railpassenger
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I would like to share my experience that I had yesterday at London Victoria with the GTR Gatwick Express staff who operate at the ticket barriers and ticket office at platforms 13 and 14.
I had travelled from Appledore to London by train. Appledore only has one card only TVM but no cash accepting TVM and i wished to purchase with cash so i asked to buy onboard the train from the Guard. However on this occasion the Guard's ticket machine was broken so he told me to buy at my destination.
The ticket i wished to purchase was a Appledore to London Zones 1 to 6 Travelcard ticket for £24.70 total. This is the "via Haywards Heath" version.
So I change trains at Eastbourne, Brighton and Gatwick Airport and then finally arrive at London Victoria where i alight from the Gatwick Express and approach the ticket barriers and this is where the problems start.
I tell the ticket barrier lady that I needed to purchase a ticket and she directs me to talk to a man who is busy arguing with about ten other people who he says doesn't have the right tickets and he makes them buy new ones. After waiting about twenty minutes for him to deal with everyone else he finally serves me and i tell him the ticket I want. He then says that Appledore doesn't exist and accuses me of making up a fake station. Eventually after a lot of arguing he takes me to the Gatwick Express ticket office next to the barriers and tells me to buy a ticket there.
This is where even more problems start. The ticket office lady is also very rude right from the beginning. She tells me that she can not sell such a ticket because Appledore is not a Gatwick Express station and accuses me of illegally travelling on the Gatwick Express (yes she actually told me what i did was illegal). I told her how i couldn't buy before boarding because the TVM is card only and told her that the Guard had a broken machine but she said it makes no difference because such a ticket wouldn't be valid on Gatwick Express anyway (which is also nonsense).
She said that the only ticket they sell was tickets from Gatwick Airport to London Victoria for £19.90 and said that she is unable to sell any other tickets. She said when i changed trains I was required to leave the station at one of these stations and buy a new ticket for the Gatwick Express. She tells me that i must buy this £19.90 ticket.
She kept saying that Gatwick Express is a completely different company and that they don't sell tickets for any other trains or other stations. I pointed out that Gatwick Express is not a company but a brand name of GTR which is something she kept denying. She also said that different train companies don't sell tickets for travel on each others trains (which is also absolute nonsense).
Eventually she gets this other man to come along. He tells me the same thing as she said. He gets very angry when i question him and starts shouting "HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME, DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB, YOU NEED TO BUY THE TICKET I TOLD YOU TO BUY" and is very threatening.
Its strange how they were happy to sell me a £19.90 ticket but not a more expensive ticket for £24.70 which would have meant they would make more money.
This other very angry lady then suddenly comes along and tells me that i must leave the station immediately as i am causing trouble. I ask her why i have to leave and what authority she has to make me leave. This gets her very angry and she starts shouting "HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY AUTHORITY, I AM STATION STAFF, YOU DO WHAT I TELL YOU" and is very aggressive.
I would have refused to leave but i knew that they would probably call the BTP. So i left to make things easier.
She then follows me out of the station and keeps shouting "GET OUT THE STATION, DON'T COME BACK IN AGAIN" as i am walking out thorough the concourse. On my way out i turn off and go to the Southern Rail ticket office to try to buy my ticket (who are usually a lot more helpful) and as soon as she sees me she starts shouting "OI GET OUT THE STATION, I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO TO THAT TICKET OFFICE, YOU ARE NOT TO BUY A TICKET" so i continue to leave the station and she keeps following me and even when i get to the bus station she tells me i am not allowed there because it is station property. She follows me all the off the station and follows me all the way across the road before she goes back inside.
I am not sure that GTR's Gatwick Express employees even officially have the authority to kick someone out the station. I highly doubt that they do.
Its very strange that they were now happy to let me travel completely free when i was more than happy to buy a £24.70 ticket. So i left London Victoria with no ticket at all.
In total there were six employees all in Gatwick Express uniform (three men and three women) who dealt with me yesterday. All six of them were completely rude and aggressive and unprofessional. They were even shouting at me (not just raising their voices but proper shouting). The whole time i was very polite but these people were just awful.
