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Title: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on June 15, 2009, 17:18:01 On obtaining new timetables in early May 2009 I noticed in the small print of timetable 29 ( http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/May%2009%20TTs/FGW09M_TT29.pdf ) that railcard discounts would be 50% on this line instead of the usual 1/3 off. Great, I thought. As a regular user of this line (and DSB railcard holder), I was looking forward to the additional savings.
Unfortunately the department for producing the timetables has failed to tell the department responsible for fares. All on-line fares' enquiries still only offer the usual 1/3 off. The ticket office and TVMs at BRI show no change to the existing 1/3 off, neither do the on-train Avantix machines. I assumed therefore this was a mis-print, so I e-mailed FGW on 9th May to highlight this. The response I got is as follows:- (names removed to protect the innocent!) Dear Mr ****** Thank you for your email dated 9 May 2009 with regard to your enquiry into the information provided on the Severn Beach Line timetable pertaining to the 50% discount noted in the timetable details. I have doubled checked the details on your behalf, and I can confirm that the details on the timetable are correct. The problem is that this has not been implemented on our systems, so the correct price is not being reflected in our price enquiries. Our Fares Manager has now been made aware of this and is working to solution the problem as soon as possible. Thank you again for contacting First Great Western and for bringing the problem to our attention. Yours sincerely, ****** ****** Customer Services Advisor. (nice to know that the 'Fares Manager' is '......working to solution the problem.....' !!!!!) Okay I thought, I'll give them a bit of time to sort this one out, but 5 weeks later, there has been no changes made anywhere to the fares. My follow up email has yet to be responded to. (As an aside; has anyone ever recieved a response to an email to FGW Customer Services within the 5 working days they say they hope to respond?) I am keeping all of my tickets and am wondering whether I can claim back what is, in effect overcharging. I suspect though that a discount offered in a timetable is merely an "invitation to treat" and is not binding in law. Anyone out there know any different? Also does anyone know who the 'Fares Manager' is for FGW? nose Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: super tm on June 15, 2009, 18:16:04 Following the timetable change on 17th May 2009 I noticed in the small print of timetable 29 ( http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/May%2009%20TTs/FGW09M_TT29.pdf ) that railcard discounts would be 50% on this line instead of the usual 1/3 off. Great, I thought. As a regular user of this line (and DSB railcard holder), I was looking forward to the additional savings. Unfortunately the department for producing the timetables has failed to tell the department responsible for fares. All on-line fares' enquiries still only offer the usual 1/3 off. The ticket office and TVMs at BRI show no change to the existing 1/3 off, neither do the on-train Avantix machines. I assumed therefore this was a mis-print, so I e-mailed FGW on 18th May to highlight this. The response I got is as follows:- (names removed to protect the innocent!) Dear Mr ****** Thank you for your email dated 9 May 2009 with regard to your enquiry into the information provided on the Severn Beach Line timetable pertaining to the 50% discount noted in the timetable details. I have doubled checked the details on your behalf, and I can confirm that the details on the timetable are correct. The problem is that this has not been implemented on our systems, so the correct price is not being reflected in our price enquiries. Our Fares Manager has now been made aware of this and is working to solution the problem as soon as possible. Thank you again for contacting First Great Western and for bringing the problem to our attention. Yours sincerely, ****** ****** Customer Services Advisor. (nice to know that the 'Fares Manager' is '......working to solution the problem.....' !!!!!) Okay I thought, I'll give them a bit of time to sort this one out, but 5 weeks later, there has been no changes made anywhere to the fares. My follow up email has yet to be responded to. (As an aside; has anyone ever recieved a response to an email to FGW Customer Services within the 5 working days they say they hope to respond?) I am keeping all of my tickets and am wondering whether I can claim back what is, in effect overcharging. I suspect though that a discount offered in a timetable is merely an "invitation to treat" and is not binding in law. Anyone out there know any different? Also does anyone know who the 'Fares Manager' is for FGW? nose I suspect that this is one of those occasions wher someone has had a good idea without bothering to ask someone if it is technically possible.. A railcard discount is programmed into the system as a standard discount for the whole country. ie a Senior Railcard gives a third off. If you chage the discount for one ticket that will change the discount for all the tickets. So it would make it 50% off Bristol to London for example. What you could do it create some special fares for all the journeys involved at 50% off the current price and load them into the system. Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: RailCornwall on June 15, 2009, 18:27:46 The St Ives line dayranger is 1/2 fare with a Devon and Cornwall RC so this example is not unique.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: cereal_basher on June 15, 2009, 20:04:58 The speed of reply seems to depend on the option selected on the enquiry form I find, other seems to be the quickest, I have got next day replies using that.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on June 15, 2009, 20:24:57 I believe I submitted the original email using 'other' as the enquiry type. My follow up mail was submitted direct to fgw.feedback@...etc (ie not through firstgreatwestern.co.uk). It has been received because I got the usual auto response. Full human responses are very hit and miss, but in my experience I've never got one within the 5 working days.....
