out the tickets once they have received the vouchers? Personally I wouldn't risk them not refunding the payment - intentionally or not.

Perhaps it allows them to dispatch your tickets quicker than waiting for the vouchers?

 

[wintonian]

Perhaps it allows them to dispatch your tickets quicker than waiting for the vouchers?

If that's so then I would rather not risk the "Sorry we didn't receive them sir." type response that's not uncommon when sending in delay repay claims.

 

[Flamingo]

Registered mail is your friend...

 

[wintonian]

Registered mail is your friend...

I always do being the untrusting person I am. The trouble is that it adds to the expense making it feel almost like a reverse P&P charge.

 

[transportphoto]

Of course, if you are buying walk up tickets (not 'Advance' or 'Advance First' tickets) there is nothing preventing you using your vouchers to purchase your ticket onboard the train.

TP

 

[wintonian]

Of course, if you are buying walk up tickets (not 'Advance' or 'Advance First' tickets) there is nothing preventing you using your vouchers to purchase your ticket onboard the train.

TP

Indeed, on that route there will be more than enough time to fiddle around with them and the guard might be pleased to have something to do!

 

[Be3G]

Do rail-appointed travel agents take rail travel vouchers? If so, I wonder if there might be such an agent on Orkney?

 

[DelayRepay]

It is a shame that TOCs can't give you the option of receiving e-vouchers to use on their website. This would be beneficial for the railway as it would reduce costs and queues at booking offices.

 

[transportphoto]

Do rail-appointed travel agents take rail travel vouchers? If so, I wonder if there might be such an agent on Orkney?

Yes they do, infact, I believe it says so on the vouchers. Good suggestion, OP, it may be worth popping into places such as Travel Agencies or Tourist Information Offices and enquiring if they retail tickets as a Rail Appointed Travel Agent.

It is a shame that TOCs can't give you the option of receiving e-vouchers to use on their website. This would be beneficial for the railway as it would reduce costs and queues at booking offices.

Some do... if you claim through their website. I believe Southern are one such TOC.

 

[wintonian]

Do rail-appointed travel agents take rail travel vouchers? If so, I wonder if there might be such an agent on Orkney?

I thought about that but I'm unsure if they do, but CalMac do sell some rail tickets so I assume they are a 'rail appointed travel agent'?

 

[michael769]

I always do being the untrusting person I am. The trouble is that it adds to the expense making it feel almost like a reverse P&P charge.

I assume by "registered mail" (which does not exist!) people mean Recorded Deliver. IMO Recorded delivery is a waste of money. The post office can provide a free proof of posting certificate that is perfectly adequate.

The law says that where proof of posting exists a letter will be deemed to be delivered 2 working days (3 working days if second class) later, and places the onus on the recipient to prove that delivery did not occur. (Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978), while this technically only applies to references to postage in statutes the principle is applied widely by the courts to other contexts.

 

[Be3G]

For what it's worth there's no longer a service called Registered Delivery, but Special Delivery counts as registered mail. ‘Registered mail’ being a generic term for a postal service that's fully tracked and insured. (Like you say, Recorded Signed-For does not count as registered mail.) So if ever someone says ‘please send this by registered mail’, Special Delivery would be the service to choose.

 

[VauxhallandI]

They are accepted at ticket offices or on-board, however some TOC's telesales departments apparently do accept them. Give Scotrail a ring and ask them.

I assume you need to allow 14 days because you will be asked to post the vouchers in?


NRE

So I could put some vouchers towards my on board first class upgrade with Virgin?

 

[island]

Yes you can, although bear in mind change is not given.

 

[tbtc]

There was a question raised in last week's Transport Questions at Westminster from an MP about this issue (I think it was tied to the London Midland refund situation) - he said that it was unfair that his constituents couldn't use their vouchers to buy the cheapest tickets (i.e. an MP has bought into the lie that you can only get cheap tickets online and cannot get the same cheap tickets at stations).

From memory, the Transport Secretary said that allowing vouchers to be used online was something being looked into (but I was too annoyed at an MP perpetuating the myth that only TheTrainLine can get you cheap tickets to be certain of the reply).

 

[VauxhallandI]

Yes you can, although bear in mind change is not given.

Thank you, change point noted.

 

[maniacmartin]

Do any TOCs accept RTVs at the buffet car or for other catering?

 

[30907]

It is a shame that TOCs can't give you the option of receiving e-vouchers to use on their website. This would be beneficial for the railway as it would reduce costs and queues at booking offices.

It certainly is high time - the DB website can do this without problem, AND it offers change.

It would need to be a voucher usable on any booking website though, not TOC-specific, just as the present RTVs are.

 

[swaldman]

Thank you all; I shall look into Scotrail by phone (and if not them, presumably any ToC can issue the same tickets by phone, except perhaps for the Caledonian Sleeper?), and also any authorised travel agents in Orkney.

Wow, I don't know when the last time was I thought about using a travel agent for a UK train ticket! Can they access the same Advance fares as websites, ticket offices, etc.?

I agree that being able to do this online would be vastly preferable, simply due to the difficulty of working out the best Advance ticket to get through the medium of a not-always-terribly-helpful ticket clerk...

(incidentally, yes, guards do seem to be bored on the Far North Line. A couple of times I've ended up with them sitting down and having a chat )

 

[wintonian]

I shall look into Scotrail by phone (and if not them, presumably any ToC can issue the same tickets by phone, except perhaps for the Caledonian Sleeper?),

Yes even for the sleeper although I'm not sure about bargain berths, and train companies other than Scotrail and First Great Western sometimes have difficulty making sleeper reservations them depending on who you get, so Scotrail would be the prefernce for booking the sleeper.

and also any authorised travel agents in Orkney.

Yes, again they can also book sleeper tickets, although there are some tickets that travel agents can't sell, excesses rovers and rangers for example, although I think CalMac do sell the Highland Rover.

Additionally Train operating Companies do promotions for travel on their services and these can normally only be bought through them. East Cast also do a 10%ish discount on their own advance tickets that can only be used through the website. But in general any normal advance or walk-up type tickets can be bought from and one who sell rail tickets and at the same price.

 

[island]

Travel agents that do train tickets probably will charge a pointless booking fee.

As for the original question, there is nothing stopping someone from using the websites to establish the precise time/date/price of the ticket they are wanting and then purchasing it at a station, or over the phone.

 

[wintonian]

Travel agents that do train tickets probably will charge a pointless booking fee.

I don't think Red Funnel or Wightlink et al. do, so if CalMac can sell them they might no either.

 

[swaldman]

I don't think Red Funnel or Wightlink et al. do, so if CalMac can sell them they might no either.

Not really important, but in case you're interested - it isn't CalMac that sails to Orkney. It's Northlink, which until recently was a consortium partly owned by CalMac, but is now Serco.

 

[DelayRepay]

...he said that it was unfair that his constituents couldn't use their vouchers to buy the cheapest tickets (i.e. an MP has bought into the lie that you can only get cheap tickets online and cannot get the same cheap tickets at stations).

...(but I was too annoyed at an MP perpetuating the myth that only TheTrainLine can get you cheap tickets to be certain of the reply).

TheTrainline aside, there are some tickets which are cheaper online. East Coast advances bought from their website often (always?) include a web discount which you won't get if you buy the same ticket at the station.