Can someone help me with the landline substitute for the above.

Phoned it today , only to be put on hold for 10 minutes at a cost of £ 1.00 before hanging up without getting an answer from a human being!

Thanks, Bill

Please read the instructions for posting a request. Where is this based, is there a website/e-mail address or fax number? What is the purpose of the 'Promotion Line'?

Sorry!

Am working off page 58 of today's Scottish Daily Mail (Saturday, January 21,2006).  This is a national promotion and so the English edition of the Daily Mail may have the promotion on a different page.

Purpose of 0870 phone line is to take train reservation booking for the Daily Mail discounted train offer.

It apparently is a dedicated phone line and is not a general phone line for "run of the mill" train bookings.

It is supposed to be available between 08.00 and 22.00 hours every day but I have failed to get an answer from a human being after "investing 10 - 15 minutes at a cost of 10pence per minute"

Only other contact details is the website address for automated booking ( which is failing with me due to an error report that says the pre-set promotional code of "CTMAIL" is wrong )  ....... this is www.virgin.com/trains/dailymail .

Thanks,  Bill

This is the number given in today's Daily Mail for an offer of reduced fares with Virgin Trains.
The offer is also available at www.virgin.com/trains/dailymail.
No postal address is given.

The Terms & Conditions on the website state:

Quote:

1. ... All bookings must be made by the participants between 21 January and 30 March 2006 via the website at www.virgin.com/trains/dailymail or the dedicated ‘Daily Mail’ promotion line on 0870 010 1129. 5. This promotion is likely to be very popular so please be patient when calling the booking line.

The 'Contact Us' page of the website gives:

Quote:

Virgin Trains Customer Relations PO Box 713 Birmingham, B5 4HH Tel: 0870 789 1234 Fax: 0121 654 7500

By Googling "Virgin Trains Customer Relations" I have found a geo number at [url=www.foe.co.uk/resource/factsheets/who_runs_railway.pdf[/url]:]www.foe.co.uk/resource/factsheets/who_runs_railway.pdf:[/url]

Quote:

Virgin Trains Ltd. Managing Director, Chris Green West Wing Offices Euston Station LONDON NW1 2HS - General Complaints Address: Meridian 85 Smallbrook Queensway Birmingham B5 4HA (0121) 654 9000 (general switchboard) [url=www.virgintrains.co.uk[/url][/quote]]www.virgintrains.co.uk

[/url]
but somehow, I suspect that if you ring that number they will simply refer you to the 0870 number through which "All bookings must be made".

Incidentally, the Daily Mail offer is with different train companies on different days - it's not yet clear whether there will be a different number for each train company or whether the same 0870 number quoted will be used irrespective of the train company.  But it's also clear that different websites are used for booking with different train companies and that some companies allow booking ONLY by phone.

It may be that the 0870 number is really a Daily Mail / Associated Newspapers special number and you will have to search under those names to find a geo equivalent (if one is available).

I suspect that this is a case of weighing up the cost of the saving against the cost of the 0870 call!

Bill

My message crossed with your second message.

All I can add is that it's also on p.58 of my London / southern England Daily Mail and that the web address worked ok for me (but I didn't try booking a ticket).

Trevor

Quote:

1. ... All bookings must be made by the participants between 21 January and 30 March 2006 via the website at www.virgin.com/trains/dailymail or the dedicated ‘Daily Mail’ promotion line on 0870 010 1129.

Can I ask why you don't just book via the website? As much as I hate 0870 numbers, they do give an alternative in the form of a website. Besides, as this is a special line for this promotion, it's very unlikely we'll ever find an alternative number for it.

jrawle wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2006 at 7:19pm:

... as this is a special line for this promotion, it's very unlikely we'll ever find an alternative number for it.

From what you've said, it goes through to Virgin Trains. I agree with jrawle's point; short of dialing loads of numbers, which would be for little (if any) benefit, then I suggest you explore the web avenue.

As well as the switchboard number posted here, why not try the number in the database, which is 0121 6547400.

right  here are the promo codes for that promotion

MMLMAIL
FGWMAIL
VTMAIL (the code CTMAIL which is linked from the VT website DOES NOT WORK use VTMAIL)

these codes can be used on any of thetrainline.com sites, includes trainsfares and virgintrainsfares etc.

