Train Companies should be making Season Ticket refunds/changeovers easier

[Hadders]

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/ticket-office-hours-restored.203045/

In all honesty completing a season ticket refund in person at a ticket office should not be considered essential at the moment.

I realise that people will want season tickets refunded as quickly as possible but these should really be processed remotely, if necessary by post if it's a paper season ticket.

The last thing we should be doing is encouraging journeys like this.

 

[infobleep]

In all honesty completing a season ticket refund in person at a ticket office should not be considered essential at the moment. I realise that people will want season tickets refunded as quickly as possible but these should really be processed remotely, if necessary by post if it's a paper season ticket.

The last thing we should be doing is encouraging journeys like this.

Well some TOCs, such as South Western Railway, are unable to process them at present due to staff working from home or not at all, I guess, if they can't work from home.

I'm just waiting until later on before I request my change over, as they have said you won't be penalised. The date they are accepting changes from is 17 March, which is the day I stopped travelling by train.

South Western Railway have some ticket offices open but not many.

Maybe the TOCs thought they weren't essential places of work.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The fares income must cost more than collecting it at the moment - I really don't get why it's not just made free, but with a potential need to prove (or at least explain to BTP with a straight face) that your journey is essential and cannot be made via another mode (at the moment if you have a car you should use it, for instance).

 

[father_jack]

In all honesty completing a season ticket refund in person at a ticket office should not be considered essential at the moment. I realise that people will want season tickets refunded as quickly as possible but these should really be processed remotely, if necessary by post if it's a paper season ticket.

The last thing we should be doing is encouraging journeys like this.

As I have mentioned before, season tickets are only being refunded from surrender date, as per the "normal" season refund policy in the retail manuals. Every day delayed therefore, is worth money to the passenger.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As I have mentioned before, season tickets are only being refunded from surrender date, as per the "normal" season refund policy in the retail manuals. Every day delayed therefore, is worth money to the passenger.

While I've been advising people to do a changeover instead (may be difficult to get TOCs to actually do it), LNR are allowing refund requests to be submitted online to avoid this issue, like with their Delay Repay scheme you have to send a photo of the season ticket clearly defaced e.g. cut in half. There is really no good reason to be getting people to conduct non-essential travel for this purpose.

 

[father_jack]

While I've been advising people to do a changeover instead (may be difficult to get TOCs to actually do it), LNR are allowing refund requests to be submitted online to avoid this issue, like with their Delay Repay scheme you have to send a photo of the season ticket clearly defaced e.g. cut in half. There is really no good reason to be getting people to conduct non-essential travel for this purpose.

I think booking clerks would fall foul of their retail manglement if they started suggesting changeovers to passengers. (3/4 of the clerks wouldn't be able to do a changeover anyway !!!).

The fairest outcome isn't what the industry is often geared towards alas.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think booking clerks would fall foul of their retail manglement if they started suggesting changeovers to passengers. (3/4 of the clerks wouldn't be able to do a changeover anyway !!!).

The fairest outcome isn't what the industry is often geared towards alas.

I'm not saying the clerks should suggest it, I'm suggesting it as a non-railway employee. Once lockdown is over if there's enough validity you can just changeover back again.

 

[robbeech]

In all honesty completing a season ticket refund in person at a ticket office should not be considered essential at the moment. I realise that people will want season tickets refunded as quickly as possible but these should really be processed remotely, if necessary by post if it's a paper season ticket.

The last thing we should be doing is encouraging journeys like this.

Agreed, but there is an obvious financial incentive to limiting the options for passengers sadly, and its difficult to see beyond this when you are constantly being contacted personally by passengers about these sorts of issues.

As I have mentioned before, season tickets are only being refunded from surrender date, as per the "normal" season refund policy in the retail manuals. Every day delayed therefore, is worth money to the passenger.

And every day is worth money to the operator(s) too. They won't go out of their way to suggest a claim under 40.4 of the NRCOT either which allows backdating if the passenger was (and can prove) they are or were ill.

While I've been advising people to do a changeover instead (may be difficult to get TOCs to actually do it), LNR are allowing refund requests to be submitted online to avoid this issue, like with their Delay Repay scheme you have to send a photo of the season ticket clearly defaced e.g. cut in half. There is really no good reason to be getting people to conduct non-essential travel for this purpose.

Again, there is no justifiable reason, but there is a financial reason. I don't really like to be so overwhelmingly anti retailer but the evidence is there and i've seen copies of lots of written (mail and email) responses from various retailers (toc based and third party) even dated as recently as yesterday (03/04/20) encouraging travel to a ticket office (one that is closed in one case) to discuss refunds, and refusing refunds (although all the cases i've been forwarded have now been sorted so hopefully a good step forward there).

