Ticket office staff Karma.

[38Cto15E]

There was a petition a while ago to keep station ticket offices open, I was delighted to sign it even though I do not use the ticket offices.
Until this week !

I was on a 7 train journey, 4 day trip around Scotland and the dreaded happened, I had left my Senior Railcard at home.
I won't bore you with all the ins and outs, what might have beens etc but a wonderful lady at Dundee ticket office saved me over £100 on my forgotten Railcard situation
So it cost me around £30 more for my journeys but I was legal and had no need to hide in the train toilets
This was a small price to have paid to have learnt my lesson and during the time I was waiting for the kind lady to undertake my admin, I remembered about the signing of the petition.....KARMA.
Best wishes to ticket office staff everywhere.

 

[Adam Williams]

If you'd not forgotten your railcard this year already, you could've travelled on the railcard-discounted tickets you already held anyway and then benefitted from the discretion that is given to allow you to forget your railcard on one occasion every year, and claim back any additional costs/penalty fares you were charged on the train (if the train manager even asked to see the railcard) in full. No need to hide in the train toilet!

It's unfortunate that the ticket office staff member didn't tell you this, as it would appear that their ignorance of the policy has left you £30 out of pocket. Still, I would try and write to the train operator to see if they would consider a refund on this occasion.

 

[PeterC]

If you'd not forgotten your railcard this year already, you could've travelled on the railcard-discounted tickets you already held anyway and then benefitted from the discretion that is given to allow you to forget your railcard on one occasion every year, and claim back any additional costs/penalty fares you were charged on the train (if the train manager even asked to see the railcard) in full. No need to hide in the train toilet!

It's unfortunate that the ticket office staff member didn't tell you this, as it would appear that their ignorance of the policy has left you £30 out of pocket. Still, I would try and write to the train operator to see if they would consider a refund on this occasion.

Over 4 days that could be interpreted as 4 instances of forgetting the card. Anyway, not knowing the OP's circumstances a one off payment of £30 may have been preferable to paying the full fares up front and waiting for a refund.

 

[Adam Williams]

Over 4 days that could be interpreted as 4 instances of forgetting the card

Yes, you'd need to ensure you didn't continue chancing it after the first time of benefitting from the policy.

Much rides on what fares the OP was using to make the journey, I suppose, since if they were using BoJ or something like a rover, after the first time they would've held an undiscounted copy of the ticket suitable for use on the rest of the trip in lieu of the railcard discounted ones.

Anyway, not knowing the OP's circumstances a one off payment of £30 may have been preferable to paying the full fares up front and waiting for a refund.

This is also true.

 

[yorksrob]

Yes, I've always found the ticket office staff to be helpful. Long may they remain

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Anyway, not knowing the OP's circumstances a one off payment of £30 may have been preferable to paying the full fares up front and waiting for a refund.

How long was unexpired on the original railcard? If only a few months, or less, the "lost" value won't have been all that much.

 

[greatkingrat]

If you'd not forgotten your railcard this year already, you could've travelled on the railcard-discounted tickets you already held anyway and then benefitted from the discretion that is given to allow you to forget your railcard on one occasion every year, and claim back any additional costs/penalty fares you were charged on the train (if the train manager even asked to see the railcard) in full. No need to hide in the train toilet!

It's unfortunate that the ticket office staff member didn't tell you this, as it would appear that their ignorance of the policy has left you £30 out of pocket. Still, I would try and write to the train operator to see if they would consider a refund on this occasion.

I don't think it is appropriate for staff to tell customers to deliberately commit an offence, even if the policy is that no action will be taken in practice.

 

[greyman42]

I don't think it is appropriate for staff to tell customers to deliberately commit an offence, even if the policy is that no action will be taken in practice.

I don't think they would be telling customers to commit an offence, merely offering advice.

 

[simonw]

There was a petition a while ago to keep station ticket offices open, I was delighted to sign it even though I do not use the ticket offices.
Until this week !

I was on a 7 train journey, 4 day trip around Scotland and the dreaded happened, I had left my Senior Railcard at home.
I won't bore you with all the ins and outs, what might have beens etc but a wonderful lady at Dundee ticket office saved me over £100 on my forgotten Railcard situation
So it cost me around £30 more for my journeys but I was legal and had no need to hide in the train toilets
This was a small price to have paid to have learnt my lesson and during the time I was waiting for the kind lady to undertake my admin, I remembered about the signing of the petition.....KARMA.
Best wishes to ticket office staff everywhere.

I assume the cost of £30 means you bought a, new railcard, something you could have done online?

 

[185143]

I assume the cost of £30 means you bought a, new railcard, something you could have done online?

Quite possibly, but what if the OP hadn't thought of doing that?

Or even the ticket office staff worked out wether excessing/refund and replacing the tickets would be cheaper? You certainly can't get an excess online, putting aside thoughts of wether one is appropriate or not in this situation.

I'd forgotten my railcard on c2c a few years ago, went to the ticket office for advice and was told, correctly, I'd be at risk of a Penalty Fare if I chanced it. (Relying on any forgotten railcard policy would have been inappropriate given I was shack scratching.) They asked where I'd bought the ticket, then took it from me and issued a full fare ticket but only charged me the difference in fares.

 

[The exile]

I don't think they would be telling customers to commit an offence, merely offering advice.

Surely the “one off” rule covers the situation of discovering at a ticket inspection that you haven’t got your railcard with you - not being in a situation where you can do something about it and choosing not to.

 

[38Cto15E]

MCR Two and a half years outstanding.
Peter C Many thanks.

Contributors, all I am saying is the ticket office staff helped me a lot more than I could ever have done myself, and the matter is put to bed now rather than trying to work out claiming back some payments.(I asked about excess and on one ticket it was about £134 ish.

To all, I am not going into all the details but one leg I was on a LNER Edinburgh-Dundee First Advance the train manger asked for my Railcard, I mumbled and he said it is £7 extra, which I gladly paid, but he did inform me that it could have been a lot more, and I believe him.
Just one final thing, when on the LNER train I accessed my account on railcard.co.uk and there was a complete history of the past 20 years railcard purchases, even showing my current railcard number and 2026 expiry date for my present card.
When I used to use the card tickets I kept them with my Railcard in the Blue plastic ticket holder, now the first time I go all digital my brain fails to engage. lesson learnt.