Retrieving Tickets.

[roblondon]

Yesterday I booked tickets online to pick up at the machine at my local station.

Later in the day I recieved a replacement card and absent mindedly destroyed the one I'd used for the booking.

I am left unable to retrieve my tickets. Any advice?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

1) Phone the helpline of the place you bought the ticket, they may be able to set the booking to the new card or allow any card pick up.

2) Failing that, go to the booking office at the pick up station with the reference number and the remains of the old card and see what they can do for you.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Yesterday I booked tickets online to pick up at the machine at my local station.

Later in the day I recieved a replacement card and absent mindedly destroyed the one I'd used for the booking.

I am left unable to retrieve my tickets. Any advice?

Have you actually tried collecting them? It may not need every detail on the card for mere identification purposes, it may be similar enough to work?

 

[gordonthemoron]

does the new card have the same number as the old one?

 

[185]

Sale of goods act. The train company or ticket company have to issue you the ticket you paid for. Call their customer services to arrange a different method of delivery or collection.

 

[island]

Train tickets are services, not goods.

I think Royston Vassey's suggestion is worth a try. Anecdotal evidence is that sometimes the tickets can be collected with a card in your name, even though it might not be the one you booked with.

 

[phil35]

The same thing has happened to me before. However, in my case I didn't realise the card I'd paid on was the destroyed card until I arrived 30 minutes before the train was due to depart. The ticket manchine wouldn't accept my (new) card to retrieve them, so I would assume it wouldn't accept the person in question here's card either.

The train was due to leave about 6.30pm, after the office that deals with the ticket machines had closed. I was told there was nothing they could do, except have me buy another full price ticket. I was told at the time, I would only be able to obtain a refund for the ticket I never collected rather than the full price ticket, but a phone call / letter combo to the TOC that I purchased them from soon sorted that out. I recieved the full ticket amount in train vouchers within a couple of weeks.

 

[roblondon]

Thanks for everyone's input.

I did try the machine yesterday with the new card (which has a different number) to no avail and the station staff were not interested in my problem.

However, I've just spoken to Cross Country's surprisingly helpful call centre. I'm told that I can now present my reference numbers and passport to the station staff and they will issue the tickets, the only odd caveat being this is "at their discretion".

Wish me luck. Hopefully this minor crisis will be resolved soon.

 

[phil35]

Based on my experience, I would try and do this as far in advance of your journey as possible. Obvious if your journey is later on today, then that isn't going to happen, but the sooner you have the opportunity to get them the better.

 

[roblondon]

The tickets have been issued after some confusion, delay and phone calls to supervisors.

 

[island]

Were they issued at a ticket office or vending machine?

 

[roblondon]

At the ticket office.

 

[ticketmanmike]

as all company staff have been told specifically not to issue ticket on departure except in any circumstances where the ticket vending machines are out of service.

In my experience, you would have to contact the relevant customer services who can then amend the collection to enable any card to be used.

 

[LexyBoy]

In my experience, you would have to contact the relevant customer services who can then amend the collection to enable any card to be used.

It would seem that the OP did contact customer services, who arranged for the ticket to be issued at the ticket office.

Welcome to the forum BTW!

 

[ticketmanmike]

you would not be issued the ticket as we were all briefed this is NOT to be done whichever ID you bring with you. Very frustrating but company policy must be adhered to unless you want the chop

 

[yorkie]

you would not be issued the ticket as we were all briefed this is NOT to be done whichever ID you bring with you. Very frustrating but company policy must be adhered to unless you want the chop

Which company is this?

The OP mentions CrossCountry (XC), but as far as I know XC do not operate any stations and have no ticket office staff!

I would be very interested to know which company you are referring to, (sounds like a Stagecoach policy to me).

I've had no problems with East Coast.

 

[transportphoto]

Which company is this?

The OP mentions CrossCountry (XC), but as far as I know XC do not operate any stations and have no ticket office staff!

I would be very interested to know which company you are referring to, (sounds like a Stagecoach policy to me).

I've had no problems with East Coast.

Title of his post said SWT = Norwich has now got a couple of A4 signs in the ticket office saying that they won't issue TODs unless it has been arranged thorough the booking agent.

