Ticket Office unable to find Freedom of the North West ticket

[185143]

I am currently on a train to Leeds. I asked for a 7 day Freedom of the North West at the ticket office before I boarded. The clerk tried, and after showing me the screen, he was unable to find it on the ticket system. When I get to Leeds, am I likely to experience the same problem and/or likely to be charged a higher fare because I boarded at a manned station. I'm currently on a TPE service west of Manchester.

Where do I need to go to purchase the ticket in Leeds? Also, if the clerk there can't find it, what do I do as my onward connection is the 10:49 Carlisle service?

 

[yorkie]

If the excess fare window (near the low numbered platforms) can't find it, ask the Guard.

 

[Greenback]

I experienced this once, with a Freedom of Wales. I was sold a single to a connection point and told to uy the ticket there. I got a refund of the single ticket.

I'm sure the staff at a big station like Leeds will be able to find the ticket, or have the resource to find out how to issue it.

 

[185143]

The guard onboard my TPE train found it. The RPI was extremely unhappy that I hadn't bought it before I boarded! I explained the story with no problems however.

 

[philjo]

I had a similar problem recently - the Guard on the train did not know how to issue the Heart of Wales Round robin ticket - I had joined the train at church Stretton which is unstaffed. The train has a 7 minute wait a Llandrindod so the guard asked the ticket office there - they issued the ticket without any problems.

 

[breadfan]

Which station was it where they couldn't issue the freedom of North West?

 

[185143]

Birchwood. All credit due to the clerk, he made what seemed to me a more than reasonable effort!

 

[marcouk2]

Last time I tried to buy a rover from Leeds, I had to go to the travel centre until I could find someone who could sell me it. No luck with train guard, excess fares or station ticket office.

 

[Techniquest]

It doesn't help they're not always obvious names in the system. A Freedom of Severn and Solent (one of my favourite rovers ever, such excellent value!) is not called that in the fares system, FOSS is what it ends up coming out as so it's not one for a novice to find! It is incredibly possible the Freedom of the North West rover has the same sort of problem.

At least it got sorted eventually, fair play to the clerk for making the effort to look for it. Hope you tell him how to find it next time you see him so it's easier for future rover purchases!

 

[TEW]

When I used a Freedom of the North West rover last year I bought it at Newton Abbot with no problems at all. It wasn't even questioned why I was buying a rover so massively out of area, starting that day, but not any other tickets to get me in to the area. One Virgin TM was rather confused by the ticket though, he couldn't understand that the ticket was issued at Newton Abbot and not a ticket from Newton Abbot.

 

[rg177]

The Coasts and Peaks Rover is shown as CST PKS on the system when I bought one last year at Liverpool Lime St, took the clerk a while to find it, so this seems a common issue for rovers.

 

[Kite159]

I'm looking forward to confusing the ticket seller at Andover when I go and buy a couple East Midland Day Rangers the next time I'm around the station area.

Fair play, it's probably rare they sell that ticket so need to dig deep (shame not more are available to purchase online)

 

[Tim R-T-C]

I wonder why these tickets are not for sale online or on the TVMs, is it likely they could be misused any more than if purchased at a window?

I picked up a South Pennine Ranger last week at Keighley the day before travel and the lady asked me where it was valid, so its not like buying at the window is intended for the staff to advise on the ticket's use.

 

[Class 92]

I have once been asked for the code of a day ranger before but i think it was to make it a bit quicker for the conductor.

Does telling the clerk or conductor the code help them with Rovers as well as they are all on BRFares I think.

 

[Crossover]

Someone last week had a Valley Lines Rover issued from Middlesbrough - I'm sure one guard read it like a travelcard as being a ticket from Middlesbrough!

 

[Kite159]

I bet those guards checking the valley lines rovers were confused with the spread of stations they were issued at

 

[Crossover]

Yep, well I have had an Anglia Plus issued at Dewsbury and a Merseytravel thingymabob issued at Harrogate - in both places the guards have passed comment!

 

[trentside]

Someone last week had a Valley Lines Rover issued from Middlesbrough - I'm sure one guard read it like a travelcard as being a ticket from Middlesbrough!

Once had to spend quite a while explaining to a guard on the North Wales Coast that just because a rover ticket was issued at Lincoln, doesn't mean it's not valid on that line. The rover in question was a CST PKS (Coast & Peaks) which I think also threw him!

 

[Pumbaa]

I'm looking forward to confusing the ticket seller at Andover when I go and buy a couple East Midland Day Rangers the next time I'm around the station area.

Fair play, it's probably rare they sell that ticket so need to dig deep (shame not more are available to purchase online)

Shouldn't be an issue - the rovers are easy enough to find on STAR. And even if the abbreviations confuse the user, a simple touch will reveal the full fare name as you scroll down the list.

 

[D6975]

Last time I bought a freedom of the North West, the guy at Bristol PW had a job finding it. 'Freedom' isn't part of its listing. If you just type North West in, the system will find it.

ps I nearly always buy my rovers from Bristol TM or PW before setting off. They have always managed to issue everything I've wanted so far.

 

[317666]

Someone last week had a Valley Lines Rover issued from Middlesbrough - I'm sure one guard read it like a travelcard as being a ticket from Middlesbrough!

I've had a Freedom of South Wales issued at Paddington, which I used on an HST from Swansea - the guard thought I was going all the way to London on it!

 

[hairyhandedfool]

It doesn't help they're not always obvious names in the system. A Freedom of Severn and Solent (one of my favourite rovers ever, such excellent value!) is not called that in the fares system, FOSS is what it ends up coming out as so it's not one for a novice to find! It is incredibly possible the Freedom of the North West rover has the same sort of problem....

Last time I bought a freedom of the North West, the guy at Bristol PW had a job finding it. 'Freedom' isn't part of its listing. If you just type North West in, the system will find it.....

This is precisely the problem. A lot of the 'freedom of...' Rovers are either abbreviated or lacking the words 'freedom of' in the ticket machines, making them hard to find.

 

[breadfan]

I had a long wait at Preston to get a couple of Lancashire Day Rangers with Two Together railcard. The chap in the ticket office asked if I was sure there was such a ticket and if I was sure the railcard could be used on the ticket. I showed him a couple of used ones from a few weeks earlier (issued by the same chap!) and he still had trouble finding them.

 

[Cambus731]

goes back to what I said in an earlier thread.
British Rail recognized that Booking Office work is a skilled role and would train their Booking Clerks for 4 or 5 months and made sure that they knew almost everything before they would go on shift.

Since privatisation, the people who run the retail side of things seem to have formed the impression that Booking Office work is easy, and someone could come off the street and be trained up in 3 days.

I have not exaggerated once in this post. I have actually witnessed a local manager saying this.

 

[Tracked]

When I did a Freedom of the North East Rover it came up as just North East Rover at Doncaster station a few months ago too, spent about 5 minutes with the guy at the desk looking into it, more a lack of consistency in naming than a lack of knowledge though

 

[Crossover]

The East Yorkshire Round Robin proved a tricky one the other day, only about 30 miles out of area - E Yorks R Robin is what I think it showed as!

 

[Kite159]

Bravo to the ticket seller at Bath Spa for being able to locate an East Midland Day Ranger rather quickly. I can't see that being a popular ticket sold by Bath ticket office.