Any Chance of a refund from Irish Rail for lost tickets?

LaGlisse

Bought 2 return tickets online for sligo to dublin last week(30E each).Booked specific journey times leaving Tue 11AM sligo-return 7PM sunday dublin) Printed them off in sligo station and went to dublin.
Managed to leave my wallet containing the tickets in my friends house abroad . I did not think this would be a big problem as I had booken online.

Got to connolly station on sunday an hour before my scheduled 7 o clock train and went to the info desk to explain the situation. Showed them my booking confirmation email on my phone, expalined the situation and asked if i could be accomodated on the train. I was told no chance as I had printed off the tickets already and was forced to buy 2 single tickets for the journey (35E each).

Ive got my wallet with the original tickets back now and am planning on sending them to customer services along with the 2 singles I had to buy, explaining the sitaution and looking for a refund on the 2 singles. Do I have a case or am I on a hiding to nothing.
I cant understand how they could not accommadate me given that that specific train had been booked by be online, in me and my GF's names, and we had passports on us to prove we were who we said we were

foggy_lad

Firstly Irish Rail don't know that you didn't give the printed off tickets to two other people to travel on the same train. 2nt point is that you are not entitled to any refund.

http://www.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=220&n=139&a=0

The following refund rules apply:

Cancelled up to day before travel - 80% refund on the ticket price.
Cancelled on day of travel - 50% refund on the ticket price.
All cancellations must be made before time of travel to be considered eligible for refund.
Tickets must be submitted to the address shown above before a refund can be processed.
No refund on transaction and credit card fees.

joebloggs32

LaGlisse wrote: »

Bought 2 return tickets online for sligo to dublin last week(30E each).Booked specific journey times leaving Tue 11AM sligo-return 7PM sunday dublin) Printed them off in sligo station and went to dublin.
Managed to leave my wallet containing the tickets in my friends house abroad . I did not think this would be a big problem as I had booken online.

Got to connolly station on sunday an hour before my scheduled 7 o clock train and went to the info desk to explain the situation. Showed them my booking confirmation email on my phone, expalined the situation and asked if i could be accomodated on the train. I was told no chance as I had printed off the tickets already and was forced to buy 2 single tickets for the journey (35E each).

Ive got my wallet with the original tickets back now and am planning on sending them to customer services along with the 2 singles I had to buy, explaining the sitaution and looking for a refund on the 2 singles. Do I have a case or am I on a hiding to nothing.
I cant understand how they could not accommadate me given that that specific train had been booked by be online, in me and my GF's names, and we had passports on us to prove we were who we said we were

If this happened while flying Ryanair would you expect a full refund?

LaGlisse

foggy_lad wrote: »

Firstly Irish Rail don't know that you didn't give the printed off tickets to two other people to travel on the same train. 2nt point is that you are not entitled to any refund.

http://www.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=220&n=139&a=0

But the printed off tickets wont have been swiped/ stamped by conductor? Know im prob on a hiding to nothing but going to chance it anyway, E70 isnt peanuts

LaGlisse

joebloggs32 wrote: »

If this happened while flying Ryanair would you expect a full refund?

No, but then Ryanair isnt a semistate company.

TheBandicoot

LaGlisse wrote: »

No, but then Ryanair isnt a semistate company.

Thanks for proving his point.

To answer your question - NO chance. Your carelessness is not their problem.

LaGlisse

joebloggs32 wrote: »

If this happened while flying Ryanair would you expect a full refund?

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Thanks for proving his point.

He doesnt have a point, if this happened with Ryanair, I'd simply reprint my boarding pass. The fact that Ive booked online and was able show them the printoff confirming this and show them ID means they could have come to some arrangement. Also nothing in their Terms and conditions addresses this

foggy_lad

LaGlisse wrote: »

He doesnt have a point, if this happened with Ryanair, I'd simply reprint my boarding pass. The fact that Ive booked online and was able show them the printoff confirming this and show them ID means they could have come to some arrangement. Also nothing in their Terms and conditions addresses this

You probably should have been told by staff in Connolly at the time to cancel the return tickets that you couldn't use and you would have got a partial refund.

bk

Actually you wouldn't have this problem with Ryanair as you could simply print off the boarding pass again a second time.

Also as much as Irish Rail like to think they are Ryanair, they aren't. Irish Rails competitors are private bus companies and typically they have no problem with you just showing the email of the ticket on your phone to board the bus. Often they will even allow you to travel on earlier or later buses.

