Great Western Coffee Shop

Something I've seen discussed regularly with no definite answer ever given is whether any payment card can be used to collect tickets if you lose the purchasing card or don't have it with you for any reason.

Here seems to be the confirmation (I've booked through southern, but assume this is relevant to any TOC), I've never seen this paragraph before but it's on my email confirmation I have just received for booking next weeks tickets.

When the ticket seller (e.g. Southern) puts the booking into the system, they can choose whether to allow any card or specific cards.  Any card is often useful in corporate settings where employees do not have the card that was used to make the purchase and there is not time to have the tickets posted.

It appears more TOCs are now (once again) putting tickets into the system allowing any card to be used.

Additionally, I have noticed that some Abellio Greater Anglia do not ask for a card first, instead they ask for the reference number then only prompt for the card if it is required on the booking.  Not seen this with any other TOC yet.

Don't bank on that working for all TOCs. Chiltern require the actual card for retail bookings, but I believe corporate bookings made direct with the Business section do allow any card.

My emphasis.  That's my understanding too - in fact I have had tickets purchased for me (when we were filming for "Four in a Bed") and collected using a different credit card at a different station to that nominated.

Back when I was a civil servant (retired in 2012) and used the train 2 or 3 times a week on business, the corporate travel centre bought our tickets for us and we collected them from a nominated station - in my case usually Westbury, although often Chippenham and sometimes even Pewsey. There was a standing instruction to ignore the machine's request for the card that made the booking and just to stick any valid debit or credit card in there in order to confirm. We were encouraged however to ensure we had a valid card of some description with us. I certainly never had any problems.

I have been told, and it seems to apply in my case, that if you have built up a record of no problems with your account then any card will be valid for collecting tickets - even those not in your name.

What's the point of requiring a card at all if it doesn't have to be the one that was used to purchase the tickets?

To prove who collected the tickets?

If the collecting card number is recorded, I wonder how useful a 16-digit card number would be?  The bank is certainly under no obligation to disclose the name of the cardholder.

Now that sites like The Train Line accept PayPal, I suspect we will be seeing "any card collection" becoming more common.

As AGA have already implemented collection without any card (despite having not yet rolled out the new ticket design in offices or TVMs), I can see other TOCs following suit.

So how do you collect AGA tickets? Purely by inputting the booking ref number?

When you swipe/insert your card, it reads all the data on the mag strip, which includes the name on the card

Just reference number.  Card is requested after this, if required.

Slightly off topic, but it doesn't seem to matter where you collect the tickets from. I certainly have never had a problem at a variety of stations.

My understanding is that you're asked to choose a station simply to ensure you collect from a station which actually has a ticket machine.   If I don't know where I'll be collecting, I choose the stations that's going to be the least trouble if I HAVE to end up going there, rather than the most likely.

You can also collect from Booking offices.  I often collect from Trowbridge when the booking office is open to save going to a station with a machine.  The Trowbridge TVMs will be very welcome although I don't know if they are working yet

I've been refused and told to use the TVM in the past, so maybe only at stations without TVMs?

It definitely depends on the TOCs policy and (more importantly) the person who serves you.