I know the origin, and I do not think that this particular 'anomaly' can be 'fixed' just yet.
It will go when the new maps produced by 'Basemaps' come in, for sure.
I personally just can't get my head around it all, it's bizarre....
You're welcome to join as at one of our
Fares workshops! (would be good to see you again - it's been a while!)
We do have a structure for the workshops now (which was developed over time) but also allow any questions and we can cover any topic that the people attending request.
Best make sure you don't one day slip up and actually use a ticket incorrectly RJ! If you did, they'd be all over you again!
The problem with EMT is that some people at their HQ think they know it all and are incredibly arrogant and non-responsive. Clearly, this is
personal for some of them. It's a shame you can't pick up the phone and ask them a relatively simple question about whether or not their policies match up with the legislation or T&Cs as defined in The Manual, and get a correct answer. But no, they have to make things up that are against the passenger, and insist they are right. I was accused of attempting to discuss a specific case when in fact all I wanted to do was discuss policy :roll: Eventually you can speak to a manager who is polite, and they just admit they don't know the rules and offer to 'investigate'.
So there are plenty of times that EMT
think RJ is in the wrong, but in fact he isn't. Their Customer Services team certainly lack the required knowledge. Even when you give them the URL to the answer, like the Penalty Fare legislation for example, they still don't know, and come out with claims like "yes we can charge a penalty fare to a customer travelling on an off peak ticket at a time the ticket is valid" even though it is stated very clearly that isn't allowed.
I despair with them - they don't seem to want to learn! And if they don't want to learn, they will not catch RJ out, because they will keep thinking they are in the right when they are not!
After all, there isn't an
effective Regulator or passenger rights group to force EMT to know, and apply, the correct rules, is there? And without that, they just can't be bothered to play fair, and make rules up. Most passengers just pay whatever charges they make because they don't know the rules. So there is a financial incentive for them to make up the rules! I think some people at EMT are shocked, disgusted and even
angry that some people know the rules better than them and won't let them get away with making rules up.
So, I certainly wish RJ all the best. But I would advise exercising
extreme caution. Our archaic, disproportionate railway legislation is incredibly biased towards the TOCs, so a mistake could be very costly.