Lumo - new Open Access operator on the East Coast Main Line

[DanNCL]

Are they really going to have staff enforcing compulsory reservations on the platforms at Newcastle and Morpeth? Seems ridiculous to me.

 

[Ianno87]

Perhaps just a Twitter message to discourage further passengers, but won't actively be enforced (unless it's so busy passengers are physically unable to board!)

 

[Bletchleyite]

Perhaps just a Twitter message to discourage further passengers, but won't actively be enforced (unless it's so busy passengers are physically unable to board!)

It's not acceptable, though, to sell tickets then even suggest people should not be able to use the tickets they have paid for without even suggesting what they should do, e.g. arrange LNER acceptance or even offer refunds.

They deserve to be whacked very, very hard over this indeed under consumer law. It's in effect bait and switch, selling an Anytime ticket then it not being one. If they wanted to go CR they needed to state that at the point they opened the trains for sale.

I hope it costs them dear.

 

[Hadders]

It wouldn't be a good look to have standing in the aisles on the first trains.

I wonder if the CR flag was activated after all the available seats were reserved? Boarding control would be relatively simple to implement for the next few days to avoid an onboard PR disaster.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It wouldn't be a good look to have standing in the aisles on the first trains.

They should have thought of that before they put the trains up for sale without the CR flag set, which has of course resulted in Anytime fares sold without reservations once they all sold out.

They deserve a PR disaster at the hands of people who have been sold tickets they now won't be able to use, with only a short Twitter message to say that.

 

[Ianno87]

It wouldn't be a good look to have standing in the aisles on the first trains.

I wonder if the CR flag was activated after all the available seats were reserved? Boarding control would be relatively simple to implement for the next few days to avoid an onboard PR disaster.

Perhaps prepare some compensation for passengers that have to be turned away ("Sorry, no more seats, but here's a voucher for a free return journey for any time in the next 12 months and we'll refund the ticket you bought") to soften the blow. Could turn it into a PR win.

Perhaps they have genuinely been taken by surprise by the level of demand!

 

[Hadders]

It certainly doesn't look great, but let's see what happens tomorrow. They will know how many tickets have been sold, and how many have been sold without a reservation and how many unreservable seats they have.

There's bound to be people who turn up unaware etc but if I was them I'd just sort them out, e.g. buy them a ticket on the next LNER (1st class if necessary). Anything to avoid a PR disaster.

 

[alistairlees]

Posters are so harsh and judgemental. Give the guys running Lumo a break, eh? Setting up a new train operator really is no easy task and - of course - they will make some mistakes at first. Being supportive, rather than kicking them at every opportunity, would be great. I do expect they have been surprised by the level of demand - but that's fantastic to see.

 

[Hadders]

Posters are so harsh and judgemental. Give the guys running Lumo a break, eh? Setting up a new train operator really is no easy task and - of course - they will make some mistakes at first. Being supportive, rather than kicking them at every opportunity, would be great. I do expect they have been surprised by the level of demand - but that's fantastic to see.

Absolutely agreed. I really want them to succeed and with Stevenage being my local station the service could be very handy indeed.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Posters are so harsh and judgemental. Give the guys running Lumo a break, eh? Setting up a new train operator really is no easy task and - of course - they will make some mistakes at first. Being supportive, rather than kicking them at every opportunity, would be great. I do expect they have been surprised by the level of demand - but that's fantastic to see.

Bait-and-switch*, whether intentional or not, is not acceptable, and no company should be cut any slack at all for willingly engaging in such appalling business practices, even to get themselves out of a hole.

* The sale of a ticket which was advertised as being valid on all Lumo trains on the day stated, and is now not valid in that manner.

 

[Mainline421]

Posters are so harsh and judgemental. Give the guys running Lumo a break, eh? Setting up a new train operator really is no easy task and - of course - they will make some mistakes at first. Being supportive, rather than kicking them at every opportunity, would be great. I do expect they have been surprised by the level of demand - but that's fantastic to see.

I'd more sympathetic to them if they had come out and said something like "Due to unexpected high demand seated capacity is expected to be exceeded, customers with Lumo Anytime tickets purchased directly may obtain a full refund, if you don't have a reservation and still choose to travel you may have to stand or be re-accommodate onto LNER services." But they didn't, they're just creating uncertainty.

 

[Ianno87]

I'd more sympathetic to them if they had come out and said something like "Due to unexpected high demand seated capacity is expected to be exceeded, customers with Lumo Anytime tickets purchased directly may obtain a full refund, if you don't have a reservation and still choose to travel you may have to stand or be re-accommodate onto LNER services." But they didn't, they're just creating uncertainty.