 

[Hadders]

As I have mentioned before, season tickets are only being refunded from surrender date, as per the "normal" season refund policy in the retail manuals. Every day delayed therefore, is worth money to the passenger.

We have a national emergency at the moment and only essential travel should be taking place. Travel to arrange a refund of a season ticket is not really essential in the context of a national emergency.

Train companies have a responsibility here - they should make arrangements for paper season tickets to be refunded by post with passengers not disadvantaged (they can use the date the ticket was posted). Special Delivery would need to be used given the value of most season tickets - perhaps the train companies should add the cost of this this to the refund value.

The bottom line is train companies should not be encouraging people to visit station ticket offices....

 

[robbeech]

We have a national emergency at the moment and only essential travel should be taking place. Travel to arrange a refund of a season ticket is not really essential in the context of a national emergency.

Train companies have a responsibility here - they should make arrangements for paper season tickets to be refunded by post with passengers not disadvantaged (they can use the date the ticket was posted). Special Delivery would need to be used given the value of most season tickets - perhaps the train companies should add the cost of this this to the refund value.

The bottom line is train companies should not be encouraging people to visit station ticket offices....

Does this not just move the problem from the ticket office to the post office?

 

[Hadders]

Post offices are nearer to where people live so potentially less travel and mixing with others from further afield.

 

[Bletchleyite]

If one TOC can do it by asking for an image of a defaced ticket to be submitted by e-mail/online why can't all of them?

 

[father_jack]

The bottom line is train companies should not be encouraging people to visit station ticket offices....

Agree entirely. The income at present is negligible, particularly in cash, which is also actively being discouraged as a method of payment. So tell me- how does a cash customer get a refund, after like you say being "encouraged" to go to a booking office. A cash "float" has been asked for by some locations but to no avail.

 

[AngusH]

I wonder if it might be better to simply freeze validity of most season tickets immediately and promise to extend the period by the time the lockdown lasts. (ie 1 month lockdown gives a month extra on the ticket when things restart).

if someone needs to travel on the ticket make the customer declare that in some way and keep their ticket valid.
(or perhaps just let them travel for free during the period)

 

[Bungle965]

I wonder if it might be better to simply freeze validity of most season tickets immediately and promise to extend the period by the time the lockdown lasts. (ie 1 month lockdown gives a month extra on the ticket when things restart).

I imagine that would cause chaos at the gatelines.
Imagine a peak time 12-car train deposits it's passengers and a large majority of passengers have season tickets that have been "extended". It would quickly become unsafe.
Sam

 

[AngusH]

Reissue at the ticket office after normal service resumes?

It depends if people need the money now or are only concerned about loss of value though

 

[infobleep]

Post offices are nearer to where people live so potentially less travel and mixing with others from further afield.

Not always. Some live closer to a ticket office.

 

[infobleep]

I don't know what other TOCs are doing, such as those father_jack maybe using but this is what SW_help have been saying to people on mutiple occasions.

The way that season tickets are calculated will remain the same, however, the tickets will be checked and back dated to no earlier than Tuesday 17 March 2020 or the verified date the season ticket was last used – whichever is later. ^MY

https://twitter.com/SW_Help/status/1244646536216281090?s=19

It is that comment that is causing me to wait. I did try their online form but it crashed. They seem to have fixed the bug but I've not tested it out.

Even if I did submit my ticket, I can't go to a post office if I follow the advice for people in the moderate risk group.

 

[alistairlees]

I don't know what other TOCs are doing, such as those father_jack maybe using but this is what SW_help have been saying to people on mutiple occasions.

https://twitter.com/SW_Help/status/1244646536216281090?s=19

It is that comment that is causing me to wait. I did try their online form but it crashed. They seem to have fixed the bug but I've not tested it out.

Even if I did submit my ticket, I can't go to a post office if I follow the advice for people in the moderate risk group.

The dates above are correct. It has been agreed that you can submit a photo of your season, cut in half, if it is a paper ticket. Please do this. You are not required to go to a ticket office, or to a post office. Your refund will be backdated to 17th March or whenever you last used your season. Thank you.

 

[infobleep]

The dates above are correct. It has been agreed that you can submit a photo of your season, cut in half, if it is a paper ticket. Please do this. You are not required to go to a ticket office, or to a post office. Your refund will be backdated to 17th March or whenever you last used your season. Thank you.

Does the cutting up of season tickets apply in the case of a season ticket change over, which is what I am wishing to do, as I don't wish to loss the gold card benefits and it also works out cheaper to do so.