Wow, lost ticket recovery for VIA Rail is pretty much garbage

Here is the response I got from VIA Rail for a lost ticket, which was printed off at the time of departure for my return trip. Why they insist on printing the return ticket the time of departure I don’t know, but how ridiculous is this?

“VIA Rail will not issue a free ticket against a lost or stolen ticket being reported. Customers are required to purchase a new ticket at the original fare and complete a Lost Ticket Indemnity Bond. Refund of lost or stolen tickets are subject to a processing fee of $40 per person per ticket. The claim for refund of lost tickets must be submitted no later than 30 days after the last scheduled departure date shown on the ticket. _ There is a holding period of 60 days from the date of receipt or the last date of travel, whichever is later. Total time for processing the claim is 75-90 days._”

Wow, $40 processing fee, purchase of ticket at full price, and a lead time of 3 months for a refund? It should also be noted the entire trip was $141 with taxes return, so the $40 processing fee seems extreme, not to mention the out of pocket expense and 3 month lead time for refund.

If tickets were scanned with a hand scanner when on the train, it would be trivial to cancel one ticket and scan the new ticket in order to avoid people scamming the system. I don’t think VIA Rail could make replacing a lost ticket any more inconvenient.