Renewing a senior rail card.

[HSP 2]

I have a senior rail card that is due to expire on the 19/12/20 and I would like to renew it with a 3 year one. But not straight away if we're in lock down or only essential travel only. The problems that I can see happening are I don't have a driving licence all I have is my birth certificate, my NI number and my by then expired rail card (one year).

Also do you have a time period in which you have to get a new rail card.

TFAH.

 

[Bevan Price]

I have a senior rail card that is due to expire on the 19/12/20 and I would like to renew it with a 3 year one. But not straight away if we're in lock down or only essential travel only. The problems that I can see happening are I don't have a driving licence all I have is my birth certificate, my NI number and my by then expired rail card (one year).

Also do you have a time period in which you have to get a new rail card.

TFAH.

You don't need to renew until you next want to travel by train.

 

[Haywain]

The problems that I can see happening are I don't have a driving licence all I have is my birth certificate, my NI number and my by then expired rail card (one year).

Do you have a passport? As you'll be buying online you need to have either of a valid driving licence or a valid passport - without these you can't buy online and therefore can't buy a 3-year railcard.

 

[HSP 2]

Do you have a passport? As you'll be buying online you need to have either of a valid driving licence or a valid passport - without these you can't buy online and therefore can't buy a 3-year railcard.

I don't have any of the IDs that they ask for on line, could they not just use the rail card Number that's on the one I have as I had to show ID to prove my age for that one, or could I contact them over the phone to order one.

I can not be the only over 60 that wants a 3 year rail card that does not have the ID that they will accept.

 

[Haywain]

could they not just use the rail card Number that's on the one I have

You can, but only within 30 days of the expiry date. The senior Railcard website says this:

You can renew your station-purchased Railcard within 30 days of its expiry date. Go to the homepage and click on the "Login and Manage your Account" button. From here you will be given the opportunity to "Register Your Railcard". Once you have completed this you will be given the option to renew your Railcard.

could I contact them over the phone to order one.

No, because that isn't an option available for buying a railcard.

I can not be the only over 60 that wants a 3 year rail card that does not have the ID that they will accept.

Probably not, and you also won't be the only over 60 to find that you have chosen not to be eligible for a 3-year railcard outwith the circumstances outlined above.

 

[island]

If you choose not to have a passport or driving licence you cannot purchase a 3 year age-restricted railcard. There are no exceptions to this.

 

[HSP 2]

Probably not, and you also won't be the only over 60 to find that you have chosen not to be eligible for a 3-year railcard outwith the circumstances outlined above.

How have I "chosen not to be eligible for a 3 year rail card" I don't drive and do not want to, I have never wanted to go abroad I am very happy to see what we have in this country. Also the country did not issue an I.D. card to me.

Why can the nation railcard people not just accept a photo of your B/C and the rail card that you already have? That has proven that your over 60?

 

[Haywain]

I don't drive and do not want to, I have never wanted to go abroad I am very happy to see what we have in this country.

These things sound like a personal choice to me. And you don't have to drive to hold a driving licence.

 

[HSP 2]

These things sound like a personal choice to me. And you don't have to drive to hold a driving licence.

These were a personal choice that I made when I was about 20 that's a few years back. But to have a driving licence you have to go through the driving school and all that entails and the cost. Also to have a passport that your not going to use why?

What would happen if an over 60 had to give up his driving licence and decided to give in his passport due to this? ( by the way this could also apply to a lady).

I have spoken to someone in the railcard centre between the time these messages have been going between us. About the 3 year senior rail card and how to go about it. The answer I received was that I had to provide a photo of my B/C and a photo of my existing rail card.

 

[island]

These were a personal choice that I made when I was about 20 that's a few years back. But to have a driving licence you have to go through the driving school and all that entails and the cost.

No you don’t. You can get a provisional license (which is accepted for Railcard applications as well as all the usual places) online and it’s £34. The only thing you need to do is declare you can read a number plate.

