Confirmation and clear instruction wanted !

[Yellowcoat]

Technically yes but providing you are not abusing any concession status no doubt a blind eye would be turned. Only problem might be if there was any concern about how the ticket had been acquired (lost/stolen etc.). You can see the problems for RFC whilst still trying to protect revenue from deliberate abuse. Unlike the OP the staff concerned will not be mind readers.
Perhaps I should point out that I am not employed by RFC but some of the questions raised would have been in my remit in earlier seasons.

[under the tin]

[quote="PieEater"]

That's right, that is their policy according to the East stand TO manager. Apparently they are [b]unable to check if the card had already been used[b] so it's their way of closing a potential scam.

That statement can not be true.

I work in the security industry, and what you have there at the madstad is a bloody great big access contol system, like many of you will have at your workplace.

Even the most rudimentary card reader systems will have anti "back pass" technology to prevent users getting in themselves, then merely passing the card to the person behind them at the turnstile.
As you present your card and pass through the turnstile, the computer, if you will, is instantly aware that that card is within the bowl, so therefore, the card can not be outside the bowl, allowing access again.

I suspect that the real truth is more likely to be

a) They do not have the knowledge and skills to access the computer
or
b) They just cant be @rsed to check

[Rex]

The difference naturally being how much you pay to get in. Anti pass back wouldn't be needed in this situation as the card is built on a one transaction basis. That is why the gates are opened at half time.
The system used would cancel any secondary transaction and as the turnstiles are used for entry only and possibly not put on(or have the capacity for free flow), any attempt to jib anyone else through would automatically fail.

[No Fixed Abode]

My sister got in to the game on Saturday with a concession ticket, no problem at all. (In the East Stand).

[Yellowcoat]

If true just got lucky - see OP. Do you condone this activity? Still you are a WUM so cannot be trusted.

[PieEater]

I'm not sure whether what I was told was true or not, but that is their excuse. I found it incredible that they can check that a card has paid for the game, but not that it had already been used.

Mind you I've also been told that the "cards are loaded onto the gate" when clearly it's just a card reader and a LAN connection back to a server. They probably meant the details had been bulk transfered from the ticketing system to the gate system or something.

Actually thinking about that, maybe they have separate servers for the two gates on the East stand that aren't synchronised, some scam potential there.

[under the tin]

Think about it this way.
If, as a season ticket holder, you phone up the T/O to "load" a cup game onto your card.
You quote a credit/debit card number, matey at the T/O clicks his mouse, and hey presto.
It's a computer derived system. If you can log into the system to update a card, ergo you should be able to log on to do other things also.

Or maybe they give the computer Saturdays off.... or the tooth fairy caused a glitch in the system. Ahem.

[No Fixed Abode]

If true just got lucky - see OP. Do you condone this activity? Still you are a WUM so cannot be trusted.

Deffo true - folks are in the Somme, so she used my mums ST.

[EPR]

I'm not sure whether what I was told was true or not, but that is their excuse. I found it incredible that they can check that a card has paid for the game, but not that it had already been used.

Mind you I've also been told that the "cards are loaded onto the gate" when clearly it's just a card reader and a LAN connection back to a server. They probably meant the details had been bulk transfered from the ticketing system to the gate system or something.

Actually thinking about that, maybe they have separate servers for the two gates on the East stand that aren't synchronised, some scam potential there.

I don't know this as a fact, but just assumption based on what would be good system design and from the number of computers you can see on the wall above each gate that Fortress GB (the smart-card entry system used at the Madejski Stadium) is fault tolerant to the extent that it can operate autonomously down to the individual turnstile, so yes - not just each gate, but each turnstile probably has cards loaded onto them - there will be no reliance on a stadium wide network to get everyone in.

Turnstiles configured in a general access group (e.g. "East Stand") will presumably communicate with each other to prevent pass-back and re-entry on the same card; but even if the local area network between turnstiles goes down each turnstile will fall-back to operate completely autonomously for the event - at the expense of resilience against that particular threat but in the general interest of getting 25,000 people into the venue safely.

[weybridgewanderer]

upon entering the North stand. No problem he thought,he didnt lie or try and bluff his way out of it,one of those nice ladies with the little PDA will take an upgrade fee and that will be that.
Not a bit of it. She calls over a Tango who gets right gobby and won't listen to a word. Tells him he has to now pay FULL PRICE, not just the upgrade and promptly throws him out keeping my son in laws ST as well.
So now they have not only have TWO payments for that seat but a concession sitting in the East stand on a ful price ST as well.
My Gripe is not that my son had to pay an upgrade, I guess that's a chance you take, but where does it say you have to pay again for a full price ticket (that incidentally still got printed with my son in laws name and ST number on it) and they basically pocket the concession price that has already been paid?

Should have spoken to customer service before you all went through the turnstyle

The PDA people only help tell you if you bought a sat and where it is, they are not the ticket office

I suspect your Ts&Cs say your season ticket is non transferable, and the club does tell you how to upgrade a tcket. It does not say enter the stadium on the concession and if you get caught offer to pay hence it won;t say you will be charged full price or thrown out if you try.

[weybridgewanderer]

Sorry to steer the thread very slightly off topic, but something I've never known the answer too (it's probably quite obvious but I've never checked) - if you have an adult season ticket does it have to be used by the person named on it? I know it would be a big shock if they were ever to check, but say a female Season Ticket holder couldn't go one match and gave it to a male friend to use, could that bloke be refused entry? I'm thinking if they have trouble with the card reader and have to ask a steward for help, they may think it a little odd that the person using it had a girls name...

ts&cs say the ST is non transferable

However, if its an adult using an adult ticket nobody will notice as long as the person using the ticket does not draw undue attention to themselves within the stadium.

