Remember Your Railcard!

[taxidave]

I did forget my senior railcard on one journey and fortunately the guard only charged me the difference between the full and the discounted fare and did it as a return so saving me another charge on the return, luckily for me it was only a short journey and so not very expensive, but I wont do it again.
On the subject of out of date cards, surely it is only possible to buy tickets on the internet in this fashion, as you need to show your card if purchasing through a station ticket office.

 

[Broken Viking]

On the subject of out of date cards, surely it is only possible to buy tickets on the internet in this fashion, as you need to show your card if purchasing through a station ticket office.

On the day in question, I'd purchased my ticket from the TVMs at Farnborough. They don't require the user to present their Railcard (Even though they could ask the user to enter their r/c card number to prove validity) either!

I was thankful though that the staff at Stansted were understanding of the situation that I presented to them, saw that I had made a genuine mistake, and allowed me to renew my railcard from the last date of my expired one. It was a lot easier (And far cheaper) than the cost of throwing away the YP ticket and buying an SDR instead!

 

[EM2]

On the other side of the coin, a friend of mine has an annual season Bournemouth - Waterloo. When he gets his new one, he puts it behind the expired one in his ticket wallet, and then plays the 'how long before the ticket inspector notices' game. His record is nine weeks...

 

[swt_passenger]

Every year without fail when I renew my Network Card, I am asked to fill in a form with my name and address, email etc.

I'm sure the form once said they'd send a renewal reminder but in ten years I've never had one. Has anyone ever had a reminder for any sort of railcard before it ran out?

 

[Pumbaa]

Every year without fail when I renew my Network Card, I am asked to fill in a form with my name and address, email etc.

I'm sure the form once said they'd send a renewal reminder but in ten years I've never had one. Has anyone ever had a reminder for any sort of railcard before it ran out?

Buying online triggers a renewal email a few weeks prior to expiry.

 

[142094]

I'm sure the form once said they'd send a renewal reminder but in ten years I've never had one. Has anyone ever had a reminder for any sort of railcard before it ran out?

Never with a YP bought at the station. Last one I bought was online and for 3 years so if you can wait until next year I'll let you know

Seriously, most of the complaints seem to be with the free YP given out with NatWest. Perhaps it should be a condition of the arrangement that NatWest have to send out a reminder?

 

[Scotrail84]

B]

Ken, they are the bane of my life on a benhar peak time service!

[/B]

Aye the Breich flexis . Ive seen zonecards at Fauldhouse before. tut tut

 

[Via Bank]

Never with a YP bought at the station. Last one I bought was online and for 3 years so if you can wait until next year I'll let you know

Seriously, most of the complaints seem to be with the free YP given out with NatWest. Perhaps it should be a condition of the arrangement that NatWest have to send out a reminder?

My old one was station-issued, and I received a reminder through the post for that. Strange.

 

[me123]

Seriously, most of the complaints seem to be with the free YP given out with NatWest. Perhaps it should be a condition of the arrangement that NatWest have to send out a reminder?

I get a free one with RBS and they send my new one out usually over a month before the last one is due to expire.

 

[cuccir]

Off-Topic- I'd advise anyone with a NatWest railcard to 'lose' it in their final year. I - genuinely I'd point out - lost mine in its final year of validity. I paid them a tenner to have it reissued and they gave me a brand new 3 year one :grin:

 

[Flamingo]

I always ask to see YP and DSB railcards, and usually excess them at a minimum. If I think it is genuine, and they are on the outward of a return, I will write on the return portion "Check Railcard", and warn them that if they don't renew it before coming back it will be the cost of a new Anytime ticket. (I once caught someone who was on the way back without the new railcard - it cost them £100). Faking it on disabled railcard tickets really gets my goat, I charge them.

I will ask to see HMF (or proof of being in the forces) and accept either.

I never ask to see Senior railcards, figuring that my boss has such a hard time dealing with complaints about me charging people that if I charged up a pensioner, the resulting bad publicity in the Daily Mail would hasten him to an early grave and I wouldn't want that on my conscience (much).

Family railcards without kids also get excessed up (unless it is an adult on the child ticket accompanying, in which case two new tickets or BTP)

 

[Greenback]

I hope you are joking about the Senior Railcards, Flamingo!

 

[Flamingo]

Wish I was - you don't know my boss!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Seriously, most of the complaints seem to be with the free YP given out with NatWest. Perhaps it should be a condition of the arrangement that NatWest have to send out a reminder?

The number of people who say "I have a NatWest account so I must have a railcard, can't you let me off" :roll:

 

[GodAtum]

I wonder she got loads of stick. There are loads of dodgy pages on that site not only her!

 

[Greenback]

Yes, the whole thing looks dodgy to me!

 

[Soupdragon]

A young lady travelling between Peterborough and Preston on my train one morning (AP Y/P ticket) couldnt produce her YP card when i checked just after Doncaster. Her excuse? "I've got one y'know... I must have left it at my boyfriends... I've been up since stupid o'clock y'know... I was up at 7am!!!"

