Disappearing Tickets

[ChrisTheRef]

Get comfy, this is a long one:

Using my traveller membership with Virgin, I'm allowed a return journey to anywhere on their network once per weekend all year.
Yesterday lunchtime, I rang up to book tickets for Liverpool L St to London Euston, travelling out on the 0748 on Fri-03-Sep and returning on the 1107 on Mon-06-Sep. The guy said that the system was showing that I'd already booked travel tickets for that weekend. I hadn't. He put me on hold for an eternity, but then agreed that I hadn't, and said if I rang back in a few hours, he'd give me a reference number to obtain the tickets at a self-service machine.
At about 5:20, I was in Manchester Piccadilly, so I rang up and obtained the reference number. I put it into the machine, collected my tickets, put them in my wallet and went home.
Today, I've gone to store them away, and seen that only my outbound tickets have printed. Having rang them up, they say that all of the tickets are printed and they can't do anything for me.

They say my only option is to pay £385 for 2 x First Class Singles to Liverpool.

Help??

 

[cyclebytrain]

I don't see that you've got much hope here -they'll say you should have checked them when you picked them up (and to be honest, that's a pretty good argument). They are complimentary tickets so you can't have a credit card company intervene. The only hope I can see is that the magnetic stripe is correct. If that's the case, then I'd say you have a chance of having them reissue the ticket.

Another thing just occurred to me, in the terms and conditions I think they can withdraw any/all privileges at any time, so I would suggest being conciliatory rather than aggressive

 

[ChrisTheRef]

Thanks for your feedback. Yeah, I'm being as calm as possible (given the circumstances)

I'm oblivious to this kind of thing, but what's the magnetic stripe and how can it help?

 

[transportphoto]

One suggestion is to Check your COLLECTION RECEIPT if you still have it - it will have printed how many coupons were issued - if this is incorrect* then it may be a starting point.

*To what you should have received not what you have got.

 

[ChrisTheRef]

One suggestion is to Check your COLLECTION RECEIPT if you still have it - it will have printed how many coupons were issued - if this is incorrect* then it may be a starting point.

*To what you should have received not what you have got.

Nope, I always chuck them away thanks anyway!

 

[transportphoto]

Nope, I always chuck them away thanks anyway!

You naughty boy! it may helped you out!


As you said, if I didn't say it and you had the receipt them it couldnt't have helped anyway.

Good Luck I hope it is sorted!

 

[cyclebytrain]

I think I've misinterpreted what you wrote. I thought you had a blank ticket rather than no ticket
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Thinking about this a bit more, I assume this is a jolly rather than a business trip, so your most sensible option is to buy a standard advance tickets for the return journey, they are currently £11 for that train.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

This reply isn't going to help you, sorry, but . . . .

I've long lost count of the number of times I've walked up to a TVM machine and found some portions of a previous traveller's tickets were still in the collection tray.

The first time I found some, I wondered if I should join the queue for the staffed windows simply to "hand them in" in the hope that it might make life easier for the hapless traveller miles from home who finds themselves without a ticket.

But I have to tell you, this is a very common occurrence, and this is depite the fact that all the machines I use display a large flashing red window on the screen while tickets are printing to explain : Please be sure to collect all portions of your ticket before you leave (or something to that effect).

So, although I don't know anything about your particular circumstances, it does appear that people have a recurring tendencey to leave before all portions are printed. (Just tonight, I surprised somone by telling them how many ticket portions they should have received from the TVM. Fortunately, they did have all of them, but it was clear that they expected less, and would have happliy walked away with less!). Haste anxiety or impatience never helps, of course.

 

[wibble]

SWT's TVMs seem to be an exception! They tell you how many coupons it has left to print (e.g. "Printing ticket 2 of 3") and tells you at the end of the printing to collect all your tickets. I'm surprised more TOCs don't do this.

 

[shinkansen1966]

This has sooo happened to me, too. Left tickets in the ticket vending machine. Luckily, spotted my mistake and they were still there when I returned to the machine some minutes later. Now, I am meticulous with capital M.

Meanwhile, last Saturday evening, took my seat in first class on the FGW train from Exeter St Davids to Paddington. Realised that I *really* had lost my (advanced purchase) ticket. Thankfully, had the email still on my mobile showing the receipt/booking reference from FGW and my credit card used to buy the ticket. The guard said I was fine and I travelled to London without my ticket.

Had the ticket barriers been operation at Exeter St Davids, probably would have had to buy a new ticket to get onto the train.

Forgotten just how enjoyable the run along the Berks & Hants is, as you whizz through Cogload jctn, avoid Westbury and over the vale of Pewsey to Reading/Paddington.

 

[Dreadnought]

SWT's TVMs seem to be an exception! They tell you how many coupons it has left to print (e.g. "Printing ticket 2 of 3") and tells you at the end of the printing to collect all your tickets. I'm surprised more TOCs don't do this.

I have noticed this on the TVMs at Leicester as well, maybe a Stagecoach thing!

VT machines have a tendency to print both out and return portions together and send them to different parts of the tray and then chuck out the card receipt separately, which can cause confusion if you only see one of the rail tickets drop. Once you pick up the receipt you are likely to think you have now got all your tickets, even if you have not seen the missing ones.

 

[wibble]

VT machines have a tendency to print both out and return portions together and send them to different parts of the tray and then chuck out the card receipt separately, which can cause confusion if you only see one of the rail tickets drop. Once you pick up the receipt you are likely to think you have now got all your tickets, even if you have not seen the missing ones.

London Midland's are awful - I had to guess whether the train was peak or off-peak (not that it makes any difference because they don't check tickets on the train) and I made sure I checked I had 3 coupons before leaving the TVM!

 

[ChrisTheRef]

Thanks for the replies folks. I use TVMs all the time, so I'm always sure I've got all of the tickets. These ones just didn't print

 

[bse35]

SWT's TVMs seem to be an exception! They tell you how many coupons it has left to print (e.g. "Printing ticket 2 of 3") and tells you at the end of the printing to collect all your tickets. I'm surprised more TOCs don't do this.

NXEA's do this too.

What I don't understand is, if buying tickets for multiple adults/children they don't put more than just ONE in the top right hand corner. I've only ever had this happen once to me, by a northern employee offering to put three children on one ticket. it really saves the number of tickets you use.

 

[yorkie]

As you don't have the receipt and left the station I really don't think you have a good case. I would just buy the £11 tickets if they're still available.

 

[ChrisTheRef]

A nice lady from customer services rang me today about a permit to travel, so the future may be bright after all.

There was a problem with my membership apparently.

I'll keep you posted!

 

[Deerfold]

As you don't have the receipt and left the station I really don't think you have a good case. I would just buy the £11 tickets if they're still available.

You do need to check very carefully. My wife checked she had the right number of items as listed on the receipt and got home to find she'd picked up a seat reservation from a previous customer instead of her first advance Yorkshire-London ticket...fortunately East Coast sorted that one out for her...