Digital Railcard Warning

[_toommm_]

Just a warning to anyone thinking of renewing their railcard and wanting to try the digital version. At the moment it's not working properly and won't display your picture and will come up as 'Expired' even when it hasn't.

The rail delivery group say they're working on a fix but I've had to buy new tickets and request a refund from them to negate this issue.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Just a warning to anyone thinking of renewing their railcard and wanting to try the digital version. At the moment it's not working properly and won't display your picture and will come up as 'Expired' even when it hasn't.

The rail delivery group say they're working on a fix but I've had to buy new tickets and request a refund from them to negate this issue.

And so it begins.....

 

[jon0844]

Just a warning to anyone thinking of renewing their railcard and wanting to try the digital version. At the moment it's not working properly and won't display your picture and will come up as 'Expired' even when it hasn't.

The rail delivery group say they're working on a fix but I've had to buy new tickets and request a refund from them to negate this issue.

How very odd. Must be a very obscure bug, so I hope it's fixed quickly.. although common sense says you send a bulletin ASAP to all rail staff to make it clear you go by the clearly written expiry date below the EXPIRED text. Problem solved, no need to buy different tickets and get a refund later.

 

[_toommm_]

And so it begins.....

Care to elaborate?

 

[gray1404]

I really think that people should stick to plastic/paper railcards for now.

 

[yorksrob]

I really think that people should stick to plastic/paper railcards for now.

And forever.

 

[Sleepy]

 

[Clip]

Care to elaborate?

People on here a vehemently against the digital age and railcards and once small little error in it has them all saying 'I told you so'.

Theres a thread about it somewhere

 

[cjohnson]

Given that the T&Cs of the app state:

"RDG does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for unavailability of the Railcard App, or any difficulty or inability to download or access content or any other communication system failure which may result in the Railcard App being unavailable"

and

"RDG will not be responsible for any support or maintenance for the Railcard App"

then not sure I will be using it for my railcards any time soon...

 

[shredder1]

Dodgy technology being rolled out before its ready, or maybe too advanced for the people that are trying to introduced it?

 

[Merseysider]

Given that the T&Cs of the app state:

"RDG does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for unavailability of the Railcard App, or any difficulty or inability to download or access content or any other communication system failure which may result in the Railcard App being unavailable"

and

"RDG will not be responsible for any support or maintenance for the Railcard App"

then not sure I will be using it for my railcards any time soon...

Legally dubious. Very dubious indeed.

Deutsche Bahn bloody got it right, why can't RDG?

The physical railcard is issued alongside a digital (mobile) version. The mobile version is simply a QR code below the passenger's name.

To use the physical railcard requires no ID. To use the digital version, the credit card or ID with photograph must be shown. Clearly they haven't got any issues with fraudulent use as it's been that way for years now.

There is literally no point whatsoever to a digital-only railcard.

Dodgy technology being rolled out before its ready, or maybe too advanced for the people that are trying to introduced it?

Hit the nail on the head.

 

[Clip]

You simply cant say for sure that it was dodgy technology before being rolled out. It quite simply could've been a simple coding error with the date which seems highly likely.

That's not 'Dodgy Technology' that's a bit of an idiot not doing their job properly.

 

[maniacmartin]

Given that the T&Cs of the app state:

"RDG does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for unavailability of the Railcard App, or any difficulty or inability to download or access content or any other communication system failure which may result in the Railcard App being unavailable"

and

"RDG will not be responsible for any support or maintenance for the Railcard App"

then not sure I will be using it for my railcards any time soon...

I'm not convinced that would stand up in court somehow, especially if the app stops working mid-journey and then you encounter an RPI.

 

[Clip]

I'm not convinced that would stand up in court somehow, especially if the app stops working mid-journey and then you encounter an RPI.

So the same as if you misplaced your paper railcard mid journey then?:roll:

Which on further reading https://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/help/faqs/digital-railcard/ for example

A:
If you don’t have any battery life, or have forgotten your device, it won't be possible to check that your Railcard discount is valid.
You could be asked to buy a single ticket for your journey, or be issued with a Penalty Fare.
If do you get caught out while travelling, you can make one claim a year to be refunded for any extra fare or penalty you incur.
For a list of train companies in Great Britain, and their details, click here.

Which is basically the same as the paper T& Cs is it not?

Also

Why is my new digital Railcard showing as 'Expired'
A:
We are aware that some customers aren't currently able to see their new digital Railcard within their apps and are instead getting a status of 'Expired'.

We are looking to get this changed, but the simple reason this is happening, is this is because your existing Railcard still has validity left of it and your new digital Railcard hasn't yet started.
You will be able to use your existing Railcard right up until it expires and switches across to your new digital Railcard.
We're looking at changing the messaging within the app to make this less confusing. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

So phew, panic over.

 

[hounddog]

People on here a vehemently against the digital age and railcards and once small little error in it has them all saying 'I told you so'.

Theres a thread about it somewhere

If saying a card is invalid when it's actually valid is a 'small' error what would you consider a large one?

 

[talldave]

You simply cant say for sure that it was dodgy technology before being rolled out. It quite simply could've been a simple coding error with the date which seems highly likely.

That's not 'Dodgy Technology' that's a bit of an idiot not doing their job properly.

Well, several people by the sound of it: the idiot that wrote the spec, the idiot that coded it, the idiot that wrote the test spec and the idiot that carried out the testing. And let's not forget the idiot with zero IT knowledge who commissioned some fly by night company to develop the app in the first place.

Coding errors with dates have been bread and butter basic testing fodder since the year dot - it's not like the app requirements are in any way ambitious.

