Liverpool South Parkway

[widey158]

Dear all,

I am new to this forum, so hello everyone!

My girlfriend is flying to Liverpool tomorrow and wants to take a train from Liverpool South Parkway to Birmingham. We bought her a ticket on RedSpottedHanky and chose Collection on Station option, although we could have chosen First Class Post (LPY was available for 'on station collection' so we were not worried).

Today I checked National Rail website for the station and surprisingly it says that ticket collection is not available.

I called RedSpottedHanky to inquire about this and they said our "only" option was to travel to Liverpool Lime Street to collect the tickets, even when I explained that she is flying to Liverpool and LPY is where we bought tickets from. There is not even enough time for her to travel to Lime Street and it is an advance ticket. I am lucky I checked, otherwise she would have been stuck there.

They did not acknowledge it was their mistake, saying train companies pass that list of stations. I was not offered a refund.

What should we do? Am I not being in the right here? They have stated clearly in their website that collection will be available and it is not. Can I complain and if so, where?

 

[najaB]

I am new to this forum, so hello everyone!

Hi and welcome.

Today I checked National Rail website for the station and surprisingly it says that ticket collection is not available.

I have never been to that station, but it does seem *very* odd that a station that has both a ticket office and a ticket machine doesn't allow ticket collection. I suspect that it's a mistake on the Rail Enquiries website.

Edited to add: As odd as it seems, according to Wikipedia you can't collect tickets at Liverpool South Parkway, but you can collect them at the airport.

 

[AntoniC]

Liverpool South Parkway is a Merseyrail Station , and as far as I am aware no Merseyrail Station has Ticket on Departure collection available.

Have a look here :http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/LPY.aspx

icket Office
Yes
Opening hours
Monday - Friday 05:51 - 00:16
Saturday 05:51 - 00:16
Sunday 07:51 - 00:16
Height adjusted ticket office counter
Height adjusted ticket counter is available at this station
Induction loop
This office has an induction loop
Ticket machines
Yes
Accessible ticket machines
There are no accessible ticket machines at this station
Collection of pre-purchased tickets
Not possible from this station
Smartcards
Smartcards issued
No
Smartcards top-up
Not possible at this station
Smartcards validators
No

Have a word with RSH about the options on their website

 

[Tetchytyke]

Given that Red Spotted Hanky is run by ATOS and National Rail Enquiries is run by, er, ATOS, I think that it sums that company up perfectly. I wouldn't touch them with yours.

The airport state they have an automated ticket machine on level one of the terminal building. Generally you can collect ToD tickets from any station with a ticket machine that allows ToD, not just the one you selected on the website, so she could try and collect her tickets there. Otherwise she'll need to explain the situation at LSP and see if the ticket office staff can get the tickets from their machine (they're not supposed to but sometimes they can). Failing that, it'll be a new ticket and she'll need to try and get this refunded by RSH.

It may also be that Northern have a ticket machine at LSP, even thought it is a Merseyrail station, and that their machine is ToD enabled.

 

[bb21]

What payment method did you use? If you paid by card, I hope you used her card.

 

[tony_mac]

The airport state they have an automated ticket machine on level one of the terminal building.

There is a Northern Rail machine at the airport near the information desk.
From my experience, it is out of use most of the time.

It may also be that Northern have a ticket machine at LSP, even thought it is a Merseyrail station, and that their machine is ToD enabled.

They didn't.

They are less frequent, but the bus to Lime St is only about 10 minutes slower than the bus to Liverpool South Parkway. You can buy a Saveaway at the airport information desk which will be valid for the bus into the city as well as the train back to Liverpool South Parkway.

(I just had a look, RSH does not seem to offer Liverpool South Parkway as a pickup option).

 

[M28361M]

Hi widey158, I am also new here!

There is now a collection machine at Liverpool South Parkway. It was installed back in July; I think some web sites have not caught up with the change yet, but the Trainline does now show the station as a TOD collection point.

Curiously, it is a Northern-branded machine rather than Merseyrail, who manage the station.

 

[tony_mac]

Thanks, well spotted - it's obviously not just the websites who are out of date!

 

[Swirlz]

Hi widey158, I am also new here!

There is now a collection machine at Liverpool South Parkway. It was installed back in July; I think some web sites have not caught up with the change yet, but the Trainline does now show the station as a TOD collection point.

Curiously, it is a Northern-branded machine rather than Merseyrail, who manage the station.

Merseyrail refused to pay for the relevant RSP license/data feed concerning TOD, as it is ultimately of no benefit to them, just the other TOCs that serve the station.

Northern already had the relevant licenses/access to TOD, and as their sister company, agreed to put a machine there instead of Merseyrail.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Curiously, it is a Northern-branded machine rather than Merseyrail, who manage the station.

That's not all that unusual, Northern have ticket machines at several stations (e.g. Newcastle) where they do not manage the station or the ticket office.

 

[Merseysider]

Merseyrail refused to pay for the relevant RSP license/data feed concerning TOD, as it is ultimately of no benefit to them, just the other TOCs that serve the station.

Northern already had the relevant licenses/access to TOD, and as their sister company, agreed to put a machine there instead of Merseyrail.

It's the one thing about Merseyrail I hate - being unable to collect tickets from any of their stations.

Is there any possibility for this to change in the future?

 

[Solent&Wessex]

It's the one thing about Merseyrail I hate - being unable to collect tickets from any of their stations.

Is there any possibility for this to change in the future?

I wouldn't have thought so.

It will cost them a fortune in machines and setting it up, and seeing as nearly all the journeys concerned will be longer distance journeys going off their network they will benefit very little.