Bought tickets for wrong date

Madreblair

First time using the mobile app and making a purchase for 2 -1st class tickets for Sept 8 from Lucerne to Zurich HB. I selected half fare card but do not have it yet as I had read that it could be purchased before even boarding. Now I messed up and today in the US on Sunday at 1:18 am purchased tickets for today Swiss time 9:35 am. I realized as soon as the confirmation came through and requested a refund but I haven’t purchased the half fare card and it wants to link my account to the customer number. What should I do?

RolandP

Hello Madreblair

Please immediately call the SBB Contact Center, from the U.S.: 011 41 51 225 78 56. Usually, tickets for the same day are not cancelled as you do not have a proof of non-use.

Kind regards,
Roland

Madreblair

I received this email as a reply and still do not know if they are refunding the tickets!To be able to check your claim, we need a confirmation from the train crew or ticket counter staff that your ticket has not been used. Unfortunately, we cannot consider your request without this confirmation.

It is important to note that non-use is demonstrated if the ticket was certified by railway staff (ticket inspectors or sales staff) before departure or if the ticket was returned before the start of its period of validity. This also applies in those cases where it was not possible to make a journey between the time of purchase and the returning of the ticket.

Please note that we will charge a deductible of CHF 10 for the refund. You can find further information at sbb.ch/en/refund.

Thank you for your understanding.

RolandP

Hello Madreblair

Did you call SBB as instructed on the validity day of the ticket?

Kind regards,
Roland

Madreblair

Didn’t think I had to since the refund request was online and it would have been a long distance international call which would have cost at least $10

RolandP

Hello Madreblair

Now you do not have a proof of non-use of the ticket.

It would have been advisable to call, as I told. There was a good reason why I suggested doing so. Now you do not have a proof of non-use of the ticket and the refund won’t be possible. You can only refund a ticket whose validity start date is not yet in the past. Later, you have to talk to an agent or get a confirmation of non-use from the train conductor.

Yes, if you made a mistake, then you have to do everything to sort it out, even if that requires an international call. The call might have been cheaper than losing the two tickets now.

Kind regards,
Roland

Madreblair

Well according to their website policy all I had to do was request a refund and explain why. I will contest this charge on my cc.

RolandP

Madreblair

Well according to their website policy all I had to do was request a refund and explain why.

I have no idea where you have read this.

The refund policy is here:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/help-and-contact/refunds-compensation/refunds-compensation/ticket-refunds.html#anchor1

Kind regards,
Roland

Madreblair

Yes I followed the instructions and it even says to do so within 30 minutes which I did within 2 minutes.

RolandP

Madreblair

I see.
From your first message, I understand that the request was not possible online as you were messing up with the customer ID.

Did you purchase as a registered user? If yes, then the cancellation request is processed within seconds.
If you purhchased as a guest, then you cannot cancel the ticket through the app. You must fill in a cancellation request form.

I understood you struggled with submitting the refund request and until I replied to your question here, it was already after 09:35 AM Swiss local time. This is why I thought you have submitted the request after my reply to your help request. And since this was after 09:35 AM, the ticket’s validity started.

Never mind, it would still be easier to call SBB to sort it out. Or you start another complaint using this form:

https://www.sbb.ch/en/help-and-contact/customer-service/praise-comments/claims-complaints.html

Kind regards,
Roland

Madreblair

Glad to share good news that my tickets have been refunded by the SBB a couple of days ago.
Still not confident in booking anything else on the app since I made a mistake , will wait till I arrive in Geneva to book any other train rides although i have seat reservations on the Golden Express from Montreux to Interlaken. Thanks to everyone who gave helpful advice.

Krist

There is no need to buy tickets far in advance. In fact, a lot of problems (as you have experienced yourself) are due to people jumping the gun on tickets, unaware that trains are mass transit, and tickets are always available, for every train route, until the last moment. So yes, just wait till you are here, and buy your tickets as you need them.