Charged for a new ticket due to accidentally discarding reservation coupon

[dodgydave]

Last weekend I booked a ticket online from Newcastle to Leeds and opted to have it delivered. I got to the train barriers and realised I had around 8 or 9 little slips of paper for the machines, so in a rush I mashed them in one by one until one let me through and threw away the others as they appeared to be card receipts and trainline booking costs and the reservations, which I presumed I didn't need, as I didn't care about allocated seating.
Just after going past Durham an absolute jobsworth ticket inspector said my tickets were not valid as they didn't have reservations and forced me to pay the full fare (£43), with threats of "the british transport police" if I didn't.
Would I be able to claim back this money from east coast if I contact them, as they have proof that I had booked the train?

 

[SS4]

As usual it depends on your ticket type. If it was an Advance ticket then you're better off cutting your losses and hoping for better luck next time as the reservation is mandatory for advance tickets. It even says on the ticket "Valid only with Reservations" and on the seat ticket "Mandatory Reservation Coupon 1 of 1" - mandatory being the key word.

If you had off-peak or anytime then you're entitled to a full refund.

 

[rmt-driver]

No not at all.. I don't think he would have been a jobsworth.

Your travel ticket would have clearly stated "VALID ONLY WITH RESERVATION"

If nobody enforced this policy, we could all buy an advance ticket and use it as an open tickets saving £100s and £100s of pounds....

Sorry, just learn your lesson for next time!

 

[Matt Taylor]

Unlikely, it is a condition of travel that the ticket is not valid without the reservation and vice versa.Yes EC may have a record of your reservation but that does not mean that you have not given it to somebody else, it is not uncommon for two people to attempt travel on one ticket, one person says they lost the ticket and the other says they lost the reservation.

The inspector was not a jobsworth as you put it, he was merely upholding the rules like everybody else.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
You were asked to pay the standard fare for the journey, a Penalty Fare is something different and would have been £86 in this instance.

 

[yorkie]

As others have said, the ticket is only valid with reservations, so no.

I edited the title of this topic to avoid confusion, as the title was misleading.

If I was in that position and had accidentally thrown away the Newcastle-York reservation coupon, asked to pay £43 for a standard Anytime single to Leeds, I'd ask for a 1st class Anytime ticket to York instead (£34.50) and then used the ticket on the connecting service (probably Northern) from York to Leeds (the fast xx53 arrivals into York that are non-stop from Newcastle connect nicely into the xx09 Northern services, which are non-reserveable and the guard would be unlikely to ask to see the EC reservation coupon that you accidentally threw away), thus saving £8.50 and at least getting some free food in 1st

 

[sonic2009]

Agreed with others. Always check you have every little bit of tickets for your journey especially on Advance Purchase..

Otherwise when boarding a train without the Mandatory Seat Reservation you're liable for a Full Price Ticket.

 

[Bungle73]

This is the second thread I've read on here where someone has thrown away tickets that were necessary for travel thinking they "didn't need them". I'm staggered tbh.

 

[oversteer]

A stamp and a letter costs very little and is worth a try.. but you'll be lucky.

I never got my reservation tickets for some reason and the onboard guard did not accept my email printout as proof.. had to pay for a full price ticket.

I wrote and complained, and got a refund. The TOC were also helpful in reprinting my return tickets and arranging for me to collect them, because of course I needed the reservation on the return leg as well ..

 

[455driver]

I got to the train barriers and realised I had around 8 or 9 little slips of paper for the machines, so in a rush I mashed them in one by one until one let me through and threw away the others as they appeared to be card receipts and trainline booking costs

Why use the trainline, it is one of the most expensive booking engines going.

and the reservations, which I presumed I didn't need, as I didn't care about allocated seating.

The highlighted bit has cost you the money.

Just after going past Durham an absolute jobsworth ticket inspector said my tickets were not valid as they didn't have reservations and forced me to pay the full fare (£43), with threats of "the british transport police" if I didn't.

Why is somebody doing their job correctly a "jobsworth"?
The rules (which you will have had to click a button to confirm you had read when booking the tickets) are very clear about the validity of the advanced tickets, and without the reservation are worthless.

Would I be able to claim back this money from east coast if I contact them, as they have proof that I had booked the train?

No, the onus was/ is on you to comply with the rules that you had signed up for.

 

[yorkie]

Why is somebody doing their job correctly a "jobsworth"?

That is part of the definition of the term "jobsworth"

Once again we see seasoned railway travellers (of which I am one) and professionals sneering at normals for not getting the ludicrous system that we understand,

I agree this is a concern. Unfortunately when the OP used the term "jobsworth" he pretty much guaranteed such a response. It's best to ignore that and for factual advice given though, but some can't resist the bait, which is unfortunate but entirely predictable.

Anyway the OP has his answer now, and I do not think there's anything any of us can add really.

For the general issue of the rights & wrongs of Advance tickets having separate reservation coupons, see this topic.