Virgin Ticket Office Exchanges

[142blue]

I'm led to believe this is an RDG requirement, basically the only place you can change an advance to another is with the retailer and that eventually all TOCs and retailers will have to abide by it, we are just the first.

However I understand the customer perspective and love to be able to swap and amend travel plans for people but we are not allowed to unless you go advance to walk up.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I'm led to believe this is an RDG requirement, basically the only place you can change an advance to another is with the retailer and that eventually all TOCs and retailers will have to abide by it, we are just the first.

However I understand the customer perspective and love to be able to swap and amend travel plans for people but we are not allowed to unless you go advance to walk up.

If the RDG want to introduce it as a requirement then they should change the conditions of Advance tickets. Advance tickets are totally unregulated, therefore they would be able to do that tomorrow if they wanted (OK, I appreciate they will have certain notice obligations through contracts they have with retailers and TOCs, but it is certainly possible in a short space of time). Clearly they prefer not only to reduce customers' rights needlessly, but also to fail to inform customers of said reduction in rights. And yet these are the buffoons that want customers to trust them to deliver "easier fares for all". Yeah, right.

I simply don't understand why they think this is necessary. Surely they should be making it easier to change tickets, e.g. by mandating that TVMs should have this functionality (as some on the continent do). But no, apparently to the RDG, simplification means reducing customer rights.

 

[Hadders]

I'm led to believe this is an RDG requirement, basically the only place you can change an advance to another is with the retailer and that eventually all TOCs and retailers will have to abide by it, we are just the first.

However I understand the customer perspective and love to be able to swap and amend travel plans for people but we are not allowed to unless you go advance to walk up.

Why the hell would RDG want to make things more difficult for passengers?

This is of course the same RDG that wants to make fares simpler for passengers by removing fares regulation...

 

[Wallsendmag]

Why the hell would RDG want to make things more difficult for passengers?

This is of course the same RDG that wants to make fares simpler for passengers by removing fares regulation...

From what I've heard its to do with passengers having the original ticket and an X/S and getting confused over two sets of tickets.

 

[Hadders]

From what I've heard its to do with passengers having the original ticket and an X/S and getting confused over two sets of tickets.

For heavens sakes! How is having an excess coupon following a change of ticket at all complicated?

 

[47271]

I'd forgotten that I'd said that I'd raise this with Virgin and report back.

After a number of confused email exchanges with a customer service person at The Trainline, my heart sank when I realised that the case went to them, I received no explanation of why they couldn't (but Scotrail could) perform aftersales on their own ticket. I'm not saying that I didn't get an answer because they were deliberately evasive, it seemed more like the person I was dealing with didn't have a clue.

Rereading the email thread, the only relevant statements made online by the assistant were:

We are unable to confirm if the system at the station has been updated or no, however you can always contact our websupport team and they will be able to change the date/time of the ticket.

and

Changes can be made on advance tickets up until the time of departure.

At which point I decided that I couldn't be bothered pursuing an explanation any further, but naturally I was tempted to hit back with 'how can I change up to the time of departure if the ticket office of the station of departure won't or can't do it?' I didn't because I'm sure that I had plenty of more pressing things to think about at the time.

I haven't needed to change a Virgin advance again since so I don't have any further practical updates.

 

[Wallsendmag]

For heavens sakes! How is having an excess coupon following a change of ticket at all complicated?

Obviously in the same way that "." is easier to understand than "Any Permitted".

 

[Hadders]

Obviously in the same way that "." is easier to understand than "Any Permitted".

Of course, silly me!

 

[Skie]

Or "see restrictions: nre.co.uk/##" which gets you a nice 404 no page available on some tickets.

 

[Haywain]

For heavens sakes! How is having an excess coupon following a change of ticket at all complicated?

Unfortunately, years of dealing with the travelling public tells me that, for some, it is very complicated.

 

[gsnedders]

For heavens sakes! How is having an excess coupon following a change of ticket at all complicated?

I mean, I literally understand what's going on there, but why on earth do you often end up with four coupons for one advance following a date change (ticket, original reservation, excess date change, new reservation)? Surely in this day and age we can simply issue a new ticket and reservation from a ticket office, rather than having to have all the bits of paper?!

 

[TUC]

Pretty much - people naturally have different tolerances to learning and carrying out research. Some will consult manuals and official sources for guidance. Others will defer to whoever they consider to be a subject matter expert and will struggle if none are available.

It is a mindset issue. I remember years back trying to buy a National Express ticket and the woman at the counter insisting that Coachcards weren't valid on day returns (which they were at the time).

She had the National Express timetable book open at the ticketing page and I knew where on the page the information was so I said 'it's on that page. Can I show you where?' to which she snapped 'no, you can't, slammed the book shut and went off to get advice from her manager.

 

[Haywain]

I mean, I literally understand what's going on there, but why on earth do you often end up with four coupons for one advance following a date change (ticket, original reservation, excess date change, new reservation)? Surely in this day and age we can simply issue a new ticket and reservation from a ticket office, rather than having to have all the bits of paper?!

That's what is being suggested.

 

[Bletchleyite]

She had the National Express timetable book open at the ticketing page and I knew where on the page the information was so I said 'it's on that page. Can I show you where?' to which she snapped 'no, you can't, slammed the book shut and went off to get advice from her manager.

There is something about National Express "customer service", and long has been, that makes it inferior to even the worst the railway manages to come up with.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That's what is being suggested.

I don't have an issue with the "refund and replace" system, really, indeed a benefit of a switch to single fare pricing is that it means the complexity of excesses could be replaced by this approach. However, what we need to go with it is the idea of being able to trade in a ticket against another ticket at any sales point, as, say, the French do (they even have machines for it).

 

[janb]

I don't have an issue with the "refund and replace" system, really, indeed a benefit of a switch to single fare pricing is that it means the complexity of excesses could be replaced by this approach. However, what we need to go with it is the idea of being able to trade in a ticket against another ticket at any sales point, as, say, the French do (they even have machines for it).

Ideally, tickets would have some sort of barcode that could be scanned in the same fashion as compensation vouchers and then deducted from the cost of the new ticket in that fashion.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ideally, tickets would have some sort of barcode that could be scanned in the same fashion as compensation vouchers and then deducted from the cost of the new ticket in that fashion.

And if an e-ticket would cancel the e-ticket and create a new one.