GNER stop accepting bookings on 24th.

Thank you all for your help.

I posed a question on Saturday 21/01/2006 through the Virgin Trains website helpline about the non-working promotional code of "CTMAIL" and received a reply today, Monday 23/01/2006 which I am copying here:-


================================================================
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 05:33:23 +0000 (GMT)
To: billmuirwithnfrl@yahoo.co.uk
From: "Virgin Customer Support Centre" <salessupport@virgintrains.co.uk>  Add to Address Book
Subject: Saturday, 21st January 2006 I am getting an error report on the Daily Mail Pr... [Incident: 060121-000257]
   
You recently asked for help from www.virgin.com/trains. Our agent’s reply is below.

We hope this has answered your question but if you feel this response is unsatisfactory please reply to this e-mail in the space below, within 7 days.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

If you would like to update your message, reply to this e-mail, entering your text in the space below.

[===> Please enter your reply below this line <===]

[===> Please enter your reply above this line <===]


Subject
Saturday, 21st January 2006 I am getting an error report on the Daily Mail Pr...
 
Previous E-mails
Response (preeti) 23/01/2006 06:33 AM
Dear Bill,

We apologise for the delay in responding to you.

Due to some technical error the website is displaying CTMAIL. The correct promotional code is VTMAIL.

We regret the inconvenience this may have caused.

Kind regards

Preeti

P.S. If you have any other enquiry regarding your train journey then why not use our new and improved help section , where you can find answers to over 250 frequently asked questions.

To buy a train ticket, or check the details of a previous booking, please visit www.virgintrains.co.uk
Customer (Bill Muir) 21/01/2006 05:31 PM
Saturday, 21st January 2006

I am getting an error report on the Daily Mail Promotion booking form at Part 3 ....... "CTMAIL" the preset promotion code is apparently not valid and so needs fixed.Can you please fix it ASAP?.

I have tried your 0870 010 1129 helpline three times for over 15 minutes at 10 pence a minute and have never got through to a human being......are you just taking your share of 0870 revenue without offering a helpline service after creating a deliberate error in setting the website promotion code as described in my first paragraph above?.
Auto-response 21/01/2006 05:31 PM


Title: Can I book using the daily mail promotion?
Link: http://virgintrains.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/virgintrains.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=755&p_created=1076407022

Title: How many people can I book to travel as a group?
Link: http://virgintrains.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/virgintrains.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=55&p_created=1025283457

Title: When are the cheapest times to travel - 5 Top Tips?
Link: http://virgintrains.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/virgintrains.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=3&p_created=1025218422

Title: What types of tickets are there?
Link: http://virgintrains.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/virgintrains.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=1054&p_created=1122131144

Title: Does the site allow me to purchase any promotional tickets?
Link: http://virgintrains.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/virgintrains.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=106&p_created=1025288014

===================================================================


Thanks to SAYNOTO0870.COM I go the answer I was looking for before/simultainiously to the official VIRGIN Trains answer.

Were they not careless in setting their website code to "CTMAIL" rather than the correct code of "VTMAIL" thereby disabling the automated website booking function and thereby generating a whole lot of "unnecessary" traffic through their alternative 0870 number which is by coincidence "income generative" and which was in the vast majority of cases only answered by a taped message asking callers to "please hang on" ????.

Should it not be obligatory that on 0870 numbers -

1. No answerphone message should encourage callers to hang on at 10 pence a minute or

2......better still... no 10 pence per minute charge should start until after the answerphone message has served its purpose and a humanbeing has actually answered the call ........thereby justifying (?) the charge.

ANYWAY ......... now I shall start to try and book a train journey for Wednesday, 25/01/2006 the day after tomorrow.....what are my chances now of getting a bargain ticket..........extreemly low I bet !!.

Thanks again to you all ..............BILL.

billmuirca wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2006 at 11:40am:

Due to some technical error the website is displaying CTMAIL. The correct promotional code is VTMAIL.

The "technical error" is probably a typing error because C and V are next to each other on the keyboard.  ::)

err didnt I already say that?