Or indeed her, as the case may be.
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Sevenoaks ticket office refused to sell ticket
- Thread starter Jackboy29
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Or indeed her, as the case may be.
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RailUK Forums
CoC said:
The range of tickets available at the station was restricted, by the clerk
londonbridge
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As I mentioned in your original thread,I did a gig in Sevenoaks a few weeks back,bought a z1-6 travelcard together with a day return from Orpington to Sevenoaks from my local station,no problem,no questions asked. You did absolutely nothing wrong from what I can see,the staff were in the wrong for refusing to sell you a valid ticket combination,as suggested by other members fire off a strongly-worded complaint to Southeastern Trains and/or get the various passenger groups involved if necessary.
NLC1072
Member
Good idea - purchase the zone r 1-6 travel card online, print it off at the station off of a machine or even from a clerk, then ask for the extension to zone 6? kinda forces the clerk to have to issue the extension lol
As a clerk somewhere on the British network, I happen to know the clerks that refused to sell to you were in the wrong.
Good luck!
As a clerk somewhere on the British network, I happen to know the clerks that refused to sell to you were in the wrong.
Good luck!
RPI
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They should have sold you what you asked for, but the bit i've highlighted above isn't correct, you can only use a train that doesn't stop at the split station if one of the tickets is zonal/season/rover and the other is a single/return, it doesn't apply to having 2 zonal/season/rover tickets.
RPI
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I take it back! doh, I should know better........ was thinking a season counted the same as a zonal ticket.
RJ
Established Member
I see no issue with buying a return to BZ6 in conjunction with a Travelcard.
Sorry if im not reading this correctly but they didnt ask for a 1-6 travelcard..
So just for that one zone is how i understood it to be.. And im struggling to think what journeys they would be wanting to make onwards unless it was for the bus.
If im wrong then apologies, but i cant see a mention of a 1-6 travelcard anywhere in the thread
I did actually point that fact out as a possible source of confusion, but I still think the clerk is being economical with the truth saying that the only thing he could sell for the day would be a Sevenoaks to zones 1-6 travelcard. Because of the two different routes to the boundary and the disproportionate difference in the distance in each case the prices are skewed. The cheapest version is a return to Orpington and a travelcard. Next up is the return to BZ6 and travelcard (which lets you use the odd trains that run fast to London Bridge) while the combined ticket is the most expensive.
RJ
Established Member
They're not the same thing, in some cases, outboundary Travelcards carry more time restrictions than the combination.
At the ticket office I did ask for a Z1-6 travelcard. I just wrote Z6 on here to mean the same thing (a 6 zoned travelcard) but can see the confusion. Ill write Z1-6 in future to make sure theres no confusion. Can u even buy a travelcard for only zone 6?
No. One day travelcards are only available for 1-2, 1-4, 1-6 and 1-9. Seasons from 7 days upwards are available for any combination of zones from any 2 adjacent up to all 9.
Gotta say although I came to this forum after a problem I have enjoyed reading a lot of the topics here. I often come on here now just to have a read. Regarding my problem with Sevenoaks is there online access anywhere to read ATOC's manual as would like to see what it says specifically on ticket combinations. Am not really looking forward to my next run in at Sevenoaks. My partner is going into London tomorrow but she is gonna get a standard return and use her oyster in town to avoid the usual confrontation with the ticket staff.
Glad you like the forum
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/misc/NRCOC.pdf
Only one of a), b) or c) need apply
ATOC have issued guidance to staff a few years ago due to staff acting unlawfully (like in the Sevenoaks example), posted earlier in this thread.
If ticket office staff refuse to adhere to these conditions then that is a breach of the conditions that their operator agreed to when they won the right to run the franchise. This is potentially very serious. Customers have had success through the courts on this issue. If SET refuse to comply, I'd like to see them in the dock.
