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I bought a monthly pass for unlimited travel between San Jose and San Francisco for $126.50 on January 5th. Two days later I used my pass for the first time on Monday, January 7th, when I learned that in fact I didn't need to buy a monthly pass. I made a mistake so on the same day I went to the Amtrak ticketing agent seeking reimbursement.
They said that due to their return policy I am only entitled to recieve half the purchase amount of the ticket or about $60 dollars. A one-way ticket for travel between San Jose and San Francisco costs only $7.00. In effect, I should be charged for a one-way ticket between San Jose and San Francisco and perhaps a penalty for seeking reimbursement. A small penalty yes but not one costing me over $60 dollars. I don't have the werewithal to make this an issue with Amtrak seeking fairer terms on my own. Perhaps with the help of others, this unfair policy could be reversed.
Sincerely,
Henry Lee
[This message has been edited by hanjiklee (edited 01-08-2002).]
[This message has been edited by hanjiklee (edited 01-08-2002).]
lakeshorelimited Member # 576
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I'm not sure what you can do, because I don't know too much about the passes.. maybe someone here does. With Amtrak, it always helps to read ALL that pesky small type, and have an agent clarify anything that's unclear. I suggest calling their customer service center and asking to speak to a supervisor and explain your problem.. that may yield some results. Other than that, I'm not sure what else you can do, maybe someone on here has a better idea of how things work.. I once was able to "refund" non-refundable tickets by just changing my destination city and travelled on the same day, but it ended up being a higher priced ticket, and not a big alteration from the original ticket, so they let me do it.
hanjiklee Member # 1269
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thank you for your input Lakeshorelimited.
yesterday, I put it to the ticket agent at the station by asking the question, "If I buy a monthly pass for travel on Amtrak and change my mind an hour later, what happens in that case?" The agent said, "Amtrak would refund only 50% the purchase price of the ticket." He added, "I sympathize, but I can't do anything about it because its company policy."
There's something very wrong with the policy
[This message has been edited by hanjiklee (edited 01-09-2002).]
Mr. Toy Member # 311
posted
Amtrak doesn't go between San Jose and San Francisco. That's Caltrain's domain. However, I believe Caltrain has contracted some services to Amtrak, but I'm not sure. Talk to somebody at Caltrain and you may have better luck.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
posted
Next time, take the plane. Book a flight, and then change your mind. See how willing they are to refund your ticket, especially if bought at a discount or bargain fair rate!
carletonm Member # 1290
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An unlimited-use monthly ticket is exactly that -- a flash pass that can be used as much as you want. The ticket does not have any way of indicating on it if you took one ride, 10, or 20, before you turned it back in for refund. For this reason it is impossible to calculate refunds based on the rides the passholder says he or she took. Every transit authority/commuter railroad/Amtrak/etc. that sells these kinds of tickets refunds them the only way that it is possible to refund them -- by when the ticket is returned, which means when use of the ticket stops.
Before committing yourself to an unlimited-use monthly ticket, think a minute of what use you will make of it in the month, and see whether a shorter-term ticket or even one way tickets fit your travel pattern better.
lakeshorelimited Member # 576
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quote:Originally posted by MLC: Next time, take the plane. Book a flight, and then change your mind. See how willing they are to refund your ticket, especially if bought at a discount or bargain fair rate!
MLC isn't kidding! It's 150 dollars just to change the DATE on a round-trip return ticket on an international flight.. Regardless of how many seats are available.
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