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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2014 15:30:55 GMT
There is a proposal to move all Annual Tickets Sales online from next year - Has anyone also suggested putting up posters on station noticeboards telling people than annual Travelcards are still available at any National Rail ticket office within the Travelcard area??
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Post by snoggle on Oct 19, 2014 17:04:48 GMT
There is a proposal to move all Annual Tickets Sales online from next year - Has anyone also suggested putting up posters on station noticeboards telling people than annual Travelcards are still available at any National Rail ticket office within the Travelcard area?? Goodness. Well I have to wonder if TfL have speeded up their process for sending out Gold Record Cards. I enquired last year about buying an Annual Ticket online and was told it would take a month to send a replacement Gold Record Card. That means I would be in breach of regulations as my oyster card has the Gold Card discount set but without the record card you cannot prove to an inspector that you have the entitlement nor can you obtain NR discounts without showing it. The ability to be given the card instantly is why I have always renewed at a ticket office. I do not see why anyone should suffer a loss of 1 month's discount entitlement because of a poorly designed and run process. The move to online only purchase is one way of removing a difficult transaction involving pre-cut ticket stock that cannot be done at a passenger ticket machine. I suspect this change will be rather unpopular once it becomes known (assuming it is correct). If there was a convenient NR ticket office that could issue an annual on Oyster then I would swap my transaction from LU. So much for passenger convenience being the primary concern on revising ticket selling practice. I don't believe TfL will put up any posters advising about buying your ticket elsewhere given many NR ticket offices cannot issue on Oyster Cards. |
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Post by stapler on Oct 19, 2014 17:10:51 GMT
There is a proposal to move all Annual Tickets Sales online from next year - Has anyone also suggested putting up posters on station noticeboards telling people than annual Travelcards are still available at any National Rail ticket office within the Travelcard area?? This surely is connected with their closure of all LU ticket offices - as buying an annual travelcard is about the only thing you HAVE to still go to a booking office for, if they allow monthlies to be loaded on Oyster. Does anyone know how they will load railcards on to Oyster once they have closed them all, by the way? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2014 20:35:13 GMT
There is a proposal to move all Annual Tickets Sales online from next year - Has anyone also suggested putting up posters on station noticeboards telling people than annual Travelcards are still available at any National Rail ticket office within the Travelcard area?? This surely is connected with their closure of all LU ticket offices - as buying an annual travelcard is about the only thing you HAVE to still go to a booking office for, if they allow monthlies to be loaded on Oyster. Does anyone know how they will load railcards on to Oyster once they have closed them all, by the way? The railcard issue remains unresolved - the proposal to give Ticket Stops the ability to do that was cancelled last year for reasons unknown. |
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Post by Tomcakes on Oct 19, 2014 21:13:15 GMT
It will also present problems for a lot of people who are given a season ticket loan by their employer to cover the cost - the employers usually give a cheque.
Perhaps this will be resolved in due course, and companies will change - but in the interim I expect confusion and people paying more than necessary, with TfL washing their hands of the matter.
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Post by peterc on Oct 19, 2014 21:27:09 GMT
Before I retired mine would buy the physical ticket. That was an absolute pain as the paper ticket would stop working the gates before the year was out. I ended up using PAYG as it was easier and on top of holidays the time spent working at remote sites, from home or with off peak travelling meant that the cost was much the same anyway.