My reply that I'd been up since 3.30am and the only thing I'd forgotten was to put sugar in my coffee took the wind out of her sails somewhat. A little piece of plastic changed hands and my Avantix whirred into action :roll:

Yet another young lady when asked for her YP card one day between Stockport and Sheffield (Her ticket was YP Advance Single Cardiff to Sheffield) produced one of the 2 piece YP cards that was 2 years out of date (June 08 as I recall) and although the picture was of her the card had actualy been issued to a man!!

 

[swt_passenger]

I will ask to see HMF (or proof of being in the forces) and accept either.

That's not a good idea though, is it?

Because 'or proof of being in the forces' doesn't guarantee they also have a forces railcard, they still have to be bought like any other annual railcard.

 

[Mintona]

I sometimes just check the railcard if the ticket has been bought on a TVM or is Advance purchased, if it's been sold by a ticket office I figure the member of staff must have seen it to issue it. Although usually I do all railcards regardless.

I've also got into the habit of reminding people to renew if there's less than a month left on it til expiry. Usually greeted with a "cheers mate, blimey hadn't noticed that!"

 

[moonrakerz]

That's not a good idea though, is it?

Because 'or proof of being in the forces' doesn't guarantee they also have a forces railcard, they still have to be bought like any other annual railcard.

Do the forces now have to buy their railcard ? Before the forces railcard was introduced (free, if I remember correctly) you just showed your ID card and asked for "forces rate". More b****y pen pushers, I suppose !

 

[Broken Viking]

The number of people who say "I have a NatWest account so I must have a railcard, can't you let me off" :roll:

People can't be that Bloody stupid, can they? hock::roll: And just in case there's any doubt (Ye might want to print this off and keep it to hand to show the "Natwest discount" lot on board):

Here's a Natwest Y-P Railcard (that IS valid for YP fares)...

...And here's a Natwest Servicecard (That ISN'T valid for any kind of rail discount)

Given that I've never seen anyone try to insert a Y-P Railcard into a Natwest ATM, I very much doubt it's possible for anyone without a strong visual impairment to get those two mixed up!

Yet another young lady when asked for her YP card one day between Stockport and Sheffield produced one of the 2 piece YP cards that was 2 years out of date (June 08 as I recall) and although the picture was of her the card had actualy been issued to a man!!

I can see why people would try that hack out, but that's why all railcards I'm aware of have the photocard number clearly displayed on the card. It's amazing to think that people reckon the Guard won't spot something as obvious as that! :roll:

Given that she was trying to use someone elses railcard (And thus trying to defraud the railway) did ye give BTP the heads-up?

 

[Solent&Wessex]

I'm afraid I don't agree with those that don't check Railcards all the time.

I religiously check all railcards, of all types, for all tickets types, all the time. All those found without, or with out of date railcards WILL be charged the full fare again regardless of ticket type or journey. I will also normally charge the fare for the complete journey shown on the original ticket, irrespective of what portion of the journey is actually on my train. The only exception is if Railcards are up to 7 days out of date I will do the XS fare instead.

I used to be a bit more lenient but have decided that there are so many without valid railcards now, that to be fair to everybody I adopt a zero tolerance approach to all. If they have any complaints about this they can contact Customer Relations. And I know I get support from my boss as he used to be a Revenue Protection Manager some years ago.

And I have heard every excuse over and over again.

 

[mumrar]

I'm afraid I don't agree with those that don't check Railcards all the time.

Well, I used to work on the Cross-City line where a few station gaps are 5 minutes, the rest are mostly 2 or 3. With only one additional door control panel it was a balance between the quantity I could check, and the quality of the check.

Now I do the XC routes of Central Trains I insist just like you, but you can't give everyone who doesn't a hard time. Imagine trying it on Valley Lines.

 

[trickyvegas]

On the other side of the coin, a friend of mine has an annual season Bournemouth - Waterloo. When he gets his new one, he puts it behind the expired one in his ticket wallet, and then plays the 'how long before the ticket inspector notices' game. His record is nine weeks...

At weekends I tend to buy an all-day bus ticket and keep in my season ticket wallet for safe-keeping, last week I forgot to take it out on Monday morning but still safely passed the inspectors - I won't name the station.

 

[me123]

That's not a good idea though, is it?

Because 'or proof of being in the forces' doesn't guarantee they also have a forces railcard, they still have to be bought like any other annual railcard.

With the forces, you've also got the added problem of being "named and shamed" in the media if you dare to even look at a solider the wrong way. The Daily Mail and The Sun would have a field day if a member of service personnel was charged £200 for not bringing their railcard with them. Never mind the fact that it could have been fraudulently purchased. It's the same with seniors. Sadly, there's little sympathy for a student in this situation.

