Great Western Coffee Shop

No wonder the country is on edge when you get jobsworths who think they're the arbiter of powers cos they wear a uniform.

Having lost my belongings over the weekend, the last straw is eejits refusing to issue me with my ticket despite having the necessary paperwork. So on top of having my wallet and its contents go missing I have to pay extra money to make my journey I've already paid for.

Cheers, thanks and big love to obdurate pricks who have a vastly inflated sense of their own self worth, your actions in your refusal to help customers will prove counter-productive to your and your industry's long-term career prospects. Of course you're far too thick to realise this.

And they wonder why folks fare dodge?

Hmm. That's obviously a matter of some personal grievance to you, Glovidge - and I do have some sympathy with your views.

You can raise the matter officially with First Great Western (assuming that it is they who are the culprits) at http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=111

Hope this helps.

Chris.  :-\

Lost and stolen tickets do not get replaced, as per national conditions of carriage.

Tickets have cash value.

Try loosing a ^20 note and asking the bank to replace it!!!!!!

Are we talking about lost tickets or in the inablity to claim booked tickets from a machine because the original credit/debit card is no longer available?

By the letter of the rules that is absolutely correct. However the OP appears to be saying he was yet to collect his ticket(s). (Glovidge - please correct that assumption if I'm wrong. If you'd lost your tickets along with everything else than it would only be goodwill that would see you issued with replacements).

It is possible for a booking office clerk to check with the retailer that the tickets have yet to be issued. A tortuous process, not made easy by the fragmented nature of the UK rail industry, but it is possible. Said retailer should then be able to cancel the original tickets and give authorisation for new ones to be issued. Ticket retailers often do this when tickets fail to turn up in the post. The same should be possible for a passenger who has lost the card he used to pay for the tickets, but is still able to produce the e-mail confirmation of his purchase - which, reading between the lines, is what Glovidge is miffed about not being able to do.

Card was lost over weekend, had printed confirmation of booked journeys which I presented at the counter. Adamant that they could not present me with tickets despite this evidence. Had no other ID, didn't really have time to make enquiries with GHETTO so paid the difference. I'm sure if I was a pensioner allowances would have been made. Actually I think them ticket clerks were Arriva not Fgw but when you're being delayed by officious oafs, one uniform tends to look like another!

As you've now purchased new tickets for your journey, I'd suggest writing to the original retailer, stating what happened and asking nicely if they'd consider refunding the original (uncollected) ticket(s). They don't have to do this, but a polite request often works in cases such as yours. Perhaps it's even worth suggesting they refund you in Rail Travel Vouchers. It's unlikely that you'll be refunded the cost of the replacement ticket(s) as they are now used.

I appreciate you've had a difficult time trying to sort the matter at a station booking office and you've been left feeling aggrieved (as would I be in a the same situation), but from what you've told us the original retailer is not yet aware of what transpired.

Do let us know what reply you get from the original retailer. And please note that this advice is only my personal opinion. It's possible that the original retailer will also fall back on NRCoC. One hopes though, that seeing the original tickets were not collected, they'll be understanding of your situation.

i can understand your anger .... its happened to me, however i would like to throw something into the mix.... someone walks down the street and finds a piece of paper with details of train tickets so decided to see they can obtain the tickets listed.... if the tickets were produced and handed over to someone with no id how bad would that look and even better if the person who purchased the tickets walked in ten mins later with id and payment card and was refused tickets because they had already been issued? i have to be honest im not sure what happens in this situation but if you tell us the station we will be able to tell you the train company involved

I disagree - I think he should write a really snotty letter, in much the same vein as the first post, taking special care to underline words like 'officious' and 'jobsworth'. He should also use green ink, to ensure it stands out from all the other complaints.

Then, in about a week's time, he can tell us exactly where that got him. (http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/evilgrin.gif) (http://www.millan.net)

I should like to think that "got him" the same polite, professional service that any other investor in the company (a.k.a. customer) has a right to expect, TJ  :)

I will contact all relevant parties today. I attempted to get tickets at 2 different ticket offices but to no avail. Both were Arriva trains outlets. I have previously lost cards having booked advance train tickets and explained the situation and as the ticket offices were manned by fgw staff they could check my address etc.

As for stating officious jobsworths the first person who I had the misfortune to deal with point blank's refusal to help the customer in any way is why I was so angry. "Computer says no"

 at least the second rep said I needed to contact fgw before she could do anything. All the moustache could emit was I can't do anything without the card.. ad nauseum. No assistance, little regard to customer service. Which makes a mockery of the term Customer Service Assistant

Sounds like a problem to be addressed to ATW?.....

If you bought them from the FGW website then they would be my fitrst port of call. THere would be nothing ATW could do, as they wouldn't be able to see your purchase on their systems.

