Dispute SWT refusing to change demagnetised ticket.

[pethadine82]

I have a season ticket, that was initially a zone 1-5 bought from Chiltern, so I could use it on their network on weekends.

I then got a new job in SWT land and thus had to get an extension.
SWT refused to do the extension as I had my ticket on oyster.
Chiltern refused to change oyster back to paper, and after 4 trips to Marylebone someone managed to do an extension.
This was xmas 2015.

I had been told when I had a paper ticket to keep it away from phones and magnets. I am very careful and keep my phone in my other pocket.
This week when I put it in the barriers at Waterloo, it failed to read.
Its very frustrating having to ask staff to manually let me through esp at very very busy stations like waterloo.

I have the same problem with LUL having to ask to me let through.
Today Jubilee line was part suspended and mayhem at London Bridge,
I had to wait 5 mins as the gateline staff were dealing with crowding issues, and no one was obliging so I was forced to tailgate someone through the wide isle ticket barrier ticket in hand. I really did not want to do this, I am not a fare dodger I have a valid ticked, but the situation is getting ridiculous.

I have been to both Waterloo and my local station, and they have told me to take it to the place that I have bought it from. Surely this is incorrect, it is very very inconvenient for me to go to MYB due to personal commitments, I cannot do this.

Why wont SWT oblige? Please help.

 

[causton]

Sounds like bad training. There is a specific form for this eventuality - as long as you tell them which station you bought it from so they can tell Chiltern to update their database it should be no problem!

I would try another ticket office operated by another company if convenient - like London Bridge, Southeastern might not be quite so incompetent, or raise it with SWT Customer Services. There are specific instructions on the internal National Rail Knowledgebase about this so there are no excuses, but I know some business travel companies (like Abellio) have to issue strongly worded letters basically saying the customer has the legal right for this encode and you must issue it or we will complain! And even then people struggle to get them done...

 

[bb21]

Unfortunately NRCoC Condition 33 says that you need to go back to the retailer for a replacement.

Internal guidance are only guidance, not part of the contract.

Probably not very customer friendly but there is the official answer.

 

[island]

The rules say you need to go back to the TOC you purchased from for an encode exchange. One of the consequences of choosing to purchase from a TOC which you don't regularly use is that it can be difficult to get an encode exchange done.

There are a number of things that a TIS is physically and technologically capable of doing. Whether this means that staff should do those things is a separate question.

 

[Hadders]

This is often a problem for people who have season ticket loans and get their tickets supplied by a corporate provider.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

The selling station keeps a written record of your ticket sale, so in the case of loss or damage can reissue your ticket. That's why you need to go back to the station you purchased your season from

 

[Hadders]

So how does someone with a season ticket issued by, say, the trainline get a replacement. It can, and should be done by any station. Trainline even send written instructions to customers in these position to give to ticket offices.

 

[DelayRepay]

Nice to see the TOCs working together as one railway for the benefit of the passengers!

 

[richw]

So how does someone with a season ticket issued by, say, the trainline get a replacement. It can, and should be done by any station. Trainline even send written instructions to customers in these position to give to ticket offices.

They should be inconvenienced for being foolish enough to buy from the train line!

 

[infobleep]

So how does someone with a season ticket issued by, say, the trainline get a replacement. It can, and should be done by any station. Trainline even send written instructions to customers in these position to give to ticket offices.

Surely they would go to Ttainlines offices.

What happens though I'd you buy from a TOC who subcontracts there online sales to Trainline?

As I found out in the past, the details are not always held on the systems the TOC uses at their stations. In my case they manually added me to their system.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[trentside]

So how does someone with a season ticket issued by, say, the trainline get a replacement. It can, and should be done by any station. Trainline even send written instructions to customers in these position to give to ticket offices.

They do, and if I remember correctly they also have an attached form to fill in and send back to them so they can update their database.

 

[Wolfie]

The selling station keeps a written record of your ticket sale, so in the case of loss or damage can reissue your ticket. That's why you need to go back to the station you purchased your season from

Interesting.. because my Goldcard was issued by SWT and they clearly told me (and i have done it!) that I could get a replacemnent at ANY of their statuonbs....

 

[bb21]

Interesting.. because my Goldcard was issued by SWT and they clearly told me (and i have done it!) that I could get a replacemnent at ANY of their statuonbs....

Yes, any station operated by the retailer as they should have access to the database, just not those run by other TOCs.

 

[pethadine82]

My ticket ends in a few weeks, so I am just going to get them to manually let me through.

Today I met the same chap at waterloo and he recognised me. He let me through the barriers and didn't want to see the ticket! I feel like a VIP lol

 

[Hadders]

They should be inconvenienced for being foolish enough to buy from the train line!

Many corporate season ticket loan schemes use Trainline to issue their tickets. I know a family member in this situation.

Clearly, it isn't feasible to return the ticket to Trainline for them to re-issue it. The solution when a replacement was refused by a GTR office was for Trainline to write to GTR c/o my family member instructing them how to issue the ticket and giving a contact in the event of a query.

The replacement ticket was eventually re-issued.

 

[pethadine82]

I am getting problems with a certain member of gateline staff at LUL with my season ticket.
He told me previously that I need to get the ticket changed. I told him that I need to take it back to the place here I got it from and SWT will not do it. Me taking it back is not an option due difficulty getting there.
He went on to say that it is illegal to use a damaged ticket.
The ticket has some dogeared creases, the writing is not as bold as what it used to be but is perfectly readable. I have photos when the ticket was first issued just in case it got lost.

He then went on to say that if he catches me with the same ticket, he will not let me through and confiscate my ticket.
This has left me absolutely fuming.

