Extension at intermediate station

[colinz]

Hello,

May I ask a question about ticket extension at intermediate station?

I got an off-peak day return ticket from Swaythling to CHandlers Ford, with the 16-25 railcard discount. At the intermediate station Eastleigh, I asked the ticket staff if I could pay an excess fare and extend my journey to Romsey. She said she could only issue me an extension ticket, which is shown on the ticket as “W SUP OPK DAY R” from Chandlers Ford to Romsey and cost me £2.85. I was also told that, when coming back from Romsey, I could only take the train via Chandlers Ford, not the ones via Southampton Central, because the “the extension is from Chandlers Ford to Romsey.”

My question is, shouldn’t I be issued with an excess fare ticket paying the price difference between Swaythling-Chandlers Ford and Seaythling-Romsey, which is £1.00, and the excessed fare allow me to travel via Southampton Central?

Many thanks for the help in advance.

 

[swt_passenger]

She hasn’t sold you an extension ticket at all. Just another ticket. This (intentional?) lack of knowledge is common all over the country.

(Swaythling, Eastleigh, Chandlers Ford, Romsey are the relevant stations to save anyone looking them up.)

 

[colinz]

She hasn’t sold you an extension ticket at all. Just another ticket.

(Swaythling, Eastleigh, Chandlers Ford, Romsey are the relevant stations to save anyone looking them up.)

She insisted that what she sold me be extensions, saying that otherwise she would sell me tickets from Eastleigh to Romsey, instead of from Chandlers ford.

Sorry for the inconvenience and I’ll change the code back to station names.

 

[swt_passenger]

It’s the normal weekend walk up ticket sold for Chandlers Ford to Romsey. Not an extension at all.

 

[colinz]

I’ve double checked with the ticket staff. She told me the walk up fare is the only fare available from her. She said I could only pay the fare difference if I was still at Swaythling, despite the fact Swaythling is not staffed. She said I can’t pay the fare difference because “we can’t make fares up” and thus indirectly refuse the existence of the excess fares. She also refused to take back the walk-up fare she sold me.

I was wondering if there is anything I can do?

Thanks

 

[swt_passenger]

I’ve double checked with the ticket staff. She told me the walk up fare is the only fare available from her. She said I could only pay the fare difference if I was still at Swaythling, despite the fact Swaythling is not staffed. She said I can’t pay the fare difference because “we can’t make fares up” and thus indirectly refuse the existence of the excess fares. She also refused to take back the walk-up fare she sold me.

I was wondering if there is anything I can do?

Thanks

I don’t think there is in the short term. Except to ask on the train...

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I’ve double checked with the ticket staff. She told me the walk up fare is the only fare available from her. She said I could only pay the fare difference if I was still at Swaythling, despite the fact Swaythling is not staffed. She said I can’t pay the fare difference because “we can’t make fares up” and thus indirectly refuse the existence of the excess fares. She also refused to take back the walk-up fare she sold me.

I was wondering if there is anything I can do?

Thanks

Make a complaint. Contact your MP. There is no legal right to an overdistance excess, but it is very poor customer service not to offer it.

 

[47513 Severn]

Contact your MP.

Seriously? Because they didn't get something you admit they don't have a right to? Seems a bit excessive.
Ps. If you're going to reply please spare us the greedy TOC/anti customer railway/it's disgusting rant that we get in every topic. It's getting really boring now.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Seriously? Because they didn't get something you admit they don't have a right to? Seems a bit excessive.
Ps. If you're going to reply please spare us the greedy TOC/anti customer railway/it's disgusting rant that we get in every topic. It's getting really boring now.

Because the company which the government is effectively subsidising to run a train service (through NR subsidies being bigger than franchise premiums), is clearly acting outside of the spirit of the agreement!

Your MP is your representative in government and they are the person you should address if this kind of thing occurs on a regular basis (as it does here).

More practically speaking, involving your MP can often result in favourable outcomes because companies often feel (rightly) pressured to do "the right thing".

 

[47513 Severn]

SWR is not subsidised, their premiums equal the government support they receive - see page eight of this report
http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/39381/rail-finance-statistical-release-2017-18.pdf
(In previous years SWT actually made a net contribution to government)
But don't let facts get in the way of a moan about the nasty train company...It's all a Tory scam to make more money for that Richard Branston after all, blah, blah, blah...

Anyway, my point is that it is totally disproportionate to be contacting an MP about a £1.85 matter that has no legal grounding. People need to accept that sometimes apparently unfair things happen in life. Constantly pushing the MP/transport focus/court thing doesn't help, especially when there are much more serious matters for them to be dealing with.

 

[Surreytraveller]

It is booking clerks like her that will hasten the demise of ticket offices

 

[roversfan2001]

Make a complaint. Contact your MP. There is no legal right to an overdistance excess, but it is very poor customer service not to offer it.

Contact their MP over this? I could give you a very strong guarantee that that’d achieve nothing.

 

[sarahj]

The only rule that is enforced is that the person must ask for the extension before the station that the original ticket is valid through. I do find the new ticket machines make it harder to sell overdistance. Last night I had a punter who held a Lewes to Seaford CDR. After boarding at Seaford they wished to extend their ticket to Brighton. The machine would not allow this to be sold. The only way was to sell the ticket was to work out the difference in fare and then sell a single from Lewes to Brighton using the overide function and set the fare at the difference. I can imagine this would be frowned upon If I did it many times.