Cjar

You know how some people try to plan every little thing ahead of time so that when they arrive at their destination things are easy? Well apparently that shouldn't be me. I just bought 2 tickets for Venice to Florence on the wrong day. I don't know how this happened except that maybe when bouncing back and forth from my Ipad to laptop trying to follow advice for making purchases on Trenitalia website I somehow changed the date. I have tried to change the ticket but I keep getting the error message...
Change allowed only if new offer name is economy cambio biglietti.
I get this message every time regardless of the option I choose.
Am I stuck with these tickets? I have read they can be exchanged in person once we are there, but that there is a huge fee. Am I better off just buying new tickets? Grrr. Loathe it when I make silly errors. Please help. I can't be the only person to have ever done this. Can I?

kybourbon

You bought an economy fare?

ThulaMama

I nearly made that mistake as well - it may have happened the way it happened to me which was to accidentally hit the scroll bar on the computer keyboard. The date went up without me noticing - I only caught it just before paying.

Anyway, this doesn't help you solve your current problem but may help future Trenitalia users watch out and double check.

Good luck - hope you can get it changed ok.

Cjar

Yes, Kybourbon,I did. I think it said it could be exchanged until day of departure and I would like the tickets for a day earlier,same bat time,same bat channel ,but I could be flexible with the time. Will I just have to eat my brussell sprouts and like it ?

Cjar

ThulaMama- that very well may be how it happened. I gues there's no use crying over spilt milk,but ouch that lesson stung a little. Thanks for the luck. I think I'll need it.

Ackislander

Despair not. I did this a number of years ago, only Florence to Rome.

Go to the railway station, find an English speaking clerk, explained what happened, grovel slightly (omigodIcantbelieveIdidthis), do not blame the website or anything Italian, and they can fix it for you. Slapping your forehead during the groveling doesn't hurt. Effusive thanks will make it easier for the next person who finds himself in the same situation.

Cjar

So I phoned Trenitalia this morning and went straight to voice mail to leave my name and number. Hopefully someone will call back.

Cjar

I can grovel given the right circumstances. If I cant get things worked out with a phone call, hopefully I will find someone as kind as you did. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm practicing the head slapping as we speak.

DRJ

I always try to understand why people buy train tickets weeks or months ahead. I just go to the station and buy a ticket. If my travel plans change by an hour or two I'm not a slave to a pre purchased ticket. Am I missing something?

Jean

DRJ, in some cases, there can be big savings. But I too like the flexibility of buying on the day of travel.

Cjar

Yes well. Lesson learned, DJR. I guess I was under the impression that ticket prices (all not just supereconomy) increase if you buy the day of travel.
Spoke to a lovely woman at Trenitalia this morning who was unfortunately unable to help me. Her reccomendations were to wait and call back after September 1st, not sure what the significance of this date is, or to exchange it at the station as it is not possible to change it online which makes we wonder why that is an option on the website?
Anyway I will chalk it up to a learning experience.

kybourbon

>>>I always try to understand why people buy train tickets weeks or months ahead. I just go to the station and buy a ticket. If my travel plans change by an hour or two I'm not a slave to a pre purchased ticket. Am I missing something?>>>Yes, Kybourbon,I did. I think it said it could be exchanged until day of departure and I would like the tickets for a day earlier,same bat time,same bat channel ,but I could be flexible with the time.>>Ackislander on Jul 18, 13 at 9:17am
Despair not. I did this a number of years ago, only Florence to Rome.

Cjar

I was actually aware that the European date format is different than the U.S. Due to that I tried to be especially careful, but by the time I was kicked out of the system a couple of times and had tried a few times / fares and been told that seats were unavailable , I must have become careless. Iwas also doing this later in the evening, 9 or 10 so maybe the date did flip.
The representative at Trenitalia I spoke to said that I could not change the reservation online and this must be true as I tried several times. I did register and even with that I kept getting the above stated message. At this point , I will have to call back in September (our trip is the first day of Oct) and see what can be done or change at the station. Either why I believe I will be upcharged to the base fare. Thanks again for all of the advice. If anyone else has recently solved this problem,I'd appreciate any info you might have.

kybourbon

You were booking a ticket the day you arrive in Italy and you booked it a day late? If you are not traveling arrival day and you will be there a few days, you can change it after you arrive in Italy.

