Self Service Ticket Machines

[whole diary]

[jimbo]

Two weeks ago I used one of the self-service machines at Bristol Parkway to pick up pre-paid tickets to Leicester.  I was fairly sure that I had collected all of the tickets and seat reservations before moving away from the machine, but when I went to go through the ticket barriers I found that my outward ticket was missing.  I returned to the ticket office and explained the situation and showed them my booking confirmation.  They checked and said that the machine had issued the ticket (how do they know this for sure?) and that the person behind must of have picked up my ticket.  I asked if, given that I had the booking confirmation with me, they could issue a replacement ticket but they refused and said that I would have to book another single ticket for ^51.  As my train was leaving in 5 mins. and I had to be in Leicester to give a lecture I felt that I had to stump up the ^51. I did write to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to complain and ask for a refund but received a bland letter in return with no offer of a refund.

Today, I bought a return ticket to Bath from one of the self service ticket machines at Bristol Temple Meads.  When I collected my tickets and receipt there was also a single ticket from Birmingham back to Bristol which the unfortunate person in front of me must of not picked up so I handed this in at the ticket office in the hope that the person whose ticket it was might call back and collect it once they had realised it was missing.

Hence the problem I previously encountered with the self service ticket machine was obviously more common that might be expected. On the extra ticket I picked up today, it was noticeable that the printing on the ticket was slightly smudged so perhaps the ticket machine was having a problem printing out the ticket and this is what caused the delay in delivering the ticket. 

I would therefore caution anyone using these machines to check very carefully that all of the tickets have been issued before moving away from the machine.  In the instance of a missed ticket, I would be very interested to hear the reasons why FGW refuse to issue a replacement ticket even on presentation on proof of purchase and how reliable is their system for determining when a ticket has actually been issued form one of these machines.

[Ollie]

They get a transaction report which would show if the print has failed at any point.

The outward bit would have been first bit to print so it's unlikely it came out after you left the machine. Only possible thing can think of is if it got stuck against the side of the bit where the tickets drop into?

You are right though it is important to always ensure you have ALL tickets.

The only people that can consider refund in this case is whatever website sold you the ticket.

But I think it's unlikely a refund would be offered.

[inspector_blakey]

Welcome along jimbo.

I don't want to sound too negative or patronizing here, but there is a big flashing message on the screen of most ticket vending machines telling you to make sure you have collected all of your tickets and receipt for a good reason. You're unlikely to get any money back from the train company because the harsh reality is that the mistake was yours.

Sorry.

[jimbo]

inspector_blakey, I agreed with almost all you say, but I did make sure that the screen had gone back to the initial menu (i.e. the one from which you start) before I attempted to collect my tickets. As my experience this morning also shows this is a relatively common problem. 

I am also slightly surprised that in this day of electronic ticketing a physical ticket is still required (for example if you fly with Easyjet you can print out your boarding card and use this to access your flight).

[Phil]

Firstly, I ordered some advance tickets from The Trainline a while back, and when they arrived two of them were very badly misprinted and obviously completely unuseable. So it does happen from time to time. I phoned them and asked for replacements and I have to say, they were extremely helpful and friendly. They offered to fax through permission to print new tickets to Westbury station (where I was due to depart from), but they couldn't find a fax number for Westbury - I did explain it was quite rural there and that they probably still think semaphore is a bit modern for them - so, as I was making another journey altogether the next day from Chippenham, they faxed through the authority there and I picked them up there instead. All very seamless and well organised, I have to say.

Secondly, and not strictly relevant I know, but I was also pleased with the outcome of my fight with a non-FGW^▸ (First Great Western) self-service ticket machine and wanted to share that while I'm here.

On a busy Saturday a couple of weeks ago I parked in Charlotte Street car park in Bath, which has self-service machines which you feed with cash or a credit/debit card on exit. The machine swallowed the fiver I offered it initially but didn't register the transaction. Wouldn't give me a refund either. So, as there was a queue building up and I was in a hurry to leave, I swiped my credit card, paid up and left.

I fretted about it all the way home and when I got in, I wrote to the address on the back of the ticket stub politelely explaining what had happened and then quite frankly forgot all about it - I didn't realistically ever expect to see my fiver again, and just wrote the day off as one very expensive parking session (ten quid in all).

Imagine my surprise then when a couple of days ago I got a cheque for a fiver in the post! Result!

[Btline]

I ordered some...tickets from The Trainline...

I know this is irrelevant and off topic, but why? Do you know that they charge a booking fee and for using certain cards?

[Phil]

I ordered some...tickets from The Trainline...

I know this is irrelevant and off topic, but why? Do you know that they charge a booking fee and for using certain cards?

Yeah, actually on reflection it wasn't from them, it was from National Express East Coast, just before they changed. I always buy personal tickets from them. My employer uses a front-end which feeds through to the Trainline.com and my normal, work-related tickets normally come through them - hence the confusion. I didn't think it was worth going back and editing my post, but obviously it was! Good point, well made.

