Dear LPG,

I want to point out one of the mathematical discrepancies that can occur when we travel by train. 

I recently retired and felt that I needed something new to occupy my life.   I took on the job of babysitting my young grandchildren for a couple of days a week which is something that

a lot of grandmothers get a lot of pleasure from.  The difference is that I live in Lewisham but they live some 30 miles away in Kent.  The idea is that my being around would help to keep the nursery fees down a little, and the bonus is that I get closer to the little ones into the bargain.

I was surprised at how reasonable the cost of traveling to their home and back by train was going to be.   My plan was to leave my home on Sunday Evenings and return on Tuesday evenings.   I started with a weekend trial-run which, with the help of a £30.00 Network Card which I bought because I was planning regular train journeys, cost me £6.65.  I was pleasantly surprised because I thought that it would have cost a lot more for the journey.   I was also told that my freedom pass would allow me free travel as far as Dartford which really minimised the ticket price. 

A couple of weeks later I started the babysitting but my daughter and son in law drove me to their home on that Sunday, which was a bonus or so I thought.  The following Tuesday evening I got to their local station’s ticket office, to buy my single ticket home, only to find that it cost me £9.60. 

I decided to call National Rail Enquiries on 03457 48 49 50 because I was having a little trouble working out how the tickets which I bought during their off peak period, according to the times stated on the BR website, could differ so much in price.  

I made three phone calls, and having spoken to an adviser on the first two occasions, I was transferred to the South East network, and disconnected while waiting for an answer.  While talking to the National Rail advisor I was quoted two other amounts for a single off peak ticket to the same station (£6.40 and £7.35).  On my third attempt I finally managed to get through to the BR South East network and I spoke to a young man who really tried to explain their pricing rules to me.    While talking to him I learned that the same fare would cost me £18.00 on an Open return ticket. I was then quoted £10.10 for an off peak single where the return would cost me £13.00.  

I did think, and did mention to the advisor, that I feel that BR staff should be selling people tickets that give them the most competitive price for their journeys. 

I was on the phone for just under an hour in all and I have to say that the advisor told me that he would arrange for me to get vouchers that I could use on other train journeys that will make up for the ticket that was wrongly sold to me.

I am no wiser as to if I underpaid for the original return journey that cost me £6.65 and I can honestly say having taken into consideration both the website information, and the costings that I was given on the phone, I have come to the conclusion that Network Rail have really got very little idea about what all their offers really are.

The moral of the story might well be….  The system is quite complicated and if the BR advisors cannot decipher it what chance does the public really have?

JA, Lewisham

LPG has posted a link to the information that JA found on line before making her first journey.

(►►►)