ToD ticket printed with just the word VOID

[strowger]

Evening all,

Anyone like to speculate as to what the attached image is all about?

It's a ticket blank printed with "VOID VOID VOID VOID" across the middle, no other text.

Came from one of the ex-GNER East Coast vending machines at Leeds, as part of a series of ToD prints. All the expected tickets and receipts were produced alongside it as expected.

Cheers

 

[yorkie]

I don't know why they're produced, but they're not uncommon.

 

[Mojo]

Yeah it happens very frequently on certain types of TVMs; I think it's just a way of clearing a blockage or other error on the printer.

 

[yorkie]

Did the machines at Leeds lock the tray until all tickets were available collection?

 

[strowger]

Did the machines at Leeds lock the tray until all tickets were available collection?

I'm not aware that any of them lock the tray. I know there's a message on the screen about it being locked, but every time I've tried (and I use ToD several times a week on those machines) the tray is unlocked throughout.

The print in question is the first time I've had a "VOID" ticket - never seen one before.

 

[andrewkeith5]

From what I understand, there are quite a few reasons why a VOID ticket might be printed - I suspect the most common would be a problem encoding the magnetic strip, which can be just down to a very minor fault - especially when it has to be done at the speed at which TVMs are required to work.

The most interesting machine fault I ever had was from a Chiltern Railways machine at High Wycombe - there appeared to be some errant glue in the ticket stack, which resulted in me being issued with one ticket on three different pieces of ticket stock - on the top, a ticket with the printed details, in the middle a completely blank and useless ticket, and in the middle one with nothing printed, but the magnetic strip encoded. It did feel a bit special putting a 'blank' ticket through the ticket machine and being let through, and I got a rather strange look from the overlooking gate staff!

 

[PermitToTravel]

They're giving you a handy free way of getting past the manual gatelines at Birmingham New Street or Manchester Piccadilly

 

[Deerfold]

Did the machines at Leeds lock the tray until all tickets were available collection?

I bought a ticket at Leeds just over a week ago. I got a free VOID ticket and the tray locked until all the tickets were available - I was worried that it had got stuck until it released and I realised what had happened.

 

[Centr8l]

The Worldline Shere machines have an Escrow. This holds the tickets inside the machine until they are all printed.

 

[strowger]

Thank you, all.

 

[TheEdge]

I don't know why they're produced, but they're not uncommon.

Pure and simple, they're produced normally by some sort of minor print error, on Avantix machines it things like the printer going to sleep or the roller not positioning it right or failing to pull tickets through properly.

The VOID is simply so Avantix and TVMs are not dropping blank ticket stock out to the public, obviously that sort of thing would be very nice for forgers.

 

[dvboy]

I often find I get one if I have multiple bookings and an odd number of vouchers, for example an advance with two seat reservations on the outward and one on the return.