 

[Gloster]

I don’t know how complicated the process is, but can you not get a provisional licence and just use it as an ID? I have just renewed my licence as it was nearly ten years old, but is the only ID that I have with both my address and photo on; it is more likely to be used in a bank than anywhere else. I will admit that as I am going to move house soon I may need to hire a van, but otherwise I haven’t driven for around ten years.

 

[David Goddard]

This is really a crazy and elitist setup.
Surely they should accept a birth certificate, NHS medical card or an ENCTS (or equivalent in Scotland/Wales) card as proof of age.
So many organisations just assume that everyone drives or has a passport.

 

[Llanigraham]

This is really a crazy and elitist setup.
Surely they should accept a birth certificate, NHS medical card or an ENCTS (or equivalent in Scotland/Wales) card as proof of age.
So many organisations just assume that everyone drives or has a passport.

NHS Record Cards do not state address or DoB's.
And ENCTS cards can be issued at various ages, depending on the Council rules that issued them.

 

[HSP 2]

NHS Record Cards do not state address or DoB's.
And ENCTS cards can be issued at various ages, depending on the Council rules that issued them.

The one number that is always correct for you is your NI number, as as far as I know it's issued when you're born.

 

[stuartl]

I agree with the OP, if you've already got a senior railcard you've proved you are over 60, you're not likely to get any younger.
This obsession with assuming everyone has either a driving licence or passport really does annoy me.

 

[Llanigraham]

The one number that is always correct for you is your NI number, as as far as I know it's issued when you're born.

And your NI Number (eg AB 12 34 56 A) isn't stated on your NHS Card.

 

[Elecman]

Does the driving licence have to a new Photocard one or will my original green paper licence last issued in 1984 do?

 

[kieron]

No you don’t. You can get a provisional license (which is accepted for Railcard applications as well as all the usual places) online and it’s £34. The only thing you need to do is declare you can read a number plate.

And, if you can't do that, you may be better off with a different railcard.

If the choice was between paying £34 for a driving licence and £70 for a railcard now, or paying £90+inflation for railcards over the next two years, I know what I'd do.

I'm pleased that HSP 2 hasn't had to make that choice, incidentally.

The one number that is always correct for you is your NI number, as as far as I know it's issued when you're born.

I wouldn't want to use (say) a national insurance card for proof of age. It doesn't have your date of birth on it, so you can't be expected to know whether the date of birth associated with it is actually correct.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

HSP 2 - are you able to renew your Railcard at a station?

I don't have either a driving licence or a passport but have a three-year Senior Railcard which I obtained last year. I can't actually remember, but I think I got my original one on production of my birth certificate, and then must have renewed it for my current three-year one at my local station.

Whether the rules have changed since a year ago I don't know.

(Sorry to be a bit vague, but I also handle obtaining and renewing mine and my wife's Two Together Railcard and my son's 16-25 Railcard and can't off hand remember what I do for which).

 

[HSP 2]

I wouldn't want to use (say) a national insurance card for proof of age. It doesn't have your date of birth on it, so you can't be expected to know whether the date of birth associated with it is actually correct.

As just about all gov. departments ask for your NI number as your third form of id . The first two are letters the next lot are numbers and the last one is a letter. try claiming any tax back. if you get the number wrong, as it tells your date of birth and a lot more.

HSP 2 - are you able to renew your Railcard at a station?

I don't have either a driving licence or a passport but have a three-year Senior Railcard which I obtained last year. I can't actually remember, but I think I got my original one on production of my birth certificate, and then must have renewed it for my current three-year one at my local station.

Whether the rules have changed since a year ago I don't know.

(Sorry to be a bit vague, but I also handle obtaining and renewing mine and my wife's Two Together Railcard and my son's 16-25 Railcard and can't off hand remember what I do for which).

The three year rail card is not available from the station so it has to be bough via email so you can see that is my problem.


I think that I'm correct in saying you cannot also renew the the three year card at the station.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Multi year Railcards are only available online.