The problem is that nobody at RDG has to use or suffer with this app so they have no incentive to make it work (other than looking like idiots as they do now) and they've conveniently covered their arses with T&Cs that dump responsibility for their incompetence on the customer. I agree with others that that's looking very dodgy. One for Trading Standards??

 

[Clip]

Still doesn't make the tech 'dodgy' as claimed.

The tech works fine and as per my previous post they now know what the error is and is posted on all railcard websites.

 

[AlterEgo]

Essentially the railcard wrongly says expired when the expiry date is in the future (and the expiry date is still correctly shown on the app itself).

Not a good show at all by RDG, but always good to hear a bit of hysteria and mentions of the law and Trading Standards. No mention of all the many drawbacks of the old style physical railcards, of course.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

. No mention of all the many drawbacks of the old style physical railcards, of course.

Like?

 

[Clip]

Like?

Forgetting it. Losing it. Letting that also run out of date. :roll:

 

[paddington]

The problem I have is that it's either / or. I am going to stick with a physical railcard as long as they exist, but I would consider having the app provided that I still get a physical one. Then I have the choice of which to show.

I only use my phone for calls, messaging, web browsing and airplane boarding passes, and occasionally to get discounts on certain purchases.

Last month I lost my phone on a train which was mainly a minor annoyance for which I self-insure. Fortunately I didn't lose my wallet otherwise it would have been an out-of-court settlement with Northern.

 

[AlterEgo]

Like?

Well, since you ask:

- The possibility of outright loss of the whole product, with a replacement only available if you remembered to keep the receipt.
- Fading or wear and tear, especially on non-card railcards.
- Having to visit a station to buy one.
- Easier to forget than a phone, especially for younger people and people travelling on non-paper tickets (who may not twig that their swizzy e-ticket needs a small card to validate it!).
- Much more prone to fraud and passing around, on railcards without a photo.

The advent of digital railcards is to satisfy a consumer demand for a better product.

 

[Llanigraham]

Well, since you ask:

- The possibility of outright loss of the whole product, with a replacement only available if you remembered to keep the receipt.
- Fading or wear and tear, especially on non-card railcards.
- Having to visit a station to buy one.
- Easier to forget than a phone, especially for younger people and people travelling on non-paper tickets (who may not twig that their swizzy e-ticket needs a small card to validate it!).
- Much more prone to fraud and passing around, on railcards without a photo.

The advent of digital railcards is to satisfy a consumer demand for a better product.

1/ People loose their phones!
2/ Never happened to my plastic Disabled Card.
3/ Bought on-line or by post only.
4/ Possibly, but not adequate proof.
5/ And people don't share phones?

 

[island]

Legally dubious. Very dubious indeed.

Deutsche Bahn bloody got it right, why can't RDG?

The physical railcard is issued alongside a digital (mobile) version. The mobile version is simply a QR code below the passenger's name.

To use the physical railcard requires no ID. To use the digital version, the credit card or ID with photograph must be shown. Clearly they haven't got any issues with fraudulent use as it's been that way for years now.

There is literally no point whatsoever to a digital-only railcard.

Hit the nail on the head.

It’s rather easier in a country where there is mandatory carrying of ID.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It’s rather easier in a country where there is mandatory carrying of ID.

Isn't there a legal prohibition on requiring said ID except for statutory reasons?

 

[island]

My knowledge of German law doesn’t extend that far; however, the point is that requiring ID to support a train ticket is easier to get customers to accept when they have to carry ID anyway for other reasons.

 

[Joe Paxton]

Well, since you ask:

- The possibility of outright loss of the whole product, with a replacement only available if you remembered to keep the receipt.
- Fading or wear and tear, especially on non-card railcards.
- Having to visit a station to buy one.
- Easier to forget than a phone, especially for younger people and people travelling on non-paper tickets (who may not twig that their swizzy e-ticket needs a small card to validate it!).
- Much more prone to fraud and passing around, on railcards without a photo.

The advent of digital railcards is to satisfy a consumer demand for a better product.

The other crucial factor that many don't seem to have picked up on is that a Digital Railcard offers an alternative and potentially very convenient sales channel for buying a Railcard, one which requires no significant planning ahead in terms of getting to a ticket office to buy said Railcard in time (which can be difficult if the nearest ticket office has limited hours or is busy etc), or buying said Railcard for delivery by post (needs a few days planning ahead).

Instead, bish bash bosh - download Railcard app onto mobile; buy Railcard via the app using a photo taken using the very same mobile; use Railcard.

Not seeking to excuse the shonkiness of the Railcard app not properly working though - that is just not good enough.

 

[jon0844]

That's a major USP given how many ticket offices are closed for a lot of the day, or don't open due to a shortage of staff.

If you turn up to a station and only the TVMs work, what does the average person do?

We can of course say here what the best course of action would be, but they've arrived at a station and there's no staff around.

Digital Railcards should perhaps be mentioned on TVM software, along with a QR code on the new S&B software to go straight to the app, but I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon.

 

[FenMan]

The ludicrous t&cs attached to digital railcards should = no deal.

I (don't) look forward to new threads on the Disputes sub-forum where season ticket holders possibly get dinged or, worse, accused of criminal behaviour due to failures by the supplier. A re-write of the t&cs is urgently required.

Lawyers are meant to be smart, clued up people, but someone has fallen asleep at the wheel.

 

[jon0844]

Crazy T&Cs may not be enforceable anyway, so I wouldn't be too worried.

I doubt anyone would ever get taken to court if they were (stupidly) punished for having a railcard that said it expired in 2018 but showed as expired.