Forgot to add how could your average customer realise that to claim a possible refund you have to contact various parties? Just another example of the complete mess the rail industry is perceived to be in by the general public

Also in a day and age of smartphones and apps etc is it not beyond the realms of technology to issue paperless tickets saving the inordinate amount of hassle of ticket collection for those of us who would use such a facility.

the latter is coming - slowly.

But whose fault is it if you lose your phone or your battery goes flat???

I had thought of that as I was typing and my phone ran out of battery! I assume you,could use your cashcard as identification purposes......

Doubt it - whos to say you haven't 'lent' your phone/ticket to someone else? If there's no power in the phone, you can't prove its number, can you?

No' it would have to be your responsibility to ensure its readable at all times while travelling.

I think (and think is the operative word) if you contact whoever you bought the tickets from, they can arrange for them to be collected without a card.

they can change it so that a different card can be used

What happens if you are asked for the card you bought the tickets with and you purchased them with Tesco Vouchers via Red Spotted Hanky?  As an aside, you are still required to insert a credit/debit card when collecting but you can put any card in and it will work. It makes a bit of a mockery of the "rules"

Any card will work in a TVM.  The ticket office won't ask for a card (as there won't be any details on the booking).

This was fixed several years ago.  The correct card is now required,

using the tvm or machine in booking hall you do need the card you booked with, .... unless you have contacted the website from which you purchased the tickets and request that they let you use another card..... also remember that it takes two hours for the booking to reach the system.... so dont book online and turn up at the station 15 mins later 2 mins before the train is due to leave.......... ::)

Two hours before collection applies to transactions carried out on booking engines that use thetrainline's back end. You'll find that purchases made through WebTIS based booking engines (East Coaast, Chiltern, London Midland, Southern, redspottedhanky.com) are available almost immediately.

2 hourson Chiltern& Virgin mobile app

Brucey. You say that the system has been fixed and the correct card has to be put in the machine. Via tesco points you don't buy with a card

With redspottedhanky's Tesco Clubcard offer you still have to input card details. Your card is just not charged if the Clubcard vouchers fully cover your transaction.

No card details required for tickets bought entirely with vouchers on RSH.

When you buy with Tesco points, RSH don't put a card number into the system.  This means that any card will work the TVM.  At the ticket office, they won't ask for a card.  This is also the case for some travel agents who issue tickets to businesses.  In all other cases (when the tickets were originally paid by card online), the correct card is now required.

Without wanting to labour the point, can't anyone who is asked to show the card used to buy their ticket say it was bought with tesco vouchers; I don't think there is anyway to tell from the ticket and therefore makes the requirement very difficult to apply

The National Rail system stores the card number used to buy the tickets, if paid by card.  If bought with Tesco vouchers, the card number will not be present and therefore any card can be used.

If you say it was bought with Tesco vouchers, the clerk won't believe you as a card number will be present on the system.

Thank you for clearing up that point Brucey. Information I gleaned from another forum and indeed from RSH themselves would appear to be incorrect....

Now.... can I stick my two year old, out of date NatWest debit card in a TVM to release my AP tickets purchased via RSH with Clubcard points?   :P

There's only one way to find out  ;D

I tried my Clubcard then my Nectar card.  Neither released the tickets!

I'm compelled to admit that I have some experience in this kind of experimentation!

My employer orders my tickets for me, which I can then collect at the station on the day of travel. Although I don't actually pay for the tickets, the machines nevertheless demand that I swipe a card before entering the authorisation code (I seem to remember reading on here a long time ago that the equipment is based on ATM technology and it was cheaper to buy machines designed to require a card to be swiped under all circumstances than redesign them for travel purposes).

Down the years I've tried every card in my wallet, and even one from the dashboard of my car in deseperation one  when I forgot my wallet altogether that day (luckily the chap manning the counter at the station recognised me and used my paper authority to dispense the tickets despite me not having any form of ID on me apart from my work pass).

I can confirm that only valid debit or credit cards work. Interestingly, maxed out cards do work (even though they're useless for all other purposes), and cards which have had the access to cash via ATMs bit removed also still work. American Express cards work (although not all shops accept them - B&Q don't for example, as I found out to my acute embarrassment recently)

My understanding is that any debit or credit card should work, if used in conjunction with a valid booking reference number.

It doesn't have to be the actual card which was used to purchase the ticket - that has already been debited for the cost, after all! However, it does have to be an identifiable bank card, which is then registered against the details entered by the person collecting the ticket(s).

This is required, purely to provide an audit trail - just in case someone claims that their pre-paid ticket(s) have been purloined by some person or persons unknown, using a Clubcard!  ::)

Collected tickets bought solely with a RSH voucher today. Tried my old NatWest debit card from a closed account. Worked fine!

QED  ;)