Ticket collection issue

[thelostticket]

Hi all,

Hoping for some advice.

I had bought advanced tickets about a month ago on trainpal from Milton Keynes to Newport on 16 of Feb and Newport to Milton Keynes on 17th of Feb costing £34. I collected my tickets, receiving 4 tickets and I didn't realize it at the time but the first leg of my return journey, Newport to Birmingham New Street, wasn't printed. I found this out at the barriers at Newport on the 17th, when it dawned on me that none of the tickets in my possession were appropriate and that my receipt said 5 coupons were printed. I'm a good 98% sure I didn't just lose it, I definitely only got 4 tickets.

I asked the ticket office at Newport and they said they could do nothing as as far as they know the ticket has already been collected. I showed the lady my receipt but she could do nothing. To be honest I suspect they just didn't believe me which isn't unreasonable from their perspective, if a little cold.

My ticket from Birmingham New Street to Milton Keynes was no longer usable either as I had missed the train and could not make the connection. In the end I had to buy a whole new ticket to MK costing £35. That's more than I had initially paid for outbound and return combined!

I'm just wondering what people better versed in rail would do about this issue. I'm guessing the first thing is check you had all your tickets before setting off and yes I should have done that, but it just isn't an issue I've ever had before. I've been making about 100 journeys a year for the past 4 years and not one issue (that has cost me anything other than time) until last weekend and it's made me a little bitter. Can I get any money back from this? Are instances of faulty ticket machines a thing? I feel like I've just paid double for their mistake.

Also does anyone know if there's a way of actually proving that the machine did not give me all of the tickets I had purchased?

Let me know if anything is unclear and any and all help is truly appreciated.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Unfortunately, as you didn't raise a query at the time there's nothing to show that you didn't lose the ticket or leave it in the hopper, or drop it walking away from the machine.

The machine log will show that it printed 5 tickets as you have seen on the receipt in your own hands.

You'll have to chalk this one up to experience and remember to check your tickets in the future. Or print at home, where you also have the PDFs electronically as a backup.

 

[weepingwillowb]

I've known a ticket to get stuck in the hopper just out of fingers' reach (at Preston). Someone in the ticket office came and managed to release it for me.

I always check that the number of tickets I have in my hand tallies with the number that were printed, before moving away from the machine if there's someone behind me, and then I check that I have all the correct travel tickets.

 

[furlong]

How long ago did you collect your tickets? If it's recent, there might be CCTV to show what happened.

There are known faults with some machines where the last ticket doesn't fall into the tray - it only drops down when the next one gets printed! Your only chance would be if the machine you used happened to be one with this fault, when the railway should accept responsibility for the problem. If you're very lucky, they'll have that fault logged, but otherwise in reality you'd either need CCTV evidence or need to demonstrate that fault yourself. Tickets are sometimes handed in when this happens too if the next person spots it so it's worth asking at the station too if it was recent.

Regardless I would certainly write in with copies of all the tickets - old and new - to see if they're willing to refund the new ticket anyway - some train companies would where they are satisfied that you paid twice over.

 

[SuspectUsual]

There are known faults with some machines where the last ticket doesn't fall into the tray - it only drops down when the next one gets printed!

Is the last one not the collection receipt though?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Is the last one not the collection receipt though?

No - rather bizarrely, the collection receipt prints first (n.b. sample of one machine - Northern's at Liverpool South Parkway). If it printed last that would (a) provide confirmation that the machine 'thought' it had delivered the whole order and (b) in practice make most of the problem go away in that most people just want their travel tickets and so wouldn't be bothered if the collection receipt wasn't there to collect.

 

[island]

The collection receipt always prints last on the Southeastern machines I use. Which seems rather more rational.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

The collection receipt always prints last on the Southeastern machines I use. Which seems rather more rational.

Good to know that at least some of the railway is enlightened on this point.

 

[Turtle]

Good to know that at least some of the railway is enlightened on this point.

But only some. That is the problem like so many caused by the system's fragmentation. There is only one solution - which I think we all know.

 

[Haywain]

But only some. That is the problem like so many caused by the system's fragmentation. There is only one solution - which I think we all know.

If a machine uses two printers it may be difficult to define "last".

 

[thelostticket]

Thanks people. In hindsight I can see that not bringing it up initially makes this basically my fault and I'm definitely going to check my tickets from now on or go digital. I did get in touch with trainpal last night and they kindly took my word for it and refunded my initial return journey which made it a slightly less costly error. I picked up the tickets on Friday 16th so I possibly could get the CCTV but I think I'm going to leave it at that given trainpals partial refund and ranting on this forum has made me feel better anyway.

 

[Haywain]

I picked up the tickets on Friday 16th so I possibly could get the CCTV

In my view it us highly unlikely that CCTV would be able to show that tickets were either printed or picked up from the machine. That is asking for a level of detail that is rarely available.