French Train Booking @ Voyages-SNCF: repeated Credit Card rejection

[TheRealTMA]

I did not.

I did call them up but they all spoke in French ! See post #26.

You were factually in error, sorry.

Shock! The French rail employees spoke at you in French! Too late to start learning I suggest. Try to establish that you are Australians not English or Americans and they may speak to you in English, although they are still the railways and still French.

For reference if it's any help we have in the past booked our TGV French rail trips through Rail Europe - Rail travel planner Europe - Train travel in Europe (Eurostar – TGV – Eurail – Eurorail)

 

[ricco]

Hi legroom, I completed the booking on the IDTGV site just a few minutes ago. No problems. Just let them know in the email the last 4 numbers of your card and wait until they acknowledge receipt.
When you are filling the booking form, you will be asked for a contact mobile number - to notify you of changes etc. Your Australian mobile number will not complete the box.
Mark Smith of seat61.com recommends this phony number 0610203040. I tried it and it works and was able to complete the booking.

 

[legroom]

Glad to report that iDTGV was bookable at last.

The issue was that I initially used Voyages-SNCF [and then Captain Train etc... as described in post #1] when in fact the site that should be used is iDTGV instead [for Avignon to Paris].

The first site will happily allow you to proceed right to the point of entering the CC details but would always reject the bookings.

The second site would - with the phony telephone number 0610203040 [Thanks, Ricco] - work on first attempt with an Australian CC.

Why would the first site lead people up the garden path ? I do not know.

 

[Cynicor]

Presumably because the French hate foreigners, but that's just a guess

 

[tania73]

I had no problems at all with id TGV site - just left off mobile number. 29 euro first class Marseille to Paris - bargain!!