This situation has come about through no fault of my own.
The ticket is clearly not fit for purpose and there is a design flaw
If my ticket is confiscated, what can I do? What are my legal rights?
One just has to input my photo card number into the database to find out that the ticket is valid and in date.

 

[bb21]

If the ticket is in a poor condition then it can be withdrawn if something illegal is suspected, eg. a forgery.

I know it's not the best solution but have you considered going down to Marylebone to have this resolved? I can't imagine this being particularly out of the way if you already travel through central London regularly. Only Chiltern can easily access the season ticket database so it should be very quick for them to replace it.

 

[najaB]

He went on to say that it is illegal to use a damaged ticket.

Arguably, he is correct. You are required to have a valid ticket before boarding a train to travel, and the case could be made that your ticket isn't valid (I don't personally agree with this interpretation).

He then went on to say that if he catches me with the same ticket, he will not let me through and confiscate my ticket.

I'm fairly sure he has to do either/or - he can refuse to let you through (on the basis that you don't have a valid ticket) or he can allow you through but confiscate the ticket (while providing you a receipt that will act in place of the ticket for that journey).

This situation has come about through no fault of my own.
The ticket is clearly not fit for purpose and there is a design flaw.

That is questionable as tickets don't generally demagnetise by themselves. It is fair to say though that there was no deliberate action on your part. It is possible that you have a duff ticket but that would be a manufacturing rather than design flaw as millions of tickets are issued and work with no problem.

If my ticket is confiscated, what can I do? What are my legal rights?

As I understand it, the ticket can only be confiscated to allow an investigation and you're to be provided with a receipt. Once the investigation is concluded the ticket will be returned (assuming they don't intend to prosecute). You would not be legally entitled to any compensation for the lost days, though I would expect the TOC to extend the validity of the ticket to compensate for the days you didn't have it.

One just has to input my photo card number into the database to find out that the ticket is valid and in date.

Of course, the issue is that having paid for a ticket and being in possession of a valid ticket aren't necessarily the same thing.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't understand why the OP stubbornly won't go to Marylebone to resolve it. It would perhaps require travelling an hour earlier to work/later from work on one day, and the problem will go away.

 

[Tetchytyke]

That is questionable as tickets don't generally demagnetise by themselves.

They wear out though. I was usually getting through 4-5 tickets a year when I was commuting every day with London Midland.

The T&Cs of the ticket are that you need to go to a Chiltern station for a replacement. The T&Cs of the ticket are also that you must use the ticket barriers when using London Underground.

 

[Greenback]

Mine used to wear out when travelling between Llanelli and Swansea. I'd get through two or three tickets a year when I bought an annual, and that was with one set of barriers only.

I'd guess that putting them though multiple barriers per day would only increase the amount of wear.

 

[[.n]]

My SWT issued gold card need s replacing about 8 or 9 times a year though I tend not to bother, I have a theory that its the tube Barrier at Waterloo (jubilee) that demagnetise the tickets, its the only barrier I use every day

 

[Greenback]

Whatever the reason for the damage, I think pethadine82 needs to get this sorted, and I agree with bb21 that Marylebone could be the answer.

 

[najaB]

They wear out though. I was usually getting through 4-5 tickets a year when I was commuting every day with London Midland.

The point I was trying to make - it wasn't deliberate action with the intent of breaking it, but it isn't accurate to say that the ticket just stopped working with no involvement from the OP.

 

[swt_passenger]

One just has to input my photo card number into the database to find out that the ticket is valid and in date.

So that would be the database that only Chiltern stations can access, because it is not an industry wide system.

You need to do something about this to help yourself...

 

[Wolfie]

The point I was trying to make - it wasn't deliberate action with the intent of breaking it, but it isn't accurate to say that the ticket just stopped working with no involvement from the OP.

Actually it might be..I got a replacement Goldcard from Waterloo at lunchtime.. it failed at the barriers at 1700. It had been nowhere near anything magnetic. The SWT ticket office staff hinted that I was far from unique and they had perhaps had a dodgy batch of tickets...

My SWT issued gold card need s replacing about 8 or 9 times a year though I tend not to bother, I have a theory that its the tube Barrier at Waterloo (jubilee) that demagnetise the tickets, its the only barrier I use every day

I know that feeling.... I use the tube more.. my current Goldcard (issued March) works fine in the barriers but repeated use has competely blurred the text and it is becoming unreadable - the replacement will be my 5th ticket since issue in late Dec... the ticket expires the end of the calendar year...

 

[Haywain]

Actually it might be..I got a replacement Goldcard from Waterloo at lunchtime.. it failed at the barriers at 1700. It had been nowhere near anything magnetic. The SWT ticket office staff hinted that I was far from unique and they had perhaps had a dodgy batch of tickets...

Other than the barriers, of course. It is not unknown for barriers to scramble to coding on the mag-strip on occasion. But only the fault code that showed at the time would offer any clue as to what the problem was.

 

[pethadine82]

I tried calling Chiltern's customer service but they close at 5.30pm
On another note, SWT can read the barcode as they have done this with a bar code reader and told me to contact Chiltern.

Something is not right here.
As a customer I feel that I am placed in a difficult situation, how can a passenger who has paid for a service and caries a ticket with them be accused of foul play.

Please can someone post the conditions to which I have allegedly breached ?
On another note revenue protection were on my service and they did not say anything about my ticket. They were in a group of 4.

 

[TUC]

The selling station keeps a written record of your ticket sale, so in the case of loss or damage can reissue your ticket. That's why you need to go back to the station you purchased your season from

But having just t the selling station keeping a written recard seems very old fashioned. Why not have the sales recorded on a database?

 

[najaB]

But having just t the selling station keeping a written recard seems very old fashioned. Why not have the sales recorded on a database?

Even if they are recorded on a database, it would be TOC-specific.