Virgin Gate Line - Euston - Get it wrong again?

[Y Ddraig Coch]

so I just received a phone call from a friend who has been made to purchase a new ticket for £158.00

after already paying £90.00 for an off peak return Llandudno Junction - Euston.

Got to the gate line and was told his ticket is not valid after 15.00 and before 19.00 this clearly isn't true.

When heading to North wales the only restriction is on the 16.10 M-F

How many people must get ripped off every day by their lack of knowledge.

So annoying...…...

 

[gazthomas]

How annoying

Did they have a printed itinerary with them?

 

[Bletchleyite]

For crying out loud. VT's gateline staff are the best possible advertisement for automatic barriers there could be, aren't they? I really find it hard to understand quite why so many customer facing railway staff seem to be doing their job so badly that they are asking to be replaced by automation.

Your friend should complain and push for more than just a refund of the Anytime fare they were extorted into paying unnecessarily. Make a big thing about embarrassment as well.

Did they pay by credit card? If VT get awkward, a chargeback may be an option too.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

no, unfortunately just bought tickets this morning normal off peak. Had a meeting in London. But he did try showing NRE on his phone to the guy that even a single was showing as "off peak" and £91.90 for that train at 15.10 and that made his off peak return ticket he held valid, but he wasn't having any of it .

It will be refunded I'm sure but how many people continue to pay this and assume they know what they are talking about. Virgin must rake it in through talking crap.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It will be refunded I'm sure but how many people continue to pay this and assume they know what they are talking about. Virgin must rake it in through talking crap.

This kind of rubbish goes on everywhere, not just VT. Though Euston's barrier staff do seem to be one of the worst, I've had a similar issue with GTR at City Thameslink (over a far smaller sum of money, but still).

 

[bnm]

There's no excuse. Scandalous.

If it was me I'd be going public straight away. Virgin WC don't deserve the opportunity to address a complaint with empty promises and platitudes.

Public ridicule, naming and shaming, is the best course of action.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Would be good if a genuinely toothed Railway Ombudsman existed and could impose a penalty, payable to the passenger, of £20 or twice the fare incorrectly charged, whichever is higher, on the TOC doing this kind of thing. Sounds familiar?

 

[nw-sparks]

If he paid £90.00 then it's a ATW and Chiltern only ticket, not valid on a Virgin out of Euston.

If he paid £92.90 then he's right.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

I was rounding to £90.00. It was £92.90 They don't sell the ATW or Chiltern ones unless you specifically ask for them just standard off peaks.

 

[Polarbear]

This seems to be happening more & more with VTWC recently. There's another thread about a similar issue that someone had at Warrington due to a missed connection (not their fault) & a few others.

Its a pity that there's no effective sanction that can be taken against the TOC - I'd be inclined to threaten them with legal action for breach of contract though.

 

[Merseysider]

Oh for goodness sake, the restriction is so simple a child could understand it.

If it was me I’d give their customer relations one chance to get it right, and damn quickly too; no waiting around for weeks on end, and I’d be asking for interest on the £158 too as a matter of principle, however small it might be

The press would have a field day with this otherwise.

 

[Gareth Marston]

I sell plenty of VJ Restriction Off Peak Returns to Euston the only complaint I here is from people that get fazed by the "off peak tickets nit allowed on this service" announcement onboard.

It's several years since I've heard of problems with gateline for Cambrian customers. In fact I've heard of people with off peaks to Wrexham getting through in the peak as Virgin gateline have assumed all Welsh destinations are Not restricted whereas the 1500 to 1900 applies to Shrewsbury to Chester stations.

 

[0B00]

Would an option here be to call the police on the basis that VT staff were 'demanding money by deception' or some such thing?

 

[221129]

Would an option here be to call the police on the basis that VT staff were 'demanding money by deception' or some such thing?

You could but I wouldn't hold my breath for them to A) Turn up and B) Side with you...

 

[The_Train]

Would an option here be to call the police on the basis that VT staff were 'demanding money by deception' or some such thing?

Wouldn't they just class it as a civil matter and deem it unworthy of their time?

