New Virgin East Coast Website

[SaveECRewards]

The super off peak singles are now showing at a 50% discount, oddly enough they're just giving 50% off a regular SSS ticket, rather than using the ticket types SSU/SSH

Still it works, that's the main thing!

 

[alistairlees]

The super off peak singles are now showing at a 50% discount, oddly enough they're just giving 50% off a regular SSS ticket, rather than using the ticket types SSU/SSH

This is in fact 50p cheaper than the equivalent SSH, because the SSH is 50% of the price of the SSR, which is £1.00 more than the SSS (on flows such as Darlington and York to London anyway - and, I think, on all others).

How do they manage to further complicate things?!

 

[SaveECRewards]

This is in fact 50p cheaper than the equivalent SSH, because the SSH is 50% of the price of the SSR, which is £1.00 more than the SSS (on flows such as Darlington and York to London anyway - and, I think, on all others).

How do they manage to further complicate things?!

I wasn't going to tell them that, saving the odd 50p is about the only reward we get for putting up with this mess

Although I have found something that is annoying, they only offer the 50% on completely VTEC trips, whereas the SSH fare was available KGX-NOT (via GRA) and probably other routes that were VTEC & connections too.

The requirement to book a return leg isn't enforced either.

 

[Haywain]

Is there any news on the half-price Super Off Peak Singles?

I know people who want to book 1st Advances one way and the half-price Super Off Peak Singles the other, and I've told them to hold off for now.

Good advice, and clearly you have a tad more faith than some on here!

 

[SaveECRewards]

Good advice, and clearly you have a tad more faith than some on here!

It's not something to be proud about. The site shouldn't have launched when it had the potential to charge customers more than they should pay.

Also as mentioned above the implementation is incorrect.

Late and incomplete - sums up this site perfectly!

 

[westv]

Presumably these 50% discounts are on VTEC only services rather than any that have connections.

 

[SaveECRewards]

Presumably these 50% discounts are on VTEC only services rather than any that have connections.

That's right... Although if you're on a route where VTEC and a competitor operate

e.g. London - Doncaster (GR, HT, GC) you will see the full price for the non-VTEC services, but the 50% price for the VTEC trains.

If you select the 50% off fare you will then see a tick next to all the non-VTEC services indicating this ticket is valid on there too.

So if you want to travel on a Grand Central service and take advantage of the fare, you need to select a VTEC train rather than the one you intend getting to get the lower price.

As the ticket type is SSS and the route is Any Permitted I can't see anything against this in the rules.

 

[westv]

Ok thanks.

 

[westv]

Despite getting an email today telling me the seat selector is now working, it still isn't on my route.

 

[SaveECRewards]

Despite getting an email today telling me the seat selector is now working, it still isn't on my route.

Which route is that? It doesn't seem to work on trains planned to be operated by an 8 carriage EMT set (like KGX-HUL). The regular 9 car HST and mk4 formation seem to be hard coded into the site.

 

[westv]

Which route is that? It doesn't seem to work on trains planned to be operated by an 8 carriage EMT set (like KGX-HUL). The regular 9 car HST and mk4 formation seem to be hard coded into the site.

That'll be the one.
It was sometimes a problem on the old site too and I had to get them to sort it out.

 

[Leisurefirst]

Anyone had one of these emails in response?

Dear...

Thank you for your recent email regarding a booking enquiry. With reference to the problem, the issue might be due to the launch of our website. We have decommissioned the existing website, and this maybe where the problem lies. Please ensure your email and account is verified, Your current bookings may show in the past bookings section which is totally normal. To which if there was a booking in question you wish to discuss then please call us on the number above and we will open the booking and help you best we can.

And if the problem is reoccurring, we would ask you to get back into contact with us and we can escalate the issue.

Yes, that's totally normal isn't it?
As is the fact that one of my future bookings is showing in past and two more I made after that one doesn't show at all (journey was in July yet is still showing one from March) and the other is for September and isn't showing at all.

Those two missing bookings by the way happen to (July) be completely non-VTEC and (September) one leg on VTEC and the other (split ticket) non-VTEC.
Is that why they are missing anyone think?
I still have the emails and have collected the tickets though strangely I have no Wi-fi codes for the VTEC leg ( was booked on old site).

 

[Merseysider]

I got this incoherent email this morning:

Thank you for your correspondence received 03 August 2017 regarding e.vouchers.

have Spoken to a member of our Web Support Team and they have said if you could wait till the end of August and then check your account to see if they have been add to your account on the new website as they have quite a few e.vouchers to process.

Web Support contact number is 03457 225 111 or

Email address: webcustomersupport@virgintrainseastcoast.com

Once again thank you for your email and will look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Sincerely

End of August. Wonderful.

 

[Leisurefirst]

I got this incoherent email this morning:



End of August. Wonderful.

Which August?

 

[SaveECRewards]

I got this incoherent email this morning:

(...email...)

End of August. Wonderful.

That's ridiculous, after all the reassurances that our vouchers were safe and they'd be ready for us when the new site launched they're leaving people without vouchers that long.

Can you raise an official complaint. Then after giving them time to reply ask Transport Focus to investigate.

All these problems were avoidable.

