Booking tickets - do you need your railcard?

[CosherB]

I need to book about eight guys including me with senior railcards on a day trip next month using off-peak tickets. So we can all sit together on the train, I'll go to the local station to buy the block of tickets. Will I need to produce everyone's senior railcards when I book in advance?

I could book it on the internet of course, except I don't know that that would guarantee we all sit together, and I think it would issue all tickets in my name with the proviso that I HAVE to travel and have my credit card with me. If for some reason I can't go, then neither will the others be able to. That's why I'd rather book 'un-named' tickets and reservations at the local station.

Are my assumptions correct? And do I need everyone's railcard with me to book the tickets at the station in advance?

 

[bradders1983]

If you book on the Internet and then you pick up the tickets a few days/weeks before the journey, that would remove the issue of you and/or your credit card having to be there on the day of travel.

Go to the station to book and you have to take all railcards with you. I think!

 

[142094]

I would take the railcards along with you if you can - saves the hassle when you get there. Some TOCs insist on being shown the railcard when buying advance tickets at the station (even though anyone could buy it online). Learnt this lesson the hard way - had to go all the way back home to get the railcard.

 

[CosherB]

The home station TOC is Northern Rail. Travel will be by Virgin except the leg Milton Keynes to Bletchley.

bradders - I don't really want to leave it to just before travel. I suppose buy on internet and pay for post to my home is a possibility. Does internet bookig seat us all together? Would I still have to travel to enable the others to travel, with internet-sourced posted tickets?

 

[Fred26]

Speaking from experience, I'd probably sell you the tickets regardless (presuming you had your own railcard), but stress that railcards must be carried to make the tickets valid, hopefully without it sounding like I didn't believe you.
If you can take all the railcards, do.

 

[tony_mac]

You can buy online and have the tickets posted, most rail companies won't charge for postage.
Then you can hand out the tickets before you go, so it doesn't matter if you travel or not.

If you book at somewhere like londonmidland.com, it will tell you what the seat assignments are - you can check these against the Pendolino seating plan on Virgin's website.
http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/assets/pdf/global/seating-plan.pdf
If you aren't happy, you can change some of the options, and try again.
But, they will usually be together.

Maybe telesales would be able to give you specific seats?

 

[bradders1983]

The home station TOC is Northern Rail. Travel will be by Virgin except the leg Milton Keynes to Bletchley.

bradders - I don't really want to leave it to just before travel. I suppose buy on internet and pay for post to my home is a possibility. Does internet bookig seat us all together? Would I still have to travel to enable the others to travel, with internet-sourced posted tickets?

No, the name printed on the tickets is irrelevent. I have never been asked to prove I am the name printed on them at the bottom.

 

[dzug2]

. Does internet bookig seat us all together? ?

I imagine it tries to, without a guarantee. You could try it and see. Rail websites (well some of them - FGW in particular) allocate the seats before you are finally committed to payment, so you can see what they are.

 

[Tom B]

My experience with staff at Edinburgh in particular is that they will lecture you about how you should really have it with you etc, give you a talk about how you need it when you catch the train, then sell you the ticket anyway.

 

[yorkie]

I think it would issue all tickets in my name

It prints the person who buys them on the ticket, that's not an issue.

with the proviso that I HAVE to travel

No, you don't. Has someone given you incorrect advise on this? If so I am concerned, do you have any more info?

and have my credit card with me.

If you choose to collect the tickets from a machine, you need your card when you collect them. Other than that, the credit card is not required. If tickets are posted, you don't need the card at all.

If for some reason I can't go, then neither will the others be able to.

No, providing you give them their tickets before the date, if you then cannot make it, that doesn't matter. The only problem may be if you are in possession of all the tickets and you then don't turn up.

That's why I'd rather book 'un-named' tickets and reservations at the local station.

A while ago, I discovered that Thetrainline sites let you choose a name for your login to the site which is different to your postal/billing address. It may have changed now, but back then I put my name as Sir Richard Branson and it printed that name on the tickets. Not sure if that's still possible or not, but it could help if you didn't want your name on the tickets for some reason. It makes no difference what name is on the ticket.

