Stockport to Manchester Victoria

[JamesM]

Good evening,

I recently had to use up a £50 rail voucher, so planned a trip up north over Christmas. In order to purchase advance tickets, and because you don't get change from a £50 rail voucher, I chose to purchase a whole range of tickets from a ticket office down here in the South East of England. I won't say exactly where.

So I was ordering West Yorkshire Day Rangers; singles from Stockport to Manchester Victoria; £3 Northern Advance tickets.... you get the idea. You'll be pleased to know I used the ticket office during off peak hours and inbetween trains!

I think two errors were made in the transaction, one probably my fault, one not my fault.

I asked for two off peak singles on Dec 27th from Stockport to Manchester Victoria. I found the price online to be £3.30 - as this is the fare that allows you on all trains.

When the £2.70 fare came up, I queried it strongly, and was told "that's the only one that comes up". Which I am fairly sure is incorrect. That is the Virgin only fare.

I also asked for a anytime single from Manchester Victoria to Stockport on 30th Dec (we're travelling c. 1700) , and surprise surprise, this time a £3.60 fare came up.

So, I have two problems. Firstly I see that around 12 Noon on Sunday 27th Dec, there's only one Virgin train an hour from Stockport, which will be annoying as we have to catch that specific train and then wait for ages in Manchester for our advance ticket train to Bradford.

- Can I turn up to Stockport on the 27th Dec and get the £2.70 tickets I've been incorrectly sold "upgraded" for a small fee?

Secondly, I see that these tickets don't allow Metrolink travel to actually get to Victoria from Piccadilly- despite the fact that it's the same price according to a website I've read - this seems a very odd situation. The ticket states "Stockport" to "Manchester Stns".

- Again, can I turn up to Stockport station on the 27th and get the tickets changed/upgraded for a small fee?

I'd rather do it in Stockport than down here in the South East of England, since the guy at the station couldn't find the fare I was after. That irritates me, but I suspect that I was partly at fault as well, as I should also have asked for some sort of tram upgrade to be added to the ticket as well.

Hope that is a clear couple of questions and that I have given you adequate information. Many thanks as ever for the very helpful community here.

Best,

James

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....- Can I turn up to Stockport on the 27th Dec and get the £2.70 tickets I've been incorrectly sold "upgraded" for a small fee?....

No, because it is routed Virgin Trains only. A TOC specific fare cannot be excessed to allow travel on another TOC. A refund is the only option and the only way you'll get that is from the train company that issued the fare, and only if they waive the admin fee. Better to take it back to change it.

....Secondly, I see that these tickets don't allow Metrolink travel to actually get to Victoria from Piccadilly- despite the fact that it's the same price according to a website I've read - this seems a very odd situation. The ticket states "Stockport" to "Manchester Stns".

- Again, can I turn up to Stockport station on the 27th and get the tickets changed/upgraded for a small fee?....

If the second ticket is routed 'any permitted', yes you can change it, there may not be a fare to pay, but if the new fare is cheaper you won't get a refund.

A better option might be to return it to the seller and ask for a ticket to "Manchester CTLZ", or "MCZ".

Inputting "Manchester Victoria", "Manchester Piccadilly", or "Manchester Stations" will NOT show up the Central Zone fares.

 

[kieron]

There don't seem to be any tickets from Manchester which include Metrolink. The cheapest off-peak ticket is probably a return from Stockport, but for an anytime ticket, it's cheaper to get a single from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stockport route Metrolink CTLZ, at £4 without railcard.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Secondly, I see that these tickets don't allow Metrolink travel to actually get to Victoria from Piccadilly- despite the fact that it's the same price according to a website I've read - this seems a very odd situation. The ticket states "Stockport" to "Manchester Stns".

- Again, can I turn up to Stockport station on the 27th and get the tickets changed/upgraded for a small fee?

I don't know how well you know Manchester but there's a free shuttle bus operating around the city centre that will take you from Piccadilly to Victoria.

http://www.tfgm.com/buses/Pages/metroshuttle.aspx

Perhaps not the most direct route but if you have luggage with you then certainly a lot easier than walking! I would of course also check if there are any changes to the service as well due to the holiday period.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

There don't seem to be any tickets from Manchester which include Metrolink. The cheapest off-peak ticket is probably a return from Stockport, but for an anytime ticket, it's cheaper to get a single from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stockport route Metrolink CTLZ, at £4 without railcard.

All tickets from Manchester are issued with an origin of "Manchester Stns", only tickets to (or via) Manchester (and typically for travel wholly within Greater Manchester) issued as "Manchester CTLZ".

 

[clagmonster]

There don't seem to be any tickets from Manchester which include Metrolink. The cheapest off-peak ticket is probably a return from Stockport, but for an anytime ticket, it's cheaper to get a single from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stockport route Metrolink CTLZ, at £4 without railcard.

From the Metrolink ticket machines it is possible to pay through fares to BR stations within Greater Manchester. The fares are set on a zonal basis. There is a list of stations by zone provided next to the ticket machine.

 

[gray1404]

It would be helpful if you could advise which station you got the tickets from? If it was a station ran by South Eastern you may be able to get the tickets refunded without an admin charge if it was a Anytime or Off-Peak ticket, which it sounds like it is, and this is done before the date of travel. If this is possible in your case, then you can buy the correct tickets you want, without charge. If you wish to do this you can do it at the booking or by sending the tickets to customer relations.

Kindly note it is 100% possible to request a refund on a ticket that has been paid for through Rail Travel Voucher. Sometimes the TOC will simply refund you by way of another Rail Travel Voucher or sometimes simply send a cheuqe. I'm known this be done (the latter) if there are mitigating circumstances such as in your case that you were not sold the correct ticket you asked for.

If indeed you would have to pay an admin fee for the refund then it is not worth proceeding with the refund (cheaper to buy new tickets). For the tickets you have, given it will not be possible for you to pay an excess on the VT fare, if I were you I would make sure I used Virgin services if possible. I know its annoying but its free travel right, given you paid for it with a Rail Travel Voucher.

Even with the VT only fares (just like the Any Permitted) it is still possible to get them issued to Manchester Central Zone - in your case this would be for the ticket TO Manchester and not theone FROM there. An excess on this "should" be possible because you are not excessing away from the TOC restriction - its merely changing your destination. Failing that, you could use the free shuttle bus or walk. I certainly would not buy a brand new ticket given the one you have already.

 

[JamesM]

Many thanks for this helpful set of replies.
I got the first part changed, since this was clearly not my fault (Ie non VT fares did exist), but I chose not to worry about the tickets on the way back, since you could argue that this was a lack of knowledge on my part. We'll just pay £1.50!

Many thanks again.