Ticket machines not accepting railcard discount in advance

[Mikey C]

A minor moan, but it's pretty irritating when your train goes soon after 10am (the network card cutoff time) that ticket machines won't let you get that discount or buy super off peak tickets literally until the clock strikes 10.

Fortunately I had just enough time to then get my ticket (at London Bridge) and there wasn't a long queue but if I had missed a half hourly service it would have been pretty annoying.

I know they don't want people to travel before they are allowed to, but surely they can sell the tickets anyway but with a large warning on the screen about availability, as if I had joined the (long) queue for the ticket office, they would have happily sold me the ticket at 9:45.

 

[Wallsendmag]

How old fashioned , do they sell Advance tickets as well?

 

[Hadders]

It’s irritating but about right for certain train operators. I’ll bet the last service before the Railcard could be used left 15-30 minutes before 10am as well.

The best way round this is to buy on line and collect from the same machine.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Still the case on Manchester Metrolink - I've missed a valid tram at Altrincham because the machine won't sell off-peak tickets before off-peak time. A 5-10 minute window would cause minimal, if any, loss.

 

[talldave]

Southeastern machines won't sell Gold Card discounts (valid 09.30 onwards) until 09.31 due to sloppy configuration on Southeastern's part. Very frustrating when you want to catch an 09.31 departure. However, you can use the machines' "buy tickets for future travel" feature to do it, even when "future" only means 4 or 5 minutes time!

 

[Mikey C]

Southeastern machines won't sell Gold Card discounts (valid 09.30 onwards) until 09.31 due to sloppy configuration on Southeastern's part. Very frustrating when you want to catch an 09.31 departure. However, you can use the machines' "buy tickets for future travel" feature to do it, even when "future" only means 4 or 5 minutes time!

I'll try that next time!

 

[Mikey C]

The same thing happened to me on Wednesday, but this time at Paddington! What was more annoying was that the machine didn't accept my Network Card even a minute AFTER 10am! Querying this with a member of staff, he told me to try again, as there's a delay of a couple of minutes before the machines accept such a railcard, and it then worked...

I'll buy in advance next time...

 

[talldave]

From what I've researched on S&B machines, the railcard acceptance times are configured (incorrectly) by the TOC. I'm not sure if that's common to other TVM brands.

 

[Wallsendmag]

On our machines it depends on the journey you search for.

 

[Mikey C]

From what I've researched on S&B machines, the railcard acceptance times are configured (incorrectly) by the TOC. I'm not sure if that's common to other TVM brands.

To me it must be deliberate, as the ticket machine displays the time! Surely if the machine is showing 10:00, then any railcard with such a time restriction should automatically be allowed?

 

[PeterC]

Fix it and we'll have a thread saying that "the ticket should be accepted because the machine sold it regardless of the published restriction".

Ideally there should be a margin allowed although no earlier than the departure of the previous, undiscounted, service.

 

[talldave]

To me it must be deliberate, as the ticket machine displays the time! Surely if the machine is showing 10:00, then any railcard with such a time restriction should automatically be allowed?

I know it's deliberate - but they've "deliberately" set the wrong time!!! In the case of Gold Cards, valid from 09:30, Southeastern have configured their S&B machines to allow Gold Card transactions from 09:31. I use the term "deliberately" loosely, as I believe the word incompetently could be a more accurate description. Southeastern cannot explain why they do this.

 

[TUC]

I am left wondering and puzzled at the number of people in threads like this who complain but don't seem willing to simply buy online as an alternative.

 

[superalbs]

I am left wondering and puzzled at the number of people in threads like this who complain but don't seem willing to simply buy online as an alternative.

Not everyone is able to purchase online. Might be a very short notice journey, or other reasons.

Also, they shouldn't have to, the tickets should just be available at all times with a very clear warning.

 

[island]

I am left wondering and puzzled at the number of people in threads like this who complain but don't seem willing to simply buy online as an alternative.

Or, as the stations mentioned are all major railheads, use the booking office.

 

[TUC]

Not everyone is able to purchase online. Might be a very short notice journey, or other reasons.

I find these days that a ticket ordered online is available at the machine pretty much immediately.

 

[talldave]

I find these days that a ticket ordered online is available at the machine pretty much immediately.

I would agree, but for short notice trips the time taken to purchase at a TVM is significantly less than the time taken to purchase online, especially if the TVM supports contactless.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I find these days that a ticket ordered online is available at the machine pretty much immediately.

It depends on which booking TIS you use - ones based on Raileasy (e.g. TrainSplit) and MixingDeck (e.g. TPExpress'/GWR's old website, Red Spotted Hanky) are definitely available for immediate ToD pickup. Trainline based systems (e.g. ATW, XC, EMT, WMT, NT, VT) used to always tell you you have to wait up to 2 hours (some now say 1 hour) and I definitely wouldn't risk it on them.

 

[PeterC]

Not everyone is able to purchase online. Might be a very short notice journey, or other reasons.

Also, they shouldn't have to, the tickets should just be available at all times with a very clear warning.

