Network Railcard Advance

[Jam381]

I bought an advance ticket a month ago for travel this weekend (I was traveling on my booked train in both directions and I was carrying my in date Network rail card) upon my exit at the end of my return journey my ticket didn't work the gate.

The station assistant told me my ticket wasn't valid because rail card discounts don't apply to advance tickets and said "You've probably tried tricking the website to sell the wrong journey". I showed him the itinerary I took a screenshot on my phone when I booked the ticket, my Network Rail card was selected when I bought my ticket because I use this website for all my ticket purchases.

I was allowed through but was told "If revenue caught you then you'll be looking at a £1000 fine and prosecution".

I have a few questions:

Is a sold ticket with a rail card incorrectly applied always valid when shown with an itinerary? I obviously know that I must ACTUALLY be in possession of a rail card in order to obtain the discount.

If I was forced to buy a new ticket would I be entitled to receive a refund on the ticket I purchased from the website?

To clarify a few other points my ticket was a simple point to point advance, not a split or anything like that.

My ticket was purchased on a TOC website for use on another TOC'S service.

 

[Hadders]

An Advance ticket cannot be discounted with a Network Railcard but a flexible walk-up ticket (eg off peak day return) purchased in advance of the date of travel can be discounted (as long as it meets the minimum fare and time restrictions on weekdays).

Is a sold ticket with a rail card incorrectly applied always valid when shown with an itinerary? I obviously know that I must ACTUALLY be in possession of a rail card in order to obtain the discount.

Ticket selling websites should be programmed not to offer discounts with Network Railcards. Occasionally errors will happen, East Midlands Railway was an example that comes to mind and if you were issued with one in error then it has to be honoured as long as you're following the itinerary.

If I was forced to buy a new ticket would I be entitled to receive a refund on the ticket I purchased from the website?

I would complain to the ticket seller in the first instance.

To clarify a few other points my ticket was a simple point to point advance, not a split or anything like that.

Exactly what ticket did you have? If it was a flexible walk-up ticket why was there even a conversation about whether it was purchased in advance?

Ticket barriers are often programmed to reject railcard discounted tickets so that a manual check can take place to make sure you have the railcard. I'm not saying this is what happened in this case but it could be something as simple as that.

My ticket was purchased on a TOC website for use on another TOC'S service.

That shouldn't make any difference. All ticket selling websites use the same data feed that comes from the train companies so it's likely that all websites will make the same error if the railcard data has been set-up incorrectly by the train company that is responsible for pricing that ticket.

 

[Jam381]

An Advance ticket cannot be discounted with a Network Railcard but a flexible walk-up ticket (eg off peak day return) purchased in advance of the date of travel can be discounted (as long as it meets the minimum fare and time restrictions on weekdays).


Ticket selling websites should be programmed not to offer discounts with Network Railcards. Occasionally errors will happen, East Midlands Railway was an example that comes to mind and if you were issued with one in error then it has to be honoured as long as you're following the itinerary.


I would complain to the ticket seller in the first instance.


Exactly what ticket did you have? If it was a flexible walk-up ticket why was there even a conversation about whether it was purchased in advance?

Ticket barriers are often programmed to reject railcard discounted tickets so that a manual check can take place to make sure you have the railcard. I'm not saying this is what happened in this case but it could be something as simple as that.


That shouldn't make any difference. All ticket selling websites use the same data feed that comes from the train companies so it's likely that all websites will make the same error if the railcard data has been set-up incorrectly by the train company that is responsible for pricing that ticket.

The ticket I was using was an Advance single sold by a TOC website with Network Railcard applied

 

[Hadders]

The ticket I was using was an Advance single sold by a TOC website with Network Railcard applied

It's probably best not to divulge details on here but can you send me a conversatiob message with the details so I can check the position.

 

[Watershed]

The member of station staff was correct that Advance tickets cannot normally be discounted using a Network Railcard. That is indeed the default rule. However, they were bang out of order for suggesting you had somehow "tricked" the website you used to buy your ticket.

If they really believed this, they should be taking a picture of the ticket so the matter can be investigated, to determine whether it is a case of fraud. In this case it instead looks like the responsible train company has made an error when setting up the fare in the industry data feed - mistakenly enabling the Network Railcard as one of the Railcards with which the fare can be discounted.

Since, in your case, the train company has made a mistake you are perfectly entitled to travel in accordance with the journey you selected when buying your ticket. Your ticket is contractually valid on those trains, notwithstanding the normal rule for Advance tickets and Network Railcards. The train company (represented by the ticket selling website as its agent) cannot take your money for a ticket and then not provide you with the travel you have paid for.

If you were incorrectly charged additional fares, you would be entitled to claim these back from the relevant train company. The retailer is highly unlikely to be at fault here so they would not be involved.