Advanced Purchase Tickets Not Available from Ticket Office

[work-traveller]

I encountered an unexpected issue whilst trying to book an advanced purchase ticket this morning. In short, I wanted a (cheap) advanced purchase ticket (single out and single back) from a West Mids station to Manchester for tomorrow. The tickets show as available for purchase on thetrainline and nationalrail. However, when it came to purchasing them at a local London Midland ticket office, the chappie said he could sell me the outward ticket I was after but that the return ticket wasn't available/visible to him to sell.

If I was trying to purchase a sleeper ticket from a LM ticket office, then I could understand the issue of ticket visibility/availability. But I don't see why the LM ticket office only seems to have limited access to publicly available fares.

I would purchase the tickets on the internet, only I can't use the blooming rail voucher I have.

I wondered if others have had such an issue and if so, if there is any way round it - other than picking alternative train times?

 

[Paul Kelly]

I think you need to give a bit more detail about the journey if you want to get a clear answer. Were the journeys on just one train or did they involve a change of train? In how much detail did you describe to the clerk the trains you wanted to buy a ticket for?

 

[work-traveller]

I think you need to give a bit more detail about the journey if you want to get a clear answer. Were the journeys on just one train or did they involve a change of train? In how much detail did you describe to the clerk the trains you wanted to buy a ticket for?

Fair point - it's a bit smoke and mirrors otherwise. I gave specific train times to the London Midland clerk, being:

Blake Street (dep.) 08:32
Manchester (arr.) 10:59

Manchester (dep.) 14:07
Blake Street (arr.) 16:21

The outward ticket was visible/available to the clerk at the £10 quoted on all websites, but the inward ticket was only visible/available to the clerk at £22.50, although all websites (including his own company's) offer it at £10.

 

[Paul Kelly]

That's a very good value fare, but I can't see any reason why it shouldn't be available. There is quota for that advance tier available on the train, the train arrives at BHM before CrossCountry's evening peak (and ensuing block on cheaper advance tiers being available) - all is fine. Also there are no complications with unusual routes or overtaken trains, which is the usual reason for advance fares not being available at booking offices (i.e their journey planner hasn't come up with the itinerary).

Are you sure perhaps that the clerk didn't accidentally select the wrong train? All the later journey options that afternoon are at a higher tier because of CrossCountry's Birmingham evening peak quota restrictions.

 

[work-traveller]

I got the impression it's a quite laborious process for a station clerk to look up train tickets, in comparison to what it's like for us members of the public.
However, that aside, I wrote the train times down along with the corresponding prices and he confirmed that he couldn't get the return price at less than £18 - rather than the £10 on his company's own website.

When I politely asked why that was the case he said he didn't know, but that he had encountered this issues frequently. He quoted an example of a passenger who had looked up advanced tickets to London, then arrived at the ticket office to book them, only for the clerk to confirm that he couldn't see those tickets - so the passenger went away and bought the tickets on the internet.

In my case, I wanted to use the ticket office and this is about the only way of off-loading those cumbersome rail vouchers the TOCs hand out for delayed travel.

 

[insidetrack77]

"But its a cheaper price on thetrainline....." Words I hear on a daily basis, which never turn out to be true.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I got the impression it's a quite laborious process for a station clerk to look up train tickets, in comparison to what it's like for us members of the public....

It depends on a number of factors, scenarios like yours shouldn't take to long, a few minutes maybe. Scenarios where a passenger is travelling "from London to Scotland, sometime next month, for about a week", when what they really mean is "Watford to Carstairs, next Thursday, coming back the following Monday", it can take just a little longer!

....However, that aside, I wrote the train times down along with the corresponding prices and he confirmed that he couldn't get the return price at less than £18 - rather than the £10 on his company's own website.

When I politely asked why that was the case he said he didn't know, but that he had encountered this issues frequently. He quoted an example of a passenger who had looked up advanced tickets to London, then arrived at the ticket office to book them, only for the clerk to confirm that he couldn't see those tickets - so the passenger went away and bought the tickets on the internet.

In my case, I wanted to use the ticket office and this is about the only way of off-loading those cumbersome rail vouchers the TOCs hand out for delayed travel.

I can't say it's the case here obviously, but it is known that if you look a fare up online it can sometimes (I think when you 'basket' it) take up the quota for a minimum of ten minutes and stop others seeing it. It's to prevent the system from offering you a fare and then telling you have to pay more when someone else gets it milliseconds before you click 'buy'.

Is it possible that someone could have done this for one of your intended services? If they didn't complete the transaction the quota would then become available again later.

 

[bb21]

"But its a cheaper price on thetrainline....." Words I hear on a daily basis, which never turn out to be true.

In defence of thetrainline, it can occasionally be cheaper, but only on very rare occasions.