Tom the Chief
Member
- Joined
- 9 Jul 2019
- Messages
- 5
Good evening all!
On July 4th my wife and daughter started what was meant to be a day trip from Crediton to Exmouth.
They joined the 1137 train at Crediton, an unmanned station with no ticket machine - you buy your tickets from the guard on-board the train
As soon as they boarded the train they found seats as the service was not busy.
The guard approached them before the train departed from Crediton
They both have rail cards (young persons and senior rail cards), these were presented and the guard was asked which would be the best ticket to buy, given the time they wanted to travel back
The guard said it would be a cheap day return.
They presented payment and their rail cards but the guard said he would not sell them a ticket, as he was off at Exeter, the next stop, and his colleague would do it when he joined the train. He then spoke to the gentleman in the seat opposite, who said he was getting off at Exeter - and the guard sold him a ticket.
My wife and daughter remained in the seats for the next 30 mins or so as the train proceeded too Exmouth and did not see either the original guard or the one that was mean to join the train at Exeter.
On getting off at Exmouth, they started looking for a member of staff to ask how they could still get the day return ticket then needed. They spotted a long queue of people waiting to get out of the station and two men in GWR uniforms checking tickets. They joined the long queue and when at the front asked the GWR staff how they could get tickets as they had been unable to get them on the train
The GWR staff told them to step to one side and wait, while the rest of the queue was dealt with
Once everyone had been let through- the GWR staff member and his colleague approached my wife and daughter and asked
"do you have tickets"
My wife said no, explained again that they had joined at Crediton, at an unmanned station, been approached by the on the train guard, who declined to sell them a ticket, and had approached the first uniformed GWR staff they could find at Exmouth to ask for help. They had stood in a long queue deliberately waiting to speak to the GWR staff, rails cards and purse in hand, naively thinking these gentlemen would help them.
The GWR staff member responded by saying he was a revenue officer, could not sell them tickets, told them they would be interviewed under caution and reported for prosecution, for travelling on the railway without a ticket.
My wife phoned me in considerable distress - and I contacted customer services to try and sort out what was happening - but no one would listen or seemed to care in the slightest. I managed to get the call logged, and have that log number recorded. I subsequently got the matter elevated to a customer service manager in GWR, (In the midlands I think he was based?) and I explained that the CCTV on the train and at Exmouth station would prove what had happened, and that we couldn't understand why the guard on the train at Credition did not sell the tickets he was asked for?
At the time the guard approached my wife on the train, she was, by coincidence on the phone to the chairman of the local council, who well remembers her saying, "I have to go now as the guard is here and I need to pay for my tickets". This call is time stamped, and matched the time the train was Credition station. It would also allow for the CCTV footage to be synchronized and would clearly show the guard talking to my wife, not selling the ticket he was asked for then approaching and selling a ticket to the next passenger.
No matter what we do now we hit a brick wall - no one will talk to us or listen. My wife is at her wits end and I have no idea what to do next to get anyone at GWR to listen, They wont respond or discuss or pass me or my wife onto anyone that can help. How can this be right? My wife and daughter did all they could to get a ticket - and instead of being helped were simply accused of an offence.
GWR have said on the phone they would recover the CCTV and talk to the guard, but when I asked again for confirmation this had been done - they refused to give me "any further information"
They said the "maintenance team" would download the CCTV - and that was it - but wont confirm this has been completed, and I am told by GWR customer service after 7 days the hard drive over rights.
In desperation we have tried writing to Mark Hopwood CEO GWR and our MP - but only get automated responses.
If any one has any ideas on how I can get this mess sorted out - please do let me know - My wife is completely stressed out by all this, and can not understand how GWR can treat people so badly - and truth be told neither can I. I have never had any such similar encounter in the past, so this is all quite a shock - at how little access or ability a customer has to communicate into the company.
Thank you all - please do let me know if you need any more detail or information.
Best regards to all
Tom
On July 4th my wife and daughter started what was meant to be a day trip from Crediton to Exmouth.
They joined the 1137 train at Crediton, an unmanned station with no ticket machine - you buy your tickets from the guard on-board the train
As soon as they boarded the train they found seats as the service was not busy.
The guard approached them before the train departed from Crediton
They both have rail cards (young persons and senior rail cards), these were presented and the guard was asked which would be the best ticket to buy, given the time they wanted to travel back
The guard said it would be a cheap day return.
They presented payment and their rail cards but the guard said he would not sell them a ticket, as he was off at Exeter, the next stop, and his colleague would do it when he joined the train. He then spoke to the gentleman in the seat opposite, who said he was getting off at Exeter - and the guard sold him a ticket.
My wife and daughter remained in the seats for the next 30 mins or so as the train proceeded too Exmouth and did not see either the original guard or the one that was mean to join the train at Exeter.
On getting off at Exmouth, they started looking for a member of staff to ask how they could still get the day return ticket then needed. They spotted a long queue of people waiting to get out of the station and two men in GWR uniforms checking tickets. They joined the long queue and when at the front asked the GWR staff how they could get tickets as they had been unable to get them on the train
The GWR staff told them to step to one side and wait, while the rest of the queue was dealt with
Once everyone had been let through- the GWR staff member and his colleague approached my wife and daughter and asked
"do you have tickets"
My wife said no, explained again that they had joined at Crediton, at an unmanned station, been approached by the on the train guard, who declined to sell them a ticket, and had approached the first uniformed GWR staff they could find at Exmouth to ask for help. They had stood in a long queue deliberately waiting to speak to the GWR staff, rails cards and purse in hand, naively thinking these gentlemen would help them.
The GWR staff member responded by saying he was a revenue officer, could not sell them tickets, told them they would be interviewed under caution and reported for prosecution, for travelling on the railway without a ticket.
My wife phoned me in considerable distress - and I contacted customer services to try and sort out what was happening - but no one would listen or seemed to care in the slightest. I managed to get the call logged, and have that log number recorded. I subsequently got the matter elevated to a customer service manager in GWR, (In the midlands I think he was based?) and I explained that the CCTV on the train and at Exmouth station would prove what had happened, and that we couldn't understand why the guard on the train at Credition did not sell the tickets he was asked for?
At the time the guard approached my wife on the train, she was, by coincidence on the phone to the chairman of the local council, who well remembers her saying, "I have to go now as the guard is here and I need to pay for my tickets". This call is time stamped, and matched the time the train was Credition station. It would also allow for the CCTV footage to be synchronized and would clearly show the guard talking to my wife, not selling the ticket he was asked for then approaching and selling a ticket to the next passenger.
No matter what we do now we hit a brick wall - no one will talk to us or listen. My wife is at her wits end and I have no idea what to do next to get anyone at GWR to listen, They wont respond or discuss or pass me or my wife onto anyone that can help. How can this be right? My wife and daughter did all they could to get a ticket - and instead of being helped were simply accused of an offence.
GWR have said on the phone they would recover the CCTV and talk to the guard, but when I asked again for confirmation this had been done - they refused to give me "any further information"
They said the "maintenance team" would download the CCTV - and that was it - but wont confirm this has been completed, and I am told by GWR customer service after 7 days the hard drive over rights.
In desperation we have tried writing to Mark Hopwood CEO GWR and our MP - but only get automated responses.
If any one has any ideas on how I can get this mess sorted out - please do let me know - My wife is completely stressed out by all this, and can not understand how GWR can treat people so badly - and truth be told neither can I. I have never had any such similar encounter in the past, so this is all quite a shock - at how little access or ability a customer has to communicate into the company.
Thank you all - please do let me know if you need any more detail or information.
Best regards to all
Tom
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