Refund on Railcard

littledorrit

I purchased a railcard online and it wasn't until after the purchase that I realised I could not use it to get discounted tickets until the actual card came through. The receipt to show I had paid for the ticket was no good. I therefore requested to cancel that Railcard the very next day and bought one at the station where I could gain a discount immediately.
I was under the impression that services and goods bought online come under the Consumer protction (Distance Selling Regs) Act (2000) and that you are entitled to a 7 day cooling off period, whereby you can cancel your order and get a full refund. I am aware that train tickets with actual dates and times on are not subject to the cooling off period. But this is not a ticket but a rail card. The rail company have told me that they are not bound by distance selling regs and that i can have a partial refund but I need to pay them a £5 admin fee. This doesn't sound quite right! Any idea/ info?? Many Thanks

McKneff

DSR rules dont apply in these circs.

I would take the refund and pay the fiver to be honest.

Have another look at the terms and conditions.

redux

If you were going to the station anyway, why buy the first one at all?

The terns and conditions are available online

11) The Network Railcard will not be valid if it is damaged. The Train Companies do not undertake to replace damaged, lost or stolen Railcards, or to issue refunds on unused/unwanted Railcards. However, application for the replacement of a Railcard may be made at a staffed station ticket office in the Network Railcard area. A £5 administration fee (increased to £10 from 2 September 2012) will be payable for the replacement of a damaged or lost Railcard and the completed 'Receipt' section of the original application form must be produced. No fee will be charged for the replacement of a stolen Railcard upon presentation of a crime reference number/documentation issued by the Police. In all cases, you will be requested to show some form of identification if obtaining a replacement from a station.

Or

8. The Railcard will not be valid if it is damaged. The Train Companies do not undertake to replace damaged, lost or stolen Railcards, or to issue refunds on unused/ unwanted Railcards. However, an application for the replacement of a Railcard may be made at any staffed station ticket office (the completed ‘Receipt’ voucher of the original application form must be produced). Where the Railcard was purchased online, customers may only request a replacement online at www.16-25railcard.co.uk.

A £5 administration fee will be payable for the replacement of a damaged or lost Railcard. This fee will increase to £10 from 2nd January 2013. No fee will be charged for the replacement of a stolen Railcard provided you have a crime reference number/documentation issued by the Police. You will be requested to show some form of identification if obtaining a replacement from a station.

davenport151

Littledorrit - before you do refund are you sure you will not use it again before it ends?
As stated you can buy the railcard immediately at stations so this could have been a better option (or did you have a discount code)?
I remember there was a similar thread recently where the op had found the same thing as you. But he/she had wanted to use their tickets on a train while waiting for it to come through.
T &c state you need to have a valid railcard whenever you travel or full ticket price will need to be paid.

Livingthedream

littledorrit wrote: »

I purchased a railcard online and it wasn't until after the purchase that I realised I could not use it to get discounted tickets until the actual card came through.

There's nothing stopping you from buying discounted tickets online, you don't need the card to purchase discounted tickets, you only need the card to validate your tickets on the day of travel.

The is the same with ticket machines at a station, however, a manned ticket office will always want to see any railcard before selling you a discounted ticket.

littledorrit

Thank you everyone.
I bought the card online to get the tickets early so we wouldn't have a rush at the station, and also online railcard was so much cheaper. It wasn't until after the card/payment went through that we saw we couldn't use it online.
Still that's a lesson learned isn't it?

wealdroam

OP, I too cannot understand why Distance Selling Regulations do not apply to the sale of railcards for the reason that you state... it's not a ticket.

The railway company cannot exempt themselves from statutory requirements.

On page 5 of the OFT's guide to the DSRs we see...

When do the DSRs apply?
2.8 The DSRs apply to your business if you sell goods or services without face-to-face contact with your consumer using an organised distance sale or service provision scheme for instance via:

• the internet
• text messaging
• phone call
• faxing
• interactive TV, or
• mail order – via catalogues, mail order advertising in newspapers or magazines.

Also, on page 7 of that document it says...

Do the DSRs apply to public bodies selling products and services by distance means?
2.12 If the public body is acting in a commercial or professional capacity and not exercising a statutory function, it is likely to be considered to be acting as a supplier for the purpose of the DSRs.

OK, know the railways have some special legal status in some situations, but the purely commercial selling of railcards probably isn't one of them.

In post #3 there are some T&Cs which state the opposite.
A company is not allowed to remove a consumer's statutory rights.
Therefore I suggest those T&Cs may be unlawful.

It might be a good idea to get this thread transferred to the Consumer Rights board where there are people more aware of consumer legislation.

Aside from that, as has been said, you can buy railcard discounted tickets before you receive the actual railcard.

Yes, you may have difficulties at a ticket office where the seller is perhaps trying too hard to protect revenue, but if you are buying online or from a ticket machine will not see any problems.

littledorrit

How do you tranfer a thread?

wealdroam

littledorrit wrote: »

How do you tranfer a thread?

I've sent a PM to the board guide Crabman asking him if he'll move it.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

It may not be a ticket, per-se Wealdroam, BUT it is a dated product personalised with name and date of expiry on it. This then cannot be used by anyone else nor resold so therefore it does not come under DSRs.

wealdroam

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

It may not be a ticket, per-se Wealdroam, BUT it is a dated product personalised with name and date of expiry on it. This then cannot be used by anyone else nor resold so therefore it does not come under DSRs.

Good point, I hadn't considered that.

Whether or not it can be resold is not important, but the 'customisation' may well be the significant point.

I do however object strongly to a railway company, or any company, stating they "are not bound by distance selling regs".