to think the station should do something about this?

[Saker]

I went to collect preordered tickets from the ticket machine at the station today. It is for a journey in May and because I am a stingy cow somewhat frugal, I had carefully planned the journey in about 4 sections to save me money on the tickets. So I had a lot of tickets to print out. I waited until the machine said collect your tickets and I checked carefully that I had them all, including looking and feeling all around inside the machine to make sure I had them all. I went back to the car and sorted them out and there were four tickets for each leg of the journey (there are 2 of us travelling) - 2 reservations and 2 tickets except one part where there were only the 2 reservations tickets. So I went back to the ticket office and queued for some time and asked the lady selling tickets what I should do about this. She said "you probably left them in the machine". I said I checked it really carefully. She said, "I'm sure you did but you must have left the in the machine, it happens all the time." She then opened the machine but the tickets weren't inside so she said again, "you must have left them in there, they lie flat and you can't feel them, then the next person takes them. You can ask at the station if they will accept them but you will probably have to buy them again". I said that I didn't see why I had to buy them again when I had paid for them already but she just repeated that it happens all the time and that I must have left them in the machine. Now by this time the queue was getting restless and the journey that is missing is only really short, so even if I do have to buy them again it won't be a lot, so I left it at that.

But AIBU to think that firstly, if they really were there and I missed them even after checking really carefully, and that if this happens all the time, then they need to do something about it as it is unfairly penalising travellers. Secondly, if it happens all the time, maybe it is actually that the machine is malfunctioning rather than that everyone is leaving their tickets in the machine. (Thirdly, why on earth do I need two tickets for each part of the journey anyway.)

I was certain that I had picked up all the tickets; it's only her insistence that I couldn't have that is making me doubt myself. It's also a bit of a coincidence that it was a pair of matching tickets missing rather than just a random two which you might expect if they had got stuck up the side.

[StealthPolarBear]

Yes this has happened to me before, they get stuck up the chute bit I always check up there now.
I agree it is utterly ridiculous.

[StealthPolarBear]

In my case they should have put an announcement out asking ppl to check their ticketsanf they were handed in. Should have done that for you imo.

[Saker]

They must have been really far up if that is the case because I put my hand all round.

[StealthPolarBear]

They sort if weled themselves to the wall

[Saker]

I've just looked at the tickets again and the collection receipt says 18 coupons which is what I've got, so that means they didn't print doesn't it?

[StealthPolarBear]

Yes that would be my thinking too.

[Birdsgottaf1y]

I've had it happen, I'm like you, search for the cheapest fares, as soon as they come on sale.

I've had to show my Email, but my Station (Liverpool Lime Street) has always sorted it out.

[NotSoSkinnyNow]

Could it be that for that one leg of the journey, it was not possible to reserve a seat? So you have a ticket, but just don't have a reserved seat.

[LurkingHusband]

You would think, in 2017 you would be able to have e-tickets on your smartphone (yes, I know some operators do already).

I'll be relieved when they finally privatise the railways, and we get some decent customer service.

Oh, hang on ....

[Saker]

I've worked it out. It's actually the other way round NotSoSkinnyNow - there are two reservations corresponding to one part of the journey. So the ticket that is called Manchester Stns to Leeds corresponds to reservations on Manchester Oxford Road to Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Piccadilly to Leeds. I probably should have realised but if it wasn't always made so complicated with separate reservations and tickets. And the tickets all say 1 of 2 where really it should be 1 of 3 for that part of the journey.

[Saker]

You would think that even if it wasn't on a phone, that you just could use a reservation code that the guard could tap into his machine or something. I'm going to paranoid about losing some tickets at some point on this journey now.

[NotSoSkinnyNow]

I completely agree! Far too many bits of paper for what should be a simple journey. There really should be a better system for train tickets & seat reservations.
Glad you have figured it out tho

[user1469914265]

I'm confused.

You wanted to save money so booked separate journeys and then complain that the separate journeys are on separate tickets?

[Saker]

To print out the tickets I only had to enter one reservation code as everything was booked with one train company. Therefore it is being held electronically as one reservation and could remain electronically as one reservation which could be checked via a phone or a code rather than via numerous bits of paper. Plus there are in fact two tickets per passenger for each part of the journey as well.

[expatinscotland]

YANBU

[onbroadway89]

This happened to me once and the station were particularly unhelpful. I then contacted the company I had purchased the tickets from (trainline I think) and they sent me out replacements.

[specialsubject]

Op is probably using split ticketing, there are at least two sites that do this and it can save a lot of money. Worth a big stash of tickets but does risk machine getting stuck. If time allows it is worth a pound to have them posted, which means this problem won't arise.

[Saker]

I am split ticketing although I am doing it myself rather than on a website. I agree it is worth it to save the money even though it meant lots of tickets. To be honest this is mad. For example, on my outward journey I was able to buy an advance ticket for the whole journey to Manchester Piccadilly for £35 for 2 of us, but for the same journey ending at Manchester Oxford Rd (which is 5min further) it was £67. Which is fine, we can walk the extra, but I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't been messing about with split ticketing and it would never have occurred to me that there would be such a big difference.

I have looked at the pairs of tickets and I think quite a lot of the information is duplicated on them so I think they could be quite easily combined without having to change the font size. Other information on the seat reservation is telling you it is a seat reservation so that could be missed out if it was the ticket - for example: Price £0, Ticket type Seat. And I am not really sure why they need stuff like the date of issue on there.

[specialsubject]

Yep,that is rail franchising for you!

[GeorgeTheHamster]

Often if you have a rail ticket into central Manchester (any station) it includes free tram travel in the city zone. So you could get the tram from Piccadilly to St Peters Sq for free which will shorten your walk. Or you can us the free shuttle bus from outside Picadilly which may get you closer to where you want to be. Or you could walk, as you say.

[carefreeeee]

YANBU - the whole system is crap and designed to rip people off. It should be priced at pence per mile with a small % discount for long journeys and off peak journeys. Then there'd be no need to mess about with all this nonsense.

[MollyHuaCha]

I regularly take the train long distances and there is something wrong with the journey every time. So tedious.

[Trainspotting1984]

I absolutely hate this and believe that the law should be changed so train companies have to replaced lost tickets. I can't believe they actually make you buy another despite clear proof of payment. You pay for the journey, not a peice of paper

[ItsThisOneThing]

Same thing happened to me & I assumed the station staff would just re-print missing tickets for me but they were so unhelpful! Stated that I must not have picked them up despite me explaining that I'd literally just walked away from the machine and come straight to the desk. Seems like that is always the party line 😡