What does a customer who isn't a railway ticketing expert expect from a TVM?
As an occasional traveller I don't want any complexity I want speed. I want to tell it where I am going and be given a ticket that I can use NOW with the minimuim of options to select on screen. Anything else I can book on line or use a manual ticket office.

 

[superalbs]

What does a customer who isn't a railway ticketing expert expect from a TVM?
As an occasional traveller I don't want any complexity I want speed. I want to tell it where I am going and be given a ticket that I can use NOW with the minimuim of options to select on screen. Anything else I can book on line or use a manual ticket office.

Well this very thread outlines why being able to buy other ticket types is advantageous.

Why should someone have to pay an expensive fare even when a cheaper one that would do the same job is available on the same trains?

 

[Wallsendmag]

We've done exactly this with our TVMs and they've been slated for being too complicated. You really can't win. It's simple, you pick the service you want and the fares that apply show up. You can get whichever railcard discount is applicable to that service whenever you are buying it. I give up!!!

 

[Hadders]

We've done exactly this with our TVMs and they've been slated for being too complicated. You really can't win. It's simple, you pick the service you want and the fares that apply show up. You can get whichever railcard discount is applicable to that service whenever you are buying it. I give up!!!

Good intention but there's silly things like one of the most popular railcards (16-25) being buried at the bottom of the railcard list, requiring you to swipe down 2 or 3 times to find it and the Disabled Child railcard (which must be one of the least used ones) being the first option!

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

We've done exactly this with our TVMs and they've been slated for being too complicated. You really can't win. It's simple, you pick the service you want and the fares that apply show up. You can get whichever railcard discount is applicable to that service whenever you are buying it. I give up!!!

I think TVMs, like all points of sale on the railway, should have two "modes" - simple and expert. If you just want a ticket and are an 'average Joe' you can use simple mode. If you're someone like a forum member you can specify exactly what you want even if means starting late from another station, stopping short and so on.

 

[island]

I agree. I’ve found such features available in, for example, Germany where one can switch between “specify a ticket” and “specify a journey”.

 

[talldave]

We've done exactly this with our TVMs and they've been slated for being too complicated. You really can't win. It's simple, you pick the service you want and the fares that apply show up. You can get whichever railcard discount is applicable to that service whenever you are buying it. I give up!!!

But have yours, like Southeastern's (and others??), been programmed with the wrong times for railcard validity? That's what this thread is about. I expect to be able to buy a ticket at 09:30 for use with my railcard that's valid from 09:30. In fact, I'd prefer to be able to buy a couple of minutes earlier to allow me to catch an 09:30 departure, but that's a discussion beyond the understanding abilities of most TOCs since they either don't understand the problem or refuse to do anything about it.

 

[Mikey C]

Or, as the stations mentioned are all major railheads, use the booking office.

Have you seen the ticket office queue at major stations? Besides that's not really the way things are going

 

[A Challenge]

You can specify tickets for future travel and then select that days date and a tine later in the day (even if only by 20 minutes), at least on some TVMs.

 

[AM9]

I had exactly the opposite occur to me the week before last. I wanted an Anytime zone 1-6 travelcard from St Albans Abbey (SAA). I went to get it from the TVM at SAA the day before. I entered the details including a Senior Railcard (which I do by default as the TVMs at St Albans City just ignore them when they don't apply and price the ticket at the full fare). The Anytime fare is £25.30 (or £18.10 with a railcard). I entered the date (the next day) and then it asked for the time that the ticket was to be valid from. I entered 07:00 which it accepted and then allowed me to buy the ticket.
When I got home I checked the fares and realised that the railcard discount had been incorrectly applied. I spoke to customer services who said that I should approach the guard on the train for an excess. This I did but he said that as he didn't issue the ticket, he couldn't help me. I then was allowed to exit the barrier at Watford Junction to buy and excess at the ticket office. The clerk insisted that the ticket was valid and there was no need to buy an excess. I boarded at LNW train to Euston. The guard came through and was only interested in asking for tickets in the adjacent first class saloon. When I arrived at Euston, there was the usual crush at the gate and I was just in the flow through the accesible wide gate.
So, I was outside the gates and as it was nearly the real validity time I walked to Euston Square when at 09:25 the gates let me through to the LU platforms. It just goes to show that sometimes, the railway doesn't allow an honest traveller to fix a problem not entirely of their making.

 

[talldave]

You can specify tickets for future travel and then select that days date and a tine later in the day (even if only by 20 minutes), at least on some TVMs.

I know. And that's Southeastern's recommended workaround. It also gives them the excuse for doing nothing about the problem.

 

[Wallsendmag]

But have yours, like Southeastern's (and others??), been programmed with the wrong times for railcard validity? That's what this thread is about. I expect to be able to buy a ticket at 09:30 for use with my railcard that's valid from 09:30. In fact, I'd prefer to be able to buy a couple of minutes earlier to allow me to catch an 09:30 departure, but that's a discussion beyond the understanding abilities of most TOCs since they either don't understand the problem or refuse to do anything about it.

No we have not set any times for railcard discounts. You select the service you want to travel on and if the railcard is valid you get the discount no matter what time you are buying it.