Train Passengers Not Getting Fare Price

21st August 2009

Poor advice from rail staff means that some passengers could be paying more than double the cheapest train fare, reveals an investigation by Which?

The consumer champion asked staff at station ticket offices and the National Rail Enquiries (NRE) call centre about the cheapest way to take specific journeys by train*. Two thirds of station clerks and four in ten call centre staff failed to quote the cheapest fare, with the correct answer given in just 93 out of 200 questions**.

Where there was a choice of train company, Which? was quoted the more expensive fare 27 out of 50 times, with 80% of ticket offices ignoring the cheaper option. In some cases, the fare quoted was more than double the cheapest available option***.

When asked about making the same journey twice in one week, two thirds of staff gave the price of two returns, although a rover or season ticket would have been better value.

More than half the questions about breaking a journey en route were answered incorrectly and when asked about journeys close to the end of a peak period, staff tended not to mention that delaying the time of departure - sometimes by just a few minutes - could result in savings.

Which? also checked how efficient lost property offices were, and found that five out of 16 train stations failed to contact owners when it handed in a coat and wallet clearly labelled with a name and phone number. At one station, the coat was returned to the owner, but not the wallet or the cash it contained.

Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? magazine, says:"If you just want to know the cheapest way to get from A to B, you'd expect staff at the station ticket office or on the end of the rail enquiries helpline to be able to tell you. It's not acceptable that passengers could be paying well over the odds because of poor advice. Rail firms must ensure that staff are properly trained and that fare information is clear."

When Which? checked the quality of rail fare advice in 2007, station staff answered 60% of questions correctly and call centre staff answered 40% correctly.

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