Passengers not routinely offered cheaper tickets.

[Doctor Fegg]

Ticket vending machines (TVMs) operated by multiple train operating companies are mis-selling LNR/WMT only period open return tickets for a journey such as 12:46 EUS-CRE by failing to show the cheapest super off peak fare. The "cheapest ticket" offered is off peak even if a customer specifies a precise departure time for which super off peak is valid.

Don't get your hopes up. GWR's own machines don't even propose the cheapest super off-peak fare for GWR services at stations where all trains are run by GWR.

Their response to criticism of this has been to put a sticker underneath the screen saying "Use the A-Z Station Finder to find the cheapest fares". I guess printing and installing a few hundred waterproof stickers is cheaper than changing a few lines of code... but it shouldn't be.

 

[miklcct]

Sometimes the GWR website offers first class tickets for sale only on certain trains, inflating the cost of the ticket. When a standard class flexible ticket is chosen, it says it is unavailable for that train but that ticket is valid on all trains on that day (e.g. an off-peak return on weekends). Unless that train has only first-class accommodation GWR is at best misleading and at worst fraud.

 

[Kite159]

I wonder how many passengers at Basingstoke wanting an off-peak/Anytime travelcard are overpaying for a "Via Woking" restriction when the Any permitted is cheaper. All it be 50p (£1,10 for anytime)

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

The TVM even displays a slightly misleading message when you select the "any permitted" saying in most cases 'its more expensive'.

(Only time the "Via Woking" travelcard is cheaper is at times where the Super off-peak is valid & Sundays)

 

[robbeech]

Customers who may have been mis-sold a more expensive ticket than necessary based on data entered could be refunded via the debit card used (if payment was not cash). Is that feasible?

It’s not practical to o this even if it were possible. And besides, who will make them do it? There’s not a person walking this planet with enough clout to get them to do this. The only positive possible move is to prevent it happening moving forwards.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Where do we draw the line? Should staff in Sainsbury's tell you that tins of beans are cheaper in Tesco?

They do offer a price match, so in effect are telling you they aren't cheaper elsewhere.

 

[185]

I'm aware, a question regarding Avanti TVMs not retailing LNR tickets was recently (Nov 2021) put to Avanti, who stated...
"that station is operated by Network Rail and we will pass your complaint to them"

Network Rail responded quickly with an air of disbelief and passed it straight back to Avanti, who are yet to respond.

I don't doubt they will be made to put the missing fares on TVMs, but several toys may be hurled from t'pram first.

Kinda reminds me of another FirstGroup operator, who when tourists arrived at Manchester Airport station selected 'Manchester' on the machine, were offered:
> a First Day Single, route 'TPE Only', not valid on city centre trams.
...and no other fares.

The correct fare was only obtained by manually typing in "Manchester Central Zone" to get
> a CDS, less than half the price, standard class, valid on all companies, and valid on trams in the city centre.

Avanti (and Virgin before) have form for offering quick selection boxes with clearly readable Avanti only on the main page of their TVMs at many stations, whilst the main fares are on subsequent pages.

 

[robbeech]

I'm aware, a question regarding Avanti TVMs not retailing LNR tickets was recently (Nov 2021) put to Avanti, who stated...
"that station is operated by Network Rail and we will pass your complaint to them"

Network Rail responded quickly with an air of disbelief and passed it straight back to Avanti, who are yet to respond.

I don't doubt they will be made to put the missing fares on TVMs, but several toys may be hurled from t'pram first.

Kinda reminds me of another FirstGroup operator, who when tourists arrived at Manchester Airport station selected 'Manchester' on the machine, were offered:
> a First Day Single, route 'TPE Only', not valid on city centre trams.
...and no other fares.

The correct fare was only obtained by manually typing in "Manchester Central Zone" to get
> a CDS, less than half the price, standard class, valid on all companies, and valid on trams in the city centre.

Avanti (and Virgin before) have form for offering quick selection boxes with clearly readable Avanti only on the main page of their TVMs at many stations, whilst the main fares are on subsequent pages.

Indeed. The other week I had a rigamarole trying to get Crewe to Liverpool any permitted returns from the machine (car park side) at Crewe. The combination of wanting 2 with a two together railcard added to the farce.

The machine would NOT offer me the any permitted unless I specified via Chester but then it wouldn’t find any journeys that way so I couldn’t buy them.

I hadn’t realised this was a wider issue so didn’t report it officially (apart from having a friendly moan at the ticket office I had to walk all the way around to) but given it seems to be common I will report this properly now.

 

[462cd]

I had real trouble on Saturday trying to get a Northern TVM to offer me the cheapest off-peak return for Broad Green <-> Stoke-on-Trent. It kept trying to offer me the £33.90 "Via Stafford" tickets instead of the £23.50 "any permitted" tickets. Why those prices exist in the first place is pretty baffling, but it's annoying having to frantically press every combination to get the cheapest tickets.

 

[Haywain]

It kept trying to offer me the £33.90 "Via Stafford" tickets instead of the £23.50 "any permitted" tickets. Why those prices exist in the first place is pretty baffling,

They probably exist to allow travel via Stafford which I doubt is covered by the Any Permitted fare.

 

[robbeech]

permitted" tickets. Why those prices exist in the first place is pretty baffling,

Broad Green to Stoke on Trent isn’t permitted via Stafford on any combination of maps. So the via Stafford ticket allows it by allowing all routes between Broad Green and Stafford and all routes between Stafford and Stoke for a hugely inflated price.
I suspect it provides faster journey opportunities at times perhaps?

 

[Starmill]

Oh dear Given the non functionality of said website...

It seems to be going swimmingly:

Frustration over 'bonkers' new ticket machines at Stockport train station

Passengers have described them as ‘awful’, ‘baffling’ and ‘very difficult to figure out’

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Passengers have described [the new ticket machines] as ‘awful’, ‘baffling’ and ‘very difficult to figure out’, with many needing help from station staff every time they wish to travel.

The issue has been taken up by Edgeley councillor Matt Wynne, who has said it is ‘beyond belief’ the machines were signed off - and that serious questions now need to be asked.

 

[Kite159]

It seems to be going swimmingly:

Frustration over 'bonkers' new ticket machines at Stockport train station

Passengers have described them as ‘awful’, ‘baffling’ and ‘very difficult to figure out’

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

I had the 'pleasure' of using one of those machines at Stockport a couple Sundays ago when wanting to purchase a simple TPE only single to Manchester (as TPE provide the first train on a Sunday). Took me nearly 5 minutes to get it to sell the ticket I wanted.

All it will do is increase the number of chancers boarding without tickets in the hope the guard doesn't come round (or in the case of TPE boarding the front unit)