Here is the letter that Eleanor Budgett wrote.

Train ticket damaged by barrier

Hi
I have already tried several other methods of contacting someone about my problem but wanted to try here.
I've recently moved to Knebworth and as I commute into London daily for work I purchased a Gold Card annual season ticket through my workplace salary sacrifice scheme via "The Trainline.com"
My journey runs as follows: Knebworth to Kings Cross then onto the underground (Picadilly Line) over to Earls Court - return route each night. Ever since my ticket was issued whenever I put the ticket through a barrier it comes up with error code 9 and seek assistance. This apparently means that the magnetic strip is damaged. I understand this happening perhaps a few times over the course of a year due to wear/over-use but I am now on my 5th replacement ticket in under 4 weeks.
My ticket is kept in a plastic wallet with my photo ID card and is kept in a pocket in my handbag. It is not placed near to mobile phones, kindle, car keys or wallet. Because of this I'm convinced it must be an issue with the ticket or the barrier.
It is really frustrating and ruining my journey. It is annoying having to queue up for a replacement every day (and must be annoying for the staff at the small ticket office where I live in Knebworth). It also adds a lot of time to the journey as you have to ask a member of staff to let you through the gates and several times I've been left standing for a while as no-one was around!
Please please help me out with this problem as I don't know who else to contact.

Thanks,

Eleanor Budgett

Has anyone else ever encountered problems with tickets (gold card season tickets) issued from The Train Line.com? My season ticket continually comes up with error 9 at the barriers and I am on my 5th replacement in under 4 weeks. Is this really just me? The area I live has a small station and I'm sure there must be a lot of people commuting in like me and if there were others suffering the queue in the morning for replacements would be huge?
Thanks

Hi Eleanor,
I don't know if this will help, but someone else had a similar problem - http://www.fixmytransport.com/campaigns/fix-the-ticket-barriers-at-paddington.

One of our users pointed out this link to a page listing the meanings of various error codes: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/passenger_oriented_display_error

But as you imply, code 9 apparently means just "the ticket cannot be read accurately", so it doesn't get you very much further - except possibly to show that it's a problem with the ticket rather than the barrier. It does seem odd that subsequent replacements have had the same problem, but is it possible that - as you say you are buying them at a small station - they are all coming from the same batch, which is possibly faulty? Might you be able to try getting a replacement at another station, Kings Cross perhaps?

In any case, it will be interesting to see a response from FCC.

Thanks for the comments so far. I'm going to wait until I get a response from FCC. Got another replacement yesterday morning...thought I would not use it through the barriers at Kings Cross - they let me through the gate and then when I put my ticket out the other end at Earls Court I got the error again!
I wanted to get a replacement last night at Kings Cross but the queues were unbearably long....I will try again later but hope to get a response from FCC or the TrainLine soon

Thanks

Is there a magnetic clasp on your handbag?

Just a zip closure on the handbag and a zipped pocket that the ticket is kept in.

I see that First Capital Connect have asked you to take the conversation offline.

We do not believe there is any good reason for an operator not to correspond via FixMyTransport, so our advice is to write back and say that this is your preferred means of contact.

However, if you prefer to do as FCC ask, they may be contacted on customer.relations.fcc@firstgroup.com. I hope that if you decide to take the route of contacting them privately, that you will come back and update this page so that we can all see what the progress is.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I am a bit let down that they have not responded directly through here. I'm really glad to have found this website, it is a really useful tool. I will get in touch with them and make sure to post back the findings.

Thanks Eleanor and good luck.

We're working on persuading operators that it's very much to their benefit to engage with their customers on FixMyTransport, but we're aware that it may take some time - and for them to see more enlightened companies really reaping the benefits - before it happens. Unfortunately that won't be soon enough for your particular issue!

The puddles are back at New Southgate. There is nowhere to pass without going through the large

The puddles are back at New Southgate. There is nowhere to pass without going through the large puddle at the top of the southbound stairs.

This is my preferred method of contact. You know what the problem is now ( and since last year) I don't understand why anyone has to c

The puddles are back at New Southgate. There is nowhere to pass without going through the large puddle at the top of the southbound stairs.

This is my preferred method of contact. You know what the problem is now (and since last year). I don't understand why anyone has to contact FCC direct unless they want a problem that is specific to them looked at.

The puddles are back at New Southgate. There is nowhere to pass without going through the large puddle at the top of the southbound stairs.

This is my preferred method of contact. You know what the problem is now (and since last year). I don't understand why anyone has to contact FCC direct unless they want a problem that is specific to them looked at.

The puddles are back at New Southgate. There is nowhere to pass without going through the large puddle at the top of the southbound stairs.

This is my preferred method of contact. You know what the problem is now (and since last year). I don't understand why anyone has to contact FCC direct unless they want a problem that is specific to them looked at.