GroupSave questions (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[thetrout]

If the ticket office was using Star as you say... Ask for a business receipt.

Daft as it sounds if it's a friends outing etc. But it will print the seat reservations on the receipt, which means you don't need to take the reservation tickets with you

[devonian]

Ok, so I've got to get my football team from Exeter to London. The cheapest way I have found is groupsave on super-off peaks which is fine and actually works out at a great price!

However, obviously we need to travel in groups of 4. However, I have doubts about the organisation of some of our members and was wondering what happens if 3 travel on Groupsave4? I'm not bothered about what happens to the one that missed the train - that's their problem but it is the knock-on effect that concerns me. Will the grpsave4 be invalid for the other 3 travelling?

I suppose the safest option is to buy on the day when I know how many people are there but I like to be organised so if I can safely buy in advance, I will.

[devon_metro]

Say they are in the toilet!!!

[Chris from Nailsea]

My understanding is that a Groupsave4 ticket covers up to four individuals travelling together: if one of them doesn't actually turn up, the other three are still covered by that ticket.

What would be a problem is if a Groupsave ticket is purchased for three people, but then four try to travel on it!  

[RailCornwall]

If you are going to a football match, take a big teddy as a mascot. He'll need a seat of course and if the Conductor has any sense of humour he'll laugh it off.

[inspector_blakey]

GroupSave 3 and 4 tickets are issued differently: they have status GPS-3 or GPS-4 printed on them as appropriate. The strict interpretation of the rules therefore is that if you have a GroupSave 4 ticket but only 3 people travelling then it's invalid. How rigorously conductors are likely to enforce that though I'm not sure.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for that, inspector_blakey!

However, I'm rather surprised at that interpretation of the rules.  For example, I bought a GroupSave 3 ticket, a while ago:



Now, if only two of the people for whom that ticket had been bought were actually travelling, and a Guard turned up to do a ticket check - surely all I would have to do would be to invite 'anyone else travelling to the same station as us?' to play the role of our missing third party?

It all seems rather bizarre to me, if that's really how the rules apply. 

[vacman]

you would be suprised just how strict most staff are with groupsave, as when bought from a ticket office they are issued on seperate tickets, therefore it is abused quite a lot!

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for your comments, vacman! 

That particular ticket was bought on board the train - and the guard did ask whether we would all be travelling together, both ways, before printing one ticket for the out, and one ticket for the return, journey.

By the way: in our case, we were two adults and one child travelling - but the guard explained, and sold us, that cheaper GroupSave3 ticket.

On that basis, I'm rather impressed with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) staff and their pragmatic approach to GroupSave tickets ... 

[devonian]

Thanks everyone. I like the teddy idea! Better get shopping...

[richard bickford]

Vacman. I understand about the probable abuse of separate tickets and agree.

What about if the "spare' ticket was still in the possesion of the remaining group? That would mean that if there was another person they would have to buy another ticket.

[grahame]

a) If I have a GroupSave four but one of my party fails to turn up, and we travel as a three-some or do I need to get my ticket changed?

b) If I'm travelling on a GroupSave 4 from Westbury to Swindon, but one of the party now wants to join at Trowbridge, is this allowed? If the three of us get off the train at Trowbridge and straight back on with her, she'll be part of the group all the time.

[eightf48544]

In a sensible world yes, but where the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) wants to squeeze every last penny out of its passengers then probably not.

i suppose you could buy a group save 3 from Westbury to Trowbridge and Groupsave 4 from Trowbridge to Swindon. But you shouldn't really have to.

It's like all the problems with joining short at B or leaving early at C on a ticket from A to D it's really no skin off the TOCs nose  It will cost them marginally less in fuel and it will free up a seat for part of the journey. It's just the fare structure is so stupid that the shorter journey is more expensive than the longer.

[JayMac]

With GroupSave your party must travel together at all times from/to the stations on your tickets. The whole party can of course travel short or break their journey unless BoJ^▸ (Break of Journey) is not permitted by the tickets' restrictions. Your party must also be composed of the number of people for which the discounted tickets were purchased. Failure to comply with these GroupSave terms and conditions leaves you liable to having to pay the full Anytime fares for the journey being made, or even a Penalty Fare should you be in a PF^▸ (Penalty Fare) area.

That would be the official line and this is what I was told in correspondence with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) a while back. However in regard to 3 people travelling instead of 4 when a GroupSave 4 has been purchased I can tell of my own experience of this.

I was unable to get the tickets changed or zero excessed without incurring a ^10 admin fee (a journey with two split points so would've had to pay ^30) but I took a chance and approached the Conductor/TM^‡(resolve) prior to boarding each train to explain one of our party had dropped out at the last minute. All staff were happy to let us travel, with just one TM saying that if I hadn't approached him first he may've charged us for new tickets.

YMMV^▸ (Your Method/Mileage May Vary).

[Chris from Nailsea]

See also a previous topic, where this was discussed: (topics now merged)