1st Class Excuses and discussion on 1st provision

[158801]

What excuses have you heard for Std tickets holders travelling in 1st Class and not wanting to upgrade ?

Here's a few:-

If someone wants this seat I'll move
There are no seats in Standard
We can't get seats together in Standard
There's a person in Standard who I don't like
I wanted to use the electric socket
There's no space for my luggage in Standard
It's unsafe for me to walk down the train with my child

 

[GodAtum]

My favorite: I asked this guy (me) whether he had a 1st class ticket and he said no so I thought it was Ok to sit here.

(maybe its mean to stitch people up lol)

 

[swt_passenger]

I think from previous threads, when caught out people generally say they've not seen any or all of the stickers on the windows, bulkheads, doors, the yellow stripe, or the words 'first class' on the seats.

 

[bb21]

The man on the platform said I can get on here.

 

[SS4]

I'm getting off at the next stop anyway

 

[tsr]

I think from previous threads, when caught out people generally say they've not seen any or all of the stickers on the windows, bulkheads, doors, the yellow stripe, or the words 'first class' on the seats.

The only excusable one out of those is missing the yellow stripe. I doubt many passengers these days are aware of what exactly it means, especially as it may not be that prominent.

However, it is also possible for severe vandalism to virtually eliminate any signs or antimacassars which denote the First Class area on a train such as a 377 or some other type of stock with very few differences between First & Standard.

Other than that, I don't really see how so many people could expect to find it plausible that their excuse of failing to notice First Class would be believed. But some people will do anything like that if they think nobody's looking... until a nice RPI does notice!

The only times I have remained in First Class without a valid ticket to be there have been: 1. when it has been declassified (obviously) or 2. when the train has been accommodating so many passengers that it was impossible not to be crushed unless one went in there. This has happened to me on a handful of occasions, including on one or two "intercity"-style trains - in one notable case, an EMT Meridian I boarded was crush-loaded with those from an HST and another Meridian, plus peak-time commuters & Friday evening traffic, to the extent that those in Standard Class were forced back and eventually rammed into the seats, luggage areas and nearby toilets of First by the oncoming tide through the doors! But on all of these occasions I managed to notice the detailing of the First Class signage.

 

[bengolding]

Recently on a Virgin Voyager, a customer with a Standard ticket told the TM that the Assisted Travel team at New St had put them there. I have no problem with that and indeed I've seen other disabled people being put in First Class. However, the person in question had taken advantage of the full complimentary food and drink offering and subsequently refused to upgrade citing his disability.

 

[bb21]

That's a bit naughty to say the least.

With only two wheelchair spaces on Voyagers, if the one in Standard is occupied, TMs are frequently messaged to use the one in First for Standard Class ticket-holders.

 

[Chapeltom]

Recently on a Virgin Voyager, a customer with a Standard ticket told the TM that the Assisted Travel team at New St had put them there. I have no problem with that and indeed I've seen other disabled people being put in First Class. However, the person in question had taken advantage of the full complimentary food and drink offering and subsequently refused to upgrade citing his disability.

That's just plain wrong. I cannot believe any right minded person would do that, and using disability is no excuse for that kind of behaviour. :-x

 

[Flamingo]

Some of the better one's I have heard used on my colleagues recently;

"I can't go into standard class, I'm not feeling well and I don't want my fans to see me like this"!

"But darling, everybody lets me sit in First Class. I'm an internationally renowned porn star"

"I have to stay here, I can't walk, I have a bad leg" - fair enough, except the chap in question was in shorts & tracksuit, carrying a folding bike...

 

[cyclebytrain]

"I have to stay here, I can't walk, I have a bad leg" - fair enough, except the chap in question was in shorts & tracksuit, carrying a folding bike...

Just as a point about this one; it is actually possible to have problems walking, but not cycling - I often get very funny looks when asking for step free routes etc. (Ebbsfleet to platforms 5/6 is a common one). Despite having a bike & being reasonably fit I have a (weird) knee condition that makes walking up and down steps really painful (but cycling is fine and in fact helps the knee; despite it being almost exactly the same movement).

