Railcard discount from TVM before 1000

[ASharpe]

Today my wife bought a ticket from a Northern TVM at 0956. She added her railcard but was actually sold a full fare Off-Peak day return.

Is this normal for a TVM and is she likely to have any luck in getting a refund?

The outward portion of the ticket was retained by a barrier.

Thanks

 

[Kite159]

Which railcard?

 

[ASharpe]

Sorry, it was a young person railcard, normally valid from 1000.

 

[bb21]

Normally TVMs don't apply the discount until 1000 as they are not that clever.

There is no automatic entitlement to a refund of the difference, however if you can show that it was not possible to use this ticket before 1000, there is a good chance that you will get a goodwill gesture, but of course I cannot guarantee that 100%.

Without knowing which station/service was involved there is not much else I can add to that.

 

[Starmill]

What time was the train due? If it was 1000,1001 or something like that I'd expect you would be offered the difference. Certainly email their customer relations and explain what happened, give the departure time of the train used and say what the fare they expected to pay was.

 

[swt_passenger]

Suggest to the TOC that they could do what SWT have tried reasonably successfully to do, which is to switch on the discounts on the TVMs as soon as the previous timetabled train has left. At a few of my local stations in Hants (e.g. Winchester and Eastleigh) the Network Card appears at about 0950.

There was a similar problem with the super off-peak fares not appearing soon enough at one stage but they seem to have mostly sorted that out as well.

Problem for the TOC is that every station's timetable will be different.

 

[talldave]

The (annoying) solution is to stand next to the machine, buy online on your smartphone and collect from the TVM.

Rail industry stupidity at its best :cry:

 

[SeanG]

This is one reason why its better and easier to buy from a person!

 

[talldave]

This is one reason why its better and easier to buy from a person!

True, although I find explaining my rationale for quirky ticket combinations tiresome. A website dutifully laps up my purchases and hands out nectar points and cashback without question. Hull Trains is my current choice for a site free of patronising maps and unnecessary train selection.

 

[ASharpe]

Thanks for the replies, I'll write to Northern.

The station in question was Apperley Bridge. My wife isn't as keen as myself on buying the cheapest train tickets.