Add on to Fares

[whole diary]

[eightf48544]

Read in the Sun or Express (I was in a pub in Aylesbury they were something to read I'm not proud) that some TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) are charging a pound to pick up your tickets from a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) or ^3 to send them to you.

One odd suggestion was to buy a child ticket between the Devonport
Stations for 35p with every order and they have to send you tickets free.

Seems like the TOCs think they are budget airlines!

[SDS]

I know the rip off merchants AKA^▸ (also known as) trainline, railsleazy, redspottedripoff and others charge you for delivery, ToD pickup and Special Delivery.
Cross Country charge ^1 for TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) pickup, the only free option is to have them sent as an e-ticket. I also belive that other tocs that have e-tickets are about to do the same.

[JayMac]

Cross Country charge ^1 for TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) pickup,

Are you sure? I've just booked tickets with them and I wasn't charged for the TVM option. In fact, that was the only option offered to me. Having checked another random journey it appears that the ^1 charge applies to First Class delivery.

It's possible to circumvent the ^1 charge for First Class delivery, on some TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) websites, such as East Coast, if your start station has no TVM. You can also reduce that charge if your start station does have a TVM, by adding a Child Anytime Single from Lostock Hall to Bamber Bridge to your basket for 30p. As Lostock Hall has no TVM the ^1 postage fee is waived. Handy when buying East Coast only Advance tickets which are cheaper on their own website.

Every little helps.

[Mookiemoo]

If they gave me e-ticket that was mobile/ipad/laptop scannable - give me it any day

When I had to rebook my out trip from NYC to MCI because virgin delayed and I couldnt go amtrak,  the whole thing - the ticket and the boarding card was on my mobile phone

Get with the times

[Glovidge]

Whatever next? Charging for using the toilet?

[SDS]

Cross Country charge ^1 for TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) pickup,

Are you sure? I've just booked tickets with them and I wasn't charged for the TVM option. In fact, that was the only option offered to me. Having checked another random journey it appears that the ^1 charge applies to First Class delivery.

It's possible to circumvent the ^1 charge for First Class delivery, on some TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) websites, such as East Coast, if your start station has no TVM. You can also reduce that charge if your start station does have a TVM, by adding a Child Anytime Single from Lostock Hall to Bamber Bridge to your basket for 30p. As Lostock Hall has no TVM the ^1 postage fee is waived. Handy when buying East Coast only Advance tickets which are cheaper on their own website.

Every little helps.

After having another go at getting the ^1 to show, it appears it will only charge you for TVM pickup is when you book XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) advance and XC only fares.

[Brucey]

Moral of the story: if your TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) is charging for whatever, then use another TOC website.

[readytostart]

XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) charge ^1 for TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) pickup if there is a print at home option (ie only on XC, VT^▸ (Virgin Trains - former franchises) or a combination of the two Advance fares), as XC don't operate any stations then there is always a charge levied by other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) for the use of their machines.

From a staff brief:
We have recently introduced a Ticket on Departure (TOD) fulfilment charging functionality on the CrossCountry website:
The TOD fulfilment charging functionality is to encourage customers to move away from getting their tickets fulfilled at self service ticket machines at the station and to cover the company's cost of TOD where possible. Customers will be charged ^1.00 if the e-ticket option is available. If the e-ticket option is not available then TOD fulfilment will be free of charge. This is to ensure that a free method of fulfilment is always offered.

[Tim]

It is complicated nonsense like this that strengthens the argument for bringing back BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)).

[thetrout]

I don't see why they would charge for use of TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) collection. I've collected FGW^▸ (First Great Western) tickets from Liverpool Lime Street and not been charged when booking them...

Another moneyspinner I guess

I would quite happily welcome print tickets at home. When I travelled in Spain, all the tickets you book through the Renfe website, you can only get as E-Tickets. You can also cancel your booking online and get a refund without even having to pick up a phone, or go to a ticket office.

