Virgin - Season Ticket Upgrading Journey

[retsim]

Just overheard a conversation in first class.

Commuter with an annual standard season ticket, wanting to upgrade to first. Said he did it regularly.

Guard said Virgin staff had been told to no longer offer that, had been previously “making up” the fare and it was fraudulent.

Commuter went to standard.

Is this a new change? Doesn’t directly affect me, but just curious.

 

[yorkie]

I'm not sure what Virgin's policy is, but LNER's policy is to charge the difference between Standard and First if the Season ticket holder approaches the Guard, but if the Guard approaches them it's a new ticket.

Virgin often do a weekday upgrade for around £50, but obviously this Guard isn't doing that. It's not fraudulent, but some Virgin Trains TMs like to say that sort of thing.

See: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/fixed-fee-upgrades-on-virgin-trains-during-the-week.178112/

Guard said Virgin staff had been told to no longer offer that, had been previously “making up” the fare and it was fraudulent.

Travelling with Virgin Trains is always a bit of a lottery, with the gulf between the attitude and behaviour of their best and worst TMs being rather large!

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Ah, the old "it's fradulent" chestnut, useful for when someone feels like doing something their way, and doesn't have anything to justify that approach, but wants to sound like they're correct.

What a load of total b******s! Not surprising for Virgin Trains though.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Just overheard a conversation in first class.

Commuter with an annual standard season ticket, wanting to upgrade to first. Said he did it regularly.

Guard said Virgin staff had been told to no longer offer that, had been previously “making up” the fare and it was fraudulent.

Commuter went to standard.

Is this a new change? Doesn’t directly affect me, but just curious.

Absent anything else, isn't the official (national) line to charge an excess as would be charged were a Standard Anytime Single presented, provided it is done before boarding?

 

[retsim]

This gentleman did approach the guard. It was as we were waiting to depart Euston.

Thanks for the replies though. Rather confirms what I thought.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Back in the old British Rail days on my ticket office training course, we were taught to charge the difference between a standard and first class single in this instance. Whether that was protected after privatisation or whether TOCs were allowed to go their own separate ways, I don't know. I believe in those days, first class was 1.5 times the full standard fare - whether that is still the case I couldn't say either

 

[Mag_seven]

Absent anything else, isn't the official (national) line to charge an excess as would be charged were a Standard Anytime Single presented, provided it is done before boarding?

GWR certainly used to have the policy that to upgrade to first from a standard class season you had to do it prior to boarding at the ticket office. I witnessed a standard class season ticket holder who wished to upgrade on the train being refused by a GWR (or FGW as it was) conductor despite the first class being practically empty. The season ticket holder was not impressed!

 

[Mag_seven]

GWR certainly used to have the policy that to upgrade to first from a standard class season you had to do it prior to boarding at the ticket office. I witnessed a standard class season ticket holder who wished to upgrade on the train being refused by a GWR (or FGW as it was) conductor despite the first class being practically empty. The season ticket holder was not impressed!

I'm on a GWR service out of Paddington now and an RPI has been advising standard class season ticket holders that upgrades to first class will no longer be permitted on the train - they must be done at the ticket office prior to boarding. Apparently this is a "management directive" and is as a result of conductors being "incorrect in allowing upgrades to be purchased on the train".

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I'm on a GWR service out of Paddington now and an RPI has been advising standard class season ticket holders that upgrades to first class will no longer be permitted on the train - they must be done at the ticket office prior to boarding. Apparently this is a "management directive" and is as a result of conductors being "incorrect in allowing upgrades to be purchased on the train".

Well, that's already the position now as it is. What would be very disappointing is if conductors refused to allow standard class season ticket holders to upgrade even when they proactively came to the conductor. It's certainly an inconvenience to have to go to a ticket office and wait in the inevitably slow queue to get an upgrade. Paddington, like most of the London Termini, always seems to have a lot of first-time travellers or tourists who are unsure of what ticket they need and therefore take a long time. It would be so much easier if season ticket holders could simply buy the upgrades online, just like regular tickets!

 

[_toommm_]

And of course, not being able to buy on board will inevitably lead to someone buying a first class upgrade and not being able to use it, either because the train is smaller than booked meaning there's a higher volume of first class passengers in a smaller area, or simply because it's a peak time train! This of course then leads to complaints and refunds of upgrade fees, which costs time and money to process...

 

[Sleepy]

Sounds like some ex- Intercity TOC'S are determined to stop ticket sales on board at any cost ! Must stop those guards from getting too much commission.
Yet GWR policy at weekends is to only sell Weekend First on the train, which has its own issues with new stock ☺

 

[Sleepy]

I thought GWR were reportedly struggling to fill 1st anyway now the new poor seating has been sampled more ??

 

[Bletchleyite]

I thought GWR were reportedly struggling to fill 1st anyway now the new poor seating has been sampled more ??

I have certainly declined to pay for it and moved back to Standard.