Elecman
Established Member
The railway companies had no choice in not extending railcard validities as the DafT /Treasury said no !! They are paying and they call the shots
I can't help but think that someone might spot a price rise from £30 to £88.89 per year.If they'd had some commercial nous, they could have done a direct debit scheme at £7.99 a month, with a general offer of your first month for £1. I
And also that people forget about Direct Debits. People would sign up and never cancel, but putting 30+ quid up front makes you think if you need it or not.
Isn’t that a standing order?
I think a direct debit is a “pull” from the company concerned rather than a “push” from the customer. But even so, would I trust the railcard people to stop taking the money? Not sure I would, especially if it was an age restricted card like a 16-25
More like 50 years, in fact. They were introduced in the mid 60s and in general use by the 70sIf you are in the demographic for a 16-25 Railcard you do trust Direct Debits, in any case. They have been around for about 25 years, the time to be concerned about them was before I was even old enough to have any. Everyone in that Railcard's demographic (other than the edge case of mature students) has never lived in a time when they weren't a thing.
Took out a 3 year disabled railcard just before the pandemic started and its due to expire March next year, ... I feel cheated.
More like 50 years, in fact. They were introduced in the mid 60s and in general use by the 70s
I imagine the price will be increased to at least that much sooner or later now. Personally I'd rather pay monthly than stump up £100 or so in one go.I can't help but think that someone might spot a price rise from £30 to £88.89 per year.
My railcard, (1 yr Network, purchased on line) expires third week in September. I received an email reminder last week.
It was already in my diary though.
I travel on a lot on TFL services since I live in London and from next year I am no longer eligible for a 26-30 railcard. Since a Network railcard can't be added to Oyster I certainly wouldn't pay £88 or anywhere close to that for one, even if it was in monthly instalments.A Network Railcard wouldn't be worth £88. Only a proper National Railcard available to all would justify such a cost.
Might it have something to do with your registered communications preferences with the Railcard team?So basically they're reminding some people and not others? That's useful.
And not so easy to keep a diary over a three-year cycle - especially as every other time it has needed renewal she has been informed.
Might it have something to do with your registered communications preferences with the Railcard team?
Showing your youthful age here Bletchleyite....Reminders were never that I recall sent by post.
So basically they're reminding some people and not others? That's useful.
And not so easy to keep a diary over a three-year cycle - especially as every other time it has needed renewal she has been informed.
They can put a braille sticker on your Railcard if needed / requested.As an aside, I assume the Disabled railcard has braille, otherwise how will blind people know when it expires?
That sounds to have HMT's fingerprints all over it.The rail companies through the Rail Delivery Group recognised this issue, but it was at a time when they had to ask the government before doing anything that might have a cost. Extension of rail cards was deemed by DfT to have an unacceptable cost so permission to grant extensions was refused.
I had wondered about GDPR. Anyone who had declined offers, mailing etc for a start...It does seem like sending out a few Railcard reminders could potentially be an easy way to get people back to travel. I wonder if rail companies have suddenly discovered that their GDPR permissions weren't explicit enough to allow an unsolicited contact !
That sounds to have HMT's fingerprints all over it.
I had wondered about GDPR. Anyone who had declined offers, mailing etc for a start...
My phone calendar lets you "repeat" an entry, and you can select weekly, monthly, yearly etc (which I use for birthday reminders) - or custom, you can choose any number (1-365) of any day/week/month/year period - so 3 years is perfectly possible.And not so easy to keep a diary over a three-year cycle - especially as every other time it has needed renewal she has been informed.