More on topic, the best excuse I've ever heard for not moving back to standard was "we've just ordered breakfast"

 

[sarahj]

Yesterday was one of the classics. Older couple. Last time we travelled they said it was ok.

 

[DarloRich]

"But darling, everybody lets me sit in First Class. I'm an internationally renowned porn star"

That one has got to be worth further investigation

 

[DownSouth]

Just as a point about this one; it is actually possible to have problems walking, but not cycling - I often get very funny looks when asking for step free routes etc.

I had a friend who was living in London when he broke his leg. After a short period of being frustrated by using public transport (by both the extra 90 minutes per day and the refusal of anybody to offer him a seat) instead of cyling, he detached the left crank from his bike and started cycling to work pedalling with one leg only.

His physiotherapist was not amused, full recovery from a broken leg is a big issue even without the musculo-skeletal issues being compounded by one-legged cycling!

Despite having a bike & being reasonably fit I have a (weird) knee condition that makes walking up and down steps really painful (but cycling is fine and in fact helps the knee; despite it being almost exactly the same movement).

I've also had knee issues which sound similar to that - they are not a hindrance to 150km rides where walking around at the rest stops could cause more pain than five hours on the bike. I found that the difference was made by the action of walking involving over 100% of body weight being put through a fully extended knee.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I've seen a Qantas Club card shown in first class on an inter-regional train in Victoria along with a normal ticket.

Did they not notice the lack of wings, proximity to the ground and slow pace I wonder?

 

[Matt Taylor]

"My noisy kids were annoying people in the quiet coach so we came in here" (empty FC section).

 

[GatwickDepress]

"There's no doors so it isn't technically first class." Heard on a 377 out of Three Bridges.

 

[Oswyntail]

"But all the other seats had "First" on them too"

 

[codesam]

"But I've got a bad back"

While halfway through a full english breakfast on a Pendo

 

[PermitToTravel]

Just as a point about this one; it is actually possible to have problems walking, but not cycling - I often get very funny looks when asking for step free routes etc. (Ebbsfleet to platforms 5/6 is a common one). Despite having a bike & being reasonably fit I have a (weird) knee condition that makes walking up and down steps really painful (but cycling is fine and in fact helps the knee; despite it being almost exactly the same movement).

I would have thought that having a bicycle / other heavy luggage would be enough of a reason to prefer a step-free route!

 

[Matt Taylor]

"I'm only in here so I can charge my phone".

 

[timbo58]

I've heard most of those, also had a full table of 4 once (FGW some years back) -pregnant lady (not noticeably if at all - mind!) said 'I'm pregnant and your company allow us to sit in 1st (at the time the advice was to ask FIRST, which she hadn't) I pointed out she was to ask FIRST but she was welcome to stay: the other 3 chaps were 'we're travelling with her!' I was most unprofessional and burst out laughing loudly with a 'clear off NOW' statement.
She reported me. ho hum.

Also declassified coach F once on a particular busy day, removed all genuine 1st holders to G &H and had to attend an argument when the 1st class trolley refused to serve freeloaders sat in F, not amused.

A lovely lady moving through F to leave at Reading one day said awfully loudly (and much to the amusement of regular travellers) as I threw some out of 1st 'I can't read and even I know it's first class'.... god bless her!

I Had a well known daily fail/telegraph journo get on a short formed HFD-PAD one morning and sat immediately in 1st, joining at F who loudly declared 'there are no seats in standard I'm sitting here, don't you know who I am?' all of 10 minutes later.

I asked how he could possibly know there were no seats in std when he hadn't checked, and even so, it was MY decision (which I had to justify to bona fide 1st class ticket holders btw) who sat in 1st with a std (season) ticket, (that peed me off somewhat as he must surely be earning a 6 figure sum for all his appearances) and I decided 'NO' he could return to std or stand in the 1st vestibule (with my permission -make a fuss and I'll withdraw that favour too!) as he left he threatened to (and did) report me.

