does the purchaseof a rail ticket constitute a contract?

dalesrider

Lucky she got stopped before boarding the train...

Or some jobsworth, could have had a nice bonus on the fine.

starlitegaize

dalesrider wrote: »

Lucky she got stopped before boarding the train...

Or some jobsworth, could have had a nice bonus on the fine.

Yeah - too right - a nice bonus - :mad: a 1st class ticket (as she was travelling with her dog) and even after the discount, it was still the equivalent of a month's pension and all because some jobsworth though it would be fun to stop her boarding the 9pm sleeper and let her sit on the platform in subzero temperatures. All because of some out of date poxy piece of plastic.
Next time, a flight! Cleaner and quicker, and possibly cheaper! And she can leave her dog with me!

tomwakefield

starlitegaize wrote: »

Yeah - too right - a nice bonus - :mad: a 1st class ticket (as she was travelling with her dog) and even after the discount, it was still the equivalent of a month's pension and all because some jobsworth though it would be fun to stop her boarding the 9pm sleeper and let her sit on the platform in subzero temperatures. All because of some out of date poxy piece of plastic.
Next time, a flight! Cleaner and quicker, and possibly cheaper! And she can leave her dog with me!

I'm sure the person that stopped her boarding the train wasn't doing it for fun. She didn't have the necessary railcard for the ticket to be valid. Unfortunate, but there it is.

One thing puzzles me - why didn't she renew the railcard between spotting it was expired and the time of the train?

Exile_geordie

dalesrider wrote: »

Lucky she got stopped before boarding the train...

Or some jobsworth, could have had a nice bonus on the fine.

Fine? Only courts can impose a fine so what are you on about man?

mo786uk

if she was told by the rep that it was OK to use an out of date card then she may have a claim against them - but proving it will be impossible so she is stuffed.

Fire_Fox

starlitegaize wrote: »

She just forgot to renew it, as it had been a pretty tough time while up in Scotland - don't the operators have a care of duty to inform the purchaser of the tickets that they cannot proceed with the purchase on the phone, without a valid card. She could have quite easily shown a driving licence, a disability card etc....

The terms and conditions were for a senior railcard, not being a senior or having a drivers license. How would being told on the phone to renew it have stopped her forgetting? Given that the railcard costs £28 how could she possibly not know she needed to renew it between buying the ticket and travelling? Nobody was stopping her writing herself a quick reminder to renew the card.

You can't expect them to bend the rules every time someone has a sob story, people deliberately buy tickets with no railcards all the time or 'lose' their ticket or 'lose' their railcard. They want 1/3 off for free, which is essentially what your neighbour was asking for. If an inspector boards the train the conductor can be disciplined or sacked for having people on the train without a valid ticket.

starlitegaize wrote: »

Yeah - too right - a nice bonus - :mad: a 1st class ticket (as she was travelling with her dog) and even after the discount, it was still the equivalent of a month's pension and all because some jobsworth though it would be fun to stop her boarding the 9pm sleeper and let her sit on the platform in subzero temperatures. All because of some out of date poxy piece of plastic.
Next time, a flight! Cleaner and quicker, and possibly cheaper! And she can leave her dog with me!

Why didn't she pop back and renew the railcard? Or did she not leave enough time and you are actually expecting the train to have waited and put the entire schedule off?

starlitegaize wrote: »

Hi, on behalf of my neighbour, who is a disabled pensioner, a question:
She booked a ticket through Scotrail telesales and, at the same time, informed the operator that her Senior Railcard was out of date. She was still issued with a ticket to travel.
On arriving at the train, the Scotrail member of staff refused to let her on the train (at 9pm, with a dog, and three suitcases, so we're not talking a £15.00 fare, here). He told her that the ticket was invalid and that she would have to buy a new ticket, but "would be able to get a refund":mad: (would have been nicer if he'd just said, "go on, pop back and get your Senior Railcard renewed. I'll look after your bags for the time being.")
My question is - despite the railcard being out of date, doesn't the issuing of the ticket constitute a contract to travel between the issuer and the customer?

pmduk

The rail industry in this country is certainly in a mess, but what more could they have reasonably done? Even if she had had a rail card, she would only be able to use discounted tickets if she had the railcard with her whilst travelling.

Why did she not renew the railcard at the same time as buying the ticket? Alternatively if she decided not to renew the railcard she should have bought the full price ticket.

mattyprice4004

starlitegaize wrote: »

She just forgot to renew it, as it had been a pretty tough time while up in Scotland - don't the operators have a care of duty to inform the purchaser of the tickets that they cannot proceed with the purchase on the phone, without a valid card. She could have quite easily shown a driving licence, a disability card etc....

It's time for her to take responsibility instead of trying to blame other people.

It's always someone else's fault..!

dalesrider

Exile_geordie wrote: »

Fine? Only courts can impose a fine so what are you on about man?

OK lets rephrase that...

Penalty charge.

Linky

Just because it some little grannie, does not make it right for them to avoid paying what the should.

JethroUK

starlitegaize wrote: »

does the purchase of a rail ticket constitute a contract?

Yes!

Dont need to read anything to answer than

starlitegaize wrote: »

...despite the railcard being out of date, doesn't the issuing of the ticket constitute a contract to travel between the issuer and the customer?

You still have to adhere to the terms of the contract e.g.

Just buyng a ticket to fly to Africa doesn't exempt you from also needing a 'current' Passort

And in fairness, tickets sellers have a right to expect you already 'know' that

Just like someone selling you a car has a right to expect you to hold a valid driving licence, tax, insurance, etc