Lost my railcard and had to buy a new ticket

tarmac_chaser

tarmac_chaser

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I've owned a rail card for a few years and use it everytime I travel by train.

This time was no different, I booked my tickets online and selected 'railcard' and collected my tickets at the station.

During my weekend away I managed to mis-place my railcard. Of course the ticket inspector was they type who checked these things, and upon asking me to produce mine I told her I'd lost it over the weekend.

She said I'd have to buy a new ticket. It cost me £85. My original ticket only cost £65, so I spent £150 getting to Norwich and back including ridiculous delays and missed connections.

I'm pretty annoyed. I have a photocopy of my railcard here at home. Has anyone tried to get their money back before?
 
tarmac_chaser said:
Has anyone tried to get their money back before?
Click to expand...
Don't hold your breath :(

But if it makes you feel better think on what happened to me about 5 months ago .....

My daughter was traveling to Chester & ordered her ticket on-line, using her rail card discount, for pick up at the departure station (Bath). She gets to the station & no bloomin rail card (yes, she is blonde) so could not pick up her tickets. She phones Dad to explain her rail card is at home & say that she has to buy another (full priced) ticket.

'Action Dad' springs to the rescue (Ta Da!!) ..... <thinks>just enough time to sneak away from work, zoom down into Bath, pick her up, zoom home for rail card, zoom to Bristol & catch the same train she would have got had she had the rail card with her in the first place (bril' or what eh !!)</thinks>

The cunning plan was executed with aplomb (though I say so myself)

Unfortunately in my haste I got trapped by a camera wielding plod-bod and ended up with three points on my license and £60 down the swanny

Feel better now? :)
 
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hehe - was it Virgin running the train per chance? Something similar happened to me a couple of years back on the way to Newcastle - they demanded £100 there and then - they got one hell of a letter from me once I'd got back home and I got my money refunded in vouchers - I didn't push for actual cash as I had a few trips planned but I know that I'd have got it had I refused the vouchers - you'll be fine..just start writing!
 
http://www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com/about_us/contact_us

Head office Address: National Express, Floor 1, Oliver's Yard, 55 City Road, EC1Y 1HQ

If this is the company which charged you the on the spot fare then they'd be the people to send a stinky (yet eloquent!) letter to! It sounds as if you had an overly officious jobsworth! My problem was that I had mis-booked with the wrong rail card but I had the return journeys and one outward journey (I stopped off in Sheffs) with the correct rail card booking so it was obviously an error and the conductor was ridiculously rude and unrelenting - it's easily done ( I am quite blonde!), they just didn't listen to reason - all of this I pointed out, aided by photocopies and that is how I made progress! I really wouldn't suggest complaining by email or phone though, letters are more in your face me thinks! Anyhoo, best of luck!
 
I was told ticket collectors are on a reward scheme for finding people with the wrong tickets,ie if you buy a cheap ticket for the 10.15 train and get there a bit early and think sod it and get on the 9.45 instead

they check your ticket and find your on the wrong train so you have to buy another ticket at full price which they get a share of, hence the insistence you have to cough up £85
 
I too got caught out by a ticket inspector once, they hardly ever ask for the Railcard but the one time I forgot to put it back in my wallet they asked to see it :bang:

Ended up forking out another 60 odd quid on top of the £40 I had paid already. :(
 
wack61 said:
I was told ticket collectors are on a reward scheme for finding people with the wrong tickets,ie if you buy a cheap ticket for the 10.15 train and get there a bit early and think sod it and get on the 9.45 instead

they check your ticket and find your on the wrong train so you have to buy another ticket at full price which they get a share of, hence the insistence you have to cough up £85
Click to expand...

Hmmm, sounds plausible. I heard someone else on the phone on the same train saying he'd also forgot his railcard and had to pay £22 for a new ticket. Lucky him.

When I googled this someone facing a similar ticket price decided to take the penalty instead. I wonder what this was, £20?
 
tarmac_chaser said:
I've owned a rail card for a few years and use it everytime I travel by train.

This time was no different, I booked my tickets online and selected 'railcard' and collected my tickets at the station.

During my weekend away I managed to mis-place my railcard. Of course the ticket inspector was they type who checked these things, and upon asking me to produce mine I told her I'd lost it over the weekend.

She said I'd have to buy a new ticket. It cost me £85. My original ticket only cost £65, so I spent £150 getting to Norwich and back including ridiculous delays and missed connections.

I'm pretty annoyed. I have a photocopy of my railcard here at home. Has anyone tried to get their money back before?
Click to expand...

Makes you wonder why people don't want to use public transport doesn't it?

Having said that, I went into London one day for work and when I got there, I found that I had placed my train ticket on the dashboard of my car, and had my parking permit in my wallet... Guy at the gate was ok with it and let me through, but I did have to buy another ticket to get home...
 
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