Corporate Season Ticket Confusion

Hi all,

I need a little explanation of what exactly is going on and what exactly I've got myself in for.

I have very recently purchased an annual season ticket between Hilsea (HLS) and Portsmouth & Southsea (PMS) through my company (at a 15% discount).

On the first day of validity; the ticket doesn't work on any gate lines, I took it to a SWR ticket office expecting it to just be a bad magnetic strip or similar, have it replaced and be on my way. But after about 30 minutes and a lot of calling around from the excellent guy in the ticket office, they were unable to locate any record of this ticket existing, and therefore replace it.

I contacted the corporate team who got in touch with SWR Business Direct, who passed them over to another company, who provided an 'Encode Exchange Letter' - this seemed to get over the first hurdle, but the ticket office still couldn't reissue the ticket because it was generated with a non-existent? discount code. We both (Ticket office and I) went back to the other company, who then arranged for a new season ticket to be issued and despatched via post to me, I have yet to try this in any gate line, but I'm not confident!

Additionally, the new ticket has arrived on blue card stock.

A few questions:

1. What sort of mess have I ended up in? The ticket was purchased through SWR Business Direct, so I don't understand why SWR seems to have no knowledge of this ticket.
2. This ticket is on blue card, this journey is completely inside the gold card zone.. So shouldn't it be on gold card stock?
   1. I questioned this with other company, and they replied that Gold Cards are only for Smart Cards & Oyster and that paper tickets are not eligible.. Is this correct?
   2. Does it have to be on gold stock to be valid, or does it still count being blue? I intend to use it as a gold card..

SWR Business Direct possibly issue the tickets through a different system to that used in Ticket Offices, so they wouldn't show up in SWR's normal Season Ticket database.

If the 15% discount has arisen because your employer is a member of the easit scheme, you are not entitled to a Gold Card, even where the journey would normally qualify. This restriction also applies to Child Season Tickets and those issued with a 16-17 Saver or rail staff discount. This is documented on an internal rail industry website.

1. By buying through your company's corporate scheme your company has secured a discount on your behalf - perhaps through the easit discount, as @CyrusWuff mentions - but the way that discount is applied to the ticket is not something that would typically be authorised in ticket offices, so engaging with SWR for routine customer enquiries - such as exchanging a faulty magstripe ticket, arranging refunds or changeovers - may be more difficult and may require the intervention of the SWR Business team on most requests.
2. Typically, discounted season tickets on a corporate scheme (including, but not limited to, easit) are not eligible for a Gold Card but this can vary wildly and if your employer has negotiated terms directly with SWR, it may depend on exactly what terms your employer has agreed with SWR.

Thanks both, how awfully convoluted this all is; I rather hoped that as it was all through the same company (SWR), there would be some kind of joined up thinking!

There is no indication through anything I've signed that this is through an easeit scheme or similar, but I will clarify with the company tomorrow. Although it does sound like it's possible this ticket isn't eligible for gold card status due to it being part of another similar scheme, but I will have to attempt to get clarity in writing from the people SWR have sub-contracted the system out to. As currently they seem to be under the impression that SWR themselves do not offer gold cards, as opposed to this particular ticket not being eligible for a gold card.

Hopefully the new ticket works, or I might just send the whole thing back and do it the old-fashioned way at the ticket office, and take the hit on the few extra quid!