When I flew out to Spain last year, I flew with BMI Baby. As I was registering for special assistance at the airport, their website told me I needed to check in at the airport and it wouldn't let me select E-Ticket... So they decided to charge me ^7+VAT^▸ (Value Added Tax) for Check in at the airport AND ^15+VAT for an extra legroom seat (Which I did request), that they then issued to another passenger and said I would not be eligble for a refund I don't have much luck with Air Travel

[SDS]

I don't see why they would charge for use of TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) collection. I've collected FGW^▸ (First Great Western) tickets from Liverpool Lime Street and not been charged when booking them...

Another moneyspinner I guess

I would quite happily welcome print tickets at home. When I travelled in Spain, all the tickets you book through the Renfe website, you can only get as E-Tickets. You can also cancel your booking online and get a refund without even having to pick up a phone, or go to a ticket office.

When I flew out to Spain last year, I flew with BMI Baby. As I was registering for special assistance at the airport, their website told me I needed to check in at the airport and it wouldn't let me select E-Ticket... So they decided to charge me ^7+VAT^▸ (Value Added Tax) for Check in at the airport AND ^15+VAT for an extra legroom seat (Which I did request), that they then issued to another passenger and said I would not be eligble for a refund I don't have much luck with Air Travel

Breach of contract??? Failure to provide service as advertised and as paid for. Would get onto credit card company and do a partial chargeback. Its for bmi baby to prove it was as advertised not the other way around.

[inspector_blakey]

Could be, but that also depends on the circumstances. Frequently extra legroom seats, especially on short-haul aircraft like the A320 series and B737s, are located on exit rows. In that case you're expected to be competent (generally judged as being able to understand and react to commands in English) and also physically fit enough to open the exit door itself and in some cases throw the heavy panel clear of the aircraft so that people can get out. I believe that the commander of the aircraft, or perhaps the cabin crew, have more or less total discretion in this regard, so if they don't like the look of you then you'll be moved to another seat.

Just as an example, in some cases BA^» (British Airways - about) will let you fork out and book an exit-row seat for extra legroom ahead of time, but there is a clear statement of the requirements to occupy such a seat on the website together with a warning that if you don't fulfil them you'll be moved to a different seat and won't qualify for a refund:

Exit row seat information
<snip>
We have the sole discretion to determine whether you meet the requirements to sit in an exit row seat. If you do not meet the requirements, you will be assigned an alternative seat and the amount paid for the seat will not be refunded.

[paul7575]

I don't see why they would charge for use of TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) collection. I've collected FGW^▸ (First Great Western) tickets from Liverpool Lime Street and not been charged when booking them...

For any normal TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company), it is swings and roundabouts. They all have a network of TVMs offering TOD, and any internal transaction costs will flow between TOCs, so every FGW ticket collected at Lime St is potentially cancelled out by a ticket for a Virgin or Northern or LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise) service picked up at a FGW TVM.

However XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) have no stations and therefore no TVMs of their own - so every TOD issued costs them a payment to another TOC, so they want to discourage it. I'm sure that's the bottom line.
 
Paul

[SDS]

I cant remember exact costs of a ToD transaction, but I understand it is the range of 50-75p per transaction/reference number.
Remember those old ATB style tickets (the long white ones which had your journey plan printed on them?) They cost around ^2 per transaction to process. Plus the tickets weren't exactly cheap to buy either.

[inspector_blakey]

Remember those old ATB style tickets (the long white ones which had your journey plan printed on them?)

What a pain in the backside those things were! Far too big and clumsy to fit in a wallet or pocket, plus they wouldn't work ticket barriers either. And despite all your journey details being printed in fairly large letters on the front people still seemed to be incapable of reading and understanding the information.

I never really understood why they seemed to be the standard for advance purchases from so many TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) and at so many stations - I know that they were the ticket stock used for Eurostar bookings but surely that didn't make it necessary to inflict them on so many passengers making domestic journeys? In the end I discovered that the totaljourney.com booking website (late of this parish) issued APTIS^▸ (All Purpose Ticket Issuing System) tickets and bought everything from them until they were dismantled at some regulatory authority's insistence - from memory I think it was a joint venture between Railtrack and First, or one of the other big franchise-owning groups, and Railtrack's involvement in retail was deemed to be incompatible with the terms of its agreement with HM Gov.