[UpThePrem]

Sorry to steer the thread very slightly off topic, but something I've never known the answer too (it's probably quite obvious but I've never checked) - if you have an adult season ticket does it have to be used by the person named on it? I know it would be a big shock if they were ever to check, but say a female Season Ticket holder couldn't go one match and gave it to a male friend to use, could that bloke be refused entry? I'm thinking if they have trouble with the card reader and have to ask a steward for help, they may think it a little odd that the person using it had a girls name...

ts&cs say the ST is non transferable

However, if its an adult using an adult ticket nobody will notice as long as the person using the ticket does not draw undue attention to themselves within the stadium.

Our company has two tickets which several people use throughout the season as nobody can afford/or wants to go to every game. I used to use these tickets before I got my own season ticket 4 years ago. Sometimes, 8-9 people would use it throughout the year. Nobody has ever been stopped from entering. Both are adult tickets and on numerous occasions kids including my 6 year old used one of the tickets, no questions asked.

Even though I have my own ticket now I still use these tickets for high proiority away games as they have now got over 2000 points whereas mine has just over 1000.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Sorry to steer the thread very slightly off topic, but something I've never known the answer too (it's probably quite obvious but I've never checked) - if you have an adult season ticket does it have to be used by the person named on it? I know it would be a big shock if they were ever to check, but say a female Season Ticket holder couldn't go one match and gave it to a male friend to use, could that bloke be refused entry? I'm thinking if they have trouble with the card reader and have to ask a steward for help, they may think it a little odd that the person using it had a girls name...

No, there's no way of checking on this. There's even an expectation, shown in the PL's own official surveys, that ST holders will lend ST's to others when they can't get to a game.

It's technically not allowed, but that really is because there has to be rules they can use against touts selling on ST's to make money - but individual, unofficial lending of STs to people (in the same ago category) is fine.

[Green]

Sorry to steer the thread very slightly off topic, but something I've never known the answer too (it's probably quite obvious but I've never checked) - if you have an adult season ticket does it have to be used by the person named on it? I know it would be a big shock if they were ever to check, but say a female Season Ticket holder couldn't go one match and gave it to a male friend to use, could that bloke be refused entry? I'm thinking if they have trouble with the card reader and have to ask a steward for help, they may think it a little odd that the person using it had a girls name...

No, there's no way of checking on this. There's even an expectation, shown in the PL's own official surveys, that ST holders will lend ST's to others when they can't get to a game.

It's technically not allowed, but that really is because there has to be rules they can use against touts selling on ST's to make money - but individual, unofficial lending of STs to people (in the same ago category) is fine.

A firm I used to work for had a couple of season tickets at Stamford Bridge.

Anyone could apply for the tickets on the proviso you took a client along. Can't see the problem with this really from the clubs point of view - how is it different to the same chump sitting there every week?

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Sorry to steer the thread very slightly off topic, but something I've never known the answer too (it's probably quite obvious but I've never checked) - if you have an adult season ticket does it have to be used by the person named on it? I know it would be a big shock if they were ever to check, but say a female Season Ticket holder couldn't go one match and gave it to a male friend to use, could that bloke be refused entry? I'm thinking if they have trouble with the card reader and have to ask a steward for help, they may think it a little odd that the person using it had a girls name...

No, there's no way of checking on this. There's even an expectation, shown in the PL's own official surveys, that ST holders will lend ST's to others when they can't get to a game.

It's technically not allowed, but that really is because there has to be rules they can use against touts selling on ST's to make money - but individual, unofficial lending of STs to people (in the same ago category) is fine.

A firm I used to work for had a couple of season tickets at Stamford Bridge.

Anyone could apply for the tickets on the proviso you took a client along. Can't see the problem with this really from the clubs point of view - how is it different to the same chump sitting there every week?

Exactly. They know it happens and are happy about it - because they get a full ground and people buy programmes and refreshments etc.

It's only once money starts to change hands that it's likely to be viewed as a problem - the non-transferrable rule exists so they can take action in that - as they did when people were selling on member-cards for individual, high-demand, games (Effectively lend the ST card to a punter for a large sum plus massive deposit, when you're in the ground the punter meets someone and gives it back, and gets their deposit back.)

For every situation, there's some scumbag trying to take advantage and make a profit. Which is why it's no real surprise that they were suspicious in the case of the OP - for every person who's innocently doing something different, there are half a dozen people actually trying to cheat the system.

[loyalroyaldaz]

UPDATE

I went and spoke to the customer service chap and he was very understanding. The whole point here was that we were all ignorant of the fact that the ladies with pda's couldn't take payment and the fact that the steward wouldn't let my son ring my son in law ( who was in the east stand on my sons full price season ticket) so they could have just swapped back seats. They both had I'd etc she refused to let him use his phone, just ushered him out the door and told him he had to go and pay full price again! Fortunately my son has been brought up correctly and didnt kick off as many would have, he was honest, made and honest mistake and did as he was told.
Funny thing is they gave him a piece of paper to take to the ticket office and the ticket he ended up with was in my son in laws name and member number !
Anyway they are refunding the difference between upgrade price and full price so common sense has prevailed.
Also funny that they never stop a kid going in on and adult ticket !!

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Also funny that they never stop a kid going in on and adult ticket !!

Why would they?

[Simon's Church]

No officer, I wasn't trying to steal it. I just thought the till was outside.

[weybridgewanderer]

UPDATE
Also funny that they never stop a kid going in on and adult ticket !!

firstly they may not hve had "spotters" on that gate, they randlomly pick gates to monitor

secondly they are only looking for adults entering on a concession ticket, they won't care if someone has overpaid

[loyalroyaldaz]

That's obvious.
I wonder if you can actually "downgrade for a game"?