On 6 January I attempted to renew my digital railcard online. Having completed the entire process, including giving my credit card details and authorising a £30 payment, the system seemed to dump me back to the beginning.
My railcard had not (and still has not) been renewed. I then received an email acknowledging I had paid not £30 but £60, which said “this is confirmation of your payment only, it cannot be used as a railcard or to buy discounted tickets”.
I have since tried to contact Railcard without success. It does not answer its helpline, respond to messages via the website or answer Facebook personal messages (which it encourages people to use).
All I have received is an automated reply to an email I sent to the “support team”, saying they would reply within 20 working days. I have opened a dispute via my credit card company.
However, it’s clear from Facebook that there has been a serious problem with Railcard’s website for more than a month, and that double, or even triple, payments appear to have been taken. Staff seem to have given up answering the phone or replying to messages, as all the complainants say they have got no response. Yet the site is still open for business and still taking payments. There is a message on the Facebook page saying that people can take their proof of payment to a station and use it to buy tickets, but there are responses from people who have tried and been refused.
SB, London, SW18
We revealed before Christmas that the Railcard website (run by the Rail Delivery Group) was in meltdown on the eve of one of the busiest travel times of the year. The volume of complaints in our inbox makes clear these issues are ongoing.
Following our intervention RDG apologised, refunded your money but, incredibly, three weeks later, still not delivered your railcard. It tells us: “We have significantly increased the resources to help respond more quickly to customers experiencing problems. However, there are some cases where the solution cannot be immediately remedied. We have teams working continuously to catch up and again offer our sincere apologies for any delay and inconvenience.”
It seems the only way to buy this railcard is to go in person to a station. What a shambles.
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