 

[Hadders]

In theory the new style tickets that say 'See Restrictions nre.co.uk/VJ' should make it simple for passengers and staff to look up restrictions.

That said staff at Kings Cross refused to do this when I was faced with a similar issue.

 

[TUC]

In theory the new style tickets that say 'See Restrictions nre.co.uk/VJ' should make it simple for passengers and staff to look up restrictions.

That said staff at Kings Cross refused to do this when I was faced with a similar issue.

That's what I find most frustrating about these situatiins. It's never been eadier for staff to quickly check ticket restrictions. Yet some seem to be too lazy to do so,

 

[AlterEgo]

Would an option here be to call the police on the basis that VT staff were 'demanding money by deception' or some such thing?

No, because the staff member is incompetent rather than trying to perpetrate a fraud.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

In theory the new style tickets that say 'See Restrictions nre.co.uk/VJ' should make it simple for passengers and staff to look up restrictions.

Just to be pedantic it's restriction VK for North Wales coast line stations, but the same principle applies (VJ is for Cambrian line stations).
It also applies if you are heading for a VT train to another destination and changing en route (eg on a Manchester train, changing at Crewe).
I've had guards on such trains go through the long-winded announcement about no off-peak fares and having to buy new tickets, then 10 seconds later checking my VK off-peak ticket without batting an eyelid.

 

[gray1404]

It is possible to go directly to the small claims court, for which I believe proceedings can be issued online for this one? VT hate any adverse publicity.

This is exactly the sort of reason why I record all my phone calls with companies now and any in person interactions which may be troublesome, or at the point they turn problematic. It is amazing how quickly companies put things right when you have evidence showing everything what happened and don't even need to explain to them, merely show them. They hate the idea of you putting it up on the internet.

I'm sorry but having been presented with recorded messages "we may record your call" and front line staff in some professions (including the railways) wearing body cameras its about time that approach became two way. I also take a photograph of any train ticket I am using that may be queried so if it is taken off me I still have my evidence.

 

[mallard]

I'm sorry but having been presented with recorded messages "we may record your call" and front line staff in some professions (including the railways) wearing body cameras its about time that approach became two way. I also take a photograph of any train ticket I am using that may be queried so if it is taken off me I still have my evidence.

Completely agree. We need to remember that any audio/video recordings made by a business/organisation will be used exclusively for the benefit of that business/organisation. As we've seen in other fields/countries, recording equipment will conviniently malfunction or the recordings will be "accidentally" deleted whenever the staff member is at fault. If staff don't like being recorded by their customers, they shouldn't be allowed to record us either.

 

[Clip]

It is possible to go directly to the small claims court, for which I believe proceedings can be issued online for this one? VT hate any adverse publicity.

This is exactly the sort of reason why I record all my phone calls with companies now and any in person interactions which may be troublesome, or at the point they turn problematic. It is amazing how quickly companies put things right when you have evidence showing everything what happened and don't even need to explain to them, merely show them. They hate the idea of you putting it up on the internet.

I'm sorry but having been presented with recorded messages "we may record your call" and front line staff in some professions (including the railways) wearing body cameras its about time that approach became two way. I also take a photograph of any train ticket I am using that may be queried so if it is taken off me I still have my evidence.

This seems a very extreme way to go about your regular travelling. why do you have so many problems that you have to go to such lengths when you travel?


A very poor show for the OP here and i hope a letter/email was sent as soon as their friend got home. Something really needs to be done about their training here as its just not on

 

[Hadders]

I do wonder what exactly gets said in situations such as this.

I’ve done more than my fair share of travelling with tickets that some staff might try to claim are invalid. A polite, assertive conversation has always yielded results for me. Even when I had the incident at Kings Cross which was witnessed by several forum members, I asked for a manager to attend but even though he sided with the member of staff I was eventually allowed to travel as ‘I’d be dealt with on board’.

 

[Clip]

I do wonder what exactly gets said in situations such as this.

