Any guards/barrier staff considering 'apprehending' someone in such circumstances take note and bear in mind that the company will drop the case and give you advice about showing common sense and discretion. That said, certainly the vast majority of guards and, I hope most, barrier staff, act sensibly. It's a minority that cause these sort of headlines, and give bad publicity to their company.
Depends, I've been pulled up for "aggravating a passenger" who was 4 hours late on their Advanced ticket (because the meeting overran) by selling them a new ticket, AND then bollocked for charging the same passenger an off-peak, not a full open.
The company and ATOC has got rules in place. We are paid to enforce them. Personally, I'd much prefer to drink tea in the cab, and open the doors at the appropriate intervals, but figure I'm paid to do the whole job and not cherry-pick the bits I like. Also, I'll get queried as to why my revenue figures are down, and my ticket machine has not been logged in.
The train companies want to have their cake and eat it:
- They tell staff to avoid confrontation at all costs, but check everybody's ticket. Every time a guard or RPI asks to see a ticket there is a potential for confrontation. Asking anybody for money is a potential for confrontation. But if we don't, not only do we get pulled up for our poor revenue performance, we get threads on sites like this complaining that "my ticket only got checked 3 times in 35 days when travelling one stop between two barriered stations in rush hour".
- They create terms and conditions, and tell staff to enforce them. But then tell staff to "use their discretion" and hand out apologies whenever any complaint comes in about the same CoC get enforced. Might I remind everybody about condition 59. of the CoC
59. Limitation of authority of a Train Company’s staff or agents
A Train Company’s staff or agents have no authority to waive or change these conditions
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/misc/NRCOC.pdf
Now, when I'm told I must use my discretion, the CoC are pretty damn explicit that I can't. I do, but as soon as I do, I'm in uncharted territory, and don't have any defence for my actions if any manager (or other passenger) wishes to challenge them.
Also, as a general point some of the posters on here and elsewhere are very quick to say the TOC must use it's discretion when the passenger is in the wrong, but equally quick that the TOC has to stick to the terms of the CoC to the letter when they are subjected to any delay or disruption (or discover a loophole in the routing guide that allows them to go from Clethorpes to anywhere in the country for £1.50!).
And stuck in the middle is the guard, RPI or Gateline staff. We didn't make the rules, and are given precious little support when we either enforce them, or bend them. I'm not saying that all of us are perfect, or always get it right, but posts talking about "good" guards or "Jobsworths" are too simplistic. Two different people will describe the same person as one or the other depending on which side of the guards decision they are on. I know that from personal experience, I've had letters both of praise and complaint for how I've handled the same incident.
