Ticket Purchasing Issues Using the Trenitalia Website

About a month ago, Trenitalia implemented a “new,” updated website. It looked good – but unfortunately has resulted in numerous problems. Historically, the Trenitalia  site has not been the easiest website to use. Years ago, many foreign credit cards were not viable and thus trying to buy a ticket in advance was almost impossible – especially for USA credit card holders. Trenitalia solved that problem and for more than a year the site has churned along and many people were able to take advantage of the MINI fares and other discounts.

But with the most recent Trenitalia website update, the challenges of the site returned. The “ticketless” option in today’s electronic world certainly is practical and becoming almost ubiquitous – everyone does it. And for a period of time, it worked great at Trenitalia. But in the past few weeks, with the latest website revision, it seems the wheels have come off the Trenitalia “electronic system.” Hopefully they will resolve these issues, and this post becomes a footnote to the past. But if not, we’ll explore some options.

Granted, this “quirk in the system” does not apply to everyone, but the primary complaint or comment about the Trenitalia website in the past few weeks has been, “I purchased a ticket in the website and I did not get my PNR code.”

Yes, the PNR code IS your ticket. No need to print a ticket or fuss with a line at a counter or a kiosk; just flash your PNR code to the conductor and you’re ready to ride! Unfortunately, if you did not get a PNR code through the website or a subsequent email, you’re in trouble – especially if your credit card got charged.

Note: For some helpful hints for booking online, read about the most updated process – which may change soon – at Booking Online Using the Trenitalia Website.

Helpful Hints on Riding Trains in Italy
Buying Train Tickets at a Kiosk in a Train Station
Different Types of Train Tickets in Italy
Should I Buy 1st Class or 2nd Class Train Tickets?
The Trenitalia “MINI” – A Discounted Ticket Promotion

Where is My PNR Code?

If you did not get a PNR code and you were registered and logged in on the website then your problems are easier to solve (so says Trenitalia). For most folks though, they are not registered on the Trenitalia website. Or lately, the registration and password system on the website has failed and they were unable to login – Yes, it’s like the Perfect Storm! Thus many people chose to purchase without registering, frustrated by the user ID and password issue. Then, by not logging in, they did not have the option to check their Trenitalia online “account.” We will try and work through an example primarily for those travelers who DID NOT register or DID NOT login to the Trenitalia website.

Above is an example of the purchase page for a MINI ticket to Naples from Rome. Once you enter data on this screen and hit next (circled in red above), the Trenitalia system IMMEDIATELY charges your credit card.

What should come up after your credit card has been charged is this screen, a Payment Summary screen. If you DID NOT register, this screen is your safety net! You might want to print this out. If you get an email with PNR codes, you can throw it away. But if not, this screen has your Retrieval Codes.

Zooming in on the bottom left corner of the page is this notification – BUYING WITHOUT REGISTERING. Due to the spate of problems with passwords, temporary passwords, and the entire registration process, more Trenitalia first-time users are buying tickets without registering. If you ARE purchasing without registering, this is your life-line!

For many people, they get this far, they’ve paid… and then they don’t get an email with their PNR code. First, I’d caution you to CAREFULLY enter your email address on the Trenitalia system if you’re not logging in as a registered user.

Second, if you worked through this process and did not get an email – check you SPAM box or junk-mail folder. Your Trenitalia email may be sitting there.

Okay, none of that worked for you – except the credit card being charged (of course, that always seems to work?). You did not get an email and you’ve looked everywhere. It just DID NOT come. So what options do you have?

Solutions – We hope…

Your first option, after checking all your junk and Spam folders, would be to try and use the Retrieval Code. To do some, head for the Trenitalia Home Page. Once there you’ll probably have to click on ENGLISH in the top right corner…

The top of the page may look like this… Click on the Customers area, highlighted by the yellow circle above.

Once you’ve arrived at the Customers area page, look to the left margin for the option, Online purchases management, as seen above circled in yellow. Click on it.

If you DID register, then you can solve your problems here also! But since most people have not, we’ll look at this solution from a non-registered perspective. We zoomed in on the center part of this page to make it easier to read. You can see from the header we are still on the Online Purchases Management page.

Since we did not register, look to the bottom of the page for the option: click here if you bought without signing in. It’s highlighted by the yellow box above… Click on this link.