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rincew1nd
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Post by rincew1nd on Oct 19, 2014 22:40:37 GMT
The railcard issue remains unresolved - the proposal to give Ticket Stops the ability to do that was cancelled last year for reasons unknown. I suspect perhaps because it would give the ability for a wide range of non-LU staff to provide a discount to card holders without perhaps the dilligence that comes with being a company servant. |
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Post by stapler on Oct 20, 2014 7:18:43 GMT
The railcard issue remains unresolved - the proposal to give Ticket Stops the ability to do that was cancelled last year for reasons unknown. I suspect perhaps because it would give the ability for a wide range of non-LU staff to provide a discount to card holders without perhaps the dilligence that comes with being a company servant. But don't the expiry date and the railcard number get recorded on the system? All it needs surely is for someone to write a bit of software to the system which ensures every railcard number is genuine and isn't used twice. Ticket inspectors also detect fraud by asking for the physical railcard. |
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Post by snoggle on Oct 20, 2014 8:55:47 GMT
I suspect perhaps because it would give the ability for a wide range of non-LU staff to provide a discount to card holders without perhaps the dilligence that comes with being a company servant. But don't the expiry date and the railcard number get recorded on the system? All it needs surely is for someone to write a bit of software to the system which ensures every railcard number is genuine and isn't used twice. Ticket inspectors also detect fraud by asking for the physical railcard. Yes those details are recorded *if* the person works the machine properly. I think there are enough problems with product knowledge at Ticket Stops as it is. Heck even ticket office staff sometimes struggle with the more arcane bits of the ticketing rules like adding Railcard validity on PAYG Oyster Cards. Asking newsagents to become knowledgeable about a range of railcard products, some of which give a LU / TfL discount but others do not, is probably a step too far. I also suspect the agents probably asked for an unafforable rate of commission for handling those more complex products. Regardless the proposal to move all annual ticket sales on line is a marked reduction in service for those customers who pay an absolute fortune and who actually warrant some care and attention not being adandoned to a computer and the postal service and a month's delay for sending a bit of cardboard. |
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Post by stapler on Oct 20, 2014 9:25:24 GMT
But don't the expiry date and the railcard number get recorded on the system? All it needs surely is for someone to write a bit of software to the system which ensures every railcard number is genuine and isn't used twice. Ticket inspectors also detect fraud by asking for the physical railcard. Yes those details are recorded *if* the person works the machine properly. I think there are enough problems with product knowledge at Ticket Stops as it is. Heck even ticket office staff sometimes struggle with the more arcane bits of the ticketing rules like adding Railcard validity on PAYG Oyster Cards. Asking newsagents to become knowledgeable about a range of railcard products, some of which give a LU / TfL discount but others do not, is probably a step too far. I also suspect the agents probably asked for an unafforable rate of commission for handling those more complex products. Regardless the proposal to move all annual ticket sales on line is a marked reduction in service for those customers who pay an absolute fortune and who actually warrant some care and attention not being adandoned to a computer and the postal service and a month's delay for sending a bit of cardboard. Then move all railcard registerings online too, with the Oyster helpline doing those who don't have Web access. Annual tickets - agree it's easier to go to a ticket office. But getting an annual ticket at a ticket shop is no more difficult for an operator than a weekly, and easier than 52 weeklies! |
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Post by Tomcakes on Oct 20, 2014 10:50:53 GMT
Although I have had my Oyster card, complete with YP Railcard discount, examined by several inspectors since I've been down here, I am yet to be asked to present the railcard.
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Post by stapler on Oct 20, 2014 13:13:31 GMT
Although I have had my Oyster card, complete with YP Railcard discount, examined by several inspectors since I've been down here, I am yet to be asked to present the railcard. Yes - that may be because the handhelds the travelling inspectors use are too dumb for that. Can anyone confirm? I had my senior railcard inspected at Stratford during a revenue protection blitz in the subway, but whether by an LU or NR inspector, I can't remember |
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Post by greatkingrat on Oct 20, 2014 20:19:54 GMT
When I have renewed an annual season online, I have always received the Gold Record Card within a few days.
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Post by snoggle on Oct 21, 2014 13:29:25 GMT
When I have renewed an annual season online, I have always received the Gold Record Card within a few days. Well that is reassuring. I asked TfL via their special "Ways to Pay" Twitter feed what the process was for Gold Cards when renewing in Feb this year. I was told a month to send it and that's why I declined to use the online facility. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 19:57:31 GMT
A whole month? Mine arrives 2-3 days after I 'pick up' my annual travelcard by touching-in at my nominated station. (Seems to be quicker if you use a tube station rather than a National Rail station - but that might be down to the luck of the draw.)
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rincew1nd
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Post by rincew1nd on Oct 22, 2014 0:32:08 GMT
Sorry for being a bit dumb, but I live in the North. I bought an annual season ticket and the only benefit I got was a plastic wallet to put it in! Having to wait a few weeks for a discount card isn't a hardship, is it?
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