Lichfield Gold Card no longer offering discount?

[Salteena]

Apologies if this has already been asked, but I'm puzzled. I bought a Lichfield Gold Card last year, as widely-advertised, to benefit from the discount - as far as I'm aware, a completely legitimate purchase (I'm in the SE, travelling into Euston). In the past I've had the Isle of Wight Gold Card and never had any problems using or renewing it.

This evening I asked to renew the Lichfield card for another year and the ticket-office insisted that this annual season is 'no longer a Gold Card', has to be printed on a blue ticket and will not give any discount on fares in the SE area.

Is this true? They claimed the conditions had been changed this year but I've found no mention of this anywhere online.

Hope someone can advise. Thanks.

 

[bb21]

Utter rubbish.

Which ticket office was that?

 

[Salteena]

Aha, very interesting! That's what I thought. This was at Hemel Hempstead.

 

[Hadders]

Significant changes to the Gold Card scheme took place on 2 January 2015, one of the changes being to enlarge the Gold Card area which now includes Lichfield.

Further details here:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46573.aspx

This is really disappointing from a London Midland ticket office as they operate many stations and services in the enlarged area.

 

[Salteena]

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated. I did query this supposed change 'last year' because I bought the ticket for the first time last Jan. they were absolutely insistent that it was no longer a Gold Card.

I'll try again tomorrow if a different person's on duty!

 

[bb21]

... or try a different ticket office if you can should you be unsuccessful again. Some ticket offices do seem to have an inherent local issue related to a culture at that particular workplace and using a different ticket office (sometimes just the next one on the line) could help.

 

[Salteena]

I might well do that bb21. Thanks again. I'm new to the forum and looking forward to participating more in 2016.

 

[talldave]

Is there any simple transaction that the rail industry doesn't manage to f*** up?!!

I've got to do my Lichfield renewal soon (6 days before the old one expires! ) and hope I don't have a fight. I have had a over £200 of savings from mine after it had paid for itself, so it's a worthwhile exercise.

 

[Hadders]

I've got to renew my Lichfield Gold Card next week too. I don't anticipate any issues with mine as there are some excellent clerks in the travel centre at my local station.

I will be using a load of delay repay vouchers which I've accumulated over the last year.

 

[yorkie]

Aha, very interesting! That's what I thought. This was at Hemel Hempstead.

Please write to LM regarding this and let us know what response they provide.

 

[centraluser]

Try Hatton / Lapworth from 2/1/2016.

 

[Hadders]

But Lichfield is the cheapest at £144 if purchasing on or before 01/01/2016.

From 02/01/2016 Hatton-Lapworth at £160 will be the cheapest.

So better to buy Lichfield before the price rises.

 

[Kite159]

I've got to renew my Lichfield Gold Card next week too. I don't anticipate any issues with mine as there are some excellent clerks in the travel centre at my local station.

I will be using a load of delay repay vouchers which I've accumulated over the last year.

Same here, I will be handing over a pile of vouchers and 9p

Only issue I can foresee is getting to Andover when the ticket office is open

 

[Salteena]

Just nipped back to update. I called in at the station this morning and a different staff member didn't bat an eyelid, renewed the card and even asked me if I wanted it dated to avoid the price rise. So - a good result!

I think there might be a training opportunity with regards to the previous staff member and I will be politely drawing it to LM's attention (and will report back).

Thanks all, and a Happy Christmas

 

[Haywain]

Is there any simple transaction that the rail industry doesn't manage to f*** up?!!

Yes, millions of them every day.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

I had similar problems at Brighton ticket office this morning. The clerk looked up my choice of stations, Hatton to Lapworth, obtained the price (£160, from 2 January 2016), and printed the ticket... but out it came, on standard orange ticket stock

I was shocked when he asserted that these stations 'are not in the Gold Card Area', and he looked at a Network Railcard Area map to back up his claim. I insisted that the Gold Card Area is larger than the Network Railcard area, and that he check with a supervisor. After a delay of 8-9 minutes, he returned, apologised, and re-printed the ticket on Gold Card stock.

You have to be insistent, assertive, and know the rules... even if the staff have not been adequately trained !!!

Luckily, I wasn't pushed for time and needing to catch a train ... :roll:

 

[jon0844]

Insistent, assertive but also really polite so they won't feel too embarrassed to admit their mistake.

I caught out a bus driver that left early (last bus of the night) and was happy to go empty. I got him at the lights as he was leaving and he blamed the ticket machine. I could see the time was early (and my ticket printed proved it too!) but he claimed the clock had changed.

While I was assertive enough to get him to go round and pick up the 6 other people waiting who like me would have needed to walk or take a taxi, I did say 'typical technology' or something so he could save face.

 

[yorkie]

Yes, millions of them every day.

Do you count in those figures transactions in which the passenger believes they have been sold the correct product, at the correct price, but actually does not?

For example, at a station near yours, thousands of passengers have been, and continue to be, overcharged every weekend. Many of them do not know it!

The reason people on this forum encounter problems is because we know what we should be sold, so when we are misinformed we query it.

Many people are misinformed and/or overcharged and/or denied rights, and do not realise it, and end up with the wrong product, and - as far as I can tell - these transactions are assumed by the rail industry to be in order, as no complaint has been raised.

