Beware of new cancellation policy!

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colobok

Service Attendant
Joined
Aug 21, 2008
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221
Location
Tampa, FL
My friend booked a trip (coach) on NE Regional a month ago and few days ago he wanted to move it for 1 day.

He thought that the easiest way is to cancel his reservation online and buy a new one.

So when he cancelled it - he didn't get refund, but the "voucher" instead.

He was told that this is because his fare was "advance" fair (more than 14 days in advance).

This is ridiculous because when your purchase your ticket online more than 14 days in advance -

you have no other option except buying advance fare. Moreover, website does not specify that this fare is

advance fare and non-refundable! When you buy airline tickets - you are always warned that they are

non-refundable.

And this is not the last problem. He tried to apply his voucher to another trip, 1 day later, but he was told

that he can not use this voucher online or even by PHONE!!! The only way to use it - at the station.

So basically for people who doesn't live near Amtrak station it is absolutely useless voucher. Even if you pay for your trip in advance and then try to apply your voucher at the station - they will refund your ticket and let you use your voucher, but your ticket price will most likely double because you will be buying the last minute ticket.

So, BEWARE - when you are buying NE coach tickets - you risk to lose your money without any warning if you need to modify your trip!

P.S. Reading new cancellation policy:

Some advance booking/purchase fares are not refundable.

Very "clear" rule! "Some" fares are refundable, "some" are not! Only agent will decide that!
 
IMHO, "non-refunded" means you forfeit your money. Here, you aren't. You're getting a voucher. Kind-of like an in-store credit.

Are you getting a regular voucher, or one of the new e-vouchers? The e-vouchers can be used over the phone. You don't have to only go to a station to redeem. Even with the old paper vouchers, Customer Relations will gladly help you, if you aren't near an Amtrak station.
 
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Cho Cho Charlie said:
IMHO, "non-refunded" means you forfeit your money. Here, you aren't. You're getting a voucher. Kind-of like an in-store credit.

Are you getting a regular voucher, or one of the new e-vouchers? The e-vouchers can be used over the phone. You don't have to only go to a station to redeem. Even with the old paper vouchers, Customer Relations will gladly help you, if you aren't near an Amtrak station.
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He was told by CSR that the system is not ready yet to accept vouchers by phone.
 
Cho Cho Charlie said:
IMHO, "non-refunded" means you forfeit your money. Here, you aren't. You're getting a voucher. Kind-of like an in-store credit.

Are you getting a regular voucher, or one of the new e-vouchers? The e-vouchers can be used over the phone. You don't have to only go to a station to redeem. Even with the old paper vouchers, Customer Relations will gladly help you, if you aren't near an Amtrak station.
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An e-voucher cannot be used over the phone. From the Amtrak website:

For now, eVouchers may only be redeemed at an Amtrak ticket office, not at Quik-Trak, online at Amtrak.com or by phone. Make sure to bring the eVoucher receipt (or the information necessary for the agent to locate the eVoucher) and proper identification to the ticket office for redemption.
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E-Vouchers
 
If I may, part of the problem (and VIA is guilty of this as well) is "forcing" the "special" advance fare on folks and not giving a chance to book a refundable ticket at a "non-special" rate. VIA at least lets you pick a full-fare non-discount fare when there's a special going on, but sometimes overrides the middle (refundable-with-fee) option with a special, which can be aggravating.
 
PRR 60 said:
An e-voucher cannot be used over the phone. From the Amtrak website:

For now, eVouchers may only be redeemed at an Amtrak ticket office, not at Quik-Trak, online at Amtrak.com or by phone. Make sure to bring the eVoucher receipt (or the information necessary for the agent to locate the eVoucher) and proper identification to the ticket office for redemption.
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Well, I just did such back in August.

So, from my own experience, I can say you are probably wrong. :rolleyes:

Though, I did have problems getting my AGR points for the new/replacement trip. :giggle:
 
Regardless of whether it is actually possible, the amtrak website clearly states that the new e-vouchers are NOT redeemable by phone and must be used at a station.

I think its a major issue that the website is not more clear about those NEC 14 day advance purchase fares. They need to be better about providing that information to consumers before they purchase those tickets.

However, colobok, what your friend should have done was "modify" their trip rather than cancel it. Then they wouldn't have gotten the voucher.
 
The Amtrak website clearly state that eVouchers cannot be redeemed by phone. However, typical with Amtrak, real world experience suggests there is some wiggle room. I have heard (not first hand) that, if someone pleads hardship due to being remote from a staffed station, they will allow redemptions if a copy of the e-mail receipt for the eVoucher is mailed into Amtrak. Having to mail in a piece of paper seems to violate the basic premise of an eVoucher.
 
Amy didn't even have to do that - she just had to promise to show up at the train station at least 20-30 minutes before train time (I think) so that the agent could process the voucher. I think that the way they worked it out is that the whole ticket cost was put on the credit card and then that day the voucher could get swapped in for a "cash" refund (credited back to the card).
 
