Season ticket print quality

[VauxhallandI]

I mentioned this on another thread, incorrectly.

So here is a separate one.

My latest gold card from GA was issued on the 18th December.

Today I noticed that it was faded so much you could not read it.

So is 55 days acceptable?

If I lose my card GA charge me £20 to replace it.

How many times a year is it reasonable for me to be expected to get the ticket re-printed?

This is a reasonable question and not a tirade against the railways or anyone who works on them.

Should the TOC provide a means of proof of payment in a form that is fit for purpose?

What happens when I am asked to show my ticket and I realise it is illegible? Is that another job for the traveller to prove payment through correspondence?

 

[bb21]

I would say that 55 days is probably too short. Maybe there are problems with the printer, or that particular batch of stock, your storage method, the station gatelines you insert your ticket in, ... So yes, they should provide a means of proof of payment in a form that is fit for purpose, but there are too many variables involved.

There is no definition of what the acceptable number of exchanges is in any given period, however if you require an excessive number of replacements, say one every month, then I think you have a cause for complaint and you might get some compensation for your time.

Tickets do not suddenly fade completely overnight. Once you realise that the ticket has faded/is about to fade beyond recognition then it is your responsibility to get it replaced.

 

[VauxhallandI]

I would say that 55 days is probably too short. Maybe there are problems with the printer, or that particular batch of stock, your storage method, the station gatelines you insert your ticket in, ... So yes, they should provide a means of proof of payment in a form that is fit for purpose, but there are too many variables involved.

There is no definition of what the acceptable number of exchanges is in any given period, however if you require an excessive number of replacements, say one every month, then I think you have a cause for complaint and you might get some compensation for your time.

Tickets do not suddenly fade completely overnight. Once you realise that the ticket has faded/is about to fade beyond recognition then it is your responsibility to get it replaced.

The ticket is stored in a National Rail plastic wallet.

They don't fade overnight however they can go from elligable to gone in a short period that can go un-noticed.

I noticed yesterday that I couldn't read he expiry date so I changed it but I imagine it was like this or a few days. It would have led to an interesting discussion if I had been inspected as I doubt the on board RPI's have a magnetic strip reader on them.

 

[michael769]

I noticed yesterday that I couldn't read he expiry date so I changed it but I imagine it was like this or a few days. It would have led to an interesting discussion if I had been inspected as I doubt the on board RPI's have a magnetic strip reader on them.

Staff are well aware of the issues with fading and can tell the difference between a faded and a tampered on. There is as revealed on the forums a way to get the faded text to show if necessary. At worst you would expect to be asked to get it replaced.

 

[Paul Kelly]

I doubt the on board RPI's have a magnetic strip reader on them.

I'd actually be surprised if they don't - don't they usually carry Avantix Mobile machines, which have such a reader? Would have thought it was fairly necessary for checking faded railcards and such.

 

[Anon Mouse]

If its swiped through the Advantix the details will show on the screen, ditto expiry dates on YP, FAM & SNR railcards. However if the ticket is a little battered or if the magnetic strip is damaged it won't work. A lighter can do the trick but I would'nt recomend it!

 

[jon0844]

Wouldn't it be illegal to attempt to light up a ticket on a train?

 

[Anon Mouse]

Wouldn't it be illegal to attempt to light up a ticket on a train?

I'ld be too scared of setting it alight

Now that would be one hell of a please expain!

 

[Flamingo]

The lighter works, but can only be done once. I usually do it on railcards where I am pretty sure it's expired and I need to prove it to the passenger.

season tickets do wear off, I have a theory it's something to do with the plastic. I have seen people keep a business card between the front of the ticket & the wallet. Also, they are thermal printing, I wonder if the temperature where they are habitually kept (e.g. In a back pocket) can cause them to fade quicker?

 

[island]

Temperature would presumably cause the rest of it to go black rather than the black parts to fade? Maybe?

 

[michael769]

season tickets do wear off, I have a theory it's something to do with the plastic.

It will be - some plastics are known to react with the thermal coating causing fading. Most thermal paper manufacturers advise against storing them in plastic (guess what the ticket wallets are made of?) - perhaps someone should tell ATOC to read their manufacturers instructions? :roll:

Store Thermal Paper Properly

Store printed thermal paper in paper folders, envelopes, or
boxes. Do not use folders, binders, or boxes made from plastic
that contains plasticizers. For example, PVC folders contain
plasticizers. Plasticizers or other chemicals in the plastic may
interact with thermal dye, causing it to fade.

http://www.brother-usa.com/Mobile/pdfs/white_papers/ThermalPaperWhitePaper.pdf

 

[maniacmartin]

Temperature certainly affects thermal printing. Take a thermally printed till receipt and keep it in a warm pocket, and it'll fade very quickly.

 

[Flamingo]

Maybe spreading this advice is something that (as a forum) we can do as well?

 

[williamus]

I've seen the earlier closed thread on replacements, but I hope it's okay to post this here.

I have an annual Network card and it needs replacing 3-4 times a year. I wish the thermal printing was more reliable, but it isn't so that's how it is. I normally get the card replaced by the nice people at Northfield as soon as it starts to become illegible. However, these things creep up on you and I noticed when I was in New Street Station on Monday that it was badly faded so as it was quiet I asked for a replacement at one of the concourse ticket windows.

