"Sky Rider" wrote in message
...
Lew 1 wrote:

Luton Airport Parkway.

And as of last week, I still can't get through the gates - yet other
gates
let them through fine. (Including Blackfriars LUL).

That's even more wierd - my tickets from last week were also issued
there, although they were purchased from NXEC via their website earlier
and I merely collected them from a TVM. Admittedly over the past 18
months most of my tickets have been issued in London (even though I
travel to/from LAP often, whose TVMs have only been ToD-enabled
recently) given, IMX, the covenience of buying and collecting tickets
once a week rather than having to buy one every single weekday. (And
yes, my travels are such that they are cheaper than season tickets.)

Am I right in thinking that whilst all the FCC machines allow pick-up from
their own website bookings, only Luton Airport Parkway allows it from other
parties, say, The Train Line?

If you haven't already done so I'd suggest contacting FCC Customer
Relations, and in the meantime I'd also suggest using City Thameslink,
which is (approximately) a mere 200 yards north of London Blackfriars at
the Ludgate Hill end. Depending on your circumstances it *might* be
worth buying your tickets at another Thameslink station (e.g. Luton),
unless you've already tried that to no avail.

Now, I have bought tickets from Harpenden before but I can't remember
whether I used Blackfriars on that occasion - I will make it my business to
find out next time, for purely nosey reasons.

I should add that it doesn't bother me that I have to go through the manual
gate, in fact strangely I quite like the fact that my Railcard is actually
checked once in a while. The problem with an entirely gated network is that
it may check that the desintations, dates and time are correct, but there is
nothing to check whether you are entitled to any particular discount or not.
(Indeed, I have to admit that I have purchased a discounted ticket in the
past only to realise I didn't have my railcard with me. I continued
travelling anyway, as I knew the gates at Luton would let me through with no
bother.)

Lew 1 wrote:

Am I right in thinking that whilst all the FCC machines allow pick-up from
their own website bookings, only Luton Airport Parkway allows it from other
parties, say, The Train Line?

Basically if a machine can issue pre-paid tickets then it doesn't matter
who handled your online booking. Here's a more detailed explanation I
posted in another thread (I should add that FCC have managed a
'workaround' of some sort with regard to the last paragraph):
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.ra...24ec1e7f216c61

Now, I have bought tickets from Harpenden before but I can't remember
whether I used Blackfriars on that occasion - I will make it my business to
find out next time, for purely nosey reasons.

Ironically certain tickets (e.g. Cheap Day Return) issued to London
Thameslink are the same price regardless of whether your ticket is valid
from Harpenden or Luton Airport Parkway...

I should add that it doesn't bother me that I have to go through the manual
gate, in fact strangely I quite like the fact that my Railcard is actually
checked once in a while.

Personally I always show my railcard and tickets together (unless I use
an automatic gate) but hey, each to their own.

The problem with an entirely gated network is that
it may check that the desintations, dates and time are correct, but there is
nothing to check whether you are entitled to any particular discount or not.

That is a very good point. It might not be a problem if on-train
gripping was actually done frequently (I have been gripped on FCC trains
twice in the last 3 months, in spite of their fabled reputation), but
the gatelines at London Blackfriars may have been programmed differently
as an alternative measure.