 

[MikeWh]

you would not be issued the ticket as we were all briefed this is NOT to be done whichever ID you bring with you. Very frustrating but company policy must be adhered to unless you want the chop

A small point to note. It is generally not helpful to start a sentence in the title field when replying to a thread already in existance. People don't tend to look up there. The title field is really only for the initial post as that's what appears on the thread summary pages.

 

[roblondon]

To clarify my case for those of you interested....

The tickets were booked on the XC website to be collected at the machine at my local station which is operated by Southeastern.

I contacted XC customer services who impled that they had made arrangements for me to collect the tickets at the booking office.

The station staff were unaware of any such arrangements and phoned a superior who said they were able to issue them which they duly did.

I'm now headed off on a trip I never wanted to make in the first place!

 

[moonrakerz]

To clarify my case for those of you interested....

The tickets were booked on the XC website to be collected at the machine at my local station which is operated by Southeastern.

A lot easier if you are dealing with just one company..............makes a good case for booking your tickets through the TOC that manages the station where you intend to collect the tickets.
Certainly reinforces the case for NOT using third party ticket sellers like the trainline too !

 

[roblondon]

I'm not sure having booked on Southeastern's (rather creeky) site would have made any difference. All TOCs appear to use the same system and the SE staff did not need to contact XC to issue the tickets in the end.

Why does anyone use Trainline anymore given their fees?

 

[island]

Why does anyone use Trainline anymore given their fees?

Some people claim to be able to access cheaper advance fares there, because they present them upfront whereas National Rail Enquiries and most TOC websites require you to tick some box saying something like "show slower journeys".

When you think about it they are all acting exactly in their own interests; thetrainline charges the same fee on a £1.50 ticket as a £200 one and pax are more likely to use it again or recommend it if they find a fare cheaper there, whereas the TOCs would prefer you to travel on a fast service and pay more!

 

[moonrakerz]

I'm not sure having booked on Southeastern's (rather creeky) site would have made any difference. All TOCs appear to use the same system and the SE staff did not need to contact XC to issue the tickets in the end.

The point I was making was that if you booked the tickets from SE and tried to collect them from SE it would have been difficult for them to "pass the buck" and blame someone else. At least (if the station is manned) you have a human being to speak to in person whose company is responsible for the whole thing. It is all to easy for a busy/lazy ticket clerk to say, "you'll have to phone the trainline about that".

The last thing I would ever do is buy tickets from trainline, to use on SWT and collect from a machine on my local FGW station - they would have you running round like a headless chicken !

 

[Mojo]

A lot easier if you are dealing with just one company..............makes a good case for booking your tickets through the TOC that manages the station where you intend to collect the tickets.
Certainly reinforces the case for NOT using third party ticket sellers like the trainline too !

Depends on the journey and the prices offered by various websites. The cheapest XC Advance fares are only available through the XC website. I'd rather pay a lower fare than face the very small risk that I'll have a problem.

 

[penaltyfines]

Sale of goods act. The train company or ticket company have to issue you the ticket you paid for. Call their customer services to arrange a different method of delivery or collection.

See the Supply of Goods and Services Act.

 

[barrykas]

I contacted XC customer services who impled that they had made arrangements for me to collect the tickets at the booking office.

Typical Trainline...Their idea of "making arrangements" involves updating the remarks on the booking, which can only be viewed on Tribute IIRC. :roll:

If I had a pound for every argument I'd had with a passenger as a result of Trainline telling them they could pick up their tickets from our Ticket Office (no...we don't have ToD functionality, go to Paddington, being the stock reply), I'd be a very rich man...

Cheers,

Barry

 

[Solent&Wessex]

The general instructions to staff contained in "The Manual" are as follows:

2. SSTVM is working but the customer is unable to recall the booking.

a)Ask the customer for the CTR reference and the payment card used for the purchase and recall the booking (where the customer is unable to present the same card request the purchase of a new ticket).

or

If the ToD seller has set the CTR reference to permit collection using any payment card (Flag 3) then recall the booking with a different payment card (where no payment card is presented but the seller has set the collection to ‘any card’ collection (Flag 3) then subject to photographic identity confirming the name of the customer (e.g. driving licence or similar id as determined by the issuing office owning TOC) the tickets may be issued.)