The lady I spoke to flatly refused to replace and said it could only be done at the issuing station, claiming that "only they hold records". She pointed out that there was no information that she could copy from the existing ticket. When I produced the receipt (which I always carry) she simply said that the "fares have changed since that was issued so how would I know what it was?" I politely pointed out that it was a common annual fare and that she could see that it was an annual All Zones ticket that cost £985 (now £1030). She just shook her head and said I'd have to go back to Northfield to get it done. I know I've had other replacements from New Street and was going to argue my case but queues were begining to build and so I left it.

Have I been fobbed off? Northfield is an LM startion and I thought that ticket staff at New Street were a mixture of LM and Virgin staff, but I may be wrong. Either way it seems unreasonable when I've produced the card, receipt and photocard (see attached) not to replace the ticket.

 

[LexyBoy]

season tickets do wear off, I have a theory it's something to do with the plastic. I have seen people keep a business card between the front of the ticket & the wallet. Also, they are thermal printing, I wonder if the temperature where they are habitually kept (e.g. In a back pocket) can cause them to fade quicker?

Am I the only one who has never needed a replacement season in 3-4 years of using Annuals? I do all the wrong things too - keep it in my back pocket, in a plastic ticket wallet, put it through barriers, take it near NMR magnets...

In fact I still have my Gold Card from 2010/11 in my ticket wallet (ah, so cheap!) and it's still just legible. If it is something to do with plasticisers then maybe having an ancient ticket wallet helps - but then again it wasn't old when I first started using it.

As an aside, I remember back when I had a Y-P, thinking that it was a little blurred but still legible... when I took it out of the wallet the railcard itself was virtually blank and the print had transferred entirely to the plastic window!

 

[island]

I've seen the earlier closed thread on replacements, but I hope it's okay to post this here.

I have an annual Network card and it needs replacing 3-4 times a year. I wish the thermal printing was more reliable, but it isn't so that's how it is. I normally get the card replaced by the nice people at Northfield as soon as it starts to become illegible. However, these things creep up on you and I noticed when I was in New Street Station on Monday that it was badly faded so as it was quiet I asked for a replacement at one of the concourse ticket windows.

The lady I spoke to flatly refused to replace and said it could only be done at the issuing station, claiming that "only they hold records". She pointed out that there was no information that she could copy from the existing ticket. When I produced the receipt (which I always carry) she simply said that the "fares have changed since that was issued so how would I know what it was?" I politely pointed out that it was a common annual fare and that she could see that it was an annual All Zones ticket that cost £985 (now £1030). She just shook her head and said I'd have to go back to Northfield to get it done. I know I've had other replacements from New Street and was going to argue my case but queues were begining to build and so I left it.

Have I been fobbed off? Northfield is an LM startion and I thought that ticket staff at New Street were a mixture of LM and Virgin staff, but I may be wrong. Either way it seems unreasonable when I've produced the card, receipt and photocard (see attached) not to replace the ticket.

Yes, you were being fobbed off.

 

[VauxhallandI]

I've seen the earlier closed thread on replacements, but I hope it's okay to post this here.

I have an annual Network card and it needs replacing 3-4 times a year. I wish the thermal printing was more reliable, but it isn't so that's how it is. I normally get the card replaced by the nice people at Northfield as soon as it starts to become illegible. However, these things creep up on you and I noticed when I was in New Street Station on Monday that it was badly faded so as it was quiet I asked for a replacement at one of the concourse ticket windows.

The lady I spoke to flatly refused to replace and said it could only be done at the issuing station, claiming that "only they hold records". She pointed out that there was no information that she could copy from the existing ticket. When I produced the receipt (which I always carry) she simply said that the "fares have changed since that was issued so how would I know what it was?" I politely pointed out that it was a common annual fare and that she could see that it was an annual All Zones ticket that cost £985 (now £1030). She just shook her head and said I'd have to go back to Northfield to get it done. I know I've had other replacements from New Street and was going to argue my case but queues were begining to build and so I left it.

Have I been fobbed off? Northfield is an LM startion and I thought that ticket staff at New Street were a mixture of LM and Virgin staff, but I may be wrong. Either way it seems unreasonable when I've produced the card, receipt and photocard (see attached) not to replace the ticket.

Another fine example of incompetence. I've had mine re printed at three different stations including the issuing station.

 

[mr_jarhead]

I've had this trouble a lot, my first Gold Card lasted 6 months before fading. I tried to get it replaced at Fenchurch St but as it was so faded the number couldn't be read properly so I had to go back to Cannon St where it was originally issued for a replacement.

The second ticket lasted a month before it faded again, I went back to Cannon St for another replacement and coincedently to the same ticket window, had it replaced and that lasted around a month as well. In the end I had it finally reprinted at my local station where the ticket stayed legible for the remainder of the year.

 

[michael769]

When I started to have issues with my season wearing out the ticket clerks in Waverley loaded my details onto their system so they also had a record, which does make it simpler when getting a changeover subsequently.