Train tickets, online purchase and refunding

James_Londoner

Nanako said:

The print at home option is not ideal, printing at station would be better. Etickets ARE available for this route

E-tickets don't have to be printed - they can be shown on a phone or tablet. They are at their most basic a PDF file with a 3D barcode (called an Aztec code).

Nanako said:

Can I pay for a ticket that they can print on arrival at the station?

If you do down the TOD route, take care about what is said above. If possible, pay by Paypal as this will ensure the person in London can use their own card to collect the tickets.

Voyager2002

I once bought a ticket for a visitor by telephone (not online). I explained that I was paying with a company credit card that could not be lent to our visitor to collect tickets, and they agreed that he could pick them up from the booking office on presentation of his passport.

speedypete2022

Is it not cheaper to fly and thus avoid the headache of the rail ticketing system?

If it must be by rail then various companies offer free alterations. The London to Glasgow operator allows exchange of Advance tickets for a Rail Travel Voucher or to amend them fee free until 30 September 2022. Notably this isn't quite the same as a full refund but if you're likely to use the train again in the near future, the RTV could be used there.

[Deleted User]

I have bought tickets for 2 people on the trainline app before (local ones don't have the admin fee) and did a screenshot of the second ticket code and messaged it to my partner so she could scan in as well so you could presumably do it that way.

The question of a refund is separate, you would have to read the terms but you'd presumably be cancelling on the day knowing they hadn't travelled, therefore would have to check what each operator allows

jon81uk

I've travelled for work before, so work paid for the tickets and I just needed to enter the code and any card.
Never had to be the card used for the booking.

k3lvc

jon81uk said:

I've travelled for work before, so work paid for the tickets and I just needed to enter the code and any card.
Never had to be the card used for the booking.

Likewise for me - assuming you have the code then LNER just want 'any' credit card to release the tickets

@Nanako given the lack of trust what are you going to do to mitigate the 'guest' not travelling and getting a refund on the tickets ? 

Jaybee_16

jon81uk said:

I've travelled for work before, so work paid for the tickets and I just needed to enter the code and any card.
Never had to be the card used for the booking.

Seems as though it varies between the rail operators. Bought tickets for travel with FGW and their website is clear that when collecting the tickets the card used for payment will be needed in addition to the code. As was the case when I actually collected them. 

KittenChops

Nanako said:

The print at home option is not ideal, printing at station would be better. Etickets ARE available for this route

Can I pay for a ticket that they can print on arrival at the station?

@Nanako
My sister did this for me years ago when I when I was a skint student - google SILK arrangement
(see post #2 here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/daughter-needs-to-get-home-urgently-how-to-buy-ticket-remotely-for-her.50130/)

MSE_James

jon81uk said:

I've travelled for work before, so work paid for the tickets and I just needed to enter the code and any card.
Never had to be the card used for the booking.

That's normal for bookings via a corporate travel provider.

The flag for 'same card' or 'any card' collection is set on a per-booking basis, but different providers have different default settings.

If it's set to 'any card' the vendor assumes more of the fraud risk.

MSE_James

Jaybee_16 said:

Seems as though it varies between the rail operators. Bought tickets for travel with FGW and their website is clear that when collecting the tickets the card used for payment will be needed in addition to the code. As was the case when I actually collected them. 

For each booking there is a flag for 'any card' or 'same card' collection.

Tickets paid for via Paypal, Apple Pay or purchased from a corporate travel provider will usually be set to 'any card' by default.

Most other consumer bookings will default to 'same card' as a fraud deterrent.