Was I given the wrong ticket?

[atomicdanny]

Before I travelled I looked for the Price of Aylesham - London Blackfrairs and the price was either (both Off Peak) (price given via South Eastern Website and Avantix Traveller)

25.50 Not HS1
29.90 HS1

When I went to the station I asked for a return to "London Blackfriars via HS1" but was given a "London Terminals" but didn't notice this until I had my ticket checked. I was then told that it wasn't vaild between St Pancras and Blackfriars and was told I had to buy another ticket (this part was at the barrier at St Pancras - despite the above saying the opposite)!

and then I was sold the full price between St Pancras and Blackfriars (3.90 - Anytime fare I assume that there isn't a cheap day fare for that route?

I'm guessing that it could be a simple mistake either by myself or the ticket office? The only reason why I'm asking really was since it was the same price as the ticket shown on the website / advantix traveller! (the Aylesham - London Blackfrairs and Aylesham - London Terminals both Via HS1)

(I would scan the tickets in but I don't really want to get that person into trouble since no one was rude during the day, infact the opposite!

* I travelled via HS1 because there was a signalling problem between Blackfriars and St Albans and a few trains were cancelled. I had an interview so i didn't want to risk it

 

[First class]

You're not reading Avantix correctly.

If you select that fare is says "London Terminals".

To : 1072 LONDON TERMINALS

I believe that you would have to buy a ticket to Zone U1...

£3.90 is the cheapest return ticket available between STP and BFR , (Anytime).

 

[atomicdanny]

Fair enough If I made a mistake there then fair enough but why would south eastern's website advertise that fair for that price though? with train times to blackfriars (via st pancras!)

edit - My mistake I apologise for that it seems that you were correct, and with the southeastern part but disapointed that I wasn't told this at the ticket office though

edit 2 - Although if I did go the other way (non HS1) I wouldn't have needed a U1 ticket since I believe it would have been counted as London Terminals (one change at Bromley South then to Blackfriars!)

 

[yorkie]

You would have been better off with a ticket to somewhere like Clapham Jn.

Once it was issued, and I was then told about the problem, I would have asked to over distance excess it to somewhere like Clapham Jn, for 70p, although some staff are not competent enough to deal with excess fares.

Unfortunately the ticket office is not obliged to recommend that you buy beyond your destination when it is cheaper to do so.

I would say you were mis-sold the ticket as you asked explicitly for Blackfriars via HS1. If you had said London you'd maybe not have a case. Photocopy the tickets and then send them to SET, tell them that had you realised you could have just got a ticket to Blackfriars for £25.50. Ask for the difference back. If they refuse, refer it to Passenger Focus. If there are other people being mis-sold tickets in this way it may be worth contacting Watchdog if there is no luck through the normal channels.

I believe the system is designed to penalise the customer and catch people out. Asking for advice on this forum is the only way to be sure that you won't be caught out and defrauded by the TOCs.

 

[atomicdanny]

thanks, I'll try that and see what they say! although really there isn't that much point since its not really that much of a difference! I was only really checking if to see if I made a mistake but I'll try that to see what south eastern say

 

[yorkie]

thanks, I'll try that and see what they say! although really there isn't that much point since its not really that much of a difference! I was only really checking if to see if I made a mistake but I'll try that to see what south eastern say

Well, there is, you should have been told that such a ticket was not available and you would have got a £25.50 ticket to Blackfriars (London Terminals) rather than pay £29.90 + £3.90 = £33.80 so you had to pay £8.30 more due to being mis-sold the ticket. I'd stress the point that you specifically asked for Blackfriars. They should have said no, sorry, that isn't available, and that you will need to pay extra twice to get to Blackfriars via HS1!

You can't complain that you were not sold a ticket to somewhere like Clapham obviously but that isn't the issue in terms of what the staff did wrong. However it is the solution for next time!

 

[Jordy]

Don't change the title of the topic please, "Was I given the wrong ticket?" gives us more idea of what it is about than "Nevermind" - even if it has been sorted!

 

[atomicdanny]

I apologise for that, I only changed it because i thought that I made a mistake that's all (so changed it so that people would ignore it as irrelevant!)

 

[yorkie]

I apologise for that, I only changed it because i thought that I made a mistake that's all (so changed it so that people would ignore it as irrelevant!)

At the end of the day you asked for a ticket that didn't exist because you thought it did. You should have been told that it didn't exist. This is not your fault and I think that you have a valid claim for being mis-sold a ticket. Many people who have also been mis-sold tickets may wish to read this thread to find out about the issues, so for them it could be very relevant

 

[barrykas]

My 2p's worth:

If I'd been asked for the ticket in question, I'd have checked fares from Aylesham to Zone U1, possibly U1256, and a One Day Travelcard, and just sold the cheapest option, given that a ticket to London Terminals isn't valid to Blackfriars from the North.

In this case, there's no CDR from Aylesham to Zone U1, and the Off-Peak (formerly Saver) is £40.60. The Off-Peak Day Travelcard, meanwhile, is £33.40, a £3.50 premium on top of the London Terminals fare.

Clapham Junction wouldn't enter my head as there's no direct route from Blackfriars. Having said that, there IS a fare from Aylesham to Elephant & Castle that appears to be valid via HS1 and priced at £30.60 for a CDR, but again that wouldn't immediately come to the top of my head.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[atomicdanny]

or just a guess though I'm sure that the Aylesham - Blackfriars (Non Hs1) would have been an option though since 25.50 I'm sure would have been valid (since coming from the south with one change at Bromley South). Only saying this now since that was probably the best fare. Although shame that Southeastern take so long to reply (then again the last time I asked them a question, it took 10 days and was given bad advice!)

 

[googolplex]

Slightly off topic, but what would the odds be of getting an easement added to the NRG allowing those for whom Blackfriars would count as a London Terminal when not travelling via HS1 are allowed to use the Thameslink route between St Pancras and Blackfriars when travelling by HS1?
Presumably it would be in SouthEastern's interest if they wish people to use HS1 more, as with the present situation people might be put off by having to pay a premium to use HS1 and then extra to get to Blackfriars. Especially if people are unaware of their options.

 

[barrykas]

Slightly off topic, but what would the odds be of getting an easement added to the NRG allowing those for whom Blackfriars would count as a London Terminal when not travelling via HS1 are allowed to use the Thameslink route between St Pancras and Blackfriars when travelling by HS1?

At a guess, somewhere between slim and nil, as such an easement would require the agreement of FCC and LUL, given the position regarding journeys via Farringdon needing LU Zone 1 validity.

Cheers,

Barry