Thanks. I've got the NRCoC saved in electronic form on my iPhone and tried to use the S19 a&b conditions last time I was there unsuccessfully. I also note your post regarding Newsrail Express 246, which again could come in useful. The manual regarding instructions to staff, 1st post on page 2, looks like an interesting read and I wondered if it is available to the lay person anywhere online
I'm pretty sure that it isn't.
I would like to make some observations. This forum is read by people from ATOC, NRES, and many of the TOCs. Very recently a poster was suggesting that some people at Hither Green might be getting away without having a ticket for their whole journey. The next day SET organised a block at Hither Green. Coincidence? Maybe, we'll never know. Another poster commented on some broken links on the NRES site. Someone came on shortly afterwards and thanked us for drawing their attention to the links which had now been fixed ... and sure enough they had been. What I'm leading up to is that it is just possible that you or your partner won't have any problems tomorrow at Sevenoaks. It would be good to find out, though obviously we'd understand if your partner didn't want any hassle.
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I think a lot of folk who have posted are quite happy for you to pose these sort of problems because ticketing is such a minefield.
did you want a zone 1-6 TC or just the zone 6 TC? What you ask for and what you want can be a very different thing..
But welcome(they never even said hi to me lol)
I see what your saying, I'm sure a lot of people from the train company do come on here. The last three ticket staff at Sevenoaks have all said you have to get off the train at he point tickets change over so this idea seems to be pretty well established at Sevenoaks. I'm not a trouble maker and suspect that initially the ticket clerks were trying to help me by not selling me a ticket that would cause me problems whilst travelling. It was only when I said I'd had similar problem before and checked into it and was certain it was ok that things took a nastier tone and the implication that I was a fare dodger came out.
If the idea is welle stablished at Sevenoaks, then the TOC needs to be aware of this so that the staff can be reminded of the correct rules.
It is relatively easy for these sort of misconceptions to take root in a particular location, as the staff will often take something said by a more experienced colleague as gospel. Then there is also the fact that customers who are seen as getting a cheaper ticket than the 'going rate' must be up to no good. The latter attitude is one that I encountered far too often during my period of employment in the ticket office!
I hope that Southeastern management do read this thread and take action to sort things out at Sevenoaks. I also hope they are as quick to take action about other matters that are raised here, but I won't hodl my breath!
It is relatively easy for these sort of misconceptions to take root in a particular location, as the staff will often take something said by a more experienced colleague as gospel. Then there is also the fact that customers who are seen as getting a cheaper ticket than the 'going rate' must be up to no good. The latter attitude is one that I encountered far too often during my period of employment in the ticket office!
I hope that Southeastern management do read this thread and take action to sort things out at Sevenoaks. I also hope they are as quick to take action about other matters that are raised here, but I won't hodl my breath!
I wanted a Z1-6 TC and there was certainly no misunderstanding regarding what I wanted, only whether it was allowed or not. They understood I was going to London and intended to use a travelcard from Orpington onwards and a separate ticket to get from Sevenoaks to Orpington, whether this be a ticket to BZ6 or a ticket to Orpington. The problem was In their eyes this wasn't allowed as 1. I didn't have a season ticket so the BZ ticket wasn't allowed and 2. I didn't intend to get off the train at Orpington and wait for the next train. I pointed out that the NRCoC support what I said but I had the relevant bit read back to me as if it supported their position, which clearly it doesn't
In that case a manager is going to get in a lot of trouble, if you report this.
That sounds sinister. I suggest recording the conversation. If I lived near London/Sevenoaks I'd go with you to observe your next visit there. I suggest you pursue this matter.
I agree. I've just been on the phone to SET CS (0845 0002222) about another matter and I asked the questions about this issue. They are adamant that the combination is valid (BZ6 on any train, Orpington if the train calls there). They say that Sevenoaks should sell you the combination. The only thing they weren't sure about is whether their machine could issue the all zones travelcard. I'd be surprised if it couldn't, but to be 100% sure you could always order the travelvcard online and pick up at their TVM then go to the ticket office and ask for the BZ6 tickets. Or you could order both travelcard and return to Orpington and by-pass the ticket office completely.
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