Return portion of open return clipped in error on outbound journey

[Drsatan]

Good evening

This weekend I travelled to Plymouth using a combination of tickets, one of which was a Tiverton Parkway to Plymouth off-peak return.

I travelled to Plymouth on Friday 10 October on an XC service. When the guard came round I showed him the TVP-PLY SVR. He clipped (what I assumed) was the outward portion, but as I was preoccupied reading a book I simply took the tickets and replaced them in my wallet. The outward portion was retained by the gateline assistant at Plymouth. On this occasion, I used the wide access gate, and due to the volume of passengers leaving the station the assistant retained any unwanted tickets.

On my return journey on an XC service, the guard carried out a ticket check. She stated that the PLY-TVP had been date-stamped as 10 October, making it appear as though I had travelled in that direction on that day. Despite showing the guard the other tickets I would be using to complete my journey, the guard stated I needed to buy a PLY-TVP single (CDS). As I did not have the outward TVP-PLY ticket to show in my defence, I bought a CDS, with 16-25 railcard discount.


Now, what are my chances of being refunded £6.40? (the cost of the PLY-TVP CDS.) The guard on the service to Plymouth made a mistake (which could be a very expensive mistake) but I don't know whether I'd have a leg to stand on, especially as the TVP-PLY portion was retained at Plymouth gateline.

Any advice would be welcome, especially as this is a staff training issue.

 

[furlong]

She stated that the PLY-TVP had been date-stamped as 10 October,

Did the stamp contain only the date, or were there other identifiers?

 

[yorkie]

I don't agree it's a training issue (if anything it's a training issue for you: only hand over the correct portion in future ); it was simply a mistake of clipping the wrong portion.

It has happened to most of us at some time or another, and when I handed over the wrong portion of a ticket a couple of months ago (Sheffield-Kent) I had to write off that ticket as far as Chesterfield.

As you didn't spot it at the time, I don't think there is anything you can do. You could write to XC and they might send you a gesture of goodwill, possibly.

 

[Drsatan]

Did the stamp contain only the date, or were there other identifiers?

The stamp gave the date, along with the numbers '0098' and 'XC 01690'.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I don't agree it's a training issue (if anything it's a training issue for you: only hand over the correct portion in future ); it was simply a mistake of clipping the wrong portion.

It has happened to most of us at some time or another, and when I handed over the wrong portion of a ticket a couple of months ago (Sheffield-Kent) I had to write off that ticket as far as Chesterfield.

As you didn't spot it at the time, I don't think there is anything you can do. You could write to XC and they might send you a gesture of goodwill, possibly.

Ok, I'm probably overreacting there! I normally show both portions of a return ticket on the outward and return parts of a journey.

 

[furlong]

The stamp gave the date, along with the numbers '0098' and 'XC 01690'

18:28 off Tiverton Parkway? (and 7 minutes late)

 

[yorkie]

The stamp gave the date, along with the numbers '0098' and 'XC 01690'.

It's worth writing in then, as those identifiers should corroborate your statement.

Ok, I'm probably overreacting there! I normally show both portions of a return ticket on the outward and return parts of a journey.

The guard is only going to be interested in the relevant portion, so just show that.

Handing over both portions is totally unnecessary and is predictably going to lead to errors such as this occasionally.

On your outward journey, have the return available in your wallet in the highly unlikely event you are asked to show it.

 

[Muzer]

Indeed, you are technically required to show the return portion of a ticket for it to be valid on an outward journey. I've only ever seen videos of RPIs asking to see it, though, never a normal guard.

 

[Drsatan]

18:28 off Tiverton Parkway? (and 7 minutes late)

Yes, that's the train.

I'll email or write to XC and attach photocopies of the tickets in question. I'll let you know if there's any constructive response from them.

 

[reb0118]

On your outward journey, have the return available in your wallet in the highly unlikely event you are asked to show it.

You will normally only be asked to show the return portion if you are travelling on the outward portion of an Anytime Open Return and you are on the second or subsequent day of that portion's validitity.

That said if you are travelling on a short distance Day Return and it has been theoretically possible for you to have made two or more return trips since the issue time of your ticket then you may, and I stress may be asked to show the unused return.

As yorkie states above in any case I would not present more than the ticket required at that time - other tickets should be kept handy for any further clarification as required.

 

[Greenback]

I've never had any problem in handing over the relevant ticket to the guard with one hand, and keeping any others I have in my other hand. I always put my book or whatever down for a ticket inspection.

 

[David Goddard]

Not the first time an XC guard hasn't bothered to look at the ticket before marking it!
If we look at the facts it could be seen as an innocent error on both sides, so would probably result in stalemate, essentially you lose.

How did you get onto the platform at Plymouth if you did not have a ticket with origin of the same?

 

[yorkie]

How did you get onto the platform at Plymouth if you did not have a ticket with origin of the same?

The ticket was held but had been stamped.

 

[Drsatan]

UPDATE:

I received the following email from XC Customer Relations today:

Dear XXXXX

Thank you for your recent email regarding your journey from Tiverton Parkway to Plymouth on 10 October 2014.

It was disappointing to read that the ticket inspector clipped the outward and return ticket. It is the customers responsibility to make sure that you check your tickets if there are any discrepancies. We do advise for you to speak to the train manager at the time of the incident who can then advise you what to do next.

I am happy to offer you £6.40 in rail travel vouchers for the additional ticket you had to purchase. Would you be so kind to send me your address details as a reply to this email, I can then arrange for the vouchers to be sent out to you.

Please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused to you. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

XXXXXX
Customer Relations Consultant
CrossCountry

Looks like my complaint was worth it.

 

[yorkie]

A spot-on reply.

 

[Flamingo]

We've all done it. I usually endorse the ticket when I notice i've done it, saying what date, time and service so if an RPI withdraws it for further investigation at a later date I'll be able to be tracked down to confirm. Mind you, that has never happened yet.