Collecting tickets purchased with someone else's card

[Jimini]

Evening all,

My better half has a day trip to Bath (from London) on Tuesday for work. Her colleague based in Southampton has a corporate credit card and would therefore most likely book the tickets, ideally.

Is there any way my missus could collect her tickets from the ticket office at Paddington without the original card they were purchased with, or failing that is there a mTicket option available maybe through a different company's online booking portal?

Thanks in advance for any advice / input as always!

-Jim.

 

[father_jack]

Evening all,

My better half has a day trip to Bath (from London) on Tuesday for work. Her colleague based in Southampton has a corporate credit card and would therefore most likely book the tickets, ideally.

Is there any way my missus could collect her tickets from the ticket office at Paddington without the original card they were purchased with, or failing that is there a mTicket option available maybe through a different company's online booking portal?

Thanks in advance for any advice / input as always!

-Jim.

If it has been done correctly as a corporate booking (Evolvi, Click travel. Trainline business) it will be "flag 3" so any card collect from any ticket machine. If it's GWR (which is possible with origin Bath) it will say payment card but actually release with any. If it is Trainline personal booking or a Trainline based seller (Virgin, XC, Arriva, SWT) and it says correct card needed it is an easy call to the seller by the person who paid to convert it to any card release.

 

[radamfi]

If you pay using PayPal (using a site that allows PayPal, for example Virgin) then any card can be used to pick up.

 

[causton]

Certain configurations of ticket office software will allow the clerk to override the "same card" collection.

Do not, in any way however, insist that the clerk can, as they may have strict circumstances that they can use this facility, or they may not have the appropriate password to do so, or their particular software might not allow them to do it! But as said before, choosing certain ways to book the ticket can ensure the ticket will be marked "Any card" collection.

 

[Jimini]

Great - thanks for the swift replies, folks.

Just looking in to this a bit more, it seems that the cardholder (based in Southampton) will just give her card details to my missus (in London) tomorrow to book, so we can use any online booking portal that allows for the 'any card' scenario, which is handy.

So, further question then, just to complicate things further: can I pick them up for her? I work opposite London Bridge so it's nice and easy for me to get them in advance. Would that work as long as I've got any active credit / debit card and the relevant booking reference?

Thanks again!

 

[bb21]

For an "any card" booking, yes.

 

[Jimini]

For an "any card" booking, yes.

Which website should we use to book the tickets to ensure that's the case? It'll be using a corporate card but won't be using a company-specific booking engine, so she can use any TOC website to purchase. Thanks again!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Which website should we use to book the tickets to ensure that's the case? It'll be using a corporate card but won't be using a company-specific booking engine, so she can use any TOC website to purchase. Thanks again!

Any where you pay by PayPal is certain to work, as PayPal doesn't provide the merchant with the details of the card used. Loco2 certainly does, as someone else said so does Virgin.

Another way is to purchase gift vouchers to the value of the ticket then immediately spend them, though that's clunkier than the above.

If you actually *pay by card*, unless it is a corporate portal intended contractually to work like that you can't be sure that it won't be card-specific. Though it is mentioned above that they can change it.

 

[causton]

Without wishing to sound biased...

https://ticket.londonmidland.com/ does not ask for the same payment card. As said when you choose the "collect from station" option:

In 30 minutes, you can collect your ticket(s) from a self-service machine at *station name* or any other enabled station. You just need to bring any payment card and the collection reference number provided in your order confirmation.

This is just from my experience in collecting tickets for customers at the window and seeing which ones ask and which ones don't.

For the record, Virgin Trains East Coast definitely do ask for the card so do not use them!

 

[Jimini]

Without wishing to sound biased...

https://ticket.londonmidland.com/ does not ask for the same payment card. As said when you choose the "collect from station" option:



This is just from my experience in collecting tickets for customers at the window and seeing which ones ask and which ones don't.

For the record, Virgin Trains East Coast definitely do ask for the card so do not use them!

Just a quick note to say thanks all for the advice, folks. Tickets successfully collected just now (having booked on the LM site as advised).

 

[maniacmartin]

I've also experienced a few times at the Southeastern TVMs at London Bridge where a TVM will claim I inserted the wrong card for the reference code I keyed. Double checking the code and retyping it - same error. Yet the TVM next to it of same make and model and software appearance will issue the ticket just fine. This is using the card what was used to book the tickets with, on the Virgin West Coast website.

 

[Loco2]

Loco2 certainly does, as someone else said so does Virgin.

Thought I'd chip in since that's not the case.

The payment card is not required for TVM collection for any UK rail purchase on Loco2, regardless of whether you pay with a debit/credit card or PayPal.

All that is required is the ticket collection reference and a valid debit/credit card that has chip and pin. The card is used for ID only.

 

[Jimini]

Hi all, apols for bumping an old thread.

We’re in the same situation again now, for a journey on Tuesday. Card holder’s in Southampton, we’re in London. We used the LNWR website hoping the rules are the same as they were under the London Midland umbrella.

So my quick question is: have the any card pick up rules changed since the franchise change?

Cheers ~ Jim.

 

[SEClass375]

With LM and LNW idk but I know that Southeastern (tickets.southeasternrailway.co.uk) allows any card collection as I have used it.

 

[Jimini]

Hi, me again!

So I tried to collect the tickets tonight but it seems that LNWR’s policy differs to that of the old LM regime, so we can’t pick them up using a random bank card. The cardholder is in Southampton (corporate card) and we’re in east London.

What methods would you suggest to get the tickets released, folks? We’ll give LNWR customer services a call in the morning; hopefully they can help out. Travel will be with SWR but the purchase was made with LNWR. Thanks as always in advance of any advice.

Jim.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Hopefully their customer services can help, but if not it may be worth the cardholder collecting them and then sending by same day courier - could be cheaper than £10 per ticket admin fee to cancel them and rebook.

Note for future reference - if you pay by PayPal they can't do specific card collection as PayPal will not tell them the card number (that's pretty much the whole point of using it).