Buying a ticket on the train

[EuroStar]

I have to buy my tickets on the train or in advance from my local station. Twice recently I attempted to pay by credit card for the ticket and it was declined. Are there certain types of credit card that can't be used for buying tickets on the train?

[Midland Compound]

Originally Posted by EuroStar

I have to buy my tickets on the train or in advance from my local station. Twice recently I attempted to pay by credit card for the ticket and it was declined. Are there certain types of credit card that can't be used for buying tickets on the train?

Did the gaurd try and put your card in the machine, or just refuse to process it ?

Probably a faulty machine. There's one advance ticket machine at Stafford that always rjects my card - the other one works fine.

[Anon Mouse]

Solo and Electron cards are not accepted on trains or stations, We have been instructed not to overide the system and accept cards which show up declined (with one or two exceptions). However we do have the facility to overide the system and swipe and sign if we have a faulty machine.

[Bubblewrap]

Originally Posted by Anon Mouse

Solo and Electron cards are not accepted on trains or stations, We have been instructed not to overide the system and accept cards which show up declined (with one or two exceptions). However we do have the facility to overide the system and swipe and sign if we have a faulty machine.

So what happens then?
The card is rejected & the passenger has no cash(why they were using card?)
Throw them off the train? fine them for not having a ticket?
Do rail companies advertise which cards are accepted & which are not?
PS I live close (5 mins walk) from our station & the booking office is always open & mostly pay by debit card(don't have credit card)and have not had a problem....................yet.

[EuroStar]

The guard tried, I entered my PIN and was told that the card had been declined. I think it may be due to the type of card I was trying to use, which was an Electron.

[5701]

Originally Posted by EuroStar

The guard tried, I entered my PIN and was told that the card had been declined. I think it may be due to the type of card I was trying to use, which was an Electron.

I had no trouble on Virgin using Visa he said many more people use cards on Virgin Trains,but it was not an Electron card.Contact TOC before you travel it might save any problems.

[Anon Mouse]

Originally Posted by EuroStar

The guard tried, I entered my PIN and was told that the card had been declined. I think it may be due to the type of card I was trying to use, which was an Electron.

Yup Electron cards are not accepted by any TOC. Don't ask me why, but they are not accepted. Depending on the circumstances there are a few options availible to train crew failing the passenger having accepted payment. These can include UFN's (Unpaid Fares Notice) which is in effect a bill for the fare, a TIR (Travel Irregularity Report) which is a written report of the facts of no holding of a ticket etc or even advising the passenger to buy a ticket when they get to their destination. Each situation is different and there is no textbook way of dealing with this kind of thing.

[48111]

Funnily enough, Electron cards are not accepted in many places, my wife has an electron card and that has been refused in a lot of places. So if I am with her, mine is a normal Visa Debit, I end up paying !!!

48111

[CaravanClub]

Electron and Solo cards are not accepted because of restrictions on these cards imposed by the banks; transactions on these cards are much more restricted than on most other debit cards. The ticketing equipment used on-train does not have a 'live' feed to the banks, the transaction is put through and the ticket issued, and the information is then downloaded each night when the machine is docked at the end of the shift. Some restrictive accounts will not release the money if a person overspends, in which case the train operator does not receive their payment even though the ticket has already been sold. Some other cards will also encounter problems, as the banks will only allow a set number of non-'live' transactions of this type before the card automatically declines. 'Swiping' can sometimes override this - not with Electron and Solo - and hence the cards will sometimes then accept, but of course the point of the chip and pin system is then defeated. This is one of the reasons that most TOCs operate poilicies of 'Buy Before You Board' etc.