Ticket collection query

[Aaron1]

So in May I am traveling from Cambridge to Birmingham new street, going via London so It is a paper ticket which I need to collect from the ticket machine, I will be collecting from Cambridge station, I booked the ticket on the TP express app despite not actually using a TP express service, however since booking the ticket I do not have the card I used, it was lost/stolen so it was replaced obviously with different card number etc.

I called TP express customer service line today to ask how I would collect the ticket without the card I used and the reply from the lady was basically I can't and I would have to purchase a brand new ticket and I could not apply for a refund on the old ticket, she said and I qoute "it is your responsibility to keep your credit/debit card safe until you collect your ticket, you haven't done so, so therefore a new ticket will need to be purchased and no refunds on the old tickets can be given"

Surely that can't be true?? If it is then how the hell do they expect to tempt passengers to use trains if they treat them like that.

 

[miklcct]

So in May I am traveling from Cambridge to Birmingham new street, going via London so It is a paper ticket which I need to collect from the ticket machine, I will be collecting from Cambridge station, I booked the ticket on the TP express app despite not actually using a TP express service, however since booking the ticket I do not have the card I used, it was lost/stolen so it was replaced obviously with different card number etc.

I called TP express customer service line today to ask how I would collect the ticket without the card I used and the reply from the lady was basically I can't and I would have to purchase a brand new ticket and I could not apply for a refund on the old ticket, she said and I qoute "it is your responsibility to keep your credit/debit card safe until you collect your ticket, you haven't done so, so therefore a new ticket will need to be purchased and no refunds on the old tickets can be given"

Surely that can't be true?? If it is then how the hell do they expect to tempt passengers to use trains if they treat them like that.

Go to any manned ticket offices, explain the situation and they will allow you to collect with any card. Then make a formal complaint to TPE.

There are many situations where one can't use the card entered to collect the ticket, including e.g. card expired, card lost / stolen, using virtual card number, etc.

 

[Watershed]

It's certainly worthwhile trying again and escalating to a complaint if you can't get a satisfactory response - it's perfectly within their power to release the booking to be collected using any card.

In fact from a previous booking confirmation I have from them, it says:

To collect your tickets, you must have both the credit/debit card used to purchase the tickets and your ticket booking reference. If you do not have them, a new ticket at the full fare will have to be bought to travel. If your payment card has been replaced since you made your booking, please contact Web Support on 0344 556 5637 before starting your journey.

 

[gray1404]

I would start by trying to collect the ticket from a ticket machine anyway. It may already be set to any card collection. If this does not work go to the booking office window and ask to collect the ticket from there. If you still have problems phone TPE again and just tell them that you have a new card since you made your booking.

Make sure you quote the name of the person you spoke to you in your complaint and also clarify to TPE which number you contacted on along with the date and time of the call.

 

[yorkie]

Surely that can't be true?? If it is then how the hell do they expect to tempt passengers to use trains if they treat them like that.

It's nonsense ; you could try asking TPE again to set the collection to 'any card' and/or enquire at a ticket office to see if they will release the tickets with ID.

I would switch to another retailer; for example there are retailers who will offer free seat selection, check for split tickets, and you could get the collection set to 'any card' easily.

TPE do not want your custom; other retailers do.

 

[Aaron1]

Thanks for the advice, I always seem to speak to clueless staff, I will pop into Cambridge station at some point in next few weeks, try to collect if that fails I will speak to a member of staff and if that fails I will ring TPE again, I'll probably ask to speak to somebody in authority of needed.

It's nonsense ; you could try asking TPE again to set the collection to 'any card' and/or enquire at a ticket office to see if they will release the tickets with ID.

I would switch to another retailer; for example there are retailers who will offer free seat selection, check for split tickets, and you could get the collection set to 'any card' easily.

TPE do not want your custom; other retailers do.

I already check for split tickets on Trainsplit then probably wrongly I don't book with them I book with TPE.

I got Cambridge to Birmingham new st via London for £21.75, Cross Country who have direct trains probably won't have cheaper advance fare than that in my experience when they eventually go on sale

Edit: having said that I have literally just found cheaper than what I paid, oh well that's life.

