Avanti west coast trains - can't collect tickets from machine

Nova1307

Hi folks,

I bought 2 x advance single train tickets last month but have since lost the credit card that was used to buy them which presumably means I can't collect them from the ticket collection machine at the station. I have read online that another debit/card card may work but the nearest station is very far and so so I can't check this until the day of travel. Has anyone managed to do this successfully recently? I still have the booking confirmation email and the ticket collection reference.

I'll be departing from London Euston and wondered what the best course of action is. Is there an Avanti or general ticket office there where I can get assistance if I bring the booking confirmation email and credit card statement showing payment? Or do I need to cancel the booking and re-book? My booking was an advance return and so not sure if it will be refundable. I have read that Avanti can be slow at responding to enquiries by email and I am travelling next Sunday and so I may not get a response in time.

Thanks in advance.

flaneurs_lobster

If at all possible I would be getting to a station with a machine before the day I had booked to travel, but I live in a city with stations in every direction less than a mile away.

I've retrieved tickets at a ticket office that were due to be collected at a machine, big queues at machines, train ten minutes to go - lots of tutting and huffing and job's-worthing but did get them.

I'd be too anxious to leave that kind of unknown until the day of travel. You mention buying 2 tickets, can your +1 help?

Check the terms of your booking to see if there are charges for cancelling in case you decide to rebook. Did you consider getting e-tickets to your phone?

Isthisforreal99

Not sure if it's UK wide but in Scotland you no longer need to insert any card to collect tickets for Scotrail.

Nova1307

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81970161#Comment_81970161

2 x advance single tickets are both for me (outbound and inbound). I don't recall etickets being an option - it was either paper tickets sent in the post for a charge or collect at the machines.

I am due to arrive at London Euston on Sunday morning about an hour before my train is due to depart and so there should hopefully be enough time to sort it out at the ticket office if the machine doesn't accept another bank card. I will bring the booking email, credit card statement and still have the 16 digit number/expiry date/security numbers of the original credit card if need be.

First part of my journey starts on Saturday and I so could try and visit Staines train station which I believe is staffed albeit is a bus ride away.

flaneurs_lobster

That all sounds eminently doable. An hour should be plenty of time to get it sorted, Google says the ticket office opens at 07:00am on Sundays.

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6664939/avanti-west-coast-trains-cant-collect-tickets-from-machine#latest

martindow

I believe machines are set up differently regarding requiring the same card, accepting a different card or needing none at all. I would be inclided to print out your order and itinerary for your tickets as this would be easier to show to the clerk in a booking office if the machine wont print out your tickets. It would be wise to have some ID as well just in case they want proof it is you.

Nova1307

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81970346#Comment_81970346

As mentioned on the other thread before you posted the link to this thread I have already self reported and requested thread closure/merger.

Emmia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81970168#Comment_81970168

We collected tickets from a machine in London a few weeks ago, a card was definitely needed to collect - I don't think I used the card I paid with (via Google pay) though.

la531983

Well thats a point, if you use Google Pay its a virtual card, with a totally different card number to the physical one, so if a TOC required the ACTUAL card used to go into the ticket collection machine surely this is an impossibility. So maybe no TOC actually needs the card used anymore?

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81970463#Comment_81970463

Good point, remember when Chase entered the UK market with their novel 'no number' card design, trouble was that the number given in the app that you used to pay for your tickets online is a virtual number, the physical number that's read by the ticket machine (rail, cinema) is different. Advice then was to use ticket office, maybe now not necessary?