Now you’re taken to a ‘”new” Customer Area that may look like this. You can see the top section for folks who want to login or register. We’re going to zoom in on the lower right region – the Purchases without section.

We do not have a PNR code, so we can’t enter an email and PNR code… so you would want to click on the header, Retrieve purchase, highlighted by the yellow circle above.

Once you click on Retrieve purchases, this new box drops down. Now there are three entries you have to make. Name, Surname, and Recovery Code (highlighted by the yellow box). Even though you did not register or login, the Trenitalia system DOES require a Name and Surname prior to any online purchase. You will have to use those EXACT names and your Recovery code to get to the next step! Enter that information and hit submit.

Once you hit submit, then you get the option to enter an email address to have your PNR codes sent to you. Again, be VERY careful when you enter this address. The good news is you can come back here and use a DIFFERENT email address if your first one does not work!

And that’s it! You should get an email – just like the email you should have already received – and you’re ready to ride.

Okay, but I do not have a Recovery Code

Yes, this happens. Sometimes the Trenitalia Payment Page flashes and the screen gives you an error message. But when you check with your credit card company you HAVE been charged the fees for your journey. The Payment Summary Page with your Recovery Code NEVER came up.

Or, you saw the Payment Summary Page – with the retrieval codes on it – but you did not copy down the code or print the page out… and you exited the page without this information. I cannot stress enough how important it is to get this retrieval code IF YOU ARE NOT LOGGED IN as a registered user to the Trenitalia system. Even logged in, it’s good to have this Recovery Code. Again, think of it as a life-line until your PNR email arrives.

But since you do not have a Recovery Code. Now you’ll have to enter the dark recesses of the Trenitalia Customer Service system. First, let me wish you Good Luck – You’re probably going to need it.

I will say the Trenitalia Customer Service system has improved dramatically over the past few years… but currently it has just been overwhelmed. Two days ago their email Help inbox filled up and contact was impossible for a couple of hours. If this is your only course of action, and you don’t get results, consider contacting your credit card company to “debate” the charge and start over! Hopefully it won’t come to that.

To contact Trenitalia you have a couple of options… Return back to the Customers area on the Trenitalia homepage as described previously in this posting.

You’ll get this page (again). This time select either of the yellow circled areas to get to the Trenitalia Call Center.

You will probably want the top number, 89 20 21, to get assistance on your “lost” PNR code. Click on the Phone number to get more information on the Call Center.

When you click on the top option, the Call Center, up comes this screen. For many folks calling from the USA, or outside Italy, the bottom line (highlighted by the yellow box) is the most important… You must call a different number! Calling from abroad, you need to call the number:  +39 06 6847 5475. From the US you would dial: 011 39 06 6847 5475 to contact the call center.

Now, if you want to avoid long distance international charges you can contact the call center via email. Their email for Customer Assistance is areaclienti@trenitalia.it .

Unfortunately, the email option has been overwhelmed. It may be some time before you receive a reply.

A third option: If you are in Italy, and you have a few days before your train departs, you can also head to a Train Station with a full-service counter and try and resolve your situation. This option has had mixed results. But at the time of this article, the website has been inconsistent and Trenitalia is being very accommodating to “adjustments.” They know they have a problem.

Summary

The good news is that if you did not get an email with your PNR codes after paying on the Trenitalia site, there are a few options. If you have your Recovery Code, then you can work through the Customer area and re-send the email. You might try a different email address… if that doesn’t work, try ANOTHER one!

If you do not have a Recovery code, it’s far more difficult and you will – in all likelihood – have to deal with Trenitalia Customer Support… either by phone, email, or at a train station full-service Trenitalia desk.

If you are registered, and you did login, these problems don’t seem to occur as often? And if you did login, you can often recover your information far more easily. The Call Center ALSO can recover your data more quickly if you purchased your transaction when logged in. So it does pay to work through the hassle and register on the Trenitalia site if you’re making multiple purchases.

Hopefully Trenitalia will move quickly to resolve these “missing PNR” problems and the website will continue to update and improve, making your journey (and booking) easier).

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Header Photo from the Trenitalia website – Customer Service page
Photo: Trenitalia ETR 600 by atropo8