Have you been ripped off by Virgin Trains?

Question

I bought a saver return ticket from London to Manchester, when I got on the return leg of the journey today 6.02 in the morning, I was forced to pay an extra £109 (on top of my original fare of £59.60) because my ticket was not valid for travel at that time of day. When I bought the ticket on the Virgin website, I was not informed of any restrictions, or the fact that the ticket was only for use in off-peak times

Thanks for your answers guys, I agree, yes I should have read the terms and conditions. I didn't though. The are sixteen pages long. And I expect a lot of people, apart from those who are virgin employees, or train fare experts don't know about which restrictions apply to which tickets. The point I am trying to make is that I used the virgin website and nowhere did it clearly give me details of what I was buying, or direct me to find out what I was buying apart from in the small print. For the lay man, who doesn't use the service very often, you can very easily buy a ticket in good faith and end up with a whopping fare. If I had known it was going to cost that much, I would have chosen a cheaper method of transport. It just really about common sense. If you are going to sell things over the web, then you should make sure that customers know what they are buying

Answer 1

Actually.......it was vice versa for me. Thought it strange i couldnt find my seat in normal 2nd class carriage. So promptly sat down in my seat number which happened to be in business class. very cushty! Trolly dolly came along...offered me wine and some light snacks......F.O.C. of course. Choice of newspaper.......sat back and relaxed. Admired the well groomed 'suiters and booters' surrounding me with their laptops and notebooks. But feeling quite happy with myself that some idiot had obviously made a booboo and not charged me business class when i booked ticket.
Then came the ticket inspector! No big deal.......handed over ticket, to be promptly told not only was i in wrong carriage, but the wrong train! hahahahaha
Had changed at York and as timing was very tight, jumped on the train that was going to Darlington. Didnt think for one minute that there would be two trains going to Darlington within 5 minutes of each other. Anyway.....He very nicely asked me to move to 2nd class, but let me take my wine ,snacks and newspaper. And guess what the next stop was.yep Darlington. so got home earlier, fed, watered and well up on stocks and shares. So thanx Mr B. pleasure was all mine.

Answer 2

Having just checked the Virgin site, if you click on the "Saver Return" link in the ticket buying bit, it brings up a page giving you the terms and conditions, which quite clearly says:

VALIDITY The outward leg of the journey must be made on off peak services on the date of the ticket. The return leg of the journey must be completed within one calendar month on off peak services

And you have to tick a box to say that you understand and accept the National Conditions of Carriage and Ticket Restrictions as part of the booking process (with a link to both). If you just tick the box without having read them, that's not Virgin's fault.

As for the extra you had to pay, that'd be a Standard Single fare, because you boarded the train without having a valid ticket.

Answer 3

All railway fares in Britain are a rip-off, because they are on average 3 times what you would expect to pay in the rest of Europe.

This in turn is because British train companies are run like any other business, i.e. to make sufficient profit to satisfy their shareholders, and they will use whatever tactics they can get away with to achieve this (including, as e.g. First Great Western do, issuing tickets with their name and 'only' printed on them, which are not valid on other companies' trains, even if they provide a similar service over the same route).

In most of the rest of Europe, the railways are treated as they should be, i.e. an essential public service, which means they are more strictly regulated and better supported by their respective governments.

This was once the case in Britain, of course, but some people in the government a few years back had other ideas and the rest, as they say, is history.

Answer 4

Whilst I am sorry about your difficulties, I thought it was fairly generally known that Saver tickets are to be used off peak only. That is why they are sold - to get bums on seats other than at peak times. All TOCs have the same rules. I must admit, however, I would not have brought my ticket from Virgin's website, but have gone to something like www.thetrainline.com. There the price and validity of tickets is clearly shown against the services you might be thinking of traveling on. In other words, it would have told you that your saver ticket could not be used on the 6.02 ex Manchester

Answer 5

If you clicked on the hyperlink which said Saver Return, on the list of tickets and times which the website gave you, it would've given you details about your ticket. This includes these important lines:

VALIDITY: The outward leg of the journey must be made on off peak services on the date of the ticket. The return leg of the journey must be completed within one calendar month ON OFF PEAK SERVICES

Also, in future, if you have the ability to book in advance, you could get yourself a bargain with Virgin Value singles.

These start from £12.50 each way in Standard Class, and £30.50 in First Class. I've never travelled standard on a Pendolino yet, as i've allways used Virgin Value firsts where ever i go.

I don't mean to say you can get the £12.50 tickets on the 06:02 ex Manchester, but you could perhaps save yourself money by getting a value single on the way up, and the Advance Standard C single (peak time advance single valid on specified service- £42) on the way back from Manchester.

Total cost for value advance return- £54.50
(£12.50 standard class single London-Manchester, £42.00 Manchester-London on the 06:02.)

It's a bit different to the £168 you had to pay.

I hope this helps you with any train tickets you buy from Virgin in future.


EDIT: Barry Salter- Why've you posted an answer which is partly exactly the same as my earlier one?

Answer 6

Virgin Trains deeply regrets the fatality resulting from the accident that took place shortly after 20:00 on Friday 23 February 2007 near Grayrigg north of Oxenholme in Cumbria.

The train involved was the 17:15 from London Euston to Glasgow Central, operated by Virgin Trains.

The thoughts of everyone at Virgin Trains are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their life or were injured in this terrible accident. We are doing whatever we can to offer assistance.

Line reopened on 12 March

The line at Grayrigg reopened at 03:00 on Monday 12 March and a normal service is now operating over the West Coast Main Line in both directions.

Answer 7

Exactly the same happened to my daughter last year going to glasgow. I had to go to the station, buy more tickets (£90) and spend half an hour waiting for the staff to phone through an authority for them to travel, to get them home. They were never told about any restrictions and the tickets even had valid until printed on them and the dates were within the valid period. I complained to Virgin, and they said she should have known about the restrictions. A friend who is an inspector on the trains said even he had had to look up the restrictions to check them, so how the hell would she know. I got a £10 voucher for her 'inconvenience' That reminds me.. she aint paid me back yet.

Answer 8

All I can say is when I answer any questions over long distance travel, advice is NEVER buy online! Always go to the nearest manned station and seek advice, it is more concise and they have to tell you all of the restrictions and options and Must sell you the cheapest fare for that particular journey.

And the actual rules concerning travelling restrictions actually runs to just over 72 A4 pages of small print conflicting information and interesting facts.

Answer 9

I have always found travelling with virgin fine, in this instance I would get in touch with their customer service department and plead your case. If it is a case that you did not read the small print properly just put it down to experience but I am sure when you purchased the ticket you will have been asked at what time did you want to travel?

Answer 10

To be honest most people who work on Virgin trains don't have a clue what they are talking about. They get employed for the image not knowledge. My brother used to work for them and he knew what he was talking about, as he worked on the railway since it was British Rail. I've treid getting a job with them , and they would rather employ brainless bimbo's rather somebody who has an interest in the job.