Using Scotrail Smartcard on other services

[sdrennan]

Young Colleague had a debate with Virgin staff at Gateline yesterday in Glasgow Central. They have a Monthly Season Ticket between Motherwell and Glasgow.

They were advised they could not use the LNER train as they don't have machines to check.
The Scotrail website states "Note: You can use your ScotRail Smartcard on any service, run by any train operator in Scotland. However, on LNER services, only season tickets on Smartcard are currently accepted."

Any recommendations you can advise as this will real pain if they have to debate or take a later /slower train

 

[smsm1]

Anyone with an Android smartphone with NFC can check the tickets on smart cards, including:

• Scotrail (Doesn't show all Greater Anglia tickets, but does show the station code of the last tap)
• Rambus Smart Ticket Checker - Works with any smart card and show lots detail.
• Greater Anglia (Also updates any GA smart card)
• Chiltern (Also updates any Chiltern smart card)
• Other operators apps

So the tech is available. Greater Anglia issue all guards and gateline staff with NFC enabled Android phones with the GA and Rambus apps for the checking of tickets.

Granted this doesn't answer your question regarding LNER, though showing the ticket on the phone after scanning the card might help? I've not tried it. <rant>Some day Apple will allow developers access to the NFC for use in application like this.</rant>

 

[sdrennan]

Strange thing is that it was not even an LNER train. The Virgin people staff the platform which typically include Virgin, Cross country and even TPE.

My colleague (New member of staff in their first job after Uni) so they don't want to break rules or have to argue every day.

 

[Wallsendmag]

LNER have the ability to check ,DORIS has read Smart Cards since day 1. We accept Smart seasons on any card on our services. If the staff are in any doubt tell them to check their facts with the Train Manager

 

[Haywain]

They were advised they could not use the LNER train as they don't have machines to check.

Strange thing is that it was not even an LNER train.

So this is actually nothing to do with LNER?

 

[sdrennan]

Apologies. Colleague thought it was LNER as he had seen a note in the scot rail FAQ. This was Virgin staff at the platform for the 16:40 Virgin train

 

[Mag_seven]

"What matters is the message, not the medium".

If the ticket is valid on all TOCs between Glasgow and Motherwell, then all those TOCS must accept all forms of method of issue of that ticket.

 

[yorkie]

Young Colleague had a debate with Virgin staff at Gateline yesterday in Glasgow Central. They have a Monthly Season Ticket between Motherwell and Glasgow.

They were advised they could not use the LNER train as they don't have machines to check.
The Scotrail website states "Note: You can use your ScotRail Smartcard on any service, run by any train operator in Scotland. However, on LNER services, only season tickets on Smartcard are currently accepted."

Any recommendations you can advise as this will real pain if they have to debate or take a later /slower train

If they were denied travel, a contract breach has occured. Your colleague should contact Virgin for an apology, assurance of acceptance in future, and appropriate compensation.

If this is not forthcoming, this breach of the contract, consumer law and the company's franchise agreement, should be reported to relevant bodies including the DfT, ORR and Transport Focus.

Let us know what Virgin say.

 

[bb21]

Any recommendations you can advise as this will real pain if they have to debate or take a later /slower train

We don't live in an ideal world, so if his overriding preference is to have a hassle-free journey and he would like to use Virgin services from time to time, I would recommend a conventional paper ticket if still available.

Of course it is possible to argue your way through each time, but that is rather draining on one's energy time after time especially if there are other more important things occupying their mind.

In any case, I agree that the ticket is fully valid the same way as its paper form. The fact it is stored on a smart medium does not alter its validity. You can try and ask Virgin to say this and do that, but as I gather no financial loss incurred, there is no compensation due, apart from possibly a generic fob-off letter with some RTVs thrown in if they still do them and your colleague's in luck.

If he did get into trouble with Virgin I am sure we will all be more than willing to help, but it is entirely his decision weighing up the pros and cons.

 

[Fleetwood Boy]

I’m absolutely amazed the ticket is checked before boarding. I’ve never seen that happen at Glasgow Central for a Virgin train.

And unusual for a ticket check to happen between Central and Motherwell too, usually later in the journey.

Why not just carry a copy of the ScotRail validity description and show that if challenged? Belt and braces write a polite complaint to Virgin insisting they brief their staff and don’t take no for an answer?

 

[Hadders]

Why not just carry a copy of the ScotRail validity description and show that if challenged?

The member of staff will just say 'We're Virgin not Scotrail. Scotrail are wrong'. Off course the Virgin staff are wrong but there is little you can do when you encounter someone who's digging their heels in.....

 

[Fleetwood Boy]

The member of staff will just say 'We're Virgin not Scotrail. Scotrail are wrong'. Off course the Virgin staff are wrong but there is little you can do when you encounter someone who's digging their heels in.....

Agree there’s no much to do on the day. I had it with a ScotRail conductor misunderstanding the off peak rules for cross border journeys. I politely escalated it through customer services and then to their supervisor. Problem solved within a week.