 

[Merseysider]

Yes, absolutely avoidable. At the very least I'll expect the voucher to be exchanged for a cheque as I've already booked all my winter trips (Inverness! )

Needless to say, I did query it:

Dear John

How is this in any way acceptable?

Sincerely

 

[Wallsendmag]

Yes, absolutely avoidable. At the very least I'll expect the voucher to be exchanged for a cheque as I've already booked all my winter trips (Inverness! )

Needless to say, I did query it:

You have a PM

 

[woody505]

4/11/17 went on sale this morning for advances between Leeds and London. Do they add all the advances at once or in bits and bobs loads of trains saying sold out for all levels of advances in standard and first with very little availement on the £16 and £22 . Just find it hard to believe the advances could of sold out so quickly.But there is loads of super of peak singles £52.60 which I haven't seen before

 

[westv]

4/11/17 went on sale this morning for advances between Leeds and London. Do they add all the advances at once or in bits and bobs loads of trains saying sold out for all levels of advances in standard and first with very little availement on the £16 and £22 . Just find it hard to believe the advances could of sold out so quickly.But there is loads of super of peak singles £52.60 which I haven't seen before

Fake bookings by VTEC?

 

[Starmill]

Good advice, and clearly you have a tad more faith than some on here!

Good advice? To sit and wait while your Advance ticket risks increasing in price? Presumably VTEC are offering a refund of the difference to anyone who pays more in the interim before they become available? Elsewise how is that good advice?

 

[SaveECRewards]

SWR will be using WebTIS when they replace SWT tomorrow.

Another option for those who cycle or just want to change their tickets with minimal hassle.

 

[Romilly]

4/11/17 went on sale this morning for advances between Leeds and London. Do they add all the advances at once or in bits and bobs loads of trains saying sold out for all levels of advances in standard and first with very little availement on the £16 and £22 . Just find it hard to believe the advances could of sold out so quickly.But there is loads of super of peak singles £52.60 which I haven't seen before

Over the weekend of 4/5 November, trains on the East Coast Mainline are, between Peterborough and Doncaster, being diverted via Lincoln. This adds about an hour to the journey time. It seems that VTEC are planning to run fewer trains through to/from London that weekend, which in turn seems to mean that there are fewer Advances and that the Advances available are starting at higher prices. It may be that there is something to be gained from splitting tickets at Doncaster or York. There are certainly some Edinburgh trains that are running only to/from York.

 

[Bayum]

I must admit, my hopes of trying to save as much as possible, based on the fact I'm claiming tickets back from a hospital, are usually crushed well in advance of appointments I've known about.

I think I was lucky enough for my surgery date as I knew that at Easter, but booking for my Easter consultation after the spring half term, there were very few advance tickets left for anything less than £75.

I had an MRI a few weeks ago four days after my surgery as things weren't as great as hoped and much worse, and I had to settle on tickets totalling £140. I've had another surgery booked for this upcoming Wednesday, and many of the tickets for services from Leeds and York to Kings X were sold out. I managed to get a cheap 1st class ticket for the journey back, as I'll be able to eat and I'll need somewhere to rest after being in theatre 24hrs prior. The journey to London, however, I wasn't prepared to fork out their prices - even if I were happy to claim back a 1st class ticket, it wouldn't be of much use to me being nil-by-mouth from midnight! The whole situation is a real joke.

 

[Smidster]

4/11/17 went on sale this morning for advances between Leeds and London. Do they add all the advances at once or in bits and bobs loads of trains saying sold out for all levels of advances in standard and first with very little availement on the £16 and £22 . Just find it hard to believe the advances could of sold out so quickly.But there is loads of super of peak singles £52.60 which I haven't seen before

What happened to the 24 week booking windows? Are they another thing that have been "Aweomed" out of existence?

Getting any decent fare is increasingly difficult with VTEC - a symptom of a struggling business

 

[Merseysider]

What happened to the 24 week booking windows? Are they another thing that have been "Aweomed" out of existence?

Getting any decent fare is increasingly difficult with VTEC - a symptom of a struggling business

I managed to pick up a very cheap AP for Inv-Kgx on 21/12 so the extended booking horizons are definitely still there for some if not all routes

 

[91109]

What happened to the 24 week booking windows? Are they another thing that have been "Aweomed" out of existence?

Getting any decent fare is increasingly difficult with VTEC - a symptom of a struggling business

24 week booking horizon still exists for weekday services, unfortunately weekends are still subject to 12 weeks ahead, as are journeys that require a connection to another TOC.

 

[yorkie]

The super off peak singles are now showing at a 50% discount, oddly enough they're just giving 50% off a regular SSS ticket, rather than using the ticket types SSU/SSH

Still it works, that's the main thing!

It doesn't work for Railcard holders. It shows as the non-Railcard discounted rate (from York to London that's £52.60) with a note saying "Discounted"

 

[SaveECRewards]

It doesn't work for Railcard holders. It shows as the non-Railcard discounted rate (from York to London that's £52.60) with a note saying "Discounted"

Arrrrgh!

Have you mentioned it to Transport Focus?

 

[SaveECRewards]

The sale we all expected to take our minds off the website launch has now happened.

50% off, book by 28 Aug, travel from 11 Sep

 

[Merseysider]

Outward Journey
We're experiencing a high volume of traffic

Sorry, we can't return any fares for this journey right now. Please try again later.