Forgotten Railcard Rights

[TehDragonGuy]

Hi,

Yesterday, I purchased any time return ticket with my railcard discount. I was asked by a member of staff to show my railcard at the ticket barrier before ever boarding a train, at which point I realised I had forgotten it and left it at home. I understand that in this situation I am expected to purchase a full price ticket and travel with that, with which I had no issue. However, she confiscated my reduced ticket (which was completely unused). My question is, was she correct to do this? Would I not have been able to go back and get my railcard and use it with the ticket later? I asked this and she was rude and uncooperative and attempted to dodge my question as much as possible so I'd like to find out as I'm rather annoyed as I hadn't actually boarded a train.

Thanks.

 

[[.n]]

I'll go and look for a proper reference but my understanding from posts on here, is that you should have been excessed up to the non discounted fare, and then had an opportunity later on to write and claim a refund on back down to the discounted price.

 

[[.n]]

What happens if I don't have my Railcard with me and I have to buy a new ticket or pay a Penalty Fare?
If you are travelling by train on a ticket with a Railcard discount, you must travel with your valid Railcard. If you forget your Railcard you will either be required to buy a new ticket or you may on certain services be liable for a Penalty Fare. However, a train company will normally allow you to claim back this extra expense on the first occasion in each year where this happens.

Each train company will have their own process for doing this. You will need to provide proof of your Railcard and either the original and additional tickets that you have purchased, or if you have not yet paid, details of the notice to pay or notice of Penalty Fare. Where you have already paid for additional tickets you should contact the relevant train company’s customer services department; in the case of a notice to pay of notice of Penalty Fare, you should follow the instructions included on how to challenge or appeal the charge.

So I would say you need your "old" ticket as well as the "new" ticket in order to make this claim, so it shouldn't have been consicated, or at least you should have been given a receipt for it

 

[TehDragonGuy]

So I would say you need your "old" ticket as well as the "new" ticket in order to make this claim, so it shouldn't have been consicated, or at least you should have been given a receipt for it

That's what I thought. That doesn't exactly cover my situation as I didn't actually travel with the "old" ticket though, but it was the closest thing I could find too. I just feel hard done by to be honest. If I'd have travelled with it I'd understand.

 

[Hadders]

Your discounted ticket should not have been confiscated and depending on the ticket type you should be able to claim a refund on it (less an admin fee) as it was unused.

Please do raise a complaint with the train operating company.

 

[TehDragonGuy]

Your discounted ticket should not have been confiscated and depending on the ticket type you should be able to claim a refund on it (less an admin fee) as it was unused.

Please do raise a complaint with the train operating company.

Thanks, will do though I shalln't get my hopes up considering I have no proof of it.

 

[TehDragonGuy]

Oh, and another annoying thing, after she confiscated my ticket, she tried to get me to purchase a full price one from her as an Anytime single, despite it being off peak hours. Luckily I knew better and went to a ticket machine but that's a really cheap tactic...

 

[robbeech]

Do gateline staff earn commission on ticket sales as a rule? Or does it vary by operator?

 

[SteveM70]

In that situation wouldn’t it be permissible to excess the ticket back to the undiscounted price, and then try and claim it back again later?

 

[gray1404]

She should not have taken the ticket from you and if she did, a receipt should have been issued.

 

[bb21]

What were you given in exchange for the confiscated ticket? Any receipt?

Were you at any time offered a Penalty Fare or an Unpaid Fare Notice?

 

[Intermodal]

In that situation wouldn’t it be permissible to excess the ticket back to the undiscounted price, and then try and claim it back again later?

It certainly would've been possible to do this however there is no entitlement to an excess.

 

[swt_passenger]

It certainly would've been possible to do this however there is no entitlement to an excess.

Which is presumably exactly why the section on the railcard FAQs (quoted in earlier post #3) requires a separate new ticket and refund procedure - if someone really does have a forgotten railcard.

If a straightforward excess was allowed, you’d not really be obliged to follow up, if you didn’t actually have a railcard you’d just have ended up paying the right fare anyway...

 

[221129]

In that situation wouldn’t it be permissible to excess the ticket back to the undiscounted price, and then try and claim it back again later?

No. It is a new ticket and then you claim a refund on it later.

 

[WesternLancer]

Does this sound like poorly trained staff member? Which train company was this - which station did it happen at?

 

[jumble]

Which is presumably exactly why the section on the railcard FAQs (quoted in earlier post #3) requires a separate new ticket and refund procedure - if someone really does have a forgotten railcard.

If a straightforward excess was allowed, you’d not really be obliged to follow up, if you didn’t actually have a railcard you’d just have ended up paying the right fare anyway...

In theory perhaps but not always in practice
My son forgot his railcard a few months ago and it was simply excessed by the train Manager
It was just before Virgin changed over and Virgin took 4 weeks to send it to Avanti who need another 4 weeks to refund the £30 odd

 

[CentralTrainer]

Does this sound like poorly trained staff member? Which train company was this - which station did it happen at?

or one wanting to feather their own personal nest with a lovely little bit of commission at the end of the month?

One could say this is an excellent example of mis-selling