Are my assumptions correct?

No, fortunately!

And do I need everyone's railcard with me to book the tickets at the station in advance?

Depends on whether the staff are 'jobsworths' or not. If they are jobsworthy and refuse, take your business elsewhere, they don't deserve the commission. I reckon my local station would be fine with it (well, the vast majority of the staff would be).
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Does internet bookig seat us all together? ?

Whenever I have booked on the East Coast site for a group, and ticked the table box, I've got a table. They also tell you the seat numbers before you pay, this can be checked against a seating plan if you can get hold of one. (Pendo seating plan is here)

 

[CosherB]

Yorkie, I recently booked a Virgin ticket on their site (to London return). It says

"the lead traveller is 'Captain Speaking'. The lead traveller must travel, and must have with them their senior railcard and the credit card with which the ticket was bought. Failure to comply will result in a replacement ticket having to be purchased to travel."

 

[RJ]

I'd sell advance dated tickets without production of a railcard, I also try to ensure that multiple bookings are sat together.

 

[yorkie]

Yorkie, I recently booked a Virgin ticket on their site (to London return). It says

"the lead traveller is 'Captain Speaking'. The lead traveller must travel, and must have with them their senior railcard and the credit card with which the ticket was bought. Failure to comply will result in a replacement ticket having to be purchased to travel."

Is this a "Mobitix" e-ticket?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....Depends on whether the staff are 'jobsworths' or not. If they are jobsworthy and refuse, take your business elsewhere, they don't deserve the commission. I reckon my local station would be fine with it (well, the vast majority of the staff would be)....

Indeed, the letter of the law is that all railcards must be produced, but in reality, I think most clerks would accept that you have railcards if you were able to produce atleast one of them. Expect them to remind you about carrying them with you when you travel though.

I would like to point out here, that ticket office staff do not get commission (atleast not in the TOCs I have worked for) from ticket sales.

 

[dzug2]

No, the name printed on the tickets is irrelevent. I have never been asked to prove I am the name printed on them at the bottom.

What name printed on the tickets? No ticket that I've bought online (through FGW or in the past Chiltern) for delivery by post or machine pickup has had any name on it.

What circumstances cause it to be printed?

 

[CosherB]

Virgin tickets bought on line and home-printed (e-ticket) have the purchaser's name printed on them. I have one here for use next month!

 

[John @ home]

No ticket that I've bought online (through FGW or in the past Chiltern) for delivery by post or machine pickup has had any name on it.

What circumstances cause it to be printed?

It seems to depend on the particular type of ticket machine used to print the ticket.

My experience is that tickets booked online and printed on a Southern ticket machine at East Croydon contain the name of the Company or title and surname of the individual whose debit or credit card has been used to pay for the tickets. For Advance tickets, they also contain information linking the ticket to the reservation coupon, eg. "Valid only with reservation(s). Issued as 2 coupons." and "Valid only with ticket 12345. Retain for inspection."

Tickets booked online and printed on an East Coast ticket machine at Leeds also contain the name but not the information linking the ticket to the reservation coupon.

Tickets booked online with East Coast and delivered by post contain neither name nor linking information.

 

[Magicake]

I would like to point out here, that ticket office staff do not get commission (atleast not in the TOCs I have worked for) from ticket sales.

That's true, but the TOC does.

 

[FGWman]

Yorkie, I recently booked a Virgin ticket on their site (to London return). It says

"the lead traveller is 'Captain Speaking'. The lead traveller must travel, and must have with them their senior railcard and the credit card with which the ticket was bought. Failure to comply will result in a replacement ticket having to be purchased to travel."

That only applies to mobitix. Any other ticket is always valid for the person for whom it has been brought.

 

[CosherB]

What's mobitix?

 

[cuccir]

Captain speaking is correct that for print at home tickets, the passengers need to travel with the credit card that booked it - used a cross country advance today that had this condition, and card was checked. The way round this is to buy the ticket to be delivered at home, as it is only a condition for print at home tickets. not sure about mobitix, but these are tickets which are displayed on a mobile - I imagine that the restrictions are similar to print at home.

As a rule, online booking engine will.book you together, if possible.

