Northern rejected All Areas Saveaway ticket

[johnmoly]

My daughter, who lives in Prescot, bought an All areas Saveaway from Liverpool Central station, when travelling back from Chester she asked me could she get off at Lime Street and using that ticket go back to Prescot. I said yes she could. At the Northern barriers at Lime Street she found she couldn't use it as it had been issued at Merseyrail station. She ended up buying a single to Prescot. If she had bought a Saveaway from Prescot station ( Northern ) she would have been okay.

 

[yorkie]

My daughter, who lives in Prescot, bought an All areas Saveaway from Liverpool Central station, when travelling back from Chester she asked me could she get off at Lime Street and using that ticket go back to Prescot. I said yes she could. At the Northern barriers at Lime Street she found she couldn't use it as it had been issued at Merseyrail station. She ended up buying a single to Prescot. If she had bought a Saveaway from Prescot station ( Northern ) she would have been okay.

She should write to Northern, enclosing evidence of fares held and an account of what happened, requesting a refund of the additional fare paid

 

[geoffk]

That cannot be right. A Saveaway is valid on all trains in Merseyside. Are you sure it wasn't a Daysaver which she had? That's only valid on Merseyrail. Not helpful to have such similar names. In fact, as Merseyrail is a concession rather than a franchise, the Daysaver shouldn't be offered at all (but that's another issue).

 

[gray1404]

Sounds like she was sold a Merseyrail Day Saver rather then a Saveaway. Maybe the person at Liverpool Central wasn't listening.

 

[M28361M]

It was bought at a booking office run by Merseyrail, who insist that Saveaways be issued on Metro (or Walrus) smart card only.

So, was the ticket issued as a printed ticket, or loaded onto a smart card?

If the former, it is almost certainly a “Day Saver”, a few pence cheaper but valid only on Merseyrail Electrics services. In which case, the complaint is with Merseyrail for selling the wrong ticket.

If the latter, then it is a Saveaway, and your daughter’s complaint is with Northern for refusing a valid ticket.

Hopefully she has kept the ticket, and (if appropriate) the smart card receipt.

 

[JBuchananGB]

Whether she was mis-sold rather depends on what she asked for at Liverpool Central. If she asked for a "return to Chester", then it would be no surprise if she was sold a Day Saver for £5.50, and this would have been issued as a paper ticket.

If she asked for an All Zone Saveaway, then she would have had to present a smartcard (Metro or Walrus) for it to be loaded, and would have paid £5.55.

At Prescot, it is likely that a Saveaway would have been issued as a paper ticket, rather than being loaded onto a smartcard.

 

[Djgr]

Whether she was mis-sold rather depends on what she asked for at Liverpool Central. If she asked for a "return to Chester", then it would be no surprise if she was sold a Day Saver for £5.50, and this would have been issued as a paper ticket.

If she asked for an All Zone Saveaway, then she would have had to present a smartcard (Metro or Walrus) for it to be loaded, and would have paid £5.55.

At Prescot, it is likely that a Saveaway would have been issued as a paper ticket, rather than being loaded onto a smartcard.

Plus a £1 activation fee if they needed an actual MetroCard for the first time