Unable to Pick up Ticket at Local Station

[dysonsphere]

Just bought a ticket from Longton to Cosham in advance on line, however cant pick up ticket till Stoke on Trent am I likely to have any problems from Longton to Stoke on Trent (bearing in mind its only 7 mins and one stop) There is no ticket office at Longton and tickets are normally issused on train. So will proof of booking be ok till I collect ticket.

 

[dvboy]

you can collect from any station that has a machine, doesn't have to be at SOT, but you should collect your ticket in advance, your proof of booking isn't a ticket and won't be valid.
which station did you select to pick up your ticket from?

 

[Goatboy]

Just bought a ticket from Longton to Cosham in advance on line, however cant pick up ticket till Stoke on Trent am I likely to have any problems from Longton to Stoke on Trent

Yes, you are. You cannot travel without a valid ticket. When you purchased the ticket you selected the station for pickup so you are therefore aware you cannot pick the ticket up from Longton.

The correct thing to do was select postage rather than collection from the station.

So will proof of booking be ok till I collect ticket.

Officially, no it will not. Unofficially, perhaps.

 

[BrianTheLion]

Is this really worth the debate for the sake of paying the single fare (£2) from Longton to Stoke?

I Really wouldnt trouble myself with the worry...

 

[LexyBoy]

Indeed- the guard may well accept your booking confirmation, but if not it will just be a case of buying a ticket to Stoke.

 

[dysonsphere]

Indeed- the guard may well accept your booking confirmation, but if not it will just be a case of buying a ticket to Stoke.

I would hope so to but what is the point of on line booking if you cant do it from youre local station (bye the way there was no option to print the ticket maybe I missed something)

 

[Greenback]

I would hope so to but what is the point of on line booking if you cant do it from youre local station (bye the way there was no option to print the ticket maybe I missed something)

You may or may not be able to pick up the tickets from your local station, that's why you have to select a location to pick the tickets up from. If your local station is on the list then fine. If not, you can either select to have the tickets mailed to you, or if there isn't time for that, you will have to buy a ticket on the train or, as in this case, pay for a ticket to the nearest station where you can pick it up.

I don't think there are many TOC's that facilitate print at home tickets.

 

[dysonsphere]

Fine I understand but in that case why do they sell the ticket with a differant pickup I bought this afternoon and travel tomorrow morning so not viable to go and get ticket, so why sell it. I would have a valid ticket and have paid for it so what is the problem. The whole idea was to get 1 ticket and there is no warning about this on site. ( Its cross country going via Southampton Central, hate the underground)

 

[maniacmartin]

There definately is a warning on the site. It asks you where you want to pick up from and you must choose from a list that only has stations where it is possible to do so.

I used to use this all the time even though my local station didn't offer the facility to collect pre-booked tickets - I collected them the day before from the station near my work.

 

[alex17595]

There is definitely a warning when I try to buy a ticket starting at Tutbury. I normally collect these from Burton beforehand.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Fine I understand but in that case why do they sell the ticket with a differant pickup....

So that people can buy a ticket at home or in the office and then pick it up at their convenience, rather than either go to a station and queue up to buy it or have to wait for it to be posted to them. Sometimes people know they won't have much time when they start their journey, so picking it up in advance from another station can be helpful to them.

....I bought this afternoon and travel tomorrow morning so not viable to go and get ticket, so why sell it....

Because you asked for it.

....I would have a valid ticket and have paid for it so what is the problem.....

How many times can you print the ticket? How many times can you print the confirmation email?

....The whole idea was to get 1 ticket and there is no warning about this on site. ( Its cross country going via Southampton Central, hate the underground)

There should be a warning on the site.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

. . . . why do they sell the ticket with a differant pickup I bought this afternoon and travel tomorrow morning so not viable to go and get ticket, so why sell it.

If the Company declined to sell the ticket, then can't you see that it would inconvenience many passengers who DID want that ticket and who, through a variety of circumstances (such as passing through a large station this evening or tomorrow morning) WOULD be able to collect it and use it for travel?

I have bought tickets for travel from station with no TVM on many occasions - usually because I'd collect them somewhere else, and I wouldn't expect any software to be able to anticipate my plans.

The correct solution to the situation you find yourself in is to buy a ticket (another ticket) for the first leg of your journey. However, if you approach the guard before boarding the train and explain that you have booked the ticket but haven't had an opportunity to collect them from anywhere, then (s)he may allow you to travel on the basis of a print-out of the on-line booking - but they are under no obligation to do so.

 

[causton]

Did you buy the ticket from Cross Country's website?

If so, you will see this page:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/efqv32mjfnjs4pe/Screenshot 2013-12-15 23.05.28.png
And then this one:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qh97ktwrgx1miq2/Screenshot 2013-12-15 23.06.03.png

Other websites will have the same warnings, making it clear that you will need to pick the ticket up from another station.

Also specifically on most websites, the confirmation email sent will have a sentence like so:

Please note that if you are starting your journey at an unmanned station without a self service ticket machine, and have selected to collect your tickets from an alternative station, you must collect your tickets before you travel. You are not permitted to travel to that station using the booking reference or confirmation email for this booking to collect your tickets.

Unfortunately this is quite clear...

 

[dysonsphere]

Thx for everones advice but at least on EMT route Derby to Crewe according to the conductor guard they accept the booking confirmation so long as the date matches the the current date with confirmation code and youre travel direction time makes sence. (And before anyone comments I know it could be edited in photoshop etc to change dates but why bother for a local journey)

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....but why bother for a local journey)

Because photoshopping costs less than a rail ticket?

 

[bb21]

Thx for everones advice but at least on EMT route Derby to Crewe according to the conductor guard they accept the booking confirmation so long as the date matches the the current date with confirmation code and youre travel direction time makes sence. (And before anyone comments I know it could be edited in photoshop etc to change dates but why bother for a local journey)

The problem is that if you run into a conductor one day who claims that there is no such policy you will be stuffed and have no leg to stand on.

Get written confirmation from EMT asap is my advice.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Thx for everones advice but at least on EMT route Derby to Crewe according to the conductor guard they accept the booking confirmation so long as the date matches the the current date with confirmation code and youre travel direction time makes sence. (And before anyone comments I know it could be edited in photoshop etc to change dates but why bother for a local journey)

If you speak to the guard before you get on, or as you get on, they'll probably allow you to travel. Get them to endorse the booking confirmation to say they've seen it.

A booking confirmation is not a ticket and if an RPI stops you- on the train or at Stoke station- then you'll be in for no end of trouble.

 

[scrapy]

A booking confirmation is not a ticket and if an RPI stops you- on the train or at Stoke station- then you'll be in for no end of trouble.

True it is not a ticket and an EMT guard has every right to refuse it but you won't be in trouble as no opportunity to buy tickets at Longport. Most they will do is sell a single.