Shall we see what happens tomorrow rather than speculate what may happen?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'd more sympathetic to them if they hadcome out and said something like "Due to unexpected high demand seated capacity is expected to be exceeded, customers with Lumo Anytime tickets purchased directly may obtain a full refund, if you don't have a reservation and still choose to travel you may have to stand or be re-accommodate onto LNER services." But they didn't, they're just creating uncertainty.

Exactly.

It is appalling, and they should be cut no slack at all for it; indeed I hope they end up with a Court case over it. You can't conduct business in that manner, and it must not be tolerated.

If they've gone and seriously oversold they need to deal with it like full-service airlines do - offer people money to change their plans, or go to LNER with the corporate credit card.

 

[alistairlees]

Bait-and-switch*, whether intentional or not, is not acceptable, and no company should be cut any slack at all for willingly engaging in such appalling business practices, even to get themselves out of a hole.

* The sale of a ticket which was advertised as being valid on all Lumo trains on the day stated, and is now not valid in that manner.

You don't know how they are going to deal with the issue yet (if, indeed, there is an issue). I hope they have a successful launch day tomorrow.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Shall we see what happens tomorrow rather than speculate what may happen?

That that Twitter post has happened is already grossly unacceptable, regardless of what happens tomorrow.

You don't know how they are going to deal with the issue yet (if, indeed, there is an issue).

They have already made an unacceptable Twitter posting creating doubt in peoples' minds about the validity of their purchase, and they deserve to be seriously chastised (both legally and in publicity) over such an appalling business practice.

 

[Ianno87]

They have already made an unacceptable Twitter posting creating doubt in peoples' minds about the validity of their purchase, and they deserve to be seriously chastised (both legally and in publicity) over such an appalling business practice.

...or they'll just hand out some goodies/freebies tomorrow and everyone will be happy.

 

[Bletchleyite]

...or they'll just hand out some goodies/freebies tomorrow and everyone will be happy.

If it were me I'd not be happy.

I've* been sold a ticket for a given train (selected that train and was sold a ticket - I know how the railway works, but many purchasers won't), and now the company are posting on Twitter that they are not going to honour that purchase. That's a very serious error of business practice, regardless of if they try to fob me* off with a bag of free gimmickry tomorrow or not.

* Hypothetically, I haven't really, but you get what I mean

 

[swt_passenger]

Bring out a second unit, run it as a ten car. Job done.

 

[hexagon789]

Bring out a second unit, run it as a ten car. Job done.

Are all 803s passed to carry passengers now for one thing?

 

[swt_passenger]

Are all 803s passed to carry passengers now for one thing?

No idea. Maybe someone has been keeping tabs on them?

 

[hexagon789]

No idea. Maybe someone has been keeping tabs on them?

Last I'd heard only the first two units were, I thought that was one reason for the limited service at present.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Last I'd heard only the first two units were, I thought that was one reason for the limited service at present.

If I was Lumo I'd be checking out just how many of these TOC specific Anytime tickets without reservation they've sold*, and if it's a considerable number getting on the phone to some coach companies...

(People intending to have a ride using an Any Permitted ticket aren't really an issue, as they can just be told to go and use LNER)

* With sales only online, they could certainly find that out in some manner, or at least the ones their own site has sold which should give them a decent idea.

 

[91103eastcoast]

Could lumo not borrow a hull trains 802 in the short term, if capacity is an issue, they have been using one for training

 

[JonathanH]

Could lumo not borrow a hull trains 802 in the short term, if capacity is an issue, they have been using one for training

They haven't been trying to use 802s coupled to 803s though.

 

[centro-323]

Quite

If I was Lumo I'd be checking out just how many of these TOC specific Anytime tickets without reservation they've sold...

What makes you think that they've NOT been keeping tabs on this? Perhaps that's the exact reason for the tweet that started all this speculation?

 

[dk1]

Bring out a second unit, run it as a ten car. Job done.

If they could I’m sure they would. Nothing is as easy as it seems.

 

[Bletchleyite]

What makes you think that they've NOT been keeping tabs on this? Perhaps that's the exact reason for the tweet that started all this speculation?

Might well be the case, but it remains the case that the Tweet itself is unacceptable.

 

[Ianno87]

If they could I’m sure they would. Nothing is as easy as it seems.

Booked to use Platform 10 at King's Cross...

 

[swt_passenger]

Booked to use Platform 10 at King's Cross...

Ah. Ignore earlier suggestion then…

 

[dk1]

Booked to use Platform 10 at King's Cross...

Is that a problem? Used Kgx many many times but don’t sign it as a driver.