Wrong surname on TGV Lyria ticket / Loopholes

I've ( rather the autofill on my browser ) filled in my surname in place of my cotraveller's surname. Now he's got a ticket on the wrong name.

It is a non-refundable, non-exchangable ( hence, affordable ) SNCF print at home ticket ( Which says i can reprint at the station ).

How big a problem is this? Is it likely that they'll deny us boarding? Raileurope ( from where i bought it ) give me a standard "You'll have to book a new ticket" reply.

Does anyone have any experience with the TGV lyria? How strictly / how much in advance do they check the ticket and ID? Having to rebook is a bit silly for such a small mistake.

Although I'd rather not be looking for loopholes,

Does the conductor have a copy of our names that he'll check against?
Does the ticket at the station have our names on it?
Will we manage to get ourselves onboard before the mistake is realized? If it is and it's unacceptable, How big is the fine?

I'll probably end up booking a new ticket, but these things are ridiculously expensive without the offer we got.

Update: I contacted TGV-lyria as suggested by Tony in his answer. They replied saying "" In general when you have printed tickets these are not controlled together with your ID-Card. It should also not cause any problem when explaining your situation to the chief on board.""

That's enough assurance for me. Thank you everyone! :)

*Update 2: * The ticket Master didn't even ask for ID. And so far everyone has been very friendly about the tickets so I doubt it would have been a problem had he noticed the mistake

tickets sncf

Best Answer

It's very much luck of the draw.

Technically the conductor can ask for ID and check your name against the ticket and see that it is invalid thus as good as travelling without a ticket; the fine for this could be up to 88 euros. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150220/sncf-to-increase-fines-for-ticket-dodgers

However I've never encountered a conductor in France who was bored enough/enough of a dick to do this. The majority of the time they will just check your ticket and not bother to check your name.

Even if they do check your IDs, with a small mistake like this any decent person would let it go. Again; technically the conductor could class the ticket as invalid but if you're nice with them and they're a decent person in a good mood they probably won't.

I guess it comes down to how much of a gambling man you are. Take account of your finances and compare the possible fine if you get unlucky to the cost of booking a 100% correct ticket.