This is level of customer service IR needs to compete with, not Ryanair.

Alun

bk wrote: »

Actually you wouldn't have this problem with Ryanair as you could simply print off the boarding pass again a second time.

Is there any reason you can't do the same with the IR tickets?

If they're silly enough to only allow you to access them online once, then just print to to a PDF using any of the many free PDF printer drivers and print them from that as many times as you like. I always do this for airline tickets and also put a copy on my phone and on Dropbox just in case so I can print it out somewhere else at my destination if necessary.

Jamie2k9

bk wrote: »

Actually you wouldn't have this problem with Ryanair as you could simply print off the boarding pass again a second time.

Also as much as Irish Rail like to think they are Ryanair, they aren't. Irish Rails competitors are private bus companies and typically they have no problem with you just showing the email of the ticket on your phone to board the bus. Often they will even allow you to travel on earlier or later buses.

This is level of customer service IR needs to compete with, not Ryanair.

Actually people wouldn't realise they lost their Ryanair boarding pass until they need it at the airport and would have to pay to print it at the airport by Ryanair staff as very few airports have a computer and printer.

You left your tickets behind, no refund end of, its not IE fault your are out of pocket.

If I left money abroad, should I ask the banks here to give it to me because I didn't bring it home. Would I get it...

Also as much as Irish Rail like to think they are Ryanair, they aren't. Irish Rails competitors are private bus companies and typically they have no problem with you just showing the email of the ticket on your phone to board the bus. Often they will even allow you to travel on earlier or later buses.

come on bk showing email to a bus driver which will only take 50 or so passengers is very different to a train with up to 400 passengers.

Would you like IE to employ staff for every 50 passengers to check emails for people who lose/misplace tickets.

At least compare like with like instead of slating IE for not giving a refund when they are not in the wrong.

Losty Dublin

Alun wrote: »

Is there any reason you can't do the same with the IR tickets?

If they're silly enough to only allow you to access them online once, then just print to to a PDF using any of the many free PDF printer drivers and print them from that as many times as you like. I always do this for airline tickets and also put a copy on my phone and on Dropbox just in case so I can print it out somewhere else at my destination if necessary.

Going by OP's post, they collected their ticket at Sligo station and it's the ticket that they lost. As many stations have barriers you'd need an actual Irish Rail ticket to get through same; an e mail printout wouldn't work for obvious reasons.

BenShermin

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

come on bk showing email to a bus driver which will only take 50 or so passengers is very different to a train with up to 400 passengers.

Would you like IE to employ staff for every 50 passengers to check emails for people who lose/misplace tickets.

At least compare like with like instead of slating IE for not giving a refund when they are not in the wrong.

Sigh! We all know Irish Rail were not in the wrong, but why can't they show any inciative to help customers like the OP is beyond me.

It's funny how DB Bahn, SNCB, SNCF, Eurostar and Thalys (to name but a few) can all accept e-mail PDF tickets for travel on their services. Even more amazing is how they only need one ticket checker per train to police possible evasion.

When I travel with GoBus or GoBÉ these days I don't even bother printing off the email ticket, nor do I bother showing the driver the email on my phone, most of the time the driver just asks me for my name when boarding and ticks me off the manifest. If I've a bag there's usually a porter on hand to put that under the bus for me. Much easier than keying in a 8 digit code at a TVM and then struggling with a bag through a narrow ticket barrier to get to the train.

Jamie2k9

It's funny how DB Bahn, SNCB, SNCF, Eurostar and Thalys (to name but a few) can all accept e-mail PDF tickets for travel on their services. Even more amazing is how they only need one ticket checker per train to police possible evasion.

They do help customers but what prof do they have.

Well for the price these operators charge for their service I wouldn't expect anything less TBH.

The reason for only one checker per train is plane and simple these places have armed transport police at the majority of stations and the sense of unease felling when your are around them your wouldn't dream of not buying a ticker. All it would take is a click of a finger to get people off the train. We don't have this here.

But here in Ireland we have useless security but to be fair not their fault and plenty of scumbags around our cities and while our rail operator's hands are tied, out Government could do something but the department of transport just turn a blind eye to it which is why we have no real control over non fare paying passengers.

I would only love if we had transport police and armed police here, wouldn't be long sorting out the scum who were dragged up and our transport system would be free of it. Dublin as a city would be transformed and it wouldn't be a case of avoiding the junkies in the city centre. The place it littered with them.

