Horrible SNCF Booking Experience

I%26#39;ve already posted this on the French Riviera forum, but I%26#39;m reposting here since Paris forum seems to have more traffic.

--%26gt;%26gt;OH MY GOSH!!! I just had an aweful experience with SNCF! They SUCK BIG TIME! I%26#39;ve just experienced the worst in my travel planning history!

I booked my tickets online (voyages-sncf.com) My tickets are suppose to be refundable and changeable. I haven%26#39;t even printed my tickets yet, since you can%26#39;t get a refund or make changes after you print. The reservation number they gave me at confirmation was a combination of letters and numbers. I tried to cancel online, but the system said I%26#39;m suppose to enter 6 letters. So I contacted customer service via email (they don%26#39;t even have a phone number listed). They replied back within a day to tell me that my ticket is non-refundable, but it%26#39;s changeable if I haven%26#39;t printed. They gave me a phone number to call and the office hours. Well, I had to wait til midnight here in CA to call, since it%26#39;ll be 9am over there. The number they gave me is not even in service!! I even called the number on my confirmation email that I received after booking online, that number was also out of service!!! There%26#39;s a French operator saying something like %26quot;ne corresponde service perrier%26quot; or something like that. I%26#39;ve been calling for over an an hour and ahalf and I still get the same message, so I figured the numbers must not be valid.

Anyway, looked up SNCF%26#39;s phone number from my travel book, called and was able to get a hold of someone on the other end. And you%26#39;re not going to believe this! They kept asking for a 6 letter confirmation number. I kept telling them that I have a confirmation number that has 2 digits in it, not all letters which was emailed to me after I booked online. They wouldn%26#39;t even take it!! I called back again, hoping to speak to someone else. The second person I spoke to told me that she can%26#39;t do anything for me if I don%26#39;t have the 6 lettters. She tried looking up my name and said I don%26#39;t have anything reserved in the system!! The amount has already been charged on my credit card for over 3 weeks. I have a confirmation email, and she%26#39;s trying to tell me I have nothing reserved and that there%26#39;s nothing she can do to help. I asked to speak to someone else or another phone number to call to get further help. She gave me a disconnected numbe. The first person I spoke to gave me a bad number also.

What a nightmare!!! It%26#39;s almost 2am here in CA, and I%26#39;m not sure what to do at this point other than contacting my credit card agency to dispute the amount already charged. I can%26#39;t believe this is happening. It%26#39;s almost unheard of!

Has anyone else experience this?

Their customer service stinks! They gave me a phone number to Eurostar just because they couldn%26#39;t help! I didn%26#39;t realize I was calling Eurostar until I dialed the number.

Arrrhhh!!! I%26#39;m so sick of this. I just filed a dispute with my credit card. But I still need to re-book my reservation for the day and time that I need. I%26#39;m afraid to use SNCF again though. Do I have any other options?? Anyone have any suggestions??

Thanks

|||

Where are you trying to go to?

|||

Paris to Marseille, then Nice to Paris. I%26#39;m only trying to change my return trip (Nice to Paris), since currently I have a roundtrip ticket from Paris to Marseille, then Marseille to Paris

|||

I looked at my reservation and it shows the full six letters that you reference above. Have you tried emailing the customer service from the site?

We had fairly good luck with the email. Our tickets were supposed to be mailed to us in France and never showed up. With the reference numbers the ticketing agent was able to create the tickets (had to recharge our credit card), though it is supposed to be refunded.

Corresponding travel file reference: QQGBCR | QQGAOQ

|||

Sorry, just saw that you tried email first.

Easy Jet may be your best option.

|||

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I%26#39;ve never had a problem, and I%26#39;m havig a hard time figuring out yours...

Is the return trip you have already booked from Marseille to Paris on the same date as the trip you want to take from Nice to Paris? Or do you need to change both the departure station and the date?

And what dates are we talking about?

|||

Thanks, Seattle mom.

My %26quot;Corresponding travel file reference%26quot; somehow has numbers in it. It has 6 characters, with numbers and letters. I think I can print it using this reference number, since it brings up my reservation when I enters it. But I don%26#39;t want to put in passenger names and birthdates because that means that I%26#39;m ready to print and no longer can make changes. The only problem is their customer service reps do not recognize my reference number and refuse to do anything to help me make the changes I need.

The phone number I got on my confirmation email is no good (+33 0.892.682.042). I dialed 011 33 892 682 042 from CA. I don%26#39;t understand what the operator is saying, but it sounds like %26quot;this number is not in service%26quot;.

I%26#39;m planning on booking EasyJet from Nice to Paris. But I%26#39;ve been wanting to take a ride on the TGV also. EasyJet does not fly from Paris to Marseille, does it?

Thanks!!!

|||

IrishRovR, I%26#39;m planning on changing my Marseille-%26gt;Paris ticket to Nice-%26gt;Paris, for the same day.

I didn%26#39;t even get to the point where I explain to them exactly what I wanted to do. They simply wouldn%26#39;t help me because they don%26#39;t recognize my reference number

|||

I would go ahead and rebook my tickets - you don%26#39;t have the option to print the tickets if you are buying a regular / full fare / refundable ticket. For those, you must choose to pick up at the station. Only the discounted fares, which are not refundable, allow you to print the ticket yourself.

Next, I would dispute the charge that has posted to your credit card with your credit card company. You will have to do this in writing, providing copies of your statement, any emails/correspondence from SNCF, and your description of the events. Contact your credit card customer service for the exact instructions. Your complaint is that you did not complete the booking, received no tickets, and your card was charged in error.

|||

P.S. I would use a different credit card now, for the 2nd purchase, so your dispute doesn%26#39;t get confused with the subsequent charge.

|||

OK. I%26#39;m hoping this can be solved fairly easily, although not quite ideally.

You have what you believe is a valid booking from Paris to Marseille RT and you can print those tickets.

if you do not need to change the dates, could you not simply book a train from Nice to Marseille so that you arrive with 15 minutes (or more) to make the change of trains?

Or are you too put off by the whole experience to want to try to book another trip through sncf.com?

If that is the case perhaps raileurope.com (whom I would not normally recommend...) could provide tix for the missing part of your trip.

Hope this suggestion helps.