East Croydon to Brighton e-ticket query

[coupwotcoup]

I've purchased two return tickets from Trainline for the next Bank holiday weekend from
East Croydon to Brighton, leaving Thursday and returning to London the following Sunday.

For some reason, probably a senior moment on my part, they have sent me e-tickets but
I'd like to be able to exchange these for something from which I can pay for at a machine
or from any local ticket office.

Smart phones - I've only recently purchased one - are one part of the information highway
that's passed me by but have tried to email Trainline, the info bounced back, stating that
this message was not delivered.

Ergo, can anyone give me a pointer or two on how to correct my original error?

Many thanks in advance.

PS

Have tried ringing the 0333 no. supplied but seems to go dead after one ring.

 

[alistairlees]

I've purchased two return tickets from Trainline for the next Bank holiday weekend from
East Croydon to Brighton, leaving Thursday and returning to London the following Sunday.

For some reason, probably a senior moment on my part, they have sent me e-tickets but
I'd like to be able to exchange these for something from which I can pay for at a machine
or from any local ticket office.

Smart phones - I've only recently purchased one - are one part of the information highway
that's passed me by but have tried to email Trainline, the info bounced back, stating that
this message was not delivered.

Ergo, can anyone give me a pointer or two on how to correct my original error?

Many thanks in advance.

PS

Have tried ringing the 0333 no. supplied but seems to go dead after one ring.

It isn't possible to exchange tickets fulfilled one way (in this case, eTicket), for the same tickets fulfilled another way (such as Collect from station), without refunding the original tickets (if they are refundable), which is likely to incur an admin fee.

However, there is no need to either possess or use a smartphone in order to use an eTicket - you could print it out (assuming you have access to a printer) instead. The tickets are expressly designed to be used in either printed form or by being displayed on a phone - but it's up to you which you choose.

If you don't have access to a printer, can someone else do this for you?

 

[Watershed]

I've purchased two return tickets from Trainline for the next Bank holiday weekend from
East Croydon to Brighton, leaving Thursday and returning to London the following Sunday.

For some reason, probably a senior moment on my part, they have sent me e-tickets but
I'd like to be able to exchange these for something from which I can pay for at a machine
or from any local ticket office.

Smart phones - I've only recently purchased one - are one part of the information highway
that's passed me by but have tried to email Trainline, the info bounced back, stating that
this message was not delivered.

Ergo, can anyone give me a pointer or two on how to correct my original error?

Many thanks in advance.

PS

Have tried ringing the 0333 no. supplied but seems to go dead after one ring.

You should be able to print the e-tickets so that they are functionally equivalent to a paper ticket - Trainline will have included a PDF in your booking confirmation.

Ironically Trainline are unique in allowing you to select an e-ticket whilst having the option to collect the ticket instead. But you have to select this option when buying, you can't do it afterwards:



The other issue to note is that Trainline charge booking fees, which you don't pay if you book through one of the train companies or some other third party retailers.

And this is despite the fact that, unless you are buying an Advance ticket as part of your booking, there is no real advantage to buying your ticket ahead of time.

 

[Haywain]

Ironically Trainline are unique in allowing you to select an e-ticket whilst having the option to collect the ticket instead.

Unless I’m misunderstanding, that really isn’t unique.

 

[Watershed]

Unless I’m misunderstanding, that really isn’t unique.

You can select both when buying:


Meaning that you can decide post-purchase that you prefer to pick your ticket up rather than using the e-ticket. Say, if you realise you have low battery and haven't printed your e-ticket off.

That functionality is certainly unique AFAIK.

 

[yorkie]

Do you have access to a printer? If so, the best thing to do is to print the e-tickets

(You can then have the best of both worlds: a printed copy and an electronic backup in case you lose the printed tickets!)

 

[py_megapixel]

I'm not sure what you mean by being able to pay for the tickets at a ticket machine. If you have been sent e-tickets then you must already have paid for them online.

If the issue is that you want paper tickets rather than electronic ones, I'd agree with other posters that the simplest solution is just to print out the e-tickets. (Even if you have to pay to do this at a local library, for example, it's almost certain to cost less than the admin fee incurred by refunding the tickets and purchasing new ones)

 

[Haywain]

You can select both when buying:

View attachment 114220
Meaning that you can decide post-purchase that you prefer to pick your ticket up rather than using the e-ticket. Say, if you realise you have low battery and haven't printed your e-ticket off.

That functionality is certainly unique AFAIK.

I don’t doubt that’s unique but I very much doubt it’s in accordance with accreditation requirements. I wonder if @alistairlees has a view on it.

 

[py_megapixel]

I don’t doubt that’s unique but I very much doubt it’s in accordance with accreditation requirements. I wonder if @alistairlees has a view on it.

Well, Trainline is accredited, so I presume it must be?

I assume all it has to do to provide that functionality is cancel the e-ticket as soon as the code is used, which presumably is fairly trivial for them to do or they wouldn't be offering it.

 

[mmh]

Is there a retailer who will provide tickets as an m-ticket in their app AND a PDF e-ticket by email?

I'm not fond of either, but as I'm increasingly being forced down the e-route, I think that's what I'd prefer if I must go this way. I've found M-tickets in an app way less faff than email attachments and the unfathomable nonsense that is Google Wallet, or whatever it's called.

 

[py_megapixel]

Is there a retailer who will provide tickets as an m-ticket in their app AND a PDF e-ticket by email?

Most TOCs do this. I can vouch that TransPennine does, for example.

Technically, they are not m-tickets - they are the barcode and other data from the e-ticket being displayed within the app - but the only functional difference is that you don't need to "activate" them. (They also don't suffer from the issue of disappearing from the app before the end of their validity, that has been mentioned on other threads).

 

[Starmill]

Well, Trainline is accredited, so I presume it must be?

Lots of things have been accredited which do not appear to be in accordance with the accreditation requirements.

Is there a retailer who will provide tickets as an m-ticket in their app AND a PDF e-ticket by email?

Nearly all of the etickets bought in an app can be displayed in the app, although confusingly this usually isn't as an mticket. For example the TransPennine Express app now does this, rather than the infuriating position it used to take where it locked etickets into their own app (not mtickets).

I don’t doubt that’s unique but I very much doubt it’s in accordance with accreditation requirements. I wonder if @alistairlees has a view on it.

I think it stems from the first etickets where they did this, using what was at the time Virgin Trains advance tickets. They did it because they didn't want to put people off the new format too much. I don't think it's really necessary any more.

If you're certain you want the tickets on paper my advice would be to buy them at the station before you travel rather than using trainline.