Belperpete
Established Member
- Joined
- 17 Aug 2018
- Messages
- 1,650
I have learnt that Cross Country are now charging for you to collect from a ticket vending machine (TVM), paper tickets bought on-line. I also understand that some TOCs are now charging for paper tickets to be posted to you. Is there a list anywhere of which TOCs are applying these charges?
I also understand that it is possible to "print your own" tickets, but I don't recall ever seeing this option on any TOC's web-site that I have used. Again, is there a list anywhere of which TOCs and other sellers provide this option?
The stations that I most regularly use have no booking offices, and I find this development of charging for paper tickets very worrying. Agreed that it is possible to pay on the day from the guard, or (if there is one) from a TVM at the station, but if I want a reservation or an advance fare then I have no alternative but to book on line (or by phone). I am currently loathe to purchase electronic tickets due to the problems well-documented on other threads if anything goes wrong (such as claiming compensation for a missed connection), or if you do anything out of the ordinary (like break journey, which I frequently do).
The TfW web-site, for example, is completely silent about what you should do at stations that have no ticket office, despite them having rather a lot of such stations. It says that they want all passengers to "buy before boarding", but doesn't then explain what you should do after you have bought if there is no facility to collect the ticket. Normally, a printout of your ticket purchase confirmation doesn't count: you are required to be in possession of a valid ticket before boarding, so you must have actually collected the ticket before you board. TfW's Revenue Protection Policy states that this requirement does not apply at stations with no ticket purchasing facilities. However, it does NOT state what DOES apply at such stations!
Fortunately, the last time that I travelled, I showed the guard a printed copy of my ticket collection email, and he printed the ticket out for me. Is this standard - can all guards on "pay train" services do this? Could another guard in such a situation demand that, because I don't actually have a ticket, that I have to buy another ticket from him?
Likewise, what should happen if your station does have a TVM, but when you go there to collect your ticket when starting your journey, the TVM is out of order? I can find nothing public that explains what official policy is in such situations. Usually, on Matlock-line services, the guard looks at my confirmation email, and agrees that I can collect my ticket at Derby. But what if there is no time to do so before my booked connection departs? Or what if the station where I am getting off also has no available TVM.
To take a final example, suppose I want to buy a ticket on the day of travel that includes an onward journey by say XC or Virgin, including an "on-the-day" seat reservation on that service. I presume that I would have to buy my ticket using the XC or VT web-site. Would a pay-train guard on my originating EMT or TfW service be able to print this ticket out? Will I have to pay XC's extra TVM collection charge for a ticket that is going to be printed by the guard?
Sorry to go on, but as I started typing this query, it has opened a whole can of worms.
I also understand that it is possible to "print your own" tickets, but I don't recall ever seeing this option on any TOC's web-site that I have used. Again, is there a list anywhere of which TOCs and other sellers provide this option?
The stations that I most regularly use have no booking offices, and I find this development of charging for paper tickets very worrying. Agreed that it is possible to pay on the day from the guard, or (if there is one) from a TVM at the station, but if I want a reservation or an advance fare then I have no alternative but to book on line (or by phone). I am currently loathe to purchase electronic tickets due to the problems well-documented on other threads if anything goes wrong (such as claiming compensation for a missed connection), or if you do anything out of the ordinary (like break journey, which I frequently do).
The TfW web-site, for example, is completely silent about what you should do at stations that have no ticket office, despite them having rather a lot of such stations. It says that they want all passengers to "buy before boarding", but doesn't then explain what you should do after you have bought if there is no facility to collect the ticket. Normally, a printout of your ticket purchase confirmation doesn't count: you are required to be in possession of a valid ticket before boarding, so you must have actually collected the ticket before you board. TfW's Revenue Protection Policy states that this requirement does not apply at stations with no ticket purchasing facilities. However, it does NOT state what DOES apply at such stations!
Fortunately, the last time that I travelled, I showed the guard a printed copy of my ticket collection email, and he printed the ticket out for me. Is this standard - can all guards on "pay train" services do this? Could another guard in such a situation demand that, because I don't actually have a ticket, that I have to buy another ticket from him?
Likewise, what should happen if your station does have a TVM, but when you go there to collect your ticket when starting your journey, the TVM is out of order? I can find nothing public that explains what official policy is in such situations. Usually, on Matlock-line services, the guard looks at my confirmation email, and agrees that I can collect my ticket at Derby. But what if there is no time to do so before my booked connection departs? Or what if the station where I am getting off also has no available TVM.
To take a final example, suppose I want to buy a ticket on the day of travel that includes an onward journey by say XC or Virgin, including an "on-the-day" seat reservation on that service. I presume that I would have to buy my ticket using the XC or VT web-site. Would a pay-train guard on my originating EMT or TfW service be able to print this ticket out? Will I have to pay XC's extra TVM collection charge for a ticket that is going to be printed by the guard?
Sorry to go on, but as I started typing this query, it has opened a whole can of worms.