unable to collect ticket bought online

[dave4jackie]

I bought a ticket on line but when I went to my local station to collect it I was told that no fast track machine at the station, I had ordered a saver ticket to London and was told by the station staff that I would have to buy a new one before I travelled but the one I bought online I would not get charged for as I would not be entering my card in a fast track machine as the online company can not charge in advance in case he card is stolen and for security purposes the card needs to be inserted in the fast track machine, can someone tell me is this correct or do I expect to see two charges for one journey on my card

 

[najaB]

I bought a ticket on line but when I went to my local station to collect it I was told that no fast track machine at the station

Did you plan to collect the ticket from a different station? You normally have to select a collection station as part of the online order process.

I had ordered a saver ticket to London and was told by the station staff that I would have to buy a new one before I travelled

That is correct. I'm a little puzzled though because you say it was a staffed station. Did it have platform staff but no ticket office?

but the one I bought online I would not get charged for as I would not be entering my card in a fast track machine as the online company can not charge in advance in case he card is stolen

As far as I know your card is charged at the time of purchase, not when the ticket is collected.

and for security purposes the card needs to be inserted in the fast track machine

This isn't always the case - some tickets can be collected with any card that has a magnetic stripe (e.g. a Nectar card!)

can someone tell me is this correct or do I expect to see two charges for one journey on my card

I would expect to see two charges. You should be able to refund the original ticket (if it is not an Advance ticket), minus an administration charge of £10.

 

[dave4jackie]

the station was not listed to be able to pick up from, I meant ticket office staff how would I claim I refund as I never collected my online tickets as I was told not to

 

[najaB]

the station was not listed to be able to pick up from

That was a mistake, the stations that are listed in the drop down are the only stations that have facilities for collection

I meant ticket office staff

I'm surprised they didn't print it for you. I can almost understand them not printing tickets bought online when there is a machine but I can't get why they were unable/unwilling to print for you. This didn't happen to be a Merseyrail station by any chance?

how would I claim I refund as I never collected my online tickets as I was told not to

Go back to the ticket seller and request a refund from them.

 

[dave4jackie]

yes it was a merseyrail station, why would the station give me a refund or do you mean the online company would give me a refund

 

[John @ home]

When you bought the ticket, you had to choose a station at which you would collect the ticket from a drop-down list of stations where this facility is provided. Which station did you choose?

 

[dave4jackie]

manchester

 

[Starmill]

yes it was a merseyrail station, why would the station give me a refund or do you mean the online company would give me a refund

Merseyrail ticket offices still use FasTIS I think - a computer system in their ticket offices that does not permit them to issue tickets purchased online. They do not provide this facility at their ticket machines either. One might say it comes up quite often on here.

manchester

And where did you actually travel from? Liverpool Lime Street /South Parkway and Chester (depending where you were changing) do offer the facility to collect.

 

[455driver]

manchester

Which 'Manchester'?

Where were you actually travelling from and where were you going to pick up the tickets.

 

[bb21]

I'm surprised they didn't print it for you. I can almost understand them not printing tickets bought online when there is a machine but I can't get why they were unable/unwilling to print for you. This didn't happen to be a Merseyrail station by any chance?

Some TIS do not have facilities to recall ToD bookings, while others may have been instructed specifically by management not to issue them, due partly to cost implications.

Unfortunately if the OP opted to collect from a station not in the ToD list then there is very little the clerk can do. It is also likely that the £10 admin fee for refunding the unissued ticket may not be avoided.

 

[dave4jackie]

was going from southport via Manchester Piccadilly, was told at the station it was not worth me buying the ticket online as it would have been the same price buying them at southport

 

[bb21]

was going from southport via Manchester Piccadilly, was told at the station it was not worth me buying the ticket online as it would have been the same price buying them at southport

If you bought a Saver then that would have been correct. Unless you want guaranteed seat reservation and/or cashback/Nectar points, you always run the risk that plans may change or credit card being stolen before ticket collection, hence incurring unnecessary hassle.

