Losing paper tickets

[daysofdisco]

This morning I must have accidentally dropped my paper tickets from my pocket when pulling my phone out. I’ve done this before but usually notice but it was a very early start today! I realised as the train was pulling out of the station and - without finding a number for the station itself - immediately called the national rail helpline, but they said it was too early (6.30am!) and I needed to call back at 8am - roughly when my train would be getting into its destination. Short of showing people my banking app - where the ticket cost showed up as a recent transaction - what could I have done here? On the way back I tried to buy a ‘permit to travel’ which would at least get me back to my home station where I could enquire directly to see if the platform staff had picked it up, but the person at the ticket office was so rude, told me he didn’t understand what I was saying, and when I showed him my bank transaction told me it was “like buying a load of shopping from Sainsbury’s and then going back with my receipt and saying I lost it”, which it totally isn’t because people don’t tend to do a return commute totalling over 4 hours more than once in a day! If I really just didn’t want to m buy a ticket I would just barge through the barriers like so many others do and obviously wouldn’t try and talk to station staff. Does anybody else find difficult with never being able to call a station?

 

[transportphoto]

If you’ve lost a paper ticket, the expectation is that you will have to buy a new one. The member of staff you spoke to, albeit with an unusual comparison, is right that a bank statement is insufficient.

 

[BongoStar]

How did you exit the station barrier in the morning without a ticket?

 

[skyhigh]

On the way back I tried to buy a ‘permit to travel’ which would at least get me back to my home station

There is no such thing. How much would you expect to pay for a permit to travel home that isn't a ticket anyway? You cannot buy a 'permit to travel' from a ticket office, other than a ticket, which I suppose does permit you to travel.

A Permit to Travel was historically used where a station didn't have a ticket office and there were no guards on the train to sell a ticket, but now almost every station has a ticket machine they are very rare.

I'm not surprised the person at the ticket office didn't understand what you wanted.

 

[daysofdisco]

There is no such thing. How much would you expect to pay for a permit to travel home that isn't a ticket anyway? You cannot buy a 'permit to travel' from a ticket office, other than a ticket, which I suppose does permit you to travel.

A Permit to Travel was historically used where a station didn't have a ticket office and there were no guards on the train to sell a ticket, but now almost every station has a ticket machine they are very rare.

I'm not surprised the person at the ticket office didn't understand what you wanted.

Well I wanted to get back to the station and see if anyone had found my ticket of course! Which there was no way of doing over the phone!

 

[yorkie]

Sorry, but you simply need to buy new tickets.

I've had this happen to me before; however an ever-increasing proportion of journeys/fares are now being made available as e-tickets, making the problem slowly go away (i.e. you can choose to have a printed version if you like, and have a backup on any number of electronic devices you have with you, e.g. phone, tablet etc).

 

[AlterEgo]

Tickets you get out of a machine or issued from a clerk are like bank notes. They don’t have your name on, they can be used by anyone, and once you’ve lost it, it’s gone I’m afraid. Most ticket flows can be fulfilled by e-ticket now which more or less safeguards you against this sort of unfortunate loss.

 

[azOOOOOma]

Once you lose it , the ticket is null
and void unfortunately and it’s as if you never purchased it. Have you checked every single pocket on your person or you bag(s). I always give people a long time to have a good looo through their possessions and most of the time they turn up. If they don’t then unfortunately it’s a new ticket.

 

[daysofdisco]

Once you lose it , the ticket is null
and void unfortunately and it’s as if you never purchased it. Have you checked every single pocket on your person or you bag(s). I always give people a long time to have a good looo through their possessions and most of the time they turn up. If they don’t then unfortunately it’s a new ticket.

Thank you for kind response

Tickets you get out of a machine or issued from a clerk are like bank notes. They don’t have your name on, they can be used by anyone, and once you’ve lost it, it’s gone I’m afraid. Most ticket flows can be fulfilled by e-ticket now which more or less safeguards you against this sort of unfortunate loss.

I would always usually buy an e-ticket but the train line app was down when I got to the station thank you for kind reply

 

[mrmartin]

There's other apps available. I never buy paper tickets now for this reason, absolutely no contingency if you lose them.

 

[Vespa]

I tend to print out an eticket x 2 and take photos of it to save into a folder, as to paper ticket the best you could do is take a photo of it before starting a journey so you at least have evidence of not fare dodging, however the rail staff can easily say you gave it to somebody else.

I suspect paper tickets might be on the way out eventually for this reason.

Maybe it's time to add a TOC specific app to your phone and screenshot the ticket barcode for back up.

 

[Tram203]

Perhaps a little blunt, but frankly if one is careful enough with where they store their paper tickets and focuses fully on what they're doing with them for the few seconds they are being used to pass through ticket gates or being inspected during the journey, there shouldn't be an issue.

I've managed just fine with them for 30+ years.

Just saying...

 

[miklcct]

There's other apps available. I never buy paper tickets now for this reason, absolutely no contingency if you lose them.

Most journeys involving London-area travel on TfL can only be fulfilled on paper tickets, so I have no choice. Examples include West Hampstead to Brighton where the ticket has tube validity, even if I want to travel on a direct Thameslink train, as there isn't a cheaper "via City Thameslink" ticket available.

 

[FaresGuru22]

Do you keep cash in the same quick access pocket as your phone? Would you have tried to go back for cash if you'd dropped that? A paper ticket (CCST), and even a PRT (barcoded) unless you grabbed a picture of it, when lost is just simply lost. If you wanted to go back to look for it, you'd have to buy a ticket to do so. And if you didn't find it, you'd have to buy another one to replace the one you lost to make your journey.

I should add, it's not wise to keep your CCST in the same pocket as your phone. Feel free with PRT.