"Seek Assistance" - Virgin Rail Barriers

[FrustratedOfEa]

I travel by train each day ... starting and finishing all legs of my journey at a station with the new Virgin barriers.

Without fail, the only time that my ticket works in the barrier is for the first journey of the day (i.e. when i have just purchased the tickets).

For every barrier interaction after this, i get "Seek Assistance" at the barrier and have to show my ticket to the member of staff who then has to open the gates and let me through.

This is intensely irritating. Firstly because I have to wait to get someone's attention while the people behind me get annoyed. Secondly because the member of staff will invariably instruct me to try the ticket again, whilst the people behind me get more annoyed. Thirdly because by now i am possibly cutting it finer for my than that i should have been.

Eventually, the person will look at my ticket and open the gate for me.

Does anybody have any idea why this is?

I have been told that it is probably because i store my ticket near a mobile phone ... i stopped doing this and it made no difference.

Then i was told it was because the ticket has a crease in it ... i store it in the pages of a book ... no difference.

Is there anything else I can try? Or are the machine readers just rubbish?

Cheers for any suggestions, it's driving me mental.

 

[AlterEgo]

What's the journey, and what tickets are you buying?

 

[DarloRich]

I travel by train each day ... starting and finishing all legs of my journey at a station with the new Virgin barriers.

Without fail, the only time that my ticket works in the barrier is for the first journey of the day (i.e. when i have just purchased the tickets).

For every barrier interaction after this, i get "Seek Assistance" at the barrier and have to show my ticket to the member of staff who then has to open the gates and let me through.

This is intensely irritating. Firstly because I have to wait to get someone's attention while the people behind me get annoyed. Secondly because the member of staff will invariably instruct me to try the ticket again, whilst the people behind me get more annoyed. Thirdly because by now i am possibly cutting it finer for my than that i should have been.

Eventually, the person will look at my ticket and open the gate for me.

Does anybody have any idea why this is?

I have been told that it is probably because i store my ticket near a mobile phone ... i stopped doing this and it made no difference.

Then i was told it was because the ticket has a crease in it ... i store it in the pages of a book ... no difference.

Is there anything else I can try? Or are the machine readers just rubbish?

Cheers for any suggestions, it's driving me mental.

if it is a season the magnet will already have done the damage. Get a replacement ticket and keep the new one away from any magnets/mobiles.

 

[FrustratedOfEa]

Stockport to Crewe (and back).
Standard day return (peak).

Very, very occasionally they will work (a real rarity) so i am fairly sure it's not related to the type of ticket i am using.

How close to the magnet/phone is a problem?

I used to store them in the same pocket ... but now I keep them in a bag(in the book) or in my wallet.

Would a laptop cause the same issue? Could be that.

 

[DarloRich]

Stockport to Crewe (and back).
Standard day return (peak).

Very, very occasionally they will work (a real rarity) so i am fairly sure it's not related to the type of ticket i am using.

How close to the magnet/phone is a problem?

I used to store them in the same pocket ... but now I keep them in a bag(in the book) or in my wallet.

Would a laptop cause the same issue? Could be that.

I have the same problem with my season ticket. I think it is the secret government chip embedded inside to blame Get a ticket wallet and keep the tickets in your inside coat pocket away from other items.

it could be that the machine you buy the ticket from isnt coding them up correctly or that the gates are set to reject that type of ticket.

 

[greaterwest]

If you write down the code it shows on the screen each time (next to the "seek assistance") we may be able to help you further.

 

[FrustratedOfEa]

Will grab the code, thank You.

 

[pdeaves]

it could be that the machine you buy the ticket from isnt coding them up correctly or that the gates are set to reject that type of ticket.

That's a distinct possibility. I have never had a 'via HS1' ticket work the St Pancras barriers, in either direction, for example.

 

[FrustratedOfEa]

If you write down the code it shows on the screen each time (next to the "seek assistance") we may be able to help you further.

After my last posts, i ended up being sent to work elsewhere for a couple of weeks ... anyway ... back at Crewe today, back with the "Seek Assistance" rejection of ticket.

Code is '09' if that means anything to anyone!

 

[causton]

After my last posts, i ended up being sent to work elsewhere for a couple of weeks ... anyway ... back at Crewe today, back with the "Seek Assistance" rejection of ticket.

Code is '09' if that means anything to anyone!

It does - it means, yes, your ticket is corrupted or demagnetised and you will have to get it replaced unfortunately!

The full list is available here:

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1780464&postcount=5

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Code is '09' . . . .

That seems to confirm that the data on the ticket's mag stripe has been corrupted somehow.

There are all sorts of equipment which generate magnetic fields - though I'm going to assume that you don't work in a hospital's MRI scaner department, or in an aluminium smelter, with loudspeakers, or in a high power radio transmitter, or cook with and induction hob, or . . . . .

It could be any one of a hundred places you pass through during your day.

 

[ironstone11]

That seems to confirm that the data on the ticket's mag stripe has been corrupted somehow.

It could be being corrupted by the first reader you encounter.

OR

Where do you sit on the train? There may be huge magnetic fields in the coach with the transformer and the electric motors. (I assume it is electric.)

Try sitting at the front or the back, away from the power electrics and see if that makes any difference.

 

[greaterwest]

If it's corrupted by a gate you're more likely to see an "08" on the first try, then "09" thereafter.

 

[FrustratedOfEa]

Excellent.

Thanks all ... will try a few things based on the suggestions and see if i can get the tickets to work!