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Offered incorrect ticket / sold wrong ticket

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Par

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I am looking for some advice please.

My daughter (who is 15 and a half but looks a little younger) travelled, along with two teenage friends of the same age, to Blackpool North from Manchester Piccadilly this morning on the 0815 service. They return this evening

Having researched this beforehand, it seemed that a Child Off Peak Return @ £8.25 was the best ticket. And I insisted she ask for this at the booking office, but despite this, she was told by the Clerk that it would not be valid on that service and that it was necessary to wait for the Off Peak Day Return to become valid, with the first train being the 0922 at £7.65.

My daughter persevered with trying to book the 0815 as I had advised she do, and was eventually sold the ticket requested, but at the full adult fare of £16.50.

Where can I go with this? I am unclear whether she made it clear to the Clerk that she wanted a child ticket or not and whether she did or not, is there any chance of obtaining a refund for the overpayment?

Also, any ideas why she would initially be told that the Off Peak return wasn't valid on 0815?

Any advice much appreciated.
 
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GadgetMan

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The off-peak return is indeed valid at any time, I can only think the clerk had confused the restriction with that of the Off-peak DAY return which isn't valid til after 9am or believed your daughter was asking for the day return.

As to why she was sold an adult ticket, as I wasn't there I have no way of knowing.

The best thing to do is send the ticket (after scanning or photocopying for your records) off with a complaint to the TOC who runs the booking office at Manchester and insist on having the overcharged 50% refunded mentioning the poor advice your daughter got as above.
 

pemma

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An Off-Peak Day Return is not valid before 09:16 departure on weekdays, there is no 09:22 departure.

The Off-Peak Return (with the return part valid for one journey 28 days after the outward journey) is valid before then on Manchester-Blackpool services but on other routes the times Off-Peak Return tickets are valid varies.

Did she definitely ask for a child ticket or just assume the clerk would know that she's a child?
 

GadgetMan

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Out of interest, what tickets were her two friends sold? I'm assuming they were also 15 years of age.
 

district

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Seems strange they would have been sold an adult ticket when a child would have been just as easy to issue. As jcollins said, did she definitely ask for a child ticket?
 

Par

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Out of interest, what tickets were her two friends sold? I'm assuming they were also 15 years of age.

All 3 three were sold adult tickets.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Seems strange they would have been sold an adult ticket when a child would have been just as easy to issue. As jcollins said, did she definitely ask for a child ticket?

Not sure that she / they definitely asked for a child ticket. If not, does that rule out any possibilty of a refund?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
An Off-Peak Day Return is not valid before 09:16 departure on weekdays, there is no 09:22 departure.

The Off-Peak Return (with the return part valid for one journey 28 days after the outward journey) is valid before then on Manchester-Blackpool services but on other routes the times Off-Peak Return tickets are valid varies.

Did she definitely ask for a child ticket or just assume the clerk would know that she's a child?

Sorry, I meant 09.16, not 09.22. I knew the Off Peak return was valid, hence why i encouraged her to buy this and not the Off Peak day return.
 

pemma

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Not sure that she / they definitely asked for a child ticket. If not, does that rule out any possibilty of a refund?

In a word - yes. They were sold what was asked for (eventually) and they used the product. You can't get a refund afterwards stating that a cheaper ticket was available if you didn't ask to buy that ticket.

If the ticket clerk refused to sell them a child ticket then it's something Virgin (who run the ticket office) will need to take up.
 

transportphoto

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What I don't get is that they accepted to pay for adult tickets, there are plenty of other ways to obtain tickets from Manchester Picadilly, the ticket office is one, but also loads of self service ticket vending machines (or 'Fast Ticket' machines) littered around the place, couldn't they have purchased their tickets from these? I can't see the chances of getting a refund as high, in all honesty, I can't see one at all.

TP
 

bb21

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The Off-Peak Return is valid at any time, albeit with no break of journey permitted on the outbound portion.

If they were refused sale of the ticket for the wrong reason then I would definitely send in a complaint.

Whether it is an adult or a child ticket makes no difference to the validity of the ticket.
 

Par

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What I don't get is that they accepted to pay for adult tickets, there are plenty of other ways to obtain tickets from Manchester Picadilly, the ticket office is one, but also loads of self service ticket vending machines (or 'Fast Ticket' machines) littered around the place, couldn't they have purchased their tickets from these? I can't see the chances of getting a refund as high, in all honesty, I can't see one at all.

TP

I suppose that's kids for you! I'll check what she asked for when she comes home, and this is probably a lesson learned for her.

Annoyed with the Clerk though, she should not have stated that the Off Peak Return was invalid on the 08.15 as that was flat wrong.
 

pemma

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If they were refused sale of the ticket for the wrong reason then I would definitely send in a complaint.

They shouldn't have been refused sale of a requested ticket type but if it's invalid for certain trains they should be advised of that prior to purchase, with the seller writing 'restrictions advised' on the ticket if the ticket is sold and isn't valid for the next service.
 

Solent&Wessex

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I suppose that's kids for you! I'll check what she asked for when she comes home, and this is probably a lesson learned for her.

Annoyed with the Clerk though, she should not have stated that the Off Peak Return was invalid on the 08.15 as that was flat wrong.
It might be worth clarifying exactly where they purchased the ticket from at Manchester. The ticket office at Manchester Piccadilly is staffed by Virgin, and they are normally quite good in there. The staff at the entrance to the platforms who sell tickets are private contractors working for Northern, and and often incorrect and frequently make mistakes.


 

district

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The ticket was valid, yes, the clerk was wrong, yes and the clerk needs to be spoken to to ensure they give the correct information in future. But you can't blame the clerk for selling an adult ticket if your daughter does not say otherwise. I can't see why you would be liable for a refund if the correct ticket was sold - which you say it was.

You should still write in after finding out more information from your daughter. I can't see a refund being paid but the clerk may be suitably advised and this whole situation may be prevented for your daughter - and other customers in future.
 

ralphchadkirk

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I would suggest speaking to your daughter to find out exactly what happened (I'm not accusing anyone of lying, but details can sometimes be missed in the heat of the moment) before starting any form of correspondence with the TOC to prevent any future embarrassment.
 

Par

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I would suggest speaking to your daughter to find out exactly what happened (I'm not accusing anyone of lying, but details can sometimes be missed in the heat of the moment) before starting any form of correspondence with the TOC to prevent any future embarrassment.

Quite.

That's exactly what i plan to do!
 
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