raileasy.co.uk - A warning

dave82_2

If you book tickets via raileasy.co.uk using a credit or debit for collection at the station you MUST have the card you booked with to collect the tickets or give them several days notice to send them by post.

I bought a set of tickets months ago sometime after which my bank card was canceled by my bank due to fraudulent use (Nothing to do with the purchase of the tickets)

The day of travel then came I dug out the confirmation e-mail and a feeling of dread took over as I re-read the terms. My only option was to call a £1 per min premium number who advised my only option was to rebook the tickets. This cost me nearly £130 + phone call. The original tickets were only about £40!

I was dissapointed when I got to the station to be told that if raileasy had followed a procedure to let the station know my bank card had changed I could have picked them up with some id.

After e-mailing Raileasy they refuse to refund the £130 for the new tickets however they are refunding the original tickets minus a £10 admin fee per ticket (they were booked in two transactions for me and a friend).

They also stated that the company has chosen not to follow the option of being able to fax some paperwork to allow customers to collect using id.

Now I realise that this is all in their terms and conditions so I don't really have any right to complain. I am just dissapointed in yet another example of a compnay chosing profit over customer service.

I just wanted to warn others before booking with raileasy make sure you will 100% have the card you booked with or make sure you contact them (at £1 per min) in plenty of time.

Happy traveling!

Meepster

I take it this is just a vent and you don't want anyone to actually offer you any advise?

andyrules

I take it this is just a vent and you don't want anyone to actually offer you any advise?

I think the op wanted to warn others of this and to have a little rant, rather than ask for advice.

It's not just raileasy - there was a thread about this some time back about Virgin refusing to supply the tickets on a different card.

I find it quite annoying if I want to buy for DD to collect in a different town. Pity tickets can't be issued just using the reference, but I suppose someone would find a way to abuse.

dfh

dave82 wrote: »

If you book tickets via raileasy.co.uk using a credit or debit for collection at the station you MUST have the card you booked with to collect the tickets or give them several days notice to send them by post.

I bought a set of tickets months ago sometime after which my bank card was canceled by my bank due to fraudulent use (Nothing to do with the purchase of the tickets)

The day of travel then came I dug out the confirmation e-mail and a feeling of dread took over as I re-read the terms. My only option was to call a £1 per min premium number who advised my only option was to rebook the tickets. This cost me nearly £130 + phone call. The original tickets were only about £40!

I was dissapointed when I got to the station to be told that if raileasy had followed a procedure to let the station know my bank card had changed I could have picked them up with some id.

After e-mailing Raileasy they refuse to refund the £130 for the new tickets however they are refunding the original tickets minus a £10 admin fee per ticket (they were booked in two transactions for me and a friend).

They also stated that the company has chosen not to follow the option of being able to fax some paperwork to allow customers to collect using id.

Now I realise that this is all in their terms and conditions so I don't really have any right to complain. I am just dissapointed in yet another example of a compnay chosing profit over customer service.

I just wanted to warn others before booking with raileasy make sure you will 100% have the card you booked with or make sure you contact them (at £1 per min) in plenty of time.

Happy traveling!

Thanks for letting us know.I shall be sure to avoid this company.I know every company has terms and conditions and surely they should be reasonable and show some flexibility for situations such as yours.

Mrs_Ryan

mwilletts wrote: »

What's the point of venting/warning people when the problem you faced was ENTIRELY your fault...

I assume that it was NOT the OP's fault his card was used fraudulently... I have been in the same situation and it was no fun. Read the OP's post properly first before you make such sweeping assumptions... :rolleyes:

Altarf

dave82 wrote: »

I bought a set of tickets months ago sometime after which my bank card was canceled by my bank due to fraudulent use (Nothing to do with the purchase of the tickets)
...
My only option was to call a £1 per min premium number who advised my only option was to rebook the tickets. This cost me nearly £130 + phone call. The original tickets were only about £40!
...
Now I realise that this is all in their terms and conditions so I don't really have any right to complain.

I disagree. You did have the card that you booked the tickets with, it just had a different number on it. And that was as a result of a decision that your bank had made unilaterally that was outside your control. It is Raileasy's problem if their systems cannot cope with what is a fairly normal occurance.

So if it was me, I would send them a "final letter before action" telling them that if they didn't refund then you will sue them in the small claims court. I can't see the judge being too happy that "the company has chosen not to follow the option of being able to fax some paperwork to allow customers to collect using id".

mrcol1000

Any rail tickets brought online if you want to pick up them up from a machine you need the same credit card. If you pick them up in person they rarely check your card but you still need the same card. Its to stop people using a fraudlent card and picking up tickets before the card is reported as stolen. Its no different to buying theatre tickets and picking up from the venue.

I got caught out as I brought some tickets and then my card was cancelled and sent a new one. I was told to destory the card immediately. Which I did. Of course when I picked up the tickets they refused to issue the tickets. This was the first time in months they had bothered to check the card. So I had to phone their customer services who put a note on the system to say they would accept photo ID to collect the tickets. Thankfully it wasn't a premuim rate number.

biscit

I did once use a TOC website which allowed me to pick up tickets based on the reference.

It did have a log-in so maybe it remembered me as a legitimate customer from the first time I used it.

Certainly the fact that you usually need the right card to pick up tickets is so usual as to be advice at the level of "if you see water falling out of the sky, it's called rain and you need a coat and or umbrella". I think the heads up to keep the card when its replaced is more useful.

Ste_C

Altarf wrote: »

So if it was me, I would send them a "final letter before action" telling them that if they didn't refund then you will sue them in the small claims court. I can't see the judge being too happy that "the company has chosen not to follow the option of being able to fax some paperwork to allow customers to collect using id".

You would get laughed out of court. :rotfl:

dave82_2

Hi,

It was really more of a warning than a rant if you read the whole post. I am sure many other people could be caught out in the same way.

The bank card was cancelled as it was used in a bank machine which had a skimmer on it. I am grateful my bank took this action. This is not my fault or that of raileasy.

I am sure like me 100s of others would buy tickets months in advice read the T & C and then forget them until the day of travel as I did!!

I am just disappointed with raileasys decision not to be flexible and that they chose not to follow a simple process that allows people in exactly my situation to collect tickets using id.

In the words of the person in the ticket office referring to peoples cards changing "it happens all the time" other companies simply advise them of the change in circumstances.

I know I don't have a leg to stand on and am not telling you to avoid raileasy as the tickets are cheep. Just be very careful you will 100% have the card you booked with (personally I don't think you can guarantee this) or be aware that if you don't you face at minimum a £1 per min call to customer services to get the tickets sent by post and at worst a call at £1 per min to book new tickets!

Cheers

glider3560

One bit of advice to anyone who reads this is don't book direct with Raileasy or The Train Line. They both charge fees and Raileasy have a premium rate (£1/min) phone number. Go directly to a train company's website - the prices are the same - but you won't be charged a booking fee! Also, some sites like NXEC and Southern, have a really nice booking engine that is very easy to use.