 

[alxndr]

As just about all gov. departments ask for your NI number as your third form of id . The first two are letters the next lot are numbers and the last one is a letter. try claiming any tax back. if you get the number wrong, as it tells your date of birth and a lot more.

Your National Insurance number only tells your date of birth in so far as the number is connected to a database containing your details. Only people with the appropriate access to the system can learn your date of birth from it.

Passport and driving licence numbers are different as the number itself contains the date of birth, if you know how to interpret them.

 

[XAM2175]

Surely they should accept a birth certificate ... So many organisations just assume that everyone drives or has a passport.

Remember that this is for an online application - birth certificates are accepted when presented in-person at a station.

The one number that is always correct for you is your NI number, as as far as I know it's issued when you're born.

They are actually issued through an automatic process when a parent claims Child Benefit. If no such claim is made, or the person was born outside the UK, the NI number is issued manually upon that person's applying for one. There are also a few circumstances in which an adult will not have an NI number, such as if they're not permitted to work or claim public benefits.

As just about all gov. departments ask for your NI number as your third form of id

It's important to note that Railcards are issued not by a government agency but by ATOC Limited (trading as Rail Delivery Group), which is a commercial organisation. They will not have access to the HMRC records necessary to validate an NI number and associate it with the holder's date of birth.

Does the driving licence have to a new Photocard one or will my original green paper licence last issued in 1984 do?

I can find nothing on their website saying that it will work with a paper licence, but neither can I find anything saying that it won't - so either "yes, it will work" or "no, because the designers never considered that it would need to work with paper licences".
(as an aside I'm curious as to how many are still validly circulating, since any change of address or other renewal now triggers replacement with a photocard)

If the choice was between paying £34 for a driving licence and £70 for a railcard now, or paying £90+inflation for railcards over the next two years...

I got myself a provisional licence as soon as I could after I moved here as it was the easiest way of getting my photograph and address side-by-side on the same official document. That's one of the joys of living in a country without a single standard national identity document: driver's licences inevitably become the de-facto vaguely-standard national identity document

 

[plugwash]

(as an aside I'm curious as to how many are still validly circulating, since any change of address or other renewal now triggers replacement with a photocard)

I'd imagine there must be a fair few people who bought their "forever home" in the 80s and 90s and are still living there today. Of course some of those people will now be over 70 but many won't

 

[Grumbler]

I renewed my senior railcard at my local station earlier this year and did not need to provide any ID whatsoever. Nor did I three years previously when I first bought one.

 

[35B]

The one number that is always correct for you is your NI number, as as far as I know it's issued when you're born.

When NI cards were routinely issued, they specifically stated that they were not to be used as ID. There are many problems with them, and they should not be regarded as more than a reference to the National Insurance database.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

I'm sorry to be a bit vague, however I can offer the following facts:

The first Senior Railcard I ever had was obtained from my local station on production of birth certificate.

I don't have either a driving licence or a passport.

I have a three-year Senior Railcard which I obtained just over a year ago in renewal of whatever Senior Railcard I previously had. Therefore, it must either have been renewed online without passport or driving licence or else at my local station.

I realise it would be more help if I could remember how I actually got the thing!

 

[Haywain]

I have a three-year Senior Railcard which I obtained just over a year ago in renewal of whatever Senior Railcard I previously had. Therefore, it must either have been renewed online without passport or driving licence or else at my local station.

It can only have been obtained online - as has been said a number of times on this thread, 3-year railcards are not sold at stations.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

It can only have been obtained online - as has been said a number of times on this thread, 3-year railcards are not sold at stations.

Therefore I must have obtained it without having either a driving licence or a passport.

 

[Grumbler]

I renewed my senior railcard at my local station earlier this year and did not need to provide any ID whatsoever. Nor did I three years previously when I first bought one.

Correction. All the Senior Railcards I have purchased have been annual ones. No ID needed even though I look only 30 (wishful thinking!).