Ulsterbus day ticket refused

[danm14]

Not sure where this should go, as it's a fare issue/dispute, but relating to buses and not trains

I recently needed to travel on Ulsterbus from A (in Northern Ireland) to B (in Northern Ireland) and then to C* (in the Republic of Ireland).

* For the record, C was not Dublin, it's a town a few miles across the border. I wasn't taking the piss and trying to get from NI to Dublin on a sub-£10 day ticket - I think anyone would reasonably expect Dublin to be excluded.

The combined fares for the two trips totalled £10. But Ulsterbus offer a £9.50 day ticket during the summer which states "This ticket is valid on all Ulsterbus services for one day only" on it.

As it was 50p cheaper, I bought the day ticket at A, and travelled to B with it. When I tried travelling to C, I was told the ticket wasn't valid to cross the border, even though it was an Ulsterbus service, and I had to pay the full fare for the journey. I later checked the terms and conditions online - he was correct.

As I regularly use this ticket (although not for cross border journeys) I knew what the ticket said on it, and assumed "all Ulsterbus services" meant all Ulsterbus services. So I never thought to check online or ask staff about validity, I just asked for it by name.

Should I be entitled to a refund of the difference between the fare I ended up paying (over £15) and the correct fare (£10), or would they be covered even though the ticket has a quite misleading statement printed on it as the terms are available online?

 

[carlberry]

If the terms and conditions are in line with what the driver said then (in England and Wales) it would be a misleading advert which would have to be taken up with the advertising standards authority. I don't know who controls such things for NI.

 

[yorkie]

I am not an expert on this product but if it's misleading then they are wrong to charge you extra under consumer law. I'd write to the company and see if they offer a refund.

 

[CM]

Not sure where this should go, as it's a fare issue/dispute, but relating to buses and not trains

I recently needed to travel on Ulsterbus from A (in Northern Ireland) to B (in Northern Ireland) and then to C* (in the Republic of Ireland).

* For the record, C was not Dublin, it's a town a few miles across the border. I wasn't taking the piss and trying to get from NI to Dublin on a sub-£10 day ticket - I think anyone would reasonably expect Dublin to be excluded.

The combined fares for the two trips totalled £10. But Ulsterbus offer a £9.50 day ticket during the summer which states "This ticket is valid on all Ulsterbus services for one day only" on it.

As it was 50p cheaper, I bought the day ticket at A, and travelled to B with it. When I tried travelling to C, I was told the ticket wasn't valid to cross the border, even though it was an Ulsterbus service, and I had to pay the full fare for the journey. I later checked the terms and conditions online - he was correct.

As I regularly use this ticket (although not for cross border journeys) I knew what the ticket said on it, and assumed "all Ulsterbus services" meant all Ulsterbus services. So I never thought to check online or ask staff about validity, I just asked for it by name.

Should I be entitled to a refund of the difference between the fare I ended up paying (over £15) and the correct fare (£10), or would they be covered even though the ticket has a quite misleading statement printed on it as the terms are available online?

Would help if we knew where A, B and C where? You're not going to get much help if you don't provide the necessary information.

 

[Flying Snail]

It's not an advert though, the OP is basing his assumption that it would be valid on the text on the actual ticket, or perhaps more accurately the absence of text stating it is not valid outside NI.

The ticket in question <Bus day rambler> is only intended to be valid in NI, not on cross-border services. This is in line with other translink products including the more expensive iLink card which is also only available for internal travel.

The page for the rambler ticket is not working at present but the link page for it has the following:

Bus Rambler - Get unlimited day travel for only £9.50 on all Ulsterbus, Goldline, Metro and Glider services within Northern Ireland after 9.15am.

https://www.translink.co.uk/getonboard/summer

This would be similar to other advertisements for these tickets which as far as I have seen do qualify validity to within NI.

The only real question then is should the text on the ticket be considered advertising or is it required that the full validity be spelled out on the ticket? I would say no to both these, it is a ticket not an advert and we are not talking about a separate ad on the back of the ticket as some companies produce.

It is not realistic or normal for the full validity to be spelled out on all tickets, bus or rail, often just a product name and date are provided with passengers/staff expected to ascertain the full terms from external publicity or website.

Unfortunately the OP has assumed something he really should have checked out or asked before buying, I can see how he made the error but I don't think there is a realistic complaint to be had here.

 

[jay38a]

I have successfully brought on more then one occasion over the last 2 years a rambler ticket on the 194b from Bundoran which is in ROI. I boarded in the south so if the ticket wasn’t valid the wayfarer machine has the capability of not showing it until we reached Belleek. But between Beleek and Pettigo the route renters ROI before entering NI again, I guess it could be that because the journey crosses the border multiple times it is valid throughout the whole route to avoid confusion.

 

[danm14]

It is not realistic or normal for the full validity to be spelled out on all tickets, bus or rail, often just a product name and date are provided with passengers/staff expected to ascertain the full terms from external publicity or website.

This ticket clearly states the exact words, "This ticket is valid on all Ulsterbus services for one day only".

I don't see how it can reasonably be expected that passengers should check whether a ticket that is clearly marked "valid on all Ulsterbus services" is valid on the Ulsterbus service they intend to travel on. The words "all Ulsterbus services" have a very specific implication of validity.

If it simply said "Ulsterbus Day Rambler" with no further clarification then yes, passengers should be expected to clarify. The words "day rambler" have no obvious implication of validity across an area.

In saying that, I would have no sympathy for someone who claimed they genuinely believed they would be able to take the Belfast to Glasgow Ulsterbus on it, or an Ulsterbus special coach to a football match - that would be ludicrous.