The number of people who say "I have a NatWest account so I must have a railcard, can't you let me off" :roll:

It amazes me that people can be this stupid. In general banks don't put the account name/type on the card (exceptions being children's accounts and premium accounts). So there's no way of knowing that they even hold a student account, and even less way of knowing if they have a railcard with it. Indeed, I'm sure Natwest gives you a choice of a railcard or something else - I know RBS does.

 

[Flamingo]

With the forces, you've also got the added problem of being "named and shamed" in the media if you dare to even look at a solider the wrong way. The Daily Mail and The Sun would have a field day if a member of service personnel was charged £200 for not bringing their railcard with them. Never mind the fact that it could have been fraudulently purchased. It's the same with seniors. Sadly, there's little sympathy for a student in this situation.

What he said. I usually try to be sympathetic to students as well - if warranted, and up to the extent of them at least paying the same amount of money as everybody else.

 

[Broken Viking]

I religiously check all railcards, of all types, for all tickets types, all the time. All those found without, or with out of date railcards WILL be charged the full fare again regardless of ticket type or journey.

And speaking as a fare-paying passenger myself, I'm most glad to hear exactly that!
If everyone bought the right railcard (Where appropriate) and the right tickets for their journey, the fares would be at least 33% less than they are now! It's fare evaders and railcard/season "overstayers" (Those who keep using past expiry dates) who keep pushing the Bloody fares up!

Granted, I know that means I'd get chinged for full fare if I bought a Y-P ticket on a day that I forgot to slip my railcard into my pocket, but then again the railcard T&Cs are clear: Thy railcard MUST be in thy possession for its discount to be obtained. If ye don't have thy railcard in thy possession at time of travel, then ye are treated as having no railcard at all, and must pay the appropriate non-discounted fare.
That said: If I forgot my railcard but went and bought a Y-P ticket from a QFM per regular habit, would I be able to get an excess for the difference if I spoke to a ticket office or Guard as soon as possible after realising this? Or would it be treated by default as an attempt at fare evasion?

It amazes me that people can be this stupid...

Ditto for me, too. If people can be as daft to think that their Natwest account gives them 1/3rd off train fares by default (I've had a Natwest account myself for several years, and the only time that card has been used successfully on the rails is when making Avantix payments!) it makes ye wonder how on Earth they managed to understand and complete the forms to open their account in the first place! hock::roll:

That said, HSBC are both a bank and a ROSCO. If I opened an account with HSBC, would I be able to obtain 1/3rd off on purchases of surplus 442s and brand new 390s bought on a finance plan?

And I have heard every excuse over and over again.

If I may ask (Just because I'm curious/nosey*) what are the three worst and strangest excuses ye've ever had for an invalid or expired Railcard?
* - Delete as appropriate

 

[Flamingo]

The worst excuse is the old chestnut "I left it in my other wallet / bag" (especially when accompanied by looking in a wallet / bag that obviously has been used for months!).

 

[Soupdragon]

Given that she was trying to use someone elses railcard (And thus trying to defraud the railway) did ye give BTP the heads-up?

Chinged her for a full fare ticket for the full journey and withdrew the part of the railcard that was out of date.. (according to my Revenue Office we are not allowed to withdraw the photocard)

As we were close to arriving at Sheffield i couldnt really do much else, no time to TI her or even make contact with BTP. She did get a severe ear bashing however and told if i ever caught her at it again she would be for the high jump...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

If I may ask (Just because I'm curious/nosey*) what are the three worst and strangest excuses ye've ever had for an invalid or expired Railcard?
* - Delete as appropriate

1. "I have got one honest... ive left it in my other bag/wallet/etc... its a genuine mistake"

2. "I've applied for a new one.. heres a copy of the letter..."

3. "The previous conductor said it was ok ......."

and as for the Japanese/Korean/etc students with out of date cards that all of a sudden have lost the ability to speak or understand English.........................

 

[Mintona]

"The man on the platform said it would be ok".

"I didn't realise you had to have it with you".

 

[Solent&Wessex]

1. "I have got one honest... ive left it in my other bag/wallet/etc... its a genuine mistake"

2. "I've applied for a new one.. heres a copy of the letter..."

3. "The previous conductor said it was ok ......."

and as for the Japanese/Korean/etc students with out of date cards that all of a sudden have lost the ability to speak or understand English.........................

Indeed. 1 and 3 very common. Not had 2 much recently though - normally get that around July when all the Natwest Y-P cards run out.

Other regular ones now are:

"Well I never asked for it with a discount. That's the fault of whoever sold it to me so I'm not paying any more as it's not my fault"

"I realised I left it at home so I asked that bloke on the station and he said it would be ok, just explain it on the train and it'll be fine"

"Someone else brought it for me, I didn't realise..."

"No-one else ever asks to see it"

"The previous bloke / woman never said anything"

"Well I showed it when I brought the ticket so I must have had one to buy the ticket in the first place" (While noticing internet booking reference number on the bottom)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

"The man on the platform said it would be ok".

Ah yes, that well known "bloke on the station" who seems to work lots of weekends, overtime, and can either travel between stations faster than the train or be in more than one place at once.