Worth asking for money back?

[jon0844]

Having recently gone to Chichester (see separate thread), I stupidly asked for tickets at either end, given that I have a Z1-6 annual travelcard for the middle part.

The seller did just that, but as I was coming back a different way because of engineering work, I couldn't get a boundary 6 ticket to Chichester and got a single one from London Terminals. I then got given two single extensions (not a return?) from St Albans to Boundary Zone 6 (Elstree & Borehamwood), given that my season ticket is from Hatfield.

Anyway, the three tickets straight through SAC to CCH were £20.45 each. My 'clever' splitting came to £23.75 - a difference of £3.30! Whoops!

To be honest, I'm not that bothered. Technically, I did ask for split tickets (although I didn't really want it from London Terminals given that I have a ticket to Z6) so he gave what I wanted, but I only did this because I assumed it would be cheaper. I am sure he did too, or he'd have told me not to bother.

To be fair, the seller wouldn't necessarily have noticed as he did my tickets last and added it to the other tickets. The question is, was I mis-sold the ticket and should I write in to FCC to get my £3.30 back?

I do wonder why it is more expensive - given that I've taken a chunk out of the journey with an existing ticket!

I guess this is just another wonderful example of the simplification of tickets!

 

[mickey]

I stupidly asked for tickets at either end

The question is, was I mis-sold the ticket and should I write in to FCC to get my £3.30 back?

So you were sold the tickets you asked for? Then no, it wasn't mis-sold. Seemples

 

[jon0844]

I didn't specifically ask for those tickets.. I just said that I had a Z1-6 card.

Now, why couldn't I get a boundary zone 6 ticket to Chichester? I've done this when going to Gatwick Airport before - and if it's BZ6 on the ticket then I could have left via London Bridge and returned to Waterloo - the London Terminals bit was a huge overlap!

And why couldn't I get a return ticket from St Albans to Elstree & Borehamwood instead of two singles?

I can assure you that I didn't go in and ask for that combination, as I wanted to pay the lowest price - which they're supposed to offer*. I said I was happy to go with his recommendation, and simply paid the total on the display, which was added to the balance from the three previous tickets. It was only when I got on the train that I noticed I'd paid more - and on the train back I realised I've paid EVEN more as I had two individual single tickets at £2.80 each! That'll teach me not to do the maths at the window.

It's anything but simple.

* The reason I'm not angry is that I didn't check, and I am giving the seller the benefit of the doubt too - it wasn't an intentional mistake or oversight. If I write in, I won't be suggesting I was mis-sold deliberately or anything.

 

[A60K]

I'm sure there were some specific notes in the old printed NFMs to remind ticket clerks to check prices when issuing multiple extensions to existing tickets on either side of the London zones, to make sure that customers weren't paying more than they need to.

I would have thought that advice would be carried over into the new Manual setup, and if so I think you've got perfectly reasonable grounds for complaint.

 

[jon0844]

I think I'll just write in and see if they'll do something as a goodwill gesture. It just highlights the nonsense ticketing pricing and restrictions we have - and how easy it is for such a situation to arise like this.

 

[clagmonster]

The reason you couldn't be sold a straight saver return Boundary 6 to Chichester is because there is no route any permitted fare, only route Havant or route Southern only, neither of which apply to you in both directions. I do wonder whether it would be have been possible to sell a route Havant ticket and an alternate route excess for the outward portion to route Southern only, priced at £0.00.

 

[paul1609]

The reason you couldn't be sold a straight saver return Boundary 6 to Chichester is because there is no route any permitted fare, only route Havant or route Southern only, neither of which apply to you in both directions. I do wonder whether it would be have been possible to sell a route Havant ticket and an alternate route excess for the outward portion to route Southern only, priced at £0.00.

You cant excess a TOC restricted ticket only a geographical route so I think if the clerk was asked for a split ticket from london he has probably sold the right combination.
In this case the straight forward ticket is actually quite simple it is only because the OP has tried to split the journey in to 3 tickets thats hes been caught out.

 

[A60K]

In this case the straight forward ticket is actually quite simple it is only because the OP has tried to split the journey in to 3 tickets thats hes been caught out.

It's a strange system that charges someone more for a journey when they already have a ticket covering a substantial part of their journey - then again, we have a strange system...