We travelled off peak from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston in September, using two advance first-class tickets which cost £35.65 each with my disabled person’s railcard. But when the ticket inspector checked, I couldn’t find my railcard, though I had a photo of it on my mobile. She told me this wasn’t acceptable and I’d have to buy new tickets – for an extra £201.85 each.
I asked, instead, to get off the train, but was told this wasn’t possible and that I had to buy the new tickets. The inspector did mention that Virgin will sometimes reimburse the cost in such circumstances. On this basis I agreed to pay the additional fare.
I immediately went on the Virgin website to submit the claim, even asking the inspector to show me how to correctly fill in the complaint. As the train pulled into Euston I found my railcard in my bag – it must have been trapped in the lining. I tried to find the inspector, but couldn’t.
Since then I have been told by Virgin that my claim has been refused on the basis that, when asked, I didn’t show my railcard. I escalated my complaint to management, which merely confirmed the rejection.
I accept that rail firms have to make sure people don’t fraudulently travel on cheaper fares, but in this case I had a card that I could have shown at the journey’s end.
The price of the new ticket is totally disproportionate to the original cost. I have spent about £5,000 a year for the past five years travelling between London and Manchester and find the company’s response astounding. GC, London
From a train operator’s – if not from the customer’s – point of view, the rules are crystal clear and are the same across the entire rail network. Under the terms and conditions of the railcard and National Rail “conditions of carriage”, a ticket must be accompanied by a valid railcard if the card was used to obtain a discount – which, in your case, it was. Until you have a valid replacement railcard, you have to pay the full fare, which is not refundable.
The difference between the ticket prices was, admittedly, massive, but the train manager charged you for an “anytime” first-class ticket, which is one of the most expensive, compared with your advance single tickets. In practice, ticket inspectors do have some discretion for leniency, but clearly this was not extended to you on this occasion.
Virgin agreed to look into this case but did not change its tune: “It is a rail industry standard that the customer is responsible for having their railcard with them … as this customer was found to be travelling without their railcard they were charged the full amount of a new ticket. This is something highlighted to customers when purchasing their ticket.”
This is a handy opportunity to remind railcard holders to always keep them in a safe place when travelling and not to rely on photographic evidence.
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