Questions on coupons

[OooerrJimLad]

I'm not a regular train user so please forgive my lack of knowledge in this area...

In a couple of months I'm travelling down to London from Norwich and returning 4 days later. I bought and paid for my tickets online (first class as it was so cheap in advance) and yesterday I popped down to the station and picked them up from one of those self service machines.

Now things get a little confusing... I've got the two tickets, the inbound and outbound. A collection receipt and a card that says 'valid only with reservations'.. What I didn't notice at the time is that the collection receipt states '5 coupons' and I only have 4.

On the tickets themselves they say 'valid only with ticket xxxx', both have different numbers. The third card matches the number on the London to Norwich trip, but I have nothing that matches the number on the Norwich to London part.

But the third card also says 'issued as 2 coupons' in the top right corner, does this mean it validates both of my tickets?

Sorry if I've made things overly confusing, and thank you in advance.

 

[Brucey]

The tickets are singles, one for each direction.

You will have a ticket for each direction (ticket type will say ADVANCE or something similar) and marked "Valid only with reservations". Each ticket is then accompanied with reservation(s) for each leg of the journey. These will be marked "Valid only with ticket number 00000".

Issued as 2 coupons, means that there is the ticket itself and the reservation coupon. You must present both for the ticket to be valid.

If you still don't think you have everything, photograph/scan the tickets and post here (or PM to me).

 

[AlterEgo]

"Five coupons" includes the collection receipt.

 

[Eagle]

What I didn't notice at the time is that the collection receipt states '5 coupons' and I only have 4.

Outbound ticket + reservation + return ticket + reservation + the receipt itself = 5 coupons.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....Now things get a little confusing... I've got the two tickets, the inbound and outbound. A collection receipt and a card that says 'valid only with reservations'.. What I didn't notice at the time is that the collection receipt states '5 coupons' and I only have 4.

On the tickets themselves they say 'valid only with ticket xxxx', both have different numbers. The third card matches the number on the London to Norwich trip, but I have nothing that matches the number on the Norwich to London part.

But the third card also says 'issued as 2 coupons' in the top right corner, does this mean it validates both of my tickets?....

It sounds like you have two reservation coupons (which you have listed as the tickets), one of the train tickets (London to Norwich) and the collection receipt.

You are missing the Norwich-London ticket. I would suggest you contact the company you bought the ticket from to confirm if it was actually issued (in which case you may need to buy a new ticket) or if it was not (in which case they should inform you of how to get a replacement).

 

[OooerrJimLad]

Outbound ticket + reservation + return ticket + reservation + the receipt itself = 5 coupons.

I was including the receipt itself, still only 4.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

It sounds like you have two reservation coupons (which you have listed as the tickets), one of the train tickets (London to Norwich) and the collection receipt.

You are missing the Norwich-London ticket. I would suggest you contact the company you bought the ticket from to confirm if it was actually issued (in which case you may need to buy a new ticket) or if it was not (in which case they should inform you of how to get a replacement).

Thank you, this sounds the most likely. I'll contact the company as you advised.

 

[transportphoto]

Can you upload a scan / photo of all the tickets you have collected? This will enable us to correctly identify what you are missing

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

I was including the receipt itself, still only 4.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Thank you, this sounds the most likely. I'll contact the company as you advised.

Just a quick point - I purchased some tickets from the East Coast website and I was missing one when I picked them up from the ticket machine at Bangor. I was expecting that I would have to contact East Coast, but I asked at the booking office (Bangor) and a very helpful booking clerk asked me to pop my card into his machine and the missing ticket popped out!

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

Yes, indeed, if you go back to the station the ticket machine was at and check with the ticket office. They can reissue tickets if there's a reasonable chance that the machine didn't, since they are responsible for issuing the ticket to you once the vendor has sent the ticket electronically to the machine ie. TOD, in the jargon... . I still struggle to see why the reservation alone for ADVs can't be ticket itself in most cases since it contains all the relevant information/validation. The only thing a ticket adds is authority to travel on connections to the reserved service.

 

[island]

[OT]Irish Rail manages to print a return advance ticket on one coupon.[/OT]

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

[OT]Irish Rail manages to print a return advance ticket on one coupon.[/OT]

It'll never catch on!!

 

[dvboy]

I've had a ticket machine not print out a reservation coupon. I wasn't travelling on an advance ticket though so it didn't really matter.

 

[causton]

I've had a ticket machine not print out a reservation coupon. I wasn't travelling on an advance ticket though so it didn't really matter.

And on the other hand I've rushed off collecting my ticket at Hatfield with a return to Birmingham and not realised that I've forgotten my PlusBus ticket... until I was at Marylebone!

I had the receipt though, which I always thought printed last, but I think the PlusBus printed at the same time on the second ticket printer...

 

[34D]

And on the other hand I've rushed off collecting my ticket at Hatfield with a return to Birmingham and not realised that I've forgotten my PlusBus ticket... until I was at Marylebone!

I had the receipt though, which I always thought printed last, but I think the PlusBus printed at the same time on the second ticket printer...

Most TVMs I've seen will display a message on screen once everything has dropped out.

I think wev all seen someone elses return portion or credit card receipt in the bottom of a TVM....

 

[yorkie]

In order to keep things "simple" (in ATOC-speak; that actually means complicated for most people!) some ticket machines consider the collection receipt to be a "coupon". Some ticket machines do not.

For example if you collect a ticket with one reservation from East Coast, the receipt will state 3 coupons. But collect the ticket from Northern and it will state 2 coupons!

In further complications, some ticket machines print reservations for multiple passengers on one coupon (which can be really awkward at times, especially when the passengers are all travelling from further afield and some of them - but not all - get delayed en-route!) while others print a separate coupon per passenger.

 

[island]

In further complications, some ticket machines print reservations for multiple passengers on one coupon (which can be really awkward at times, especially when the passengers are all travelling from further afield and some of them - but not all - get delayed en-route!) while others print a separate coupon per passenger.

This is really annoying!

 

[Brucey]

Also, some machines (e.g. SWT S&B machines) will print "ISSUED AS 04 COUPONS" at the top right of a 2-part return with reservations. This makes it seem very misleading, as if you are restricted to travelling on those specific services (which obviously you're not).

 

[Smethwickian]

I've had a ticket machine not print out a reservation coupon. I wasn't travelling on an advance ticket though so it didn't really matter.

Or it was printed but missed the slot. I was sitting waiting for a train at Edinburgh Waverley a couple of months ago near where the Virgin ticket machines are (outside the main ticket office) and saw a young woman obviously having difficulty. She went to seek assistance and when two members of staff turned up they opened the front of the machine and retrieved quite a few tickets from the floor inside the front of the machine. It looked like the printers just sat on a shelf inside and one was a little further back than the other, which one of the staff adjusted before closing up.

 

[OooerrJimLad]

Thank you for all the feedback.

I did as one of the gentlemen suggested and went back to the station this morning. The booking clerk told me it wouldn't be possible to issue the same ticket twice, but he went to check in their lockbox to see if it had been handed in. And sure enough, there it was.

So situation resolved and lesson learned.

Thanks again.