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Misold tickets twice for one return trip! What can I do?

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Casey Jones

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Hello fellow rail travellers. Don't know much about trains here so would be grateful if those of you who know their stuff could give me some advice on how to proceed with this.

15 y.o. daughter (16 in October) was travelling to stay with friends for the weekend from Dorking Deepdene to Wokingham, leaving Friday 15.6.2012 at 4:30ish, returning Sunday 17.6.2012 at about 3:00ish.

Dorking ticket office closed so she asked another traveller what to do & was told you buy the tickets on the train. On the train she asked for a return ticket to come back on the following Sunday & was charged £11.20.

On here arrival at her friend's house in Wokingham she noticed the return ticket had been issued for return the same day as the outward journey. The next morning she went to Wokingham Station to ask what to do & was told to speak to the ticket seller / inspector on the train on her way home.

Sunday comes & on the train from Wokingham to Dorking she explains to (a different form the first) ticket seller / inspector she'd been sold the wrong return ticket & shows him the ticket she'd been sold.

Too bad, too late, tough luck says the guy, who then refuses to sell her a child's ticket, insisting she pay the adult one way fare of £11.10 for the trip despite repeatedly telling him she is 15.

So, as I see it, two mistakes have doubled her travel costs:

1) Return ticket sold for wrong date. If a return ticket spread over a couple of days is not available then why not sell her two singles or a single outbound ticket & tell her to buy the return leg when she's travelling?

2) Adult ticket issued when she qualifies for a child fare.

What can I do?

TIA.
 
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island

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It would appear she was sold an adult off-peak day return (the only £11.20 ticket) on the way out and an adult off-peak day single (£11.10) coming back, route VIA GOMSHALL. The ticket that would have suited her requirements, if purchased before boarding, would have been an off-peak return route VIA GOMSHALL, costing £10.85 child. So it's up to you to contact the train operating company in question (First Great Western?) and enclose all the tickets, requesting a refund of the difference.

However, I would point out that she should have bought her ticket at the ticket vending machine at Dorking Deepdene in the first place.
 

yorkie

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Welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear that.

She should have been sold an Off Peak Return (SVR) Dorking to Wokingham (route via Gomshall):-

http://brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=DKG&dest=WKM&grpo=0416&rlc=%20%20%20&rte=615&ldn=0&tkt=SVR

This is £10.85 for a Child.

It sounds like she was sold an Off Peak Day Return (CDR) and an Off Peak Day Single (CDS), both at adult rate.

Did she ask for child tickets, did she have any proof of age? Unfortunately a lot of 16+ year olds pretend to be 15, and you cannot tell someones age, someone could be 15 and look younger than an 11 year old but equally someone else could be 15 but look older than a 20 year old, in some cases. I would recommend obtaining a child rate photocard to avoid potential problems, which will be issued free from your nearest staffed station.

Did she ask for a ticket to return a different day?

I suggest writing to the Company. I am happy to proof read a letter for you.
 

lyndhurst25

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H and welcome to the forumi,
it sounds like your daughter got a rough deal.

Just to clarify a couple of things.
You say that the ticket office at Dorking Deepdene was closed but according to National Rail Enquiries there is no ticket office at that station, only a ticket machine.
The £11.20 ticket that she was sold on her outbound journey seems to have been an ADULT off-peak day return! Did she specifically ask for a child ticket as well as saying that she was coming back on different day?

I'm not sure why Wokingham refused to sell her a child ticket if she asked for one.

If I were you I'd write to First Great Western customer services and enclose copies of the tickets involved. What she should have bought was a £10.85 CHILD Off-peak Return. Ask them to refund the difference.


Customer services team
First Great Western
Freepost SWB40576
Plymouth
PL4 6ZZ
 

Casey Jones

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Wow! Thanks for the fast replies.

I just checked her return ticket & it is indeed an adult ticket. She uses the train for shorter local journeys so knows all about asking for a child's ticket & has never encountered this refusal before.

Don't know about ticket offices in DD, I've never been there. I'll enquire when she's home from school & clarify the point.

I spoke to someone at FGW who said it's the passenger's responsibility to check their tickets at the window & as she didn't then it's now too late.

On the adult one way Wok > DD ticket he said a refund of the difference may be in order if I submit the ticket, an explanation & photo ID of my daughter.
 

lyndhurst25

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I don't think she ever attempted to buy a ticket from Wokingham.

True. From the OP's story, It seems that Wokingham ticket office passed the buck so what I meant was "from the guard on the train from Wokingham".
 

Casey Jones

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it's all in the opening post -
The next morning she went to Wokingham Station to ask what to do & was told to speak to the ticket seller / inspector on the train on her way home.

IMHO it would be foolish indeed to buy another ticket for the Wokingham > Dorking leg without trying to sort out the issue with the first
ticket.
 

lyndhurst25

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I spoke to someone at FGW who said it's the passenger's responsibility to check their tickets at the window & as she didn't then it's now too late.

On the adult one way Wok > DD ticket he said a refund of the difference may be in order if I submit the ticket, an explanation & photo ID of my daughter.

I wouldn't let them fob you off with that. If you ask to be sold a "child return to Wokingham, coming back on Sunday please" then that's quite a simple request. IMHO it's not up to the passenger to examine every and question every detail of the ticket(s) they are given on the spot. The price of the ticket issued in error and the one requested are very similar so you wouldn't necessarily think question the ticket. Indeed it was fortunate that she spotted the error on Friday and did the right thing to seek help at Wokingham ticket office the following day, even though they weren't much help

I'm not sure why they want photo ID for your daughter. How do they know what she looks like?
 

ng1980

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I wouldn't let them fob you off with that. If you ask to be sold a "child return to Wokingham, coming back on Sunday please" then that's quite a simple request. IMHO it's not up to the passenger to examine every and question every detail of the ticket(s) they are given on the spot. The price of the ticket issued in error and the one requested are very similar so you wouldn't necessarily think question the ticket. Indeed it was fortunate that she spotted the error on Friday and did the right thing to seek help at Wokingham ticket office the following day, even though they weren't much help

I'm not sure why they want photo ID for your daughter. How do they know what she looks like?

Absolutely agree with Lyndhurst!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
H and welcome to the forumi,

... even though some dialects of the UK would put the 'i' after the initial 'H'!
 

Sacro

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Dorking Deepdene has no ticket office, just a ticket machine on the road at the south (towards Guildford) side of the station.

Last time I checked, it was set to credit cards only because of vandals stealing the cash.
 

lyndhurst25

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Absolutely agree with Lyndhurst!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


... even though some dialects of the UK would put the 'i' after the initial 'H'!

My eyesight must be going... That and this rubbish bluetooth keyboard randomly missing letters out as I type.
 

ng1980

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My eyesight must be going... That and this rubbish bluetooth keyboard randomly missing letters out as I type.

He he.

I know the feeling. I'm like that when I use my phone (hence rarely doing so), when I use a laptop with that over sensitive mouse sensor which always moves the cursor, and when I use my work computer where some keys (especially Ctrl) only work when hit very hard with a hammer.
 
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