raileasy.co.uk - A warning

dave82_2

Another good idea might be for the bank to say as part of their card cancelation/renewal process. If you have booked any tickets or goods that require you to produce this card on collection please contact the vendor as soon as possible.

I know this isn't the banks responsability but this would be really helpful and would get the cogs spinning!

biscit

I will bear this story in mind and keep my cancelled card if there is fraud and I have still to pick up my train tickets.

It won't help if the card is lost or stolen though.

andyrules

glider3560 wrote: »

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.

Not always. I booked tickets London-Manchester last week - with Virgin standard seats were 40 odd quid, with the trainline 1st class were 20 something. Can't remember exact figures, but a good saving, even with the fee

glider3560

andyrules wrote: »

Not always. I booked tickets London-Manchester last week - with Virgin standard seats were 40 odd quid, with the trainline 1st class were 20 something. Can't remember exact figures, but a good saving, even with the fee

It would have been available with Virgin, but you probably weren't looking properly!! All the ticket prices are fed from the National Rail computer system - which is used by all ticket vendors and stations. The prices are the same wherever you buy the ticket (except for the surcharges).

andyrules

glider3560 wrote: »

It would have been available with Virgin, but you probably weren't looking properly!! All the ticket prices are fed from the National Rail computer system - which is used by all ticket vendors and stations. The prices are the same wherever you buy the ticket (except for the surcharges).

lol, you could well be correct. All I did was follow through the website directions till I got a timetable/price page showing 2 prices per journey. Then I went onto trainline/raileasy (can't remember which) and did the same thing - for the same journey it was that much cheaper. The tickets were indeed for a Virgin train.

Think that just about negates the recent claim by the government that train ticket purchase has become simpler:rolleyes:

So what should I have done on the Virgin site? Do tell, then I'll know next time:D

glider3560

andyrules wrote: »

lol, you could well be correct. All I did was follow through the website directions till I got a timetable/price page showing 2 prices per journey. Then I went onto trainline/raileasy (can't remember which) and did the same thing - for the same journey it was that much cheaper. The tickets were indeed for a Virgin train.

Think that just about negates the recent claim by the government that train ticket purchase has become simpler:rolleyes:

So what should I have done on the Virgin site? Do tell, then I'll know next time:D

You may have been looking at the price for a return on Virgin, but for 2 singles on the Train Line. When it comes to advanced fares, 2 singles are usually cheaper. Both sites are powered by the Train Line anyway, but setup differently to show different fares first.

andyrules

glider3560 wrote: »

You may have been looking at the price for a return on Virgin, but for 2 singles on the Train Line. When it comes to advanced fares, 2 singles are usually cheaper. Both sites are powered by the Train Line anyway, but setup differently to show different fares first.

No, was deff only looking at single, as that was what I wanted. Actually, I think there were 3 fares, off-peak, anytime and 1st.

glider3560

andyrules wrote: »

No, was deff only looking at single, as that was what I wanted. Actually, I think there were 3 fares, off-peak, anytime and 1st.

Try https://www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com in the future - very easy to use and shows you all the fares available.

andyrules

glider3560 wrote: »

Try www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com in the future - very easy to use and shows you all the fares available.

I do use this when I'm travelling with them, but still fail to understand why the ticket prices vary so much for the same company, same journey - unless there's a secret widget on the Virgin site of which I am unaware;)
Shame on Virgin and on those claiming to have 'simplified' pricing. Had I not used the trainline I would have paid more than double.

mrcol1000

glider3560 wrote: »

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.

You should try if possible to book with the train company website which runs the machines/ticket office where you wish to pick up the tickets. Only I brought GNER (Now National Express East Coast) tickets through Virgin website (don't ask!) and went to Leeds to collect them. The GNER machine printed one ticket and then said it was out of paper and shut down. So I went to the collections office and they said the system showed the tickets had been printed and that had I brought through GNER website they could fix it but as it was Virgin I would have to go to them to sort it out. Eventually I got my money refunded (after having to buy new tickets) but its just a word of warning. I am not sure if its still true or if it was even true then.