Solo cards and national rail...

Does it bother anyone else that NOT ONE single ra il company in the whole country takes solo/visa electron cards? This means that every time I want to travel from my local station at Vauxhall, I have to stand in line for the ATM and then stand in line for the booth to actually buy a ticket. (because the machines are crappy and always spit your money out)

I understand that a lot of retailers can't accept the cards because they have to pay a surcharge but NATIONAL RAIL? Seems like a pretty crap system to me.

Anyone agree? 

Can't you upgrade to a Switch card (Maestro, i think they call it these days)?

Ive never had a Solo card, so cant really relate to your experience, but if it's a problem, i'd ask your bank for an upgrade.

hey pianohouse! i go through vauxhall on my way to/from work from kingston to oxford circus (and back). maybe i'll see you there one day!

yep, I agree it can be a PITA...I have a Solo card as well.  Doesn't actually bother me too much, though, as most of my train tickets go on my fiance's Maestro card or my American Express (or my US Visa debit card if there's money in there)..I haven't used cash to pay for a train ticket in months.

When my bank told me they were changing to Solo/Visa Electron I cringed. I am now the proud owner of a Visa Debit card. Yeh! A lot of retailers say that Solo/Visa Electron is not accepted.

A lot of retailers say that Solo/Visa Electron is not accepted.

Yep...which is why I buy almost everything in cash unless I know for a fact that they accept Solo.  Can't wait until I can qualify to have my bank account upgraded to a proper current account and get a Maestro card!

The annoyance is that most everyone DOES take Solo cards, but National Rail is the biggest notable exception to this.

Also, it's not as simple as requesting an upgrade to Maestro and getting it...you have to qualify first!  I've tried twice now to upgrade my NatWest account from Step to Current and despite being a member since 2004, I still can't until I have a decent full-time permanent job!  The Solo card is generally okay and not too much a hinderance, but it's a right pain in the butt when you need to buy a £2 train ticket and have to take £10 out via ATM to pay for it!  Even McDonald's takes Solo cards :-P

Since you know a lot of places don't take Solo cards, why don't you just go to an ATM once a week and take out all the cash you will need for the week, rather than stand in line at the ATM everytime you need to pay for something?

Since you know a lot of places don't take Solo cards, why don't you just go to an ATM once a week and take out all the cash you will need for the week, rather than stand in line at the ATM everytime you need to pay for something?

Sometimes we make spur-of-the-moment purchases, eh? ;-)  See your point, unfortunately life never works that smoothly!