When I used my e-voucher, I had to make the reservation by phone, then sit in the telephone queue for Amtrak customer service for 90 minutes before I finally connected with a customer service representative who could apply the e-voucher as payment to my reservation. So it can be done, but not on line nor with the standard 1-800-USA-RAIL representatives.
 
ehbowen said:
When I used my e-voucher, I had to make the reservation by phone, then sit in the telephone queue for Amtrak customer service for 90 minutes before I finally connected with a customer service representative who could apply the e-voucher as payment to my reservation. So it can be done, but not on line nor with the standard 1-800-USA-RAIL representatives.
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I used a voucher on my most recent trip and had no problem. I'm only 12 miles from the ALY station so I just went over there with it, well before my departure date, The agent (Keith) had a devil of a time finding the reservation for reasons I still don;t understand. But once he did, he applied the voucher amount, credited my Amex account, and gave me a new voucher for the difference. (Yup, even though my original res was made months ago, the new res came out considerably cheaper. Most of the trip was unchanged, just changed from one night in NOl to 2. Go figure.) Most importantly, I didn't lose the good fare when he applied the voucher.

I did the same thing last year at DNC, and again the agent handled it just fine. She even changed my connection from CZ to CS from SAC to MTZ w/o losing the good fare (charged me $11 extra or some such).

My sympathies to those who live far from a station. But, in my experience, at least the station agents seem to be handle the voucher exchanges just fine. And no problem with AGR points either.

Cheers,
 
I think the real issue is that advance fare is not advertized as non-refundable on Amtrak.com and also that full fare is not available more than 14 days in advance, so people have no idea that they are buying non-refundable tickets.
 
colobok said:
I think the real issue is that advance fare is not advertized as non-refundable on Amtrak.com and also that full fare is not available more than 14 days in advance, so people have no idea that they are buying non-refundable tickets.
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Sorry colobok but it appears that you are incorrect... it is clearly stated that the 14 day advanced fare is non-refundable. When making a purchase via Amtrak.com the specific terms and conditions associated with that particular fare are only a click away (just to the left of the quoted price throughout the entire purchase process). Click on that link and you see the following T&Cs which clearly state, fourth bullet down, that the particular 14 day advance fare is not refundable.

Terms & Conditions

  • 14 day advanced purchase required.
  • Not combinable with any membership or promotionaldiscounts.
  • Changes permitted but constitute new travel and requirethe same advance purchase requirement.
  • Non-refundable after ticket has been purchased.
  • Exchanges permitted for other rail fare purchases.
  • Non-upgradeable. Fare is valid for class of servicelisted only.
  • Fares are not guaranteed until we provide you with areservation confirmation.
  • Seating is limited; seats may not be available on alltrains at all times.
  • In addition to the discount restrictions (if any), thisoffer is also subject to any restrictions, blackouts and refund rules thatapply to the type of fare purchased.
  • Fares, routes and schedules are subject to change withoutnotice.
  • Two carry-on bags, up to 50 lb and 28" x 22" x 14" each,are allowed per passenger. See Baggage Policy.
  • Refund restrictions may apply. Special conditions applyfor cancellation and refunds of sleeping accommodation bookings. See RefundPolicy, updated August 12,2012.
  • Passengers 2 to 15 years of age must travel with an adultpassenger who is at least 18 years old. See Child Passenger Type.
  • Duplicate and impossible bookings are prohibited withoutprior authorization from Amtrak.
  • Travel products such as hotels, car rentals, activitiesand travel insurance will be charged separately by our travel partner(s), andyou will receive separate confirmation e-mails detailing those charges.
  • Other restrictions may apply.

As for the issue of having full, non-discounted faresavailable as an alternative. Rumor has it that this is being worked on but I amnot sure when it will be launched.
 
I think the biggest problem is the fact that e-vouchers can't be redeemed online, and can only be redeemed by phone with great rigamarole. Of course Amtrak has promised to fix this, but it's something Amtrak should *hurry up on*.

Last year I let a $10 voucher die rather than rolling it over because it would have cost more than that to get to the nearest train station and back. Well, it was $10, so whatever, and I figured with paper vouchers there was reason for that. But this should not be happening with e-vouchers. Why make them "e" if not to make them redeemable online?
 
Nathanael said:
I think the biggest problem is the fact that e-vouchers can't be redeemed online, and can only be redeemed by phone with great rigamarole. Of course Amtrak has promised to fix this, but it's something Amtrak should *hurry up on*.

Last year I let a $10 voucher die rather than rolling it over because it would have cost more than that to get to the nearest train station and back. Well, it was $10, so whatever, and I figured with paper vouchers there was reason for that. But this should not be happening with e-vouchers. Why make them "e" if not to make them redeemable online?
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I agree completely. It is only half an "e"-voucher if it can only redeemed by a station agent in person. It's utility is less than half of what is should be. Amtrak needs to fix this ASAP. The ability to search for and get the lowest bucket price is greatly hampered by this policy.
 
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True, and if you "force" a discount you can get around the "special" fare...assuming you have such a discount to invoke.
 
I believe the person whose name the voucher is in has to be present to do the transfer, but yes I believe they can be functionally transferred.
 
My wife was able to use an e-voucher in her name to book a ticket for her mother.

Not sure if that's the policy, or she just got a super nice agent, but its been done.

She was able to even set it up over the phone and then just have her mother go down to the station and show ID and get the tickets (this was pre-E-tickets).
 
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