[vacman]

The reason that the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) won't issue a new ticket to you when showing confirmation etc is that if the  origional ticket HAD printed then whats to say that you didn't give that ticket to someone else then claim one for yourself? I'm not saying that you did this but some people would pull a stunt like that hence why another ticket wouldn't be issued.

[Mookiemoo]

The reason that the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) won't issue a new ticket to you when showing confirmation etc is that if the  origional ticket HAD printed then whats to say that you didn't give that ticket to someone else then claim one for yourself? I'm not saying that you did this but some people would pull a stunt like that hence why another ticket wouldn't be issued.

Again - assume every one is scamming rather than innocent until proven guilty

I know the people in the front line deal with the scroates all the time but its not the vast majority of passengers

[Henry]

 Perhaps I am in a minority here, but I hate using these machines.

 Fortunately I am able to plan my journeys in advance, and enjoy the banter/gossip with the ticket office staff.

 No doubt TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s will encourage more 'customers' to buy tickets online, we've all seen the flattering TV ad with the sheep. Consequently the reduced opening of ticket offices, as SWT^▸ (South West Trains) are currently doing.

  http://www.joyce.whitchurch.btinternet.co.uk/tickets.htm

[vacman]

The reason that the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) won't issue a new ticket to you when showing confirmation etc is that if the  origional ticket HAD printed then whats to say that you didn't give that ticket to someone else then claim one for yourself? I'm not saying that you did this but some people would pull a stunt like that hence why another ticket wouldn't be issued.

Again - assume every one is scamming rather than innocent until proven guilty

I know the people in the front line deal with the scroates all the time but its not the vast majority of passengers

On the flip side, as a customer you have no idea just how many people are scamming, and its thanks to those people that rules like this exist.

[eightf48544]

Again - assume every one is scamming rather than innocent until proven guilty

I know the people in the front line deal with the scroates all the time but its not the vast majority of passengers

I agree and when you think about it you would be very fortunate to find a ticket left in the machine for the journey you want to make. Even if you do it will only be a a one way ticket so if you are returning you still have to buy a single for the way back and given returns are not much more expensive you would probably not save all that money.

Another way to overcome the problem is modified software.

On your email confirmation with your contract number you could have: This will be issued as N tickets and M seat reservations and a confirmation card.

Tickets could have an part number i.e 1 of 4 seat reservations the same and the receipt could have:

Check you have N tickets and M seat resevations.

It's only a couple of lines of code.

The trouble is there are no good systems analists left, we've all retired, to devise sensible systems.

[thetrout]

I've had an incident like this before... I bought a First Class Return from Swindon - Bristol Temple Meads and forgot to pick up the outward portion... However I only realised this when I was on the train (Ticket Barriers were unmanned if your wondering )... Fortunately I did have a return portion with me and a transaction receipt with the price on... which when the TM^‡(resolve) checked on they're Avantix^▸ (Ticket Issuing System used on board trains), was the price I paid for my ticket and was more than happy to allow me to continue my Journey

A lesson learned for me then, avoid those machines wherever possible... But if you do use them, make sure you have all your tickets with you...

Quick question... If you buy ticket at Unstaffed station or Staffed station when booking office is closed... What should you do in the event the TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) doesn't print all tickets...? Bit of a tricky one that one... if you chose to get on train it could make you look like a faredodger... especially as i'm only 19

[Phil]

Quick question... If you buy ticket at Unstaffed station or Staffed station when booking office is closed... What should you do in the event the TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) doesn't print all tickets...? Bit of a tricky one that one... if you chose to get on train it could make you look like a faredodger... especially as i'm only 19

Being 19 has nothing to do with it, Mr Trout sir - the train companies treat EVERYONE as a potential fare-dodger, and all persons are presumed to be guilty unless they can prove otherwise. It's a sad and unfortunate situation, and one which is made worse by the fact that the technology exists and is fairly easily implemented to solve all of the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) perceived problems for once and for all.

In the meantime, so long you have the collection receipt showing the number of tickets printed you should be at least in a position where you can try to politely explain what has happened, although it's a complete lottery whether you get a member of staff who is willing to listen, let alone be sympathetic. Some - I'd say the majority, in fact - are absolutely fantastic. Others I'm afraid fall a little short of what's expected. That's not their fault though: as I say, the technology exists to prevent both staff AND customers being continually placed in this invidious position.

[plymothian]

I've had an incident like this before... I bought a First Class Return from Swindon - Bristol Temple Meads and forgot to pick up the outward portion... However I only realised this when I was on the train (Ticket Barriers were unmanned if your wondering )... Fortunately I did have a return portion with me and a transaction receipt with the price on... which when the TM^‡(resolve) checked on they're Avantix^▸ (Ticket Issuing System used on board trains), was the price I paid for my ticket and was more than happy to allow me to continue my Journey

A lesson learned for me then, avoid those machines wherever possible... But if you do use them, make sure you have all your tickets with you...

Why avoid them when it was your fault you forgot to pick up all the tickets?