When I travel with GoBus or GoBÉ these days I don't even bother printing off the email ticket, nor do I bother showing the driver the email on my phone, most of the time the driver just asks me for my name when boarding and ticks me off the manifest. If I've a bag there's usually a porter on hand to put that under the bus for me. Much easier than keying in a 8 digit code at a TVM and then struggling with a bag through a narrow ticket barrier to get to the train.

Yes a bus when a driver just has to turn a key and sit down. If IE started this everybody would not bother printing tickets and how many staff would you need to clear hundreds of passengers in Heuston. Come on for god sake.

The OP forgot their ticket get over it, doesn't justify a refund for their mistake.

Grandeeod

joebloggs32 wrote: »

If this happened while flying Ryanair would you expect a full refund?

When Irish Rail do a Ryanair model, I'll accept stupid remarks like that.

Chris_5339762

Despite what everyone has said here its worth an email.... unlikely you'll get anywhere but you never know the person receiving the (nicely written of course) letter/email may take pity.

bk

Grandeeod wrote: »

When Irish Rail do a Ryanair model, I'll accept stupid remarks like that.

Yup I've gotten flights to Poland for less then a ticket to Cork!!

Also Irish Rail could put in place a system where the barrier gates read a bar code or QR code on a printed ticket or on a ticket on a smart phone.

The barrier would then allow the ticket to only be used once.

Many train and plane companies around the world allow for this.

No Pants

If, after the OP had purchased two new tickets, assuming for the moment that he had time to go back and pick up the original tickets, could he have given the original tickets to two strangers and allowed them to travel?

Jamie2k9

No Pants wrote: »

If, after the OP had purchased two new tickets, assuming for the moment that he had time to go back and pick up the original tickets, could he have given the original tickets to two strangers and allowed them to travel?

Yes but if the RPU decided to ask for ID for any reason they would end up being fined as they didn't purchase the tickets and their name is not on them.

No Pants

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Yes but if the RPU decided to ask for ID for any reason they would end up being fined as they didn't purchase the tickets and their name is not on them.

Does that mean that by selling the OP two new tickets, IR effectively cancelled their original tickets?

Hilly Bill

No.

No Pants

Hilly Bill wrote: »

No.

Screwed up system.

Jamie2k9

No Pants wrote: »

Screwed up system.

Not at all, IE got double the revenue out of these two passengers for their mistake. Good result in my book.

dowlingm

Maybe IE could see if they could approach VIA Rail's policy. I remember having to pay to replace a lost ticket on VIA a few years back but they seem to have changed that for people who have a booking which can be tied to a specific name.

Lost tickets

The moment you notice your tickets have been lost or stolen, call VIA Rail's toll-free number 1 888 VIA Rail (1 888 842-7245) or TTY 1 800 268-9503 (hearing impaired). You may also go to the ticket office nearest you.

If you have an e-boarding pass, simply print out another copy of your e-mail.

Lost tickets can be re-issued with no service charge on the departure date by the station’s agent. If you are departing from an unmanned station, you will be able to board the train without a new ticket. You will have to present a photo ID and the Service Manager will manually validate that you are on the manifest.

Lost receipts can be re-issued by a VIA Rail agent at the ticket counter.

joebloggs32

Grandeeod wrote: »

When Irish Rail do a Ryanair model, I'll accept stupid remarks like that.

My dear friend, it was a question I posed, rather than a remark passed regarding the op.

BenShermin

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Not at all, IE got double the revenue out of these two passengers for their mistake. Good result in my book.

And in turn IÉ could lose future revenue from these two passengers to the bus companies who won't penalise an honest mistake. Bad result in my book.

Hilly Bill

BenShermin wrote: »

And in turn IÉ could lose future revenue from these two passengers to the bus companies who won't penalise an honest mistake. Bad result in my book.

Or maybe they will take better care of their tickets in future?

Jamie2k9

BenShermin wrote: »

And in turn IÉ could lose future revenue from these two passengers to the bus companies who won't penalise an honest mistake. Bad result in my book.

Well if the OP wants to spend an extra 45 minutes to an hour on a bus, they would of done it in the first place.

Its like the OP turning up to the airport saying I forgot my passport but I have one, can I still fly.

Design78

Post the question on their facebook page, just checked and it has 18k likes. If its on a public forum they may be more inclined to help you out.

Hilly Bill

Design78 wrote: »

Post the question on their facebook page, just checked and it has 18k likes. If its on a public forum they may be more inclined to help you out.

All they will do is pass it on to the same people that told him no in the first place.