 

[davews]

And I had an issue when collecting my tickets (ordered via SWR website) the machine would not read my card (dirty contacts?). Eventually did manage to get it to read it after several attempts in two machines.

 

[Aaron1]

Just called TPE again and spoke to somebody else, who said that it is set to the payment card and it can not be changed, the only way around it was to book a new ticket and claim a refund on the original in which the £10 admin fee would still be charged, I am not happy about that so I will pop down to Cambridge station at some point this week taking ID and and I will explain the situation and see what they say.

I appreciate the security aspect but if I have photo ID then surely something can be done so I can collect using another card.

I don't mind making several visits and several phone calls until it is sorted.

 

[Hadders]

It absolutely can be changed. TPE are spouting a load of nonsense.

Please do keep persisting.

 

[Aaron1]

It absolutely can be changed. TPE are spouting a load of nonsense.

Please do keep persisting.

I am just communicating with TP express on twitter DM who basically said if I've been told something then they are correct, incidentally he didn't even confirm which one of the 2 call handlers who both gave me slightly different info was correct!

I'll pop to Cambridge station this week see if they can assist, if not then I will actually go to a TP express manned station, all during this time I will be ringing TP express on a daily basis until it is sorted, I'm sure if I keep trying then eventually I will speak to somebody who knows what they are talking about! I have until 28th May so plenty of time!

 

[RPI]

Most of the time you can even collect from a Ticket Vending Machine using any card.

 

[Haywain]

Most of the time you can even collect from a Ticket Vending Machine using any card.

That’s actually rather unlikely. No company in their right mind would set their TVMs to accept any card, and most retailers don’t set such a flag on bookings. Of course, where tickets are paid for by PayPal or with eVouchers there cannot be a ‘same card’ requirement.

 

[alistairlees]

Just called TPE again and spoke to somebody else, who said that it is set to the payment card and it can not be changed, the only way around it was to book a new ticket and claim a refund on the original in which the £10 admin fee would still be charged, I am not happy about that so I will pop down to Cambridge station at some point this week taking ID and and I will explain the situation and see what they say.

I appreciate the security aspect but if I have photo ID then surely something can be done so I can collect using another card.

I don't mind making several visits and several phone calls until it is sorted.

This is total rubbish. It is extremely easy to change. Keep persisting and give your custom to a sensible retailer that’s customer focused like Trainsplit or Railsmartr in future.

 

[Adam Williams]

I already check for split tickets on Trainsplit then probably wrongly I don't book with them I book with TPE.

Raileasy of course can't stop you from doing this, but I can tell you it takes less than 10 seconds (5.8s when I timed it, the bottlekneck mostly being the speed at which I could click the button) given a booking reference to set a TrainSplit booking to "Any card collection", and every support rep knows a) that this is possible and b) how to do it - so it may be worth reconsidering how much you value decent support when booking.

What was the motivation behind booking with a TOC? Avoiding the split saving fee?

 

[RPI]

That’s actually rather unlikely. No company in their right mind would set their TVMs to accept any card, and most retailers don’t set such a flag on bookings. Of course, where tickets are paid for by PayPal or with eVouchers there cannot be a ‘same card’ requirement.

There are many places where this happens, it is released it the card so there is a paper trail. This happened three days ago at Exeter where a customer said that they didn't have the card, I suggested trying any card and it worked. (It would always work before but not tried if for a while)

 

[Aaron1]

Raileasy of course can't stop you from doing this, but I can tell you it takes less than 10 seconds (5.8s when I timed it, the bottlekneck mostly being the speed at which I could click the button) given a booking reference to set a TrainSplit booking to "Any card collection", and every support rep knows a) that this is possible and b) how to do it - so it may be worth reconsidering how much you value decent support when booking.

What was the motivation behind booking with a TOC? Avoiding the split saving fee?

Pretty much yes to avoid the split saving fee, which is probably not the most honest thing for me to do, maybe in future I will book directly with Trainsplit.

 

[Adam Williams]

Pretty much yes to avoid the split saving fee, which is probably not the most honest thing for me to do, maybe in future I will book directly with Trainsplit.

