Train Ticket Mayhem

mrochester · 5 May 2007 at 11:34

My partner booked train tickets from Newcastle to Morecambe, and booked them as such to avoid a 2.5 hour coach journey between Carlisle and Lancaster. Upon getting to the station this morning to collect his tickets, he was refused them on the grounds that it was an invalid journey. He subsequently missed his train. To get to Morecambe, he has now had to pay an additional £25 to take another route. I think this is absolutely outrageous. The route he booked on the (I think it was Virgin) website was perfectly fine and flagged up no issues. They have basically sold him a service which is not available, and then refused his tickets when he got to the station. I will be strongly advising him to write a letter of complaint asking for the additional money back. I have never heard anything as ridiculous as an 'invalid journey'. It just goes to show what a mess the UK rail network is in.

touch · 5 May 2007 at 11:37

So theres a mistake on their website.....
Sure give him his £25 back, but it hardly "goes to show what a mess the UK rail network is in".

Would you prefer if they gave him the tickets and let him try and get on a train that doesnt exist?

mrochester · 5 May 2007 at 11:40

touch said:
So theres a mistake on their website.....
Sure give him his £25 back, but it hardly "goes to show what a mess the UK rail network is in".

Would you prefer if they gave him the tickets and let him try and get on a train that doesnt exist?

No, all the trains do exist. It's just they won't let him on them unless he pays more money.

[TW]Fox · 5 May 2007 at 11:40

Thanks for the rant - now can we have the facts so we can work out exactly what happened?

What ticket was he sold? How did they know when he collected it that it was an 'invalid journey' as presumably they would be unaware what route he was planning to take given they were simply in the ticket office at the originating station?

mrochester · 5 May 2007 at 11:45

[TW]Fox said:
Thanks for the rant - now can we have the facts so we can work out exactly what happened?

What ticket was he sold? How did they know when he collected it that it was an 'invalid journey' as presumably they would be unaware what route he was planning to take given they were simply in the ticket office at the originating station?

OK. He bought the tickets on the Virgin Trains website. The total ticket price was £25.30. The email receipt from the Virgin website quite clearly lists the journey he is taking.

Departs Newcastle at 10:40 travel by train service provider Virgin Trains to station York arrives 11:41 departs York at 11:58 travel by train service provider Transpennine Express to station Manchester Piccadilly arrives 13:22 departs Manchester Piccadilly at 13:35 travel by train service provider Transpenning Express to station Preston arrives 14:29. Missing off the end of that is the short bus journey from Preston to Lancaster.

This was the journey they have refused to give him his tickets for.

[TW]Fox · 5 May 2007 at 12:00

Provided it's a Route Any Permitted ticket then via Manchester Piccadily is a valid and legal route. If it's a route Carlise ticket, then it's not.

Route Carlisle tickets are cheaper as the route is shorter.

mrochester · 5 May 2007 at 12:03

[TW]Fox said:
Provided it's a Route Any Permitted ticket then via Manchester Piccadily is a valid and legal route. If it's a route Carlise ticket, then it's not.

Route Carlisle tickets are cheaper as the route is shorter.

Ticket Type - Saver Return
Route - This ticket allows travel on any permitted route.

[TW]Fox · 5 May 2007 at 12:07

Right, don't understand why they wouldn't let him have it then. It's a valid route as far as I can see, as he has an Any Permitted ticket and Manchester Piccadilly is a valid Routing Point for that journey.

What have they additionally sold him? Whats it say on it?

mrochester · 5 May 2007 at 12:12

[TW]Fox said:
Right, don't understand why they wouldn't let him have it then. It's a valid route as far as I can see, as he has an Any Permitted ticket and Manchester Piccadilly is a valid Routing Point for that journey.

What have they additionally sold him? Whats it say on it?

I haven't got all the details because I haven't really had the chance to speak to him properly. Basically the additional ticket he has been sold (another £25, doubling the cost) is from Newastle --- Leeds with Virgin Trains and then Leeds --- Manchester Picadilly, don't know the train operator.

He spoke to the manager at Newcastle and was told that travelling through major hubs like Leeds and Manchester cost more money. Something along those lines anyway.

[TW]Fox · 5 May 2007 at 12:14

mrochester said:
He spoke to the manager at Newcastle and was told that travelling through major hubs like Leeds and Manchester cost more money. Something along those lines anyway.

This is true - it does cost more money. The most expensive type of ticket is a Route Any Permitted ticket, these cost more than more restrictive tickets.

I'd understand this entire issue had he been sold a Route Carlisle ticket, but he hasn't..