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: devon_metro on June 15, 2009, 20:47:34 Always been impressed with FGW customer services. XC on the other hand are awful.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on June 15, 2009, 21:03:14 I am generally happy with the responses and remedies I get from FGW CS, just not so happy with the time it takes. When a comment, criticism, complaint or even praise is fresh in my mind, I fire off the email. But my memory ain't great and I've often forgot what I was commenting on by the time the response comes through. So what I intend to do from now on is send comments etc direct from my email account, rather than use the online comment form, so I can save them as an aide memoir!!
The quickest response I ever got was from a letter sent direct to James Burt (is he responsible for the crisps :D). He phoned me personally 2 days after receiving the letter. But we can't keep contacting the organ grinder directly.... Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: John R on June 15, 2009, 21:11:05 Maybe if they got fewer "comments, criticism, complaints or even praise", they would respond quicker.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Btline on June 15, 2009, 21:57:09 And maybe they'd get fewer complaints if they performed better.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: cereal_basher on June 15, 2009, 21:58:42 They hardly perform badly, most things are probably enquiries or complaints about silly things.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on June 15, 2009, 22:19:45 Maybe if they got fewer "comments, criticism, complaints or even praise", they would respond quicker. Well...... maybe. We all could just put up and shut up. After all it's only our hard-earned that is being handed over. Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on June 16, 2009, 19:39:08 I guess I was a little impatient in waiting for a reply to my second email. It arrived today :-[
Dear Mr ****** Thank you for your email of 3 June 2009. I am sorry for the delay in responding to your enquiry but I wanted to give you a definite answer to you complaint. Having contacted our Head Office, I can confirm that the implementation of the 50% discount on the Severn Beach Line is underway and should be fully operational by the end of the month. I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you and can assure you that we are doing everything we can to get this discount applied to tickets as quickly as possible. Thank you once again for contacting First Great Western. Yours sincerely ****** **** Customer Services Advisor Good news, although no answer as to whether I can claim back the overcharging for all the fares I've paid since 17th May. Does anyone out there in coffee shop land think I have a valid claim for refunds? nose Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: cereal_basher on June 16, 2009, 20:52:10 If they are overcharging you at no fault to your own you should have a valid claim for a refund, it is worth contacting them anyway.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Chris from Nailsea on June 16, 2009, 21:31:32 Hmm. As FGW have now acknowledged to you, in two e-mails, that their own fare system is wrong, I'd suggest that you have a strong case for claiming a refund of the difference you have been charged, on each of those tickets. ;)
And if anyone else finds themself in a similar situation, FGW do invite people to submit 'enquiries and comments', on their website, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ContactUs.aspx ;D Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 03, 2009, 19:42:15 I guess I was a little impatient in waiting for a reply to my second email. It arrived today :-[ Dear Mr ****** Thank you for your email of 3 June 2009. I am sorry for the delay in responding to your enquiry but I wanted to give you a definite answer to you complaint. Having contacted our Head Office, I can confirm that the implementation of the 50% discount on the Severn Beach Line is underway and should be fully operational by the end of the month. I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you and can assure you that we are doing everything we can to get this discount applied to tickets as quickly as possible. Thank you once again for contacting First Great Western. Yours sincerely ****** **** Customer Services Advisor Good news, although no answer as to whether I can claim back the overcharging for all the fares I've paid since 17th May. Does anyone out there in coffee shop land think I have a valid claim for refunds? nose Well the end of the month has been and gone and still no changes to the Railcard fares on the Severn Beach Line. Anyone out there in coffeeshop land have any ideas who I should now bring this to the attention of? Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Ollie on July 03, 2009, 21:22:50 I have sent a copy of this topic to our Fares Manager, will let you know the outcome.