Eh, at least you were honest about it here! No grudges held

I'd point you in the direction of @yorkie's advice though https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...re-do-i-stand-with-delays.228980/post-5565373

If someone really doesn't want Trainsplit to get the share of saving fee, then my advice would be to put each ticket in their basket on Trainsplit and this avoids fees and at least gives Trainsplit some commission. Also e-tickets help the retailer to avoid incurring losses that occur with paper (TOD) tickets

It is a faff, not any sort of officially condoned method of booking and you won't get the proper through-itinerary, but if you're going to do it on a TOC site anyway with these caveats in mind then the nicer thing to do if you can is to give the third-party retailer who invested in the splits engine and ultimately worked out your ticket combination something financially whilst avoiding the fee (if you're set on doing so).

 

[yorkie]

I already check for split tickets on Trainsplit then probably wrongly I don't book with them I book with TPE.

The problem here is that you are using Trainsplit's resources while also rewarding TPE for poor service. Presumably this is to obtain cashback or something. Ultimately it's your choice and no-one can be stopped from doing this, but if everyone did this, the resource would cease to exist.

Given the poor service offered by TPE it may be time to reconsider but that's your decision to make.

 

[Watershed]

The share of saving fees on Trainsplit can add up to a fair amount at times, as there is no cap to them. They are also now 15% where previously they were 10%.

Now yes, you're still usually better off using Trainsplit than booking through a TOC, but Trainsplit aren't the only split ticket provider in town anymore. Trainline and Trainpal (amongst others) don't charge a "finders' fee"; the tiered Trainline booking fees seem like a more reasonable approach to me.

 

[Adam Williams]

The share of saving fees on Trainsplit can add up to a fair amount at times, as there is no cap to them.

This is not the case, for journeys with very large savings the SOS percentage can vary.

 

[Aaron1]

Just a quick update on this, I emailed TP express today to see what they said and surprise surprise they told me I had to book a new ticket!

The customer service support is absolutely shocking

Going to Cambridge station, see if I make any progress there.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Just a question for those who are saying this is an easy change, how is this done?

 

[CyrusWuff]

Not sure if it's changed but the Web Support team for TOCs using Worldline (formerly Atos) WebTIS certainly didn't have the option to change the collection flag when I last had to deal with them in a Ticket Office. All they could do was send us an e-mail asking us to issue them from our Ticket Office TIS with ID or issue an Authority to Travel or Duplicate tickets.

That was fine until an update to our Ticket Office machines started enforcing the "Same Card" flag and prevented us from fudging an Advance on the day of travel.

 

[yorkie]

If anyone books with Trainsplit all you need to do is email them to get the booking changed to 'any card' collection and if anyone has any issues doing that feel free to contact me and I will send a direct message (they have staff members on this forum)

 

[James H]

I (accidentally) bought tickets from GWR using a virtual card at Christmas.

The helpline said they no longer had the ability to change the ticket to 'any card' but I could try my luck at a ticket office.

My local GTR station printed the tickets without any quibble - I was prepared to go into a long explanation but the ticket clerk just printed them as soon as I showed him the reference, no questions asked.

 

[High Dyke]

In the past I've collected tickets for my use, but bought and paid for by someone else. So I had the booking reference, but not the purchasing card. I wasn't certain whether I could collect from a machine in such circumstances, but the person in the ticket office provided the tickets without any fuss.

 

[OscarH]

Just a question for those who are saying this is an easy change, how is this done?

The booking just needs to be updated in LSM, and we have an simple option in our Backoffice to do this as mentioned up thread

 

[Haywain]

The booking just needs to be updated in LSM, and we have an simple option in our Backoffice to do this as mentioned up thread

It’s not something we have the ability to change in LSM.

 

[voyagerdude220]

As others have said, TPE are certainly talking rubbish. My employer has specifically instructed myself and colleagues we must not override the computer when it flags up that the card supplied by the customer isn't right and it needs to be the right card.
I've relayed this information to pax several times, advised them to get in contact with their retailer (usually The Trainline) and same passenger has returned just minutes later having got the system changed so my computer could issue the TOD for them.

 

[gray1404]

Perhaps the opp could advise what tickets they have purchased specifically. It may be worth refunding them and booking other ones if I lower or the same price can be found. TransPennine Express takes part in the book with Confidence scheme and they will also refund if you book for a different time or date without an administration fee.