Appalled by thetrainline.com

[2Earlgreysplease]

I am so appalled by the service offered by the above company that I felt compelled to rejoin Mumsnet (children bit older now altho I've always lurked)
I bought a ticket to travel to destination A , then after chatting to my friend it was decided that it would be easier to travel to destination B.

It appears that it is not possible to change time and destination with cancelling the ticket and rebooking thus incurring a £10.00 admin fee. I am horrified by this, as in these days of button clicking, the admin here must be totally minimal compared with the paper trail involved in days of yore. There is no way of avoiding the £10.00 charge.

Not only this, but to be able to speak to a mere human, you are charged 13p a minute for the dissatisfaction of talking to a distant voice in a far off land.

Cannot express how livid I am at this total daylight robbery. It should be a simple issue to extend the journey or change the time of travel. Have vowed never to use this service again, and if I had time I would consult the rail network ombudsman.

Duh! Of course you pay a fee to amend a non-flexible ticket. Everyone does this. Hotels do it, too, it's cheaper because you're locked in.

They are a really good company. The fact you can make a change is amazing and that it costs £10 can hardly begin to represent the cost of that change!

I am afraid I have sympathy with the original poster at all.

Horrified? For real?

Appalled? Livid?

Please write to the transport ombudsman, and definitely use all your flowery hysterical language
It will make their day

You are horrified by a 10.00 admin charge? Seriously, get a grip.

If you booked a non-refundable/non-flexible ticket, you will have been made aware of that all through the booking process. Your ticket will also have been a lot cheaper than a flexible ticket.

If you want flexibility you buy a flexible ticket and pay more. I'm surprised that you're "horrified" by this.

I think OP needs a nice big cuddle.

Get a grip

Your plans changed. You can change your ticket for a fee. It's not the companies fault that you changed your mind, why should you get it for free?

Thays how it works with advance rate tickets? ! Or else why woukd anyone buy them at on the day rates if the advance ones were flexible?!

Buy off peak priced ones Im future or whatever rate it would be in the day for times you are travelling. .. then you can get them.fully refunded no charge

How much would it cost to buy a separate ticket from A to B?
How much was the original cost?

Wonder if OP works for a competitor?!

advanced non flexible ticket = cheaper but you run the risk of not being able to use it if you plans change

on the day peak ticket= more expensive, no risk of non-use.

I'm struggling to understand how you think this is daylight robbery.

You are appalled that a company wants to charge an admin fee to change tickets because you changed your mind after booking them, and confirming you read and understood the T&C of the ticket sale?

YABVU

So you booked something, changed your mind & for a mere £10, you can cancel that & book what you now want?

If you could just change your booking, what do you think that the fee for that should be?

Completely standard with travel operators!

I think to be appalled is over reacting somewhat. Standard imo.

Next time use trainsplit

Do you realise what a minor issue this is in the grand scheme of things?

Ha ha ha ha. Sure.

I agree with you, its a bit off especially when there will probably be no human interaction for you to cancel and amend the booking as its all automated online. And yes its probably in the small print but who reads that when booking a train ticket? Its just a way for them to get a bit more money out of you basically. If you take your ticket tot he customer service desk at the station would they be able to change it there for you?

requestingshineshine do you also not understand the concept of advance ticket pricing?

YABVU. Of course there's a fee if you decide to change your mind.

If you take your ticket tot he customer service desk at the station would they be able to change it there for you?

Yes, they would. For £10.

(It has to be more than an hour before departure though I think).

You're being just a tad OTT OP. Have a brew.

Appalled, horrified AND livid? All because you can't change your train tickets.

Seriously, get a life. Get train tickets to some kind of retreat where you can take a good hard look at yourself.