Some people have had success changing online, but you only get one shot at it for an economy ticket (one change allowed only). Some people attempting to change ended up selecting their exact same date again instead of changing it by not paying attention. If you do this, make sure every thing is accurate before continuing. It appears from these step-by-step directions, on TA, that in the process, you have to make the changes described under Economy Cambio Bigletti for EACH PERSON before continuing. Here are the directions they printed and the thread (where a few people still picked the wrong train again).

***** 3. Re: how to change economy trenitalia ticket purchased online
Mar 04, 2013, 11:42 AM

Hi, I've just managed to do this. I bought a standard economy ticket from Napoli to Rome and needed to change the return leg. steps i used are:

1). Go to Online Purchase Manager

2). Click on the 'dedicated area' link under 'to change or refund without registration' (if you did not register)

3). Enter your email and PNR

4). Click on change refund under tickets you have purchased. before you do this note what tickets they are.

5). Select a new time press continue

6). here is the key - check the box 'Cartafreccia offers, discount cards, other specials'

7). Click continue

8). Select the Economy Cambio Biglietto (which I think means Economy Exchange Ticket) for each traveller.

9). Click Continue

This should now have allowed you to select the tickets and pay the difference. I had to re-enter passenger names and my cc details again but i successfully changed my train times.*****

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...ine-Italy.html


FYI - You should have a PNR code (booking code) and CP codes (change codes).
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD


***From Trenitalia:
Economy ticket rules:
How and when I can manage my ticket?
You can change date and hour once up to departure, choosing a journey on same category of train, according to the ticket change procedure and paying the difference between the full price (Base) applied to the train used and the sum already paid.
If you bought it online you can change your ticket on this website by clicking in the customer area on “Change Journey” and selecting “Economy ticket change”, otherwise you can change at any ticket office or at the travel agency you bought it.

The new ticket called Economy ticket change retains the same features of the Economy.***

There are some SuperEconomy tickets (19€)for your date. Might be cheaper to just buy that instead of changing and having to pay the difference in your economy ticket and base fare. If you change, even though you will have paid the base fare amount, it will not become a base ticket with base rules. It will say something like economy fare change ticket.
Please note: you cannot apply for refund if you cancel your journey or travel directly on a different train from the one you booked.
The number of seats available is limited and changeable, according to days, trains and class or service chosen. You cannot add other reductions including the one for children.

Cjar

Kybourbon- thank you. Sorry to have confusing information above. We arrive Oct 2 and I meant to arrange travel for Oct 5, but accidentally selected Oct 6. I read the same information on the trenitalia website but still got the message about new offer must be economy cambio biglietti. I will try the new and improved so easy a child could do it steps above and will hopefully have success. You must be a teacher or parent or saint. You have sooooo much patience. Thanks again.

kybourbon

Since you are arriving the 2nd and have several days before you travel, you can just change it when you get there.

Cjar

Thank you. It looks like that is my best option. You are a real gem.

Joy2

Not sure if this will work but maybe you can ask your credit card company for assistance.

I too made the same mistake with trenitalia. I am travelling in September and booked the wrong day. After many tries I was able to make changes but as listed above you do need to register. (I am still nervous when I arrive at the train station they might have a problem.). Hope it all works out!

Cjar

Joy2- I hope it works out for you too. I'm sure it will be fine. I did register prior to buying the tickets,but still have not been able to change the ticket online. Even using the steps above, I couldn't do it. Sooo.... We'll see what happens when I call back in September or I can change it when we get there. Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions. Who knew this would be the most difficult part? Of planning our trip. : )

Cjar

Further adventures with Trenitalia. I have since called a few times and here is what has transpired. Called midAugust and got a very nice woman who told me "yes, of course, I can change your tickets". Only she couldn't as it kept coming back unapproved.
Call to credit card company " it was approved I see the charge here for x amount of dollars".
Repeat of one and two.
Went online and tried a few more times without success.
Called today reached a very nice man who informed me they were having problems with their online system and that I would have to repurchase and that a refund would be sent for the original tickets even though they were nonrefundable tickets. Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser.
But wait... No luck there either because it was not approved by credit card company.
AGAIN? REALLY?
Well I can't say this whole experience hasn't been educational.
I have learmed to never ,ever make a mistake or attempt to change tickets with Trenitalia.
I really hope Fodorites are right when they say it can be changed in person. I was really hoping to not have to deal with it while on vacation.
I think next time and I hope there will be a next time, I will use Italotreno. It appears to be a very straight forward website.
Good luck to fellow first time Trenitalia users. You may need it.