I’ve done more than my fair share of travelling with tickets that some staff might try to claim are invalid. A polite, assertive conversation has always yielded results for me. Even when I had the incident at Kings Cross which was witnessed by several forum members, I asked for a manager to attend but even though he sided with the member of staff I was eventually allowed to travel as ‘I’d be dealt with on board’.

indeed and if i havent had any joy then a letter clearly outlining the issue, ticket held, relevant restrictions which did or did not apply to my ticket and its been solved.

no quoting consumer acts or anything else has ever been needed in correspondance.

Its quite rare for me or seemingly others on here to have issues it seemss so what are others saying or doing that makes them get into so much bother with the railway.

to be honest i reckon if someone tweeted this thread to vtw it would be resolved rather quickly

 

[Merseysider]

A polite, assertive conversation has always yielded results for me

This.

Even when I was using a Manchester - Stockport ticket to travel London - Manchester (long story short, Webtis was allowing a massive circuitous route) and the Euston barrier rightly rejected it, the Virgin staff let me onto the train after five minutes of (good natured) to-ing and fro-ing.

Once you raise your voice or lose your cool though, no chance

 

[AlterEgo]

It is possible to go directly to the small claims court, for which I believe proceedings can be issued online for this one? VT hate any adverse publicity.

This is exactly the sort of reason why I record all my phone calls with companies now and any in person interactions which may be troublesome, or at the point they turn problematic. It is amazing how quickly companies put things right when you have evidence showing everything what happened and don't even need to explain to them, merely show them. They hate the idea of you putting it up on the internet.

I'm sorry but having been presented with recorded messages "we may record your call" and front line staff in some professions (including the railways) wearing body cameras its about time that approach became two way. I also take a photograph of any train ticket I am using that may be queried so if it is taken off me I still have my evidence.

I always ask myself why the same people on here keep having problems. I rarely ever encounter problems while travelling, and have the social skills to resolve whatever does happen without filming people.

Amused to see you suggest yet again, going straight to court. That’s not a good idea and any judge will be very annoyed at you wasting his time before trying any mediation away from court. There are only so many times that can be said on this forum.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

I think court is jumping the gun a bit. I am sure Virgin will refund the ticket once presented with the scenario and the ticket with the time printed on it that it was bought.

It's just annoying, my friend doesn't know much about tickets, he just buys one to where he is going and goes.

He didn't think this was correct though and thought it was wrong so called me knowing I am a little more au fait with ticketing procedures and rules. I told him what to say and what to show to the gateline assistant. He went back a few minutes later armed with some knowledge and was just told "no mate"

Anyway, it was wrong it is done he paid rather than argue ( wouldn't have happened if I was there) and I shall update if anything more than a std refund becomes of this case.

Thanks guys.

 

[philthetube]

It is possible to go directly to the small claims court, for which I believe proceedings can be issued online for this one? VT hate any adverse publicity.

This is exactly the sort of reason why I record all my phone calls with companies now and any in person interactions which may be troublesome, or at the point they turn problematic. It is amazing how quickly companies put things right when you have evidence showing everything what happened and don't even need to explain to them, merely show them. They hate the idea of you putting it up on the internet.

I'm sorry but having been presented with recorded messages "we may record your call" and front line staff in some professions (including the railways) wearing body cameras its about time that approach became two way. I also take a photograph of any train ticket I am using that may be queried so if it is taken off me I still have my evidence.

I hope you tell the business concerned that you are recording them or the court will have a lot of fun at your expense.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I hope you tell the business concerned that you are recording them or the court will have a lot of fun at your expense.

Virtually all businesses have a recorded statement at the start of the call to tell you that it's being recorded. If so, you are free to record away; they have no reasonable expectation of privacy if the call is being recorded by them.

Besides, evidence such as call recordings aren't automatically eligible or struck out. First the court must decide whether it's relevant at all. In many cases a transcript of the recording - which you can perfectly legally make even if the other party didn't know you were recording - may be all that is needed.

 

[Haywain]

The suggestion that "in person" interactions ate recorded is somewhat disturbing ad most staff do not have such an option, and the reason that many will, quite reasonably in my view, object is that they don't want to find themselves plastered all over social media. This is similar to reasons that many companies no longer expect staff to have their surname on name badges.