 

[455driver]

If you were going to pick the tickets up in 'Manchester', what ticket were you going to use between Southport and Manchester?

 

[PermitToTravel]

If you bought a Saver then that would have been correct. Unless you want guaranteed seat reservation and/or cashback/Nectar points, you always run the risk that plans may change or credit card being stolen before ticket collection, hence incurring unnecessary hassle.

In future, OP, if you'd like to book online and receive such benefits for journeys from Southport, TPE (they sell tickets for journeys with all train companies) will send you your tickets for free by first class post.

 

[47271]

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?p=2420134

If it helps the OP, similar was discussed based on my recent experience at Southport in post 9 onwards in the thread above.

 

[Bletchleyite]

was going from southport via Manchester Piccadilly, was told at the station it was not worth me buying the ticket online as it would have been the same price buying them at southport

Why did you do it then? And why did you select to collect at a station you weren't starting at?

 

[najaB]

was going from southport via Manchester Piccadilly, was told at the station it was not worth me buying the ticket online as it would have been the same price buying them at southport

Too late to do anything about it now, but you may have been able to save money at the time by buying a single from Stockport to Manchester and collecting the tickets there.

You can apply for a refund from the online ticket vendor, either online or by calling their customer services line. As bb21 said above, it is highly unlikely that they will waive the £10 admin charge as you knowingly chose the wrong collection station.

 

[sheff1]

Too late to do anything about it now, but you may have been able to save money at the time by buying a single from Stockport to Manchester and collecting the tickets there.

??

If the OP was in Stockport at some point before the journey they had pre-booked tickets for, and I see nothing to suggest they were, they would have been able to collect those tickets from the TVMs there.

 

[Bletchleyite]

??

If the OP was in Stockport at some point before the journey they had pre-booked tickets for, and I see nothing to suggest they were, they would have been able to collect those tickets from the TVMs there.

ITHM Southport to Manchester. What he meant is that if it was a very long distance journey and he was changing at Manchester anyway, a single to Southport then collecting the errant ticket would be cheaper than a new walk-up for the whole journey.

OTOH if it was a walk-up for a long journey, I imagine buying a new one and refunding less £10 would be cheaper these days.

 

[maniacmartin]

??

If the OP was in Stockport at some point before the journey they had pre-booked tickets for, and I see nothing to suggest they were, they would have been able to collect those tickets from the TVMs there.

In common with many MerseyRail stations, as discussed upthread, and detailed on Southport's NRE page, Southport's TVMs don't offer collection of prebooked tickets via ToD

Edit: Stockport vs Southport confusion in this thread makes this post pretty useless now

 

[najaB]

??

If the OP was in Stockport at some point before the journey they had pre-booked tickets for, and I see nothing to suggest they were, they would have been able to collect those tickets from the TVMs there.

Apologies, I meant Southport not Stockport. The OP said they were travelling from Southport to ??? via Manchester. They could have bought a Southport to Piccadilly single and then collected the tickets there.

 

[sheff1]

Ah. That makes sense.

 

[trainophile]

Out of curiosity, if their booked train departed Manchester at e.g. 1200, therefore they would have to depart Southport by 1045, would a TOD machine at Manchester allow them to collect their ticket at e.g. 1145, given that their overall journey start time had already passed?

I believe, if your booked train is the start of your journey, you cannot obtain your ticket once that train's departure time has passed. Perhaps, as the Southport to Manchester leg is unreservable, the disallowance of collecting a ticket after journey commencement would not be an issue?

Or am I mixing up TOD collection with barrier acceptance?

 

[PermitToTravel]

I think you can collect up to 28 days after the journey time.

 

[najaB]

Or am I mixing up TOD collection with barrier acceptance?

I think you might be. You can collect tickets up to (at least) 28 days after their validity expires. I've collected tickets after the journey time (and even day) on several occasions.

 

[OwlMan]

A list (as at 25 Jan 2016) of stations (and other destinations) is attached showing whatn TOD facilities they have.