 

[CosherB]

Thanks Cuccir. That confirms my experience, and also tells me what mobitix is! I'll try booking at the station; if that doesn't work I'll book on line and get tickets posted to me.

 

[bradders1983]

What name printed on the tickets? No ticket that I've bought online (through FGW or in the past Chiltern) for delivery by post or machine pickup has had any name on it.

What circumstances cause it to be printed?

Advance tickets I have purchased through the East Coast website and collected at Sheffield (using one of the machines) have had my surname printed on one of the tickets somewhere. I have never been asked to prove it is me.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

That's true, but the TOC does.

But that was not the implication of the sentence to which my statement refers. Infact the implication as I see it was "if the clerk doesn't bend the rules, go to someone that will". What's that about not doing our jobs properly....oh yeah, when it suits you.....

 

[janb]

But that was not the implication of the sentence to which my statement refers. Infact the implication as I see it was "if the clerk doesn't bend the rules, go to someone that will". What's that about not doing our jobs properly....oh yeah, when it suits you.....

But in this instance its one of those rules that following will lead to you cutting your own throat. Effectively in this case by not bending the rules you run the risk of losing that sale (to the internet which doesn't ask to see railcards) or to another booking office. Perhaps if you are in a busy mainline station feeling secure in your job you don't mind, but for those engaged in competition it understandable that this rule is not enforced.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Well as I have said, I don't think that many clerks would ask for all of them if there was quite a few, but to say people should go elsewhere because someone is actually doing their job (regardless of it being OTT or not) and implying they get benefits from it, is very poor indeed IMO, particularly on a forum where clerks are criticised for not doing their job properly.

 

[Flamingo]

Well as I have said, I don't think that many clerks would ask for all of them if there was quite a few, but to say people should go elsewhere because someone is actually doing their job (regardless of it being OTT or not) and implying they get benefits from it, is very poor indeed IMO, particularly on a forum where clerks are criticised for not doing their job properly.

"They should do it properly with everyone else. I'm a special case." :roll:

 

[CosherB]

Just to close the loop on this and thank all for the replies. I bought the tickets at the local ticket office with no need to show even my own senior railcard. Makes sense, as the tickets are only valid if the railcard is carried by each passenger on the day of travel; let's hope no-one forgets to bring their old git's card! That 08:11 Virgin departure from Wilmslow is nearly £170 return; it's £35.20 with the railcard (Virgin charge off peak on any train for senior railcard users, and of course you get 33% off that!).

Makes for another interesting anomoly; tomorrow I am travelling into Manchester at about 08:15. With my railcard, that's £4.60 return (peak fare less 33%). But if I catch the 08:27 Virgin Pendelino I can go for £3.65!

 

[yorkie]

Just to close the loop on this and thank all for the replies. I bought the tickets at the local ticket office with no need to show even my own senior railcard. Makes sense, as the tickets are only valid if the railcard is carried by each passenger on the day of travel; let's hope no-one forgets to bring their old git's card! That 08:11 Virgin departure from Wilmslow is nearly £170 return; it's £35.20 with the railcard (Virgin charge off peak on any train for senior railcard users, and of course you get 33% off that!).

If anyone forgets, you will be severely punished, each person doing so will have to pay £128.50. Although this isn't a fine, the amount is significantly more than the starting fine for benefit cheats. The amount is more than half way toward the fine for throwing a brick at a car, and you would be £8 worse off than someone who goes drink driving. Someone who smuggles cocaine would only be £6.50 worse off than you. So, you have been warned!

Makes for another interesting anomoly; tomorrow I am travelling into Manchester at about 08:15. With my railcard, that's £4.60 return (peak fare less 33%). But if I catch the 08:27 Virgin Pendelino I can go for £3.65!

I don't understand the 'anomaly' here? There are Virgin Only (ie, TOC specific) tickets at cheaper fares than the Any Permitted tickets.

 

[CosherB]

I don't understand the 'anomaly' here? There are Virgin Only (ie, TOC specific) tickets at cheaper fares than the Any Permitted tickets.

But I think I can return late afternoon / early evening on any train, not just Virgin, can't I, on that ticket?