Chester ticket office

[leejayd]

A couple of months ago I arrived at the station and saw my train was not delayed (based on info screen). I bought my ticket with my debit card at the ticket machine and when I arrived at the platform my train was not there (it is usually there 5 minutes prior). After waiting a further 20 mins there was no other comms. I went to the ticket office to ask for a refund but I was told I had to send my unused ticket to Northern Rail for a refund. I did this and ended up having to wait almost 4 weeks for Northern Rail to respond, they sent me a voucher even though I asked for a refund. I sent back the voucher (it was an admin error) and waited another week and received a cheque.

I understand and accept trains are occasionally late.

But why on earth couldn't the ticket office in Chester refund the cost of the ticket back on to my debit card? I asked the ticket office this question but they couldn't give me a proper answer other than to say...We don't have the capability to refund a debit purchase.

I do wonder sometimes why we have not seen too much modernisation on the trains/front office systems in the past 20 years. Look at other countries such as Japan with their maglev trains. Even look at London with the Oyster smart ticketing.

Is it profit taking from shareholders or focus on cost by the DFT? I imagine the latter.

I'd feel a lot happier with the fair increases if the service got better in some way.

 

[ALEMASTER]

I imagine its because the self service machine is owned by Northern and the ticket office isn't.

That said if you are asking for a refund due to a train cancellation the station ticket office is supposed to refund it on the spot regardless of where you bought it.

Have Northern explained why the staff said what they did?

 

[leejayd]

I be honest, I found NR's customer service people terrible to deal with - I felt lucky enough to be able to get a cheque from them.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Haha, laugh of the night. I just emailed NR and get a message back telling me they need 20 days to respond. I bet there's a 1 poor soul responding to the email queries.

 

[yorkie]

The refund should be immediate.

How much was the ticket?

If the retailer does not resolve this satisfactorily, then you could escalate it to Passenger Focus.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

This doesn't sound right.
Chester is an ATW station, and the booking office and all the ticket machines are theirs.
Why do Northern come into it?

 

[northwichcat]

While the original post doesn't state so it sounds like leejayd was planning to catch the Northern service towards Manchester but it was cancelled. A number of services have been cancelled or terminated short at Greenbank in the Chester direction in the last couple of months due to unit failures/faults.

If a train on your outward journey is cancelled and you decide not to travel, whoever sold you the ticket should refund it - in this case this is Arriva Trains Wales. If you are able to pay by credit/debit card you should be refunded by credit/debit card.

If the train is delayed or cancelled and you decide to travel you may be entitled to compensation from the operator of the service.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I suppose once the ticket had been checked through the gate at Chester, the passenger then became Northern's responsibility, the journey having "started"?

 

[northwichcat]

I suppose once the ticket had been checked through the gate at Chester, the passenger then became Northern's responsibility, the journey having "started"?

According to NRCoC the ticket is refundable at the ticket office if the train is cancelled - no mention of exceptions for tickets that have gone through barriers or been issued at an Arriva Trains Wales station. leejayd should put in a complaint to ATW for breaching NRCoC.

26. Refunds on tickets that have not been used.

If you decide not to use a ticket (other than a Season Ticket - see Condition 36) to make all or part of your intended journey, then:

(a) if the train you intended to use is cancelled, delayed or your reservation will not be honoured, you decide not to travel and at that time you return the unused ticket to any ticket office, the Train Company responsible for that ticket office will, if it is in a position to do so, give you an immediate full refund as shown in Condition 27.

(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply and the ticket has been bought from a Train Company’s ticket office (or a self-service machine) and you return your ticket at any Train Company’s ticket office no later than 28 days after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you will receive a refund (subject to the notes below);

or

(c) if paragraph (a) does not apply, the ticket has been bought from a Train Company’s telesales office or a Train Company’s internet website and you return the ticket to an address notified by that Train Company no later than 28 days after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you will receive a refund (subject to the notes below);

or

(d) if paragraph (a) does not apply and the ticket has been bought from a travel agent, if you return the ticket to that agent no later than 28 days after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you will receive a refund (subject to the notes below).

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

According to NRCoC the ticket is refundable at the ticket office if the train is cancelled - no mention of exceptions for tickets that have gone through barriers or been issued at an Arriva Trains Wales station. leejayd should put in a complaint to ATW for breaching NRCoC.

Sounds like the weasel words for the ticket office are "if it is in a position to do so".
Though I can't imagine ATW being unable to reverse the debit card transaction.
In fact they have done it for me before now (when issuing an incorrect ticket).

 

[northwichcat]

Sounds like the weasel words for the ticket office are "if it is in a position to do so".

I assume that means if the system taking card payment is down. If you purchased your ticket in advance and ask for a refund on the day of travel then there is a higher chance of that happening.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

The problem could be that a TVM issued the ticket. I know for sure that Fastis can only non-issue tickets that that operator issued that day (Smart was a little better IIRC, but still couldn't do TVM tickets). Fastis reads the ticket to make sure the correct one is non-issued.

This being the case it would be impossible for the ticket office to issue an immediate refund. However, they should have offered to take the refund application in and then send it to the correct company to get it processed if that offer is taken up.

I can't say if Northern or ATW should refund it as I don't know what machines are there.

 

[northwichcat]

I can't say if Northern or ATW should refund it as I don't know what machines are there.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/sjp/CTR/images/photos/800/o1604-0000032.jpg

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

They are ATW's usual Scheidt & Bachmann machines, and the ticket office has Fujitsu kit, all installed fairly recently.

 

[Daysaver]

Tickets can be non issued within one hour at the ticket office, regardless to whether it was sold there or at the TVM, as the ticket office staff will know the code on the ticket for the TVM machines.

If a train has a cancellation then I think the one hour rule can be moved with discretion. Possibly after the hour is up and the ticket is under £10 then a comments form would be handed out, as to send off for a refund would incur a £10 admin fee charge thus making it pointless.

I don't think this sounds like the usual conduct of the staff at Chester Station, as I have had a refund done onto a debit card with no problems.

 

[leejayd]

Thanks for all your comments. I did pass through the barrier at Chester as at that point I had no info the train was delayed/cancelled.

The customer support people actually asked me to see the ticket office later in the day which I did only to be told by the ticket office I'd have to write to Northern Rail. There may have been technical problems but I wasn't made aware of this.

In any case it's sorted now but I just think the complexity of the rail network causes problems for customers and no doubt other stakeholders too at the best of times.

I'm amazed to be honest it works as often as it does.

I think the only reason I get frustrated is that I often travel to London and use my Oyster card. I top up on my computer and can jump on and off buses without having to worry about having the change.

I suppose this is what happens in life when one area improves more than another.

This is a big rant to be honest (re my other post in the ticketing group) I'll get over it.

Thanks.

 

[Philip]

Fastis machines can only non-issue tickets bought from that machine or other Fastis machines in the same office. There is no link (at least not at our station) between the Fastis machine and the Virgin Fast Ticket Machine or TVM. So an immediate refund wouldn't have been possible if you didn't buy it from the booking office. What's more if you bought the ticket from a different TOC's machine or office than the one you go to asking for a refund, then all the staff can do is give you a comments form for that particular TOC and you then have to write in, attach the ticket and send it off.