We should be more concerned at the content of the article.... Does seem like FCC pulled a fast one there
Besides wondering why someone would use carnets to go to work (as against buying a season), it may be that the writer is wrong - and perhaps should have checked with FCC before writing anything.
I am going to check myself, but I am hopeful that the rather clever fraud that this change has now eliminated will enable me to buy a peak excess on the few occasions I need to travel before 0930. If that's the case, the BBC writer will be able to do what he wants - by simply buying five peak upgrades for the outbound legs.
The pricing is still the same, and the tickets are all valid for three months. Thus, you could travel in to London today and back tomorrow on your return, or the next day after - or in fact up to three months from the purchase date.
You can even buy a carnet pack to start in the future, to extend the three months usage period if you really don't travel often but want to have some ready.
My real problem with them is the paper stock making it so risky when writing in the date. Other than that, they work fine and I actually think the change will have helped me if they confirm you can excess them AND they aren't restricted in the evening peak if a normal ticket wouldn't be (and if the say otherwise, I'll take things further as the deal is 10 tickets for the price of 9. That implies they're the same as buying ten tickets, not different tickets for which there's no actual comparison).
FCC said:
"Because they are valid in any direction for three months and are non-date specific, our ticket gates don't retain the tickets upon returning to the home station.
Yes they do! It's only at King's Cross (I'm talking only about the GN side here) that they give them back, because you can continue on to Moorgate via the Northern Line [not sure if the underground gates take them though, or say seek assistance as normal tickets usually do]. When I go back to Hatfield, it's taken by the machine. I expect the same will happen with the new ones, so you'll still be given the ticket back at KGX.
FCC probably won't want to detail what the real fraud was, but using a ticket over and over for ages wouldn't be possible if they're dated. And I've had them checked loads of times and they always check the date - and I'd expect to be prosecuted if caught using a ticket again. Surely anyone showing one should have the ticket taken, or be made to use the gate? The gate would at the very least mark the magstrip to show it had been used.
