dvp82 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 This point is not exactly trainline related but I know when I book flights with British Airways on ba.com, BA do let you cancel and get a full refund within 24hrs of the flight been ticketed, even on non refundable tickets for what ever reason you like, could be you've booked the wrong day, wrong time or you just want to cancel. I don't know if there is any official rules regarding buying tickets online and realising you've made an error but the BA policy allowing you to get a full refund within 24hrs seems a fair one to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strix Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Sorry to be of no help whatsoever, but I agree - I've managed to get my stations in a muddle after jumping through all the hoops of broken journeys to get to where we want to go Thankfully, all I was trying to do was find a route from Woodhouse to Hampton Court without taking the underground but sticking to overground. By the time I'd explored 'via Retford' instead of 'via Sheffield' etc, it all starts turning into a bit of a fog. We have staff train passes, so I didn't mess up financially, I just screwed up on of the connections, but still got us to the Olympics on time I really can't understand why airlines will allow you to change, but not train ticket companies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Bynnol Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Rail companies and sellers will refund Anytime or Off-Peak tickets, you can get a refund minus an admin fee(up to and usually £10) on the unused portion(s) of the ticket under the provisions of the National Rail Conditions of CarriageNRCC section E. The main complications arise on Advance Purchase (AP) tickets. The reason why they are considerably cheaper than ordinary fares is that you contract to purchase a specific product in future by paying in advance and cheapest are the most inflexible. The closer you get to the travel date the more expensive the product gets. A traveller could buy a AP ticket to London for £11.15 and then ask to change it to a 6.00am departure the day before - a £115 fare. Some companies might give you a small percentage off the £115 fare but unfortunately they will stick to the contractual document you have agreed to on the purchase of the ticket. Advance ticket refunds do not appear in the NRCC. It is similar to booking a holiday/hotel in advance, the refund if any gets less as you approach the booked date. Because I am prone to errors ( mixed up Sheffield - Shenfield! ) I try to use the same company and account which has previous/prospective/favourite journeys stored. A credit card payment/ booking ref. number can also prove to be useful. You can buy Advance tickets at Sheffield station amongst others-if you want a personal service. The OP has made a genuine mistake and a good company should and would listen. Passenger Focus can sometimes help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJC1 Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Rail companies and sellers will refund Anytime or Off-Peak tickets, you can get a refund minus an admin fee(up to and usually £10) on the unused portion(s) of the ticket under the provisions of the National Rail Conditions of CarriageNRCC section E. The main complications arise on Advance Purchase (AP) tickets. The reason why they are considerably cheaper than ordinary fares is that you contract to purchase a specific product in future by paying in advance and cheapest are the most inflexible. The closer you get to the travel date the more expensive the product gets. A traveller could buy a AP ticket to London for £11.15 and then ask to change it to a 6.00am departure the day before - a £115 fare. Some companies might give you a small percentage off the £115 fare but unfortunately they will stick to the contractual document you have agreed to on the purchase of the ticket. Advance ticket refunds do not appear in the NRCC. It is similar to booking a holiday/hotel in advance, the refund if any gets less as you approach the booked date. Because I am prone to errors ( mixed up Sheffield - Shenfield! ) I try to use the same company and account which has previous/prospective/favourite journeys stored. A credit card payment/ booking ref. number can also prove to be useful. You can buy Advance tickets at Sheffield station amongst others-if you want a personal service. The OP has made a genuine mistake and a good company should and would listen. Passenger Focus can sometimes help. There only defense, like you say is loss of trade. However they can't even claim that here because I called within 1 minute of pressing confirm. Anyway if the train is in demand they will easily sell tickets, if It's not they won't. They keep selling tickets right up untill departure. No costs incurred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 There only defense, like you say is loss of trade. However they can't even claim that here because I called within 1 minute of pressing confirm. Anyway if the train is in demand they will easily sell tickets, if It's not they won't. They keep selling tickets right up until departure. No costs incurred. They are an agent. I have no idea what their commission would be, but they are set up for automated online sales. The moment you get humans involved, as you require, it starts costing them money. In fact, costing them staff time to give you back your money and lose their commission. They don't need a defence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJC1 Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 They are an agent. I have no idea what their commission would be, but they are set up for automated online sales. The moment you get humans involved, as you require, it starts costing them money. In fact, costing them staff time to give you back your money and lose their commission. They don't need a defence. I don't require anything they don't already have or can't provide for nothing. They have a customer service line and manned phones. The amount they put into fielding calls and customer service with people like me complaining they may aswell of offered a refund in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJC1 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 You can say it is bad customer service, you can't argue they have done anything wrong, because they haven't. Only you have done something wrong. I just did say it's bad service. I did nothing wrong though, just made a mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Why compound it with the additional mistake of shouting that they should reimburse you to their own financial detriment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJC1 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Why compound it with the additional mistake of shouting that they should reimburse you to their own financial detriment? Who's financial detriment? That would be mine. My time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Who's financial detriment? That would be mine. My time. Yeah! You made a mistake and you want someone else to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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