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Card payments- two different trains, same TOC

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Sprinter

Sprinter

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Can any member please explain the following with regard to card payment.

I travel (for example) from London to York and I choose to take the option of the on train Weekend First, which I usually pay by my card (a normal Visa Debit card) this transaction always gets authorises and ticket issued.

The problem always occurs on the way back when again I want to purchase the on-board Weekend First from York back to London. This time the transaction usually gets declined and always leaves me in a pickle because usually my card is normal method of payment.

Is it because in effect I am paying the same TOC twice in two transactions one after the other? It seems strange that should I alight the first train at my destination and say visit WH Smith and buy some railway magazines that upon the second train the card gets accepted!

It is also strange that I can pay for a ticket at Kings X (using the ticket office machines) and the buy a Weekend First on an EC train, in effect paying the same company twice, but I can't buy two consequective WF upgrades?!

Any answers please! This is a common problem I have with most TOCs, not just in this example of EC.
 
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maniacmartin

maniacmartin

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To summarise:

This is because your card has a limit to the value or quantity of offline transactions that may be made in succession before an online transaction is needed. This limit varies from card to card, depending on how much your bank trusts you.

When you make a purchase in a shop or at a station ticket office, the till system communicates with the bank, to check that you actually have the money in the account. (An online transaction).

When paying a guard on train, the card machine that they use does not check with the bank that you have the funds there and then, but stores the details which are downloaded and transmitted to the bank when the guard takes the machine to the depot at the end of the day. (Offline transaction) Thus your payments on train could take you overdrawn.

The caps are there to prevent you going too far overdrawn. By using the card at WH Smith, you are resetting the offline transaction limit of the card/
 
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Lewisham2221

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Sounds like your bank/card issuer assuming that you're being charged twice (either by error or fraudulantly) and taking steps to protect you. Could be worth having a chat with your bank if it's causing a problem.
 
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maniacmartin

maniacmartin

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Croydon
Lewisham2221 said:
Sounds like your bank/card issuer assuming that you're being charged twice (either by error or fraudulantly) and taking steps to protect you. Could be worth having a chat with your bank if it's causing a problem.
Click to expand...

On-train payments are offline and do not involve communication with the bank at the time when the transaction is made
 
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