Cross Country rip off

[Tony]

I have just nearly fainted at actually managing to get some of the cheapest advance tickets Cross Country advertise (£5 Manchester to Stafford) only to discover a new way they have found of ripping people off.

If you book them on their own website they charge you £1 for collecting them from a station ticket machine!

Book exactly the same tickets on the London Midland website and it is free

Tony

[Stu]

Its crazy, I've bought tickets for Chiltern Rail services from London Midlands' website that were cheaper than Chiltern Rails website!  ::)

[Roy]

I got caught out in the same way as Tony about a year ago.  Since then, I have used Virgin, First Great Western and Southern websites and have never been charged to pick up my tickets from a ticket machine.  What CrossCountry are doing is a disgrace.  My advice, if you are travelling CrossCountry, is to use another operator's website to buy your tickets.

[windy miller]

It is pretty disgusting,particularly as the advertising on many of the twin-car XC 170's is clearly designed to encourage you to buy from them!! as they say-"we don't charge a booking fee"-what a con! >:( I would recommend everyone to book via London midland wherever poss,
I had nothing but aggro with a virgin advance site, trying to get some info on a trip to glasgow
thanks to LM I not only found a booking,I found TWO cheap fares (with a railcard) for £14.85 each way.The saving on this booking alone  was worth more than the cost of the railcard!!

[Discodave]

It is pretty disgusting,particularly as the advertising on many of the twin-car XC 170's is clearly designed to encourage you to buy from them!! as they say-"we don't charge a booking fee"-what a con! >:( I would recommend everyone to book via London midland wherever poss,
I had nothing but aggro with a virgin advance site, trying to get some info on a trip to glasgow
thanks to LM I not only found a booking,I found TWO cheap fares (with a railcard) for £14.85 each way.The saving on this booking alone  was worth more than the cost of the railcard!!

Cross Country and who owns them Arriva....biggest rip offs in the country

[Roy]

I've just booked three train journeys (with a 34% saving using a Railcard) to visit friends and family in the autumn.  I made exactly the same journeys last autumn on the same trains.  This shows how CrossCountry are ripping off their passengers.

Journey 1 - Wolverhampton to Eastbourne using a Virgin Trains advance ticket - Last year £15.80 return, this year £15.80 return, NO INCREASE.  This works out at just over 4p a mile and includes free travel on the London Underground. 

Journey 2 - Birmingham to Newton Abbot using a CrossCountry advance ticket - Last year £25.10 return, this year £33.70 return, an increase of 34% (over a third).  This works out at about 9p per mile.

Journey 3 - Birmingham to Plymouth using a CrossCountry advance ticket - Last year £27.70 return, this year £40.30 return, an increase of 45%.  This works out at about 9p per mile.

So CrossCountry's advance fares for these journeys are over twice as expensive as Virgin's.  The sooner they relinquish their franchise, the better.  The only good thing I can say is that journeys 2 and 3 are HST's in both directions, which means at least I am being ripped off in comfort.   

[Tony]

I've found another Cross Country rip-off avoidance fare today.

If you want to get to Bristol anytime before 11:00 cross Country want £117 return.


Peak return Stourbridge to Worcester (my nNetwork pass is valid to Stourbridge) - £9

Worcester to Bristol Off-Peak return £14 (on 09:03 train) or £29 earlier.

Yes the journey is slower, but well worth the saving!

[Tony]

Another Cross country rip off with the new Worcestershire Parkway station. day return to Bristol Temple Meads £14.80 (priced by Great Western)

Cheapest return ticket to Newport £34.60 (similar distance but priced by Cross Country).

It does mean you can now do Birmingham to Bristol for less than £25 splitting at Worcestershire Parkway and changing at Gloucester