GNR Ticket Machine issuing incorrect ticket?

[Water196]

Hello folks,

An interesting situation arose for me yeterday. I've been buying walk up tickets in St Neots for a while now, with the ticket being valid to London Bridge. When purchasing such a ticket at the machine, you are asked which "preferred route" you would like:
-> "via City Thameslink"
-> "."

I've been buying the "via City Thameslink" option to date which comes to £45.80.

Yesterday, for no reason in particular, I selected the route "." (I wonder what "." means... I thought). £43.80 -> great, I'll have one of those!

Now, I've gone back through this on the ticket machine to see what the screens say. This gets you through to the confirmation/payment screen for a ticket from St Neots to London Bridge (stated explicitly), Anytime Day Return, no restrictions... £43.80.

I bought this ticket, and got on the train. On the run down from Stevenage I checked my ticket to find I'd been issued with a "London Terminals" ticket! Now, that's only valid as far as St Pancras or Moorgate (change at Finsbury Park) as far as I can tell when coming in from the North.

I didn't want to risk the ticket not working at London Bridge and being hit with a penalty fare so ended up getting off at St Pancras and taking the Northern Line down to my final destination. Roughly costing me £7 more than I already paid for the return trip.

Is this a known behaviour? The confirmation/payment screen on the ticket machine explicitly states "London Bridge", but you end up being issued with a "London Terminals" ticket that to my knowledge isn't valid for the journey one asked for...

I'm just checking my facts here before making a complaint to GNR about their ticket machine issuing dodgy tickets.

 

[pelli]

I'll leave it to the forum experts to comment on the situation, but here are some previous threads on the topic of a passenger explicitly selecting a specific London station from a Ticket Vending Machine and receiving a "London Terminals" ticket that is not valid for the journey they intended to make:

11 Jul 2019: TVM at London Bridge issues ticket to St Albans with origin "London Terminals":
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/southeastern-knowingly-selling-invalid-tickets.185937/

12 Aug 2019: TVM at Three Bridges issues ticket to St Pancras with destination "London Terminals" (including video evidence):
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/thameslink-ticketing-issue.188447/

26 Jun 2019: TVM at Epsom issues ticket to Euston with destination "London Terminals":
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/epsom-to-euston-aka-london-terminals.185005/

26 Nov 2019: TVM at Euston issues ticket to Weybridge with origin "London Terminals":
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...but-wanted-ticket-to-include-the-tube.195735/

For the Euston examples, the passengers expected to use the Underground to cross London, but forum members explain that National Rail tickets are not generally valid on the Underground and the ticket sold is valid on a less direct NR-only route via Willesden Junction - so the selling of the ticket is passenger-unfriendly but not wrong.

However, for the two examples involving Thameslink, I don't think anyone has exhibited an alternative route (avoiding Farringdon, which some people argue is, being not a London Terminal, the formal reason why you can't cross London on Thameslink with a "London Terminals" ticket) that would justify the "London Terminals" ticket being offered. Some people argue that the machine selling you the ticket forms a contract that makes the ticket valid even if it's not meant to be, but you should expect trouble from ticket inspectors.

 

[Water196]

I'll leave it to the forum experts to comment on the situation, but here are some previous threads on the topic of a passenger explicitly selecting a specific London station from a Ticket Vending Machine and receiving a "London Terminals" ticket that is not valid for the journey they intended to make:

11 Jul 2019: TVM at London Bridge issues ticket to St Albans with origin "London Terminals":
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/southeastern-knowingly-selling-invalid-tickets.185937/

12 Aug 2019: TVM at Three Bridges issues ticket to St Pancras with destination "London Terminals" (including video evidence):
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/thameslink-ticketing-issue.188447/

26 Jun 2019: TVM at Epsom issues ticket to Euston with destination "London Terminals":
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/epsom-to-euston-aka-london-terminals.185005/

26 Nov 2019: TVM at Euston issues ticket to Weybridge with origin "London Terminals":
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...but-wanted-ticket-to-include-the-tube.195735/

For the Euston examples, the passengers expected to use the Underground to cross London, but forum members explain that National Rail tickets are not generally valid on the Underground and the ticket sold is valid on a less direct NR-only route via Willesden Junction - so the selling of the ticket is passenger-unfriendly but not wrong.

However, for the two examples involving Thameslink, I don't think anyone has exhibited an alternative route (avoiding Farringdon, which some people argue is, being not a London Terminal, the formal reason why you can't cross London on Thameslink with a "London Terminals" ticket) that would justify the "London Terminals" ticket being offered. Some people argue that the machine selling you the ticket forms a contract that makes the ticket valid even if it's not meant to be, but you should expect trouble from ticket inspectors.

I will raise it with GNR and see what they have to say, if they even respond!

 

[gray1404]

With the Euston examples it is likely that fare doesn't exist from Euston, only from London Terminals - Euston not being a suitable London Terminal to start the journey. Therefore, a ticket from London Zone 1 should be offered which would enable the customer to make the London Underground journey required to a suitable London Terminal from Euston on the one ticket.

 

[Wallsendmag]

As all of the stations mentioned are in the London Terminals Group it's very hard to get an accurate ticket without an element of journey planning. The very same attribute the then VTEC machines were derided for as being too slow. Unfortunately you can't have it both ways.