Once you start telling people about their rights, and what products they should be sold, it's amazing how many problems start to appear!

 

[PermitToTravel]

How does this problem happen? If the TIS tells the clerk to insert a single piece of Gold Card stock, rather than using the fan fold, do they need to manually decide that that would be giving the passenger undue benefit and refuse to comply?

 

[jon0844]

I couldn't get my season renewed at Welwyn Garden City today. Only one person in at the booking office and after keeping me waiting a while, much to the anger of the queue building up, he said I had to come back in an hour or tomorrow.

He said he couldn't issue a season for these stations and didn't know how to do them, nor could he ask anyone (hence the request to come back another time).

He also seemed very confused by the price (so he clearly could see the price) and thought my current ticket was £198, when it was £108. I expect he was convinced the new price was lower and that he simply couldn't sell it?

The ticket was worn but it was still fairly clear the price was 108, although I don't know what that mattered.

 

[talldave]

Renewed my Lichfield Gold Card ticket today, starting 1st Jan to beat the price rise. No problem at Gravesend ticket office - all very cheery and polite and understood why I was buying a ticket for somewhere I never go.

 

[jon0844]

Got it at Tottenham Hale. Took about 3 minutes!

Can't for the life of me work out what the issue was at Welwyn Garden City. The guy has been there years too.

 

[Hadders]

No problems for me at the Stevenage VTEC office earlier this week. I even paid with a wad of RTVs!

 

[simonw]

Is there any simple transaction that the rail industry doesn't manage to f*** up?!!

I've got to do my Lichfield renewal soon (6 days before the old one expires! ) and hope I don't have a fight. I have had a over £200 of savings from mine after it had paid for itself, so it's a worthwhile exercise.

I'm clearly missing something as unless you do a lot of off peak travel on your own, I can't see how someone could save so much as most of the other benefits seem available with a two together or family railcards or through group save.

What am I missing?

 

[TCDD]

That is exactly why a Gold Card is so attractive. As a single person, with no children, who travels a lot off peak - and over short distances, the card makes a considerable saving.

 

[talldave]

I'm clearly missing something as unless you do a lot of off peak travel on your own, I can't see how someone could save so much as most of the other benefits seem available with a two together or family railcards or through group save.

What am I missing?

Well I only get Annual Gold Card Discount on Off Peak tickets, but when I need to travel before 09:30, I buy an undiscounted Anytime single and then a discounted Off Peak Travelcard or Off Peak single for the journey home.

I spent £674 on tickets that would have cost £1020 without Annual Gold Card discount. The total saved was £350. I know the maths doesn't add up - this is because when a TVM failed to give me Gold Card discount I got a £5 RTV (more than the lost discount).

I've not included Gold Card discounts obtained on Oyster PAYG as I have no record of those and didn't keep track - but it wasn't much because I usually have a paper Travelcard.

Whilst I'm in stats mode, total quidco cashback was £44.

My total spend on tickets was £1320, so almost as much on undiscounted tickets as discounted ones. If anyone from GTR is reading, your awful revamp of your ticketing site has lost you my business, so for 2016 it'll be going through Hull Trains. I know you don't care, but point made anyway.

I hope that makes sense!

 

[simonw]

Well I only get Annual Gold Card Discount on Off Peak tickets, but when I need to travel before 09:30, I buy an undiscounted Anytime single and then a discounted Off Peak Travelcard or Off Peak single for the journey home.

I spent £674 on tickets that would have cost £1020 without Annual Gold Card discount. The total saved was £350. I know the maths doesn't add up - this is because when a TVM failed to give me Gold Card discount I got a £5 RTV (more than the lost discount).

I've not included Gold Card discounts obtained on Oyster PAYG as I have no record of those and didn't keep track - but it wasn't much because I usually have a paper Travelcard.

Whilst I'm in stats mode, total quidco cashback was £44.

My total spend on tickets was £1320, so almost as much on undiscounted tickets as discounted ones. If anyone from GTR is reading, your awful revamp of your ticketing site has lost you my business, so for 2016 it'll be going through Hull Trains. I know you don't care, but point made anyway.

I hope that makes sense!

Fair enough. I guess the reason it continues to exist as it is only of use to a small number of people who do a lot of travel off peak, alone.

 

[talldave]

Fair enough. I guess the reason it continues to exist as it is only of use to a small number of people who do a lot of travel off peak, alone.

I don't understand the alone comment? I can get discounts for 3 adults and 4 children as well. That said, 95% of my travel was alone.

The other weirdness to remember with my Annual Gold Card is that I never use it as a travel ticket, so I have to buy tickets for all my rail travel. I don't see myself getting to Lichfield in the near future, unless work takes me there!

 

[simonw]

I don't understand the alone comment? I can get discounts for 3 adults and 4 children as well. That said, 95% of my travel was alone.

The other weirdness to remember with my Annual Gold Card is that I never use it as a travel ticket, so I have to buy tickets for all my rail travel. I don't see myself getting to Lichfield in the near future, unless work takes me there!

Because you could get most of those discounts with railcards or group save.

 

[talldave]

Because you could get most of those discounts with railcards or group save.

The Network Railcard's 10.00am start and minimum fare make it useless for me.