ITV News said:Virgin Trains has been accused of acting like the "Gestapo" after a businessman exploited a loophole to cut more than £250 off the price of his ticket.
Steve Morrissey, 32, the director of a software company, was accused of fare dodging after booking his 7.38am train from Lancaster to London on Tuesday for £93.
But he was accused of getting on the train at the next stop, Preston, 25 miles south, where the price is £350.
The father-of-one was left embarrassed as he was accused by ticket collectors on the train of getting on at Preston, ordered to buy another ticket or be fined and detained at Euston where British Transport Police were waiting.
Mr Morrissey, from Bispham, Lancs, said:
It was not a pleasant experience. You can obviously feel people are listening in. It looked like I'm a sort of criminal. I've never been as embarrassed in my life.
Throughout the entire journey, I just felt like a criminal, all the way. When I arrived at Euston there were three members of staff hiding around the entrance, it was obvious what was going on.
I was just stood there on the platform at Euston with two British Transport Police and three Virgin staff.
– MR MORRISSEY
Mr Morrissey refused to buy another ticket and protested his innocence until CCTV was checked and showed him getting on the train at Lancaster as he had told train staff.
After the 40-minute delay while CCTV was studied he said he was given a hasty apology and allowed to go on his way - but by then had missed his business meeting in the capital.
Mr Morrissey said Virgin staff were cracking down on passengers after the big difference in ticket prices between Preston and Lancaster on the West Coast Main Line was publicised recently.
Another passenger claimed he was threatened with arrest for buying a cheaper single ticket from Lancaster to London, but actually getting on the train at Preston station.
Mr Morrissey said:
It feels like some sort of Gestapo of Virgin trains at Lancaster. The amount of ticket checks, platform and train announcements saying 'there will be a full ticket check carried out now'.
– MR MORRISSEY
He was given an apology from Virgin Trains and initially offered half price tickets for his next journey before being offered two free first class return journey tickets.
An overhaul of Britain's rail fares is to be trialled to make it easier to buy the cheapest tickets after the Commons Transport Select Committee published a damning report which stated that "unfairness, complexity and a lack of transparency" in rail ticketing have been apparent for at least a decade.
Rail passengers faced with eye-watering fares are having to carry piles of different tickets to save money on their journeys.
A football fan last week received 56 separate tickets when he booked a split ticket between Newcastle and Oxford for an FA Cup match on Saturday - tweeting a picture of the deck of tickets laid out on his bed.
http://www.itv.com/news/granada/2017-02-03/virgin-trains-acting-like-gestapo-over-ticket-row/
Sounds like he bought this ticket: http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=LAN&dest=EUS&grpd=1072&tkt=SVR
EDIT: From The Lancashire Evening Post
The 33-year-old, who is a regular business traveller between Lancashire and London, revealed he normally books well in advance and uses discounted first class fares. “But this particular trip was a last-minute thing and I only booked it the night before and so I looked at the prices and saw a return from Lancaster was £93, while it was £350 from Preston,” he said. “It was a no-brainer really. Going to Lancaster is only an extra 10 minutes from my house compared to Preston, so I went for that. “When I got to the station a member of the Virgin staff checked my ticket and said it was fine. Then the same guy checked it again on the trip between Lancaster and Preston and said it was OK. “But then the same bloke again came round a third time near Warrington and accused me of getting on at Preston. He said he didn’t remember me from the previous two ticket inspections and said I had two choices - buy a new ticket at full price or give my name and address for them to send me a penalty notice. “I refused to do both and so, when we got to London, the police were waiting. It was so embarrassing being accused in front of a crowded carriage of fraud. Then being questioned by police at a busy station was equally embarrassing. “It was only when they agreed to look at the CCTV that they saw I really had got on at Lancaster. I got a verbal ‘sorry’ and they offered me a 50 per cent discount on my next trip. “What an appalling way to treat your customers. I can’t believe they were so heavy-handed and refused to listen.” A spokesman for Virgin Trains on the West Coast route said: “Virgin Trains has an excellent reputation for customer service and we want everyone to have the best experience possible. “We’re sorry to hear of Mr Morrissey’s experience which falls short of the high standards we set ourselves. “We have been in touch to offer him an apology and a goodwill gesture which he has accepted, and we will be looking into how we can learn from this incident.”
Read more at: http://www.lep.co.uk/news/i-ve-neve...rongly-detained-in-train-ticket-row-1-8368722
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