Complete inflexibility at ticket offices

[whole diary]

[Brucey]

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

[Phil]

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^‡(resolve) 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)

[Chris from Nailsea]

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! 

[JayMac]

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

[Chris from Nailsea]

QED