credit card facility not working

[goldfish1]

This morning my partner attempted to but a monthly rail pass using a credit card. British Rail claimed their credit card facility wasn't functioning and that she would have to pay cash. She didn't have enough money and had to go to an ATM for cash - this caused her to be overdrawn. (It's not quite pay day yet)! Would she be able to take any action against British Rail for making her go into the red and ultimately incurring charges on the bank account?

[Hgrove]

I don't think so unfortunately.

[lady_p_gold]

No I do not think so either - they are offering a service and are not duty bound to offer various ways of paying, just like a shop doesn't have to take credit cards if it chooses not to.

[lady_p_gold]

PS I believe British Rail ceased to exist many moons ago !

[Oneeyedvic]

Agree with the other two. Sorry.

[stevie21]

No chance

[dzug]

It might still be worth a politely worded letter of complaint - they won't pay the bank charges but it's just possible they'll send a travel voucher for a small amount.

[Loosehead]

They did not make her go into the red, she did that by spending money she didn't have. I can't see how in your wildest dreams that you would think this could possibly be the fault of the rail co. They offer a service but cannot guarentee payment methods.

Joined up thinking, worth a try!

[Gevs1966]

Question: Why didn't she take the money out of the cashpoint using her credit card? If she had the money on the credit card to but the ticket, why did she use a different card without the right fund available on it to withdraw the cash?

[stevie21]

Gevs1966 - you are charged a cash advance fee and interest each day until you pay this back. Maybe the poor dear didn't realise her bank account would go overdrawn.

[jason1980]

I think it would be wrong to take action against British Rail because the credit card function caused your partner to use the debit card with uncleared funds. The reason being you can check balances available at the cash point, you can withdraw cash from credit cards at the cash point and british rail aren't responsible for the functioning of the credit card machine. These machines are linked to a main credit card system by a telephone line. The bank could have caused the system to be down and or the phone line could have been down, both of which wouldn't have been British Rails fault. I've not heard of being able to withdraw money out of an ATM with a debit card if theres insufficient funds without an overdraft facility.