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 03, 2009, 23:19:47 I have sent a copy of this topic to our Fares Manager, will let you know the outcome. Thanks Ollie, much appreciated. I wait with bated breath! Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: tramway on July 06, 2009, 15:31:34 I have sent a copy of this topic to our Fares Manager, will let you know the outcome. Thanks Ollie, much appreciated. I wait with bated breath! Is that the bated breath Severn Beach residents have waiting for a Sunday public transport. Although I am aware that there is no Sunday rail service we arrived there yesterday afternoon having cycled from Monmouth, just prior the deluge that engulfed the area, only to find that there wasn't even a damn bus. :o :o The splendid Cafe was a source of chocolate that fueled our journey through the glorious cycle paths between there and Filton. Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Lee on July 06, 2009, 15:46:38 The cafe is a particular favourite of mine ;D
Shirleys Cafe, Severn Beach : (http://raildocuments.org.uk/feb08photos/010208sbeach12.jpg) There are buses serving Severn Beach on Sundays, but the service is very limited - http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9F464BD8-0932-4E3A-9162-497C540B4ECC/0/PTE080378.pdf This is the same route that, during the week, misses connecting with the trains at Severn Beach by a matter of minutes... Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Tim on July 06, 2009, 15:47:32 Does anyone out there in coffee shop land think I have a valid claim for refunds? If you have still got your tickets (or reciept, credit card bill or other proof of purchase), you ought to get a refund and I am sure that if you asked they would give you one. Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: tramway on July 06, 2009, 16:16:02 Does anyone out there in coffee shop land think I have a valid claim for refunds? If you have still got your tickets (or reciept, credit card bill or other proof of purchase), you ought to get a refund and I am sure that if you asked they would give you one. We arrived at 3 and sat and watched the tumbleweed while eating Mars Bars. :P Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 06, 2009, 16:25:08 I have sent a copy of this topic to our Fares Manager, will let you know the outcome. Thanks Ollie, much appreciated. I wait with bated breath! Is that the bated breath Severn Beach residents have waiting for a Sunday public transport. Although I am aware that there is no Sunday rail service we arrived there yesterday afternoon having cycled from Monmouth, just prior the deluge that engulfed the area, only to find that there wasn't even a damn bus. :o :o The splendid Cafe was a source of chocolate that fueled our journey through the glorious cycle paths between there and Filton. Not sure you'd've gotten on a bus with bicycles anyway! Unless they were 'Bromptons'. Although I can't imagine anyone cycling from Monmouth to Severn Beach on a folding bike :o I agree that public transport in the Severn Beach area on a Sunday ain't great, however the Severn Beach Line only got a (trial) Sunday service as far as Avonmouth in Dec 08. Funding for this came from Bristol City Council and with Severn Beach itself being in South Gloucestershire, I guess this is why the services weren't extended. Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 06, 2009, 16:30:33 And I heartily concur with the previous post re: Shirley's Cafe. I had a lovely cuppa and a bacon butty when sheltering from the rain in there one afternoon earlier this year.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: tramway on July 06, 2009, 17:01:31 Not sure you'd've gotten on a bus with bicycles anyway! Unless they were 'Bromptons'. Although I can't imagine anyone cycling from Monmouth to Severn Beach on a folding bike :o I agree that public transport in the Severn Beach area on a Sunday ain't great, however the Severn Beach Line only got a (trial) Sunday service as far as Avonmouth in Dec 08. Funding for this came from Bristol City Council and with Severn Beach itself being in South Gloucestershire, I guess this is why the services weren't extended. You'll have to imagine a lot more as we started out from Hereford on Sat afternoon and we camped in Monmouth Sat night. ;D ;D Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: super tm on July 06, 2009, 20:28:20 I stand by my original comment that it is not technically possible to do this. Railcard discounts are set across the whole country and you cannot program the ticket machines to allow a different discount for some tickets than others.
That is probably why it has not happened yet. What you could do is introduce new a new railcard ticket type which would be priced at 50% off the normal ticket price just for those tickets you wanted to reduce. I guess it is a question of wait and see what happens next. Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: RailCornwall on July 06, 2009, 20:40:17 50% works ok in Cornwall on the St Ives line though.
