AIBU to think that the Ticket Inspector was a 'Jobsworth'?

OldFrill Thank you - preferring to deal with real people and disliking being tied to a specific train I buy mine at the station. My AC often tell me to book in advance online.

Oh dear.

Elrel

singingnutty I am wondering how you apparently bought your return ticket to London at the cheaper railcard price of 1/3 off without showing a valid railcard.

You can buy it online and tick the relevant Railcard box. You must have the actual Railcard when you travel.

Similar thing happened to me. We went as a family to London for the day travelling on a family rail card. All went well until my back went at The Tower of London. It was decided I would come home on an earlier train as I was in agony, miserable and ruining the family day out. The inspector checked my ticket on the way home and we entered into a discussion of why I was travelling alone on a discounted family rail card ticket. I had to pay up of course.

singingnutty I am wondering how you apparently bought your return ticket to London at the cheaper railcard price of 1/3 off without showing a valid railcard.

They have quite a difficult job and many have been threatened or assaulted by passengers, and also have the risk of being sacked if they're too lenient or bend the rules. I think conductors on trains are usually OK and quite pleasant.
OTOH parking enforcement staff can be nasty jobsworths who seem to enjoy fining people for the slightest error.

You can claim it back. She was doing her job. There's too many fare dodgers as it is. How does she know you're honest and the e mail yours?

For GranMar -- and HOW does the Inspector know WHO is blagging a free or cheaper ride, who really HAS got problems, WHO is just taking the mickey? HOW??

The OP sounds genuine, but as has been pointed out, people in that railway job encounter all sorts of story-tellers. If she was clairvoyant, I daresay she'd have won enough lottery money by now to be somewhere else entirely?!

The op said some time ago that she had taken on board what people had said, so it seems strange that people are still posting, knowing that she felt quite uncomfortable about the thread, and her opening post.

For me, and I highlight, for me personally, this is yet another example of modern ways. The OP may have come across a discretionary act in the past and may have thought it to be the order of the day, whereas nowadays people employed to face the public have a list of set rules to follow which are recorded on hand held computers etc for which they have to account. Is it fair to say that the OP was being unreasonable or indeed the Ticket Inspector? Perhaps the OP could contact the train company customer service and write to whoever is in charge challenging their rules.

Thanks MaryDoll.

Yes. You Are Being Unreasonable.

crazyH

I agree Rosiesmaw, regarding GSM

I also agree!

We can all disagree on GN, but I deplore personal attacks.

That poster is total out of order.

Thank you.

I agree Rosiesmaw, regarding GSM

Read widely
Post wisely

Good advice

It's such a minefield and mess up in the ticket system we have atm: not a jobsworth but my sympathy.

Thanks RosiesMaw. Perhaps Netherbyg, who I haven’t seen posting before, should read more widely.

RosiesMaw2

There is no need for this sort of personal attack on a long-standing and respected member who, incidentally has gone above and beyond to provide helpful legal advice which woukd set you back many £££££££ elsewhere.

There is no need for a lack of compassion either when someone has just gone through what must have been a distressing ordeal at a hospital.

There is no need for this sort of personal attack on a long-standing and respected member who, incidentally has gone above and beyond to provide helpful legal advice which woukd set you back many £££££££ elsewhere.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Try doing a ticket inspector’s job before saying that. Having commuted by train for years, I wouldn’t want to have to deal with the abuse and threats which I witnessed.

Granmarderby10

Germanshepherdsmum

Why should she show sympathy? You knew you were breaking the rules.

Because it’s a humane way to behave. A spoonful of sugar 🎶 and all that!
Most of these heinous misdemeanours arent’t attempts to fair dodge. Just unfortunate mistakes.
It is possible to follow the “rules” of your job without turning into a stone.

Precisely.

No she wasn't being a jobsworth, but she did stop you looking stupid on the train when you were asked for your card along with your ticket. She had no power to override the rule. To get a 1/3 off you have To have the railcard and you have to show it with your ticket when asked. Simple. If she'd sold you the cheaper ticket that was then checked, no railcard to be seen, she could possibly have lost her job.

NannaChirley

I travelled to London once, a long time ago and there was nobody in the ticket office on our station. I went to the machine and it was out of action. The train arrived so I got on and I went straight to the restaurant and asked To buy a ticket and she called the train guard. He said he’d be back in a minute and we arrived in London an hour later and he still hadn’t come back. The lady went looking for him through the train and guessed he’d gone to the loo… So she told me to go and explain to the guys on the barrier and they will sell me a ticket. The guy on the barrier was so rude, he wouldn’t accept my explanation and pointed me to assign that said you must not get on the train without a ticket, he £100 and when I objected he said he would call the police and have me arrested, I was totally shocked. I just paid the hundred pounds! And he charged me an excessive amount for the actual ticket and didn’t give me a return either, so I had to buy that when I was coming back. That was definitely not a day out for me.

Indeed NannaChirley, this is precisely the sort of “ridiculous overreaction” that I had in mind when I responded to OP earlier.
The railway authorities would of course state that you could have appealed in writing.
They should also have told you that, as well as how to go about it.
….But always they make sure that they get their money off you first
What a nasty way to be treated.
It seems to me that they do not hesitate in coming down hard on easy targets such as yourself but let others who might create some agro off. I mean is it likely that you would approach staff to purchase a ticket if you were attempting to get away with it?🙄

I’m sure it can be a a tough job, but they should not compensate by treating their customers in this shocking way.

The railways do seem to be a law unto themselves.
I do actually recall a government minister a few years back saying that they ought to stop “punishing” these minor mistakes with such draconian fines.
But clearly it is a nice little earner for the railway and a boost for “some” employees ego. A bit of power goes to some peoples heads terribly.