voyagerdude220
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Couple claims train conductor verbally abused them in family railcard fiasco
My thoughts on this story:
If the pax involved had a change in circumstances, which meant that they no longer had a valid combination of adults/children for their family railcard, why didn't they seek advice from ticket office staff before boarding the train?
I believe a very big cause of disputes between TOCs and passengers is passengers incorrectly assuming things, or failing to seek help from railway staff at the first opportunity. Had they gone to the ticket office before boarding the train, they would have at least had the options available to them explained by staff, before they started their journey.
I don't work for TPE, or have any bias against the passengers, but it really annoys me in scenarios like these, where people go to the media about problems they've caused themselves. I agree that it may seem silly that travelling with fewer people is deemed as a reason to charge more money for the journey, however, the passengers agreed to the terms and conditions of the railcard when they purchased it.
(Sorry I don't know how to make a short link, so please could someone edit this for me?)A FAMILY say they are ‘disgusted’ with how they were treated by a train conductor on a journey from Durham to Manchester Piccadilly.
Jerry Groody, who lives in Breightmet, says she was ‘verbally abused’ by the Transpennine conductor, who confiscated her family railcard.
Miss Groody had been in County Durham for the weekend, visiting her mother with her five-year-old daughter Faith, and partner Danny Cunningham.
While buying return tickets, Miss Groody realised that it would work out significantly cheaper to buy a family railcard, which requires a minimum of one adult and one child to be travelling together. During their stay, Faith decided that she wanted to stay with her grandmother for a few more days, as she was feeling unwell after recently being in hospital due to asthma.
On the journey back to Manchester, Miss Groody and her partner were told that their tickets were invalid as they were not travelling with a child, despite having tickets for three passengers.
Miss Groody said: “I was told I would need to buy a new set of tickets or I’d be forced to leave the train at the next stop.
“I offered to pay the difference but the man wouldn’t accept it.....
My thoughts on this story:
If the pax involved had a change in circumstances, which meant that they no longer had a valid combination of adults/children for their family railcard, why didn't they seek advice from ticket office staff before boarding the train?
I believe a very big cause of disputes between TOCs and passengers is passengers incorrectly assuming things, or failing to seek help from railway staff at the first opportunity. Had they gone to the ticket office before boarding the train, they would have at least had the options available to them explained by staff, before they started their journey.
I don't work for TPE, or have any bias against the passengers, but it really annoys me in scenarios like these, where people go to the media about problems they've caused themselves. I agree that it may seem silly that travelling with fewer people is deemed as a reason to charge more money for the journey, however, the passengers agreed to the terms and conditions of the railcard when they purchased it.
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