Admin fees and penalty fares - Reversed!

[michael769]

Any evidence of that?

Good question, and a couple more?

Which regulatory body?

What statute grants this body the lawful powers to approve such a scheme?

EDIT: Actually ignore me I see the conversation has moved on.

 

[Harlesden]

IMHO the OP appears to be making a mountain out of a molehill.
He was disadvantaged "about 40p" because of a staff error.
He received a £1 voucher.
I believe most people would say "fair enough" and move on.
It is the OP choosing to occupy/use his time to pursue what appears to be a very trivial and surely fruitless quest.
Personally, I would feel way too embarrassed to stand up in court over such an issue, but that's just me.

 

[CyrusWuff]

IMHO the OP appears to be making a mountain out of a molehill.
He was disadvantaged "about 40p" because of a staff error.

Not quite. The OP was disadvantaged "about 40p" due to the pricing policy in the West Midlands making an unspecified ticket from Yardley Wood cheaper than one from Birmingham which is allegedly valid for the same journey.

 

[richw]

Letters may be sent automatically, but they also require proof-reading, require someone to read the original communication and take appropriate actions and make enquiries, which may well involve other departments, even if the end result is just sending a standard letter. Toner costs, etc, are miniscule as can be ignored in these cases.

There is more scope for a company to successfully argue that it costs them more than an individual writing a few letters. This is not to say that the OP will not succeed.

Automated letters are rarely proof read, I have worked for companies who use automated letters, the address Is populated, any relevant reference, and then printed and stuffed in an envelope without anyone looking at the letter.

A true Automated letter will only ever need proof reading once and then it will never change other than Mr Jones/ Mrs Brown/ Miss Smith etc, so proof reading is not required, as it will have been proof read once when first loaded to system. It will then be sent 1000s of times with never being read by the company, and relying on somebody to enter the name and address, and even some of them are autopopulated by a database in a similar way to a mail merge.

 

[orpine]

Or just leave it and realise it is not worth the time or effort pursuing it

IMHO the OP appears to be making a mountain out of a molehill.
He was disadvantaged "about 40p" because of a staff error.
He received a £1 voucher.
I believe most people would say "fair enough" and move on.
It is the OP choosing to occupy/use his time to pursue what appears to be a very trivial and surely fruitless quest.
Personally, I would feel way too embarrassed to stand up in court over such an issue, but that's just me.

Fair point. Maybe it's because I feel it's unfair that I can be penalised or charged admin fees but the TOC's don't feel they have to reciprocate. It's a complete waste of my time as a way of trying to make money - it's me being idealistic; I appreciate not everyone is about the same things.

 

[yorkie]

IMHO the OP appears to be making a mountain out of a molehill.
He was disadvantaged "about 40p" because of a staff error.
He received a £1 voucher.
I believe most people would say "fair enough" and move on.
It is the OP choosing to occupy/use his time to pursue what appears to be a very trivial and surely fruitless quest.
Personally, I would feel way too embarrassed to stand up in court over such an issue, but that's just me.

It's a matter of principle. London Midland issued a Penalty Fare over 0p (and if it was unpaid, they could have prosecuted!) and Northern Rail famously prosecuted someone over 10p (which failed).

If the TOCs agree not to take matters of 40p and less to court, then sure, let's call it quits.

But the balance of power is very much against the passenger, and it's about time we stood up for our rights.

If you have nothing constructive to add to this topic, why bother posting?

 

[Mr Spock]

It's a matter of principle. London Midland issued a Penalty Fare over 0p (and if it was unpaid, they could have prosecuted!) and Northern Rail famously prosecuted someone over 10p (which failed).

If the TOCs agree not to take matters of 40p and less to court, then sure, let's call it quits.

But the balance of power is very much against the passenger, and it's about time we stood up for our rights.

If you have nothing constructive to add to this topic, why bother posting?

The OP asked for peoples opinions on his actions and Harlesden gave his so what is not constructive about his posting.

 

[Deerfold]

If you have nothing constructive to add to this topic, why bother posting?

That's rather harsh isn't it?

I think most people would just move on as Harlesden suggested.

I wish the OP luck and will be interested to see how their case goes but I don't think I'd recommend it as a course of action.

Wondering if I ought to post in future if I'm not of the same opinion that the topic seems to have gathered at that point.

 

[AndyLandy]

My summary on the matter:

I thought it was cute that he charged them an "admin fee", and when they smiled and offered him £5, he should have taken it and called it quits.

 

[cuccir]

My summary on the matter:

I thought it was cute that he charged them an "admin fee", and when they smiled and offered him £5, he should have taken it and called it quits.

Agree with that!