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Ollie on July 06, 2009, 22:07:07 I will quote the relevant part of the e-mail:
"It's in hand but the industry is in the middle of the September fares round, so anything uploaded takes time during these periods. I'll let you know as soon as I receive any more information. The customer will be due a partial refund, as we have not provided the advertised discount." Once further information received I will post here. Hope this kinda helps. Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 06, 2009, 22:37:31 Thanks Ollie. Glad I've kept my tickets. But one wonders how I would've got a partial refund had I not kept tickets. After all they remain the property of TOCs under the terms of issue and should really be surrendered. As is the case when a used ticket is put into a gateline. Good job I always go through the manual gate at BRI!
Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Ollie on July 13, 2009, 17:50:47 A further update for you:
The correct fare with railcard discount is expected to be live by the end of the week. Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 13, 2009, 19:03:44 A further update for you: The correct fare with railcard discount is expected to be live by the end of the week. Yippee. Breath still bated though..... :D Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Ollie on July 14, 2009, 20:52:52 A further update for you: The correct fare with railcard discount is expected to be live by the end of the week. Yippee. Breath still bated though..... :D Feel free to let me know if it actually happens :) Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 17, 2009, 00:10:16 Here's the latest response from FGW:
Dear Mr ****** Thank you for your email of 30 June 2009 regarding the previous response you have received from this office. Firstly please accept my sincere apologies for the length of time it has taken to respond to your further comments, I have been liaising with my colleagues in head office to ascertain more information on this matter. They have confirmed that they are looking into this error and are working on rectifying the issue so the correct discount is offered and this should be updated on our systems by the start of next week. Please accept my apologies for the frustration this error has caused and I trust you will benefit from the correct discount in the future. Thank you once again for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention. Yours sincerely ****** ***** Customer Services Team Manager A reply from a manager no less. I'm honoured. Beginning to turn blue with the bated breath though :D. Still no mention of my enquiry re: refunding the difference between what I've paid since May 17th and the ammended fares. FGW seem to be ignoring that part of my enquiry... Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 20, 2009, 02:59:44 POWER TO THE PEOPLE! I have just checked a few online fares enquiries (NRES, FGW, NXEC, thetrainline.com) and, praise be! The 50% Railcard discount is now being applied to fares wholly on the Severn Beach Line. An anytime day return fare (SDR) to SVB from BRI now costs just ^1.50 for Railcard holders. 27 miles for ^1.50. Bargain ;D
Thanks to Ollie for chasing this up and shame on super tm for doubting it was technically possible. ;) Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: Ollie on July 20, 2009, 15:35:27 Glad it's worked out.
Do chase up the refund, if any issues give me a shout, as I have the e-mail from my colleague saying you are entitled to the difference back. (luckily you kept the tickets) Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 20, 2009, 19:32:26 Avantix onboard this morning, updated. Yippee, my SDR is now 50p cheaper. To quote a certain supermarket - 'Every Little Helps' ;)
Of course, things can never be 100% perfect. On checking at BRI this morning, the FastTicket machines had not been updated! FujitsuSTAR had been at the ticket windows though. So the unwary (or unknowing) could still be overcharged. Ticket office staff seemed totally unconcerned when I pointed out the anomaly. Duty Station Manager simply referred me back to Customer Services suggesting I fill out a comment form. (Fair enough in this instance, me and this particular DSM have 'history'). But surely he could've got something sorted a darn sight quicker than me e-mailing CS yet again. I don't like moaning all the time; honest :D Title: Re: 50% Railcard discount for the Severn Beach Line? Post by: JayMac on July 25, 2009, 09:02:00 All sorted. FastTicket has now been corrected and a goodwill gesture is winging it's way towards me to cover the overcharging of the last two months.
Dear Mr ****** Thank you for your email of 20 July 2009 to ****** *****. She has asked me to reply on her behalf. I am pleased to see that the correct discount is being applied on the train and at the Station, but concerned to see that the Ticket Vending Machine is not correct. I have reported this and will let you know the response I receive. I agree a goodwill gesture is warranted and I will not therefore insist on the tickets being sent in. I have today arranged for a rail travel voucher for ^16.00 to be sent to you to cover the extra costs and this will be with you shortly. Yours sincerely **** ***** Customer Services This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |