if you do purchase just do not try and use it
With respect, you or I or anyone else has no right to issue such an instruction.
Surely if you buy and print off the documentation, rail staff can't argue?
They shouldn't argue, because the tickets must be honoured and their Company has been compensated.
The ticket will probably just say the same as the normal direct one would or any permitted? I believe the sites also state you should check the tickets validity before travel?
The ticket will be printed with the appropriate route e.g. "Any Permitted" however a ticket is always valid by the itinerary/reservations provided, so if a passenger presented an itineary and/or reservations that were obtained as part of the original purchase that is clear evidence of a Contract that must be honoured (and
ATOC» have confirmed
will be honoured)
Would the ticket be printed via Inverness?
You would have an itinerary via Inverness, and provided you ticked the box to obtain reservations you would be issued reservations via Inverness.
What it does highlight is the point often made on coffee shop how on earth does Joe Public know if they've purchased the right tickets even when you buy them from manned booking offices the system is so complicated.
If someone buys a ticket that a guard does not like and travels exactly according to the itinerary and/or reservataions supplied at the time the ticket was purchased, the guard can either accept the ticket, or withdraw it for investigation (so the issuing office/website can get a telling off if it's wrong and be asked to fix it in future!!) but if they do withdraw it they must issue a free of charge zero-fare replacement ticket allowing the customer to complete their journey as per their itinerary.
Presumably the Kings Cross to Finsbury Park ticket would be endorsed as "Route: Any Permitted", which would probably cover the TOCs▸ against anyone who tried the "via Inverness" stunt!
I do not know what you mean by "cover the TOCs" but if you are asking about compensation then I have it on good authority that TOCs have been compensated, a deal was reached by ATOC. TOC managers have been told to honour such tickets and have been told they have been compensated but have not been told of exact figures (revenue is distributed through
ORCATS▸ ).
The tickets must be honoured, as the Contract was agreed by the relevant parties when the sale was made.
So far I am aware of one
UPFN▸ which is being appealed and will be successful (the head of revenue at the TOC concerned has already agreed such tickets are of course valid and will be honoured) and one
FGW▸ guard asked for money up front (an appeal is being sent next week). These appeals will be successful because a debt the same civil debt cannot be pursued from two separate parties.
