Problem with E* tickets Lyon-London one way

[theageofthetra]

Hi my partner & her work colleague just by luck discovered a ridiculous situation with tickets booked on the E* website.

They are flying to Lyon to visit a work client and due to poor flight times next Weds they booked a one way Lyon-London via Lille on the Eurostar website.

I advised my partner to choose her seats carefully so that their luggage will be safe from the vermin that infest this route (they have some quite expensive work tech with them)

Whilst trying to check the TGV leg they discovered that you can't even find the TGV seat reservation and that you can't print the ticket off online. Apparently they have to collect the ticket from Lyon Part Dieu.

The next part is even more daft- to collect the tickets they have to present the original card used to make the booking - which they can't as its in the company's name and is a 'virtual' account card.

After ringing E* help desk they have had to cancel both tickets and get new ones reissued using her work colleagues personal credit card at a higher cost as the fare has gone up.

There was nothing to indicate this farcical arrangement when they booked originally and although they personally aren't out of pocket their employer is.

Has anyone else come across this?

It will certainly put them & their employer off ever using the train back from a French destination (where they go regularly)

 

[30907]

Is it not made clear in the booking process that it is TOD with credit card?

It is standard practice for journeys within UK (OK, we've had threads about using other cards, but it's what the TOCs say).

 

[duncanp]

The irony is that if you booked a separate Lyon to Paris or Lille ticket you would be able to print it out at home, as you would if you booked a London to Lyon return, or a single from London to Lyon.

I would have a word with Eurostar about this and see what they say.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

Yes, it's exactly the same as the UK ticket on departure process where possession of the credit card is mandatory. I think the only way round this is to book the tickets via voyages-sncf.com, who can issue print at home tickets for the TGV leg. At least you have an acknowledged booking: the last time I tried booking a ticket via ES for Germany to the UK the website refused to print it out, the Thalys crew refused to accept that I had a booking and it took almost two months to get ES to refund the fare I had to pay on Thalys at the on-board rate. A nightmare! Airline ticketing is just soooo much easier -- mostly on apps these days -- most cross border rail journeys are well behind.

 

[theageofthetra]

What a ludicrous situation. Well they have lost a company with frequent work trips to France as a customer.

 

[flash]

They are flying to Lyon to visit a work client and due to poor flight times next Weds they booked a one way Lyon-London via Lille on the Eurostar website.

What a ludicrous situation. Well they have lost a company with frequent work trips to France as a customer.

Probably not as by the looks of things they weren't regular customers anyway!