Luckily for me there was one of those wonderful things in ex BR life - a BR token holder (and ex BR board member would you believe?) who wrote in JIC said journo carried out his threat stating I had done my job professionally and should be praised.

Quite lovely.
Luckily for him I didn't find him in 1st again as it would have been a report for prosecution every time had I done so!

 

[6Gman]

"But darling, everybody lets me sit in First Class. I'm an internationally renowned porn star"

Prove it!

 

[Flamingo]

Some of the others that spring to mind are:

"My brother-in-law works for (another TOC), he said to tell you that and we could sit here" (Half a dozen football fans).

"The woman in the ticket office told us that as we had paid so much for our tickets that we would be able to sit in First Class for free" (more football fans, who had paid less than £20 each from West Wales to London on Advance).

"I'm friends with Doris who works in (another TOC's) ticket office".

"I'm sitting here because my train was cancelled and I deserve compensation". Said train was 15 minutes earlier, hardly a major inconvenience, at least not in my opinion (which on my train is the only opinion that matters!).

My stock reply to the "I didn't know it was First Class" is "It's sad that the education system left you functionally illiterate".

The ultimate was the lady (a few years ago) who screamed at me for ten minutes, and then wrote in (off her mobile within five minutes of leaving the train) that I was "trying to catch people out, as nobody ever checked tickets in First Class between Paddington and Slough".
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Prove it!

I know, if she'd said that to me, it would have been the perfect opportunity to trot out the old chestnut "I'm sorry, I didn't recognise you with your clothes on!"

 

[ainsworth74]

The ultimate was the lady (a few years ago) who screamed at me for ten minutes, and then wrote in (off her mobile within five minutes of leaving the train) that I was "trying to catch people out, as nobody ever checked tickets in First Class between Paddington and Slough"

Okay that's definitely a personal favourite from this thread

If it were me responding I think I would have gone along the lines of "oh so you're admitting that you often travel in first class without a standard class ticket? Please just hang on whilst I transfer your details to our prosecutions department"

 

[timbo58]

Okay that's definitely a personal favourite from this thread

If it were me responding I think I would have gone along the lines of "oh so you're admitting that you often travel in first class without a standard class ticket? Please just hang on whilst I transfer your details to our prosecutions department"

Have to admit as an ex RPI man myself also, I'd have whipped a notepad out and starting asking loudly how many times she'd like to admit too!

Shuts them up in no time!
In my day i think we only had a couple of unlucky trains that stopped at Slough.

Hardly intercity after all........ and people say the railways improved.......!

 

[Trainfan344]

"that man online said it would be alright to sit in first class"

 

[Hartington]

It's a different world but let's say you turn up at an airport and they upgrade you. What are you going to do when the trolley comes round - demand an economy meal? So if you have been placed in a first class seat in a train legitimately (rare I accept) whilst holding a standard ticket should you say no to the food/drink? I'm not as sure as some people here.

 

[bb21]

If First Class is declassified then it is no longer First Class and you are not a First Class passenger automatically by sitting there, so no you cannot partake in the complimentary offer which is available to First Class passengers only.

If you get a complimentary upgrade on a flight, you are being upgraded to the status of a First Class passenger. First Class accommodation is not declassified. There is a world of difference - one is you (and only you) being upgraded, the other the accommodation being downgraded.

 

[Hyphen]

I'm with BB21 on this.

I think you're getting two matters quite confused. If you've been upgraded (on an airline) and the better meal was offered to me, I probably wouldn't turn it down. If I'd been allowed to sit in first on a standard ticket and something was offered, I'd probably just have a tea or something. If it wasn't offered, I'd just be happy with the extra leg room.

However, in the above example - some people had been "upgraded" (by first being declassified) but were supposedly demanding freebies which hadn't been offered. That's just a step too far.

 

[Llanigraham]

I've been "up-graded" to First a couple of times by a friendly "Guard" on my journeys back from a meeting in London and I have always refused the full meal offered, but have accepted a coffee or two, and either the toast in the morning or a cake in the evening.

I'm grateful for the extra leg room and comfort, but wouldn't want to be greedy or to extract the urine.