I still needed a ticket so i decided to walk to London Waterloo as this was the nearest station that has TVMs with a "tickets from another station" feature (something that GTR got rid if when they replaced their machines about a year and a half ago) so i was guaranteed to be able to get a ticket here and i was able to purchase the £24.70 one there with no problems.
From my calculations all of this added an extra two hours and fifteen minutes to my journey time (including all the hassle at London Victoria and then walking to London Waterloo and then getting back to the London Victoria area which was where i was going at first). So i am definitely complaining to GTR (not that they will do anything as they are a useless messed up company) and then claiming delay repay for this.
How on earth do GTR get away with all this. These are the most aggressive threatening staff i have ever come across.
I would like to share my experience that I had yesterday at London Victoria with the GTR Gatwick Express staff who operate at the ticket barriers and ticket office at platforms 13 and 14.
I had travelled from Appledore to London by train. Appledore only has one card only TVM but no cash accepting TVM and i wished to purchase with cash so i asked to buy onboard the train from the Guard. However on this occasion the Guard's ticket machine was broken so he told me to buy at my destination.
The ticket i wished to purchase was a Appledore to London Zones 1 to 6 Travelcard ticket for £24.70 total. This is the "via Haywards Heath" version.
So I change trains at Eastbourne, Brighton and Gatwick Airport and then finally arrive at London Victoria where i alight from the Gatwick Express and approach the ticket barriers and this is where the problems start.
I tell the ticket barrier lady that I needed to purchase a ticket and she directs me to talk to a man who is busy arguing with about ten other people who he says doesn't have the right tickets and he makes them buy new ones. After waiting about twenty minutes for him to deal with everyone else he finally serves me and i tell him the ticket I want. He then says that Appledore doesn't exist and accuses me of making up a fake station. Eventually after a lot of arguing he takes me to the Gatwick Express ticket office next to the barriers and tells me to buy a ticket there.
This is where even more problems start. The ticket office lady is also very rude right from the beginning. She tells me that she can not sell such a ticket because Appledore is not a Gatwick Express station and accuses me of illegally travelling on the Gatwick Express (yes she actually told me what i did was illegal). I told her how i couldn't buy before boarding because the TVM is card only and told her that the Guard had a broken machine but she said it makes no difference because such a ticket wouldn't be valid on Gatwick Express anyway (which is also nonsense).
She said that the only ticket they sell was tickets from Gatwick Airport to London Victoria for £19.90 and said that she is unable to sell any other tickets. She said when i changed trains I was required to leave the station at one of these stations and buy a new ticket for the Gatwick Express. She tells me that i must buy this £19.90 ticket.
She kept saying that Gatwick Express is a completely different company and that they don't sell tickets for any other trains or other stations. I pointed out that Gatwick Express is not a company but a brand name of GTR which is something she kept denying. She also said that different train companies don't sell tickets for travel on each others trains (which is also absolute nonsense).
Eventually she gets this other man to come along. He tells me the same thing as she said. He gets very angry when i question him and starts shouting "HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME, DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB, YOU NEED TO BUY THE TICKET I TOLD YOU TO BUY" and is very threatening.
Its strange how they were happy to sell me a £19.90 ticket but not a more expensive ticket for £24.70 which would have meant they would make more money.
This other very angry lady then suddenly comes along and tells me that i must leave the station immediately as i am causing trouble. I ask her why i have to leave and what authority she has to make me leave. This gets her very angry and she starts shouting "HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY AUTHORITY, I AM STATION STAFF, YOU DO WHAT I TELL YOU" and is very aggressive.
I would have refused to leave but i knew that they would probably call the BTP. So i left to make things easier.
She then follows me out of the station and keeps shouting "GET OUT THE STATION, DON'T COME BACK IN AGAIN" as i am walking out thorough the concourse. On my way out i turn off and go to the Southern Rail ticket office to try to buy my ticket (who are usually a lot more helpful) and as soon as she sees me she starts shouting "OI GET OUT THE STATION, I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO TO THAT TICKET OFFICE, YOU ARE NOT TO BUY A TICKET" so i continue to leave the station and she keeps following me and even when i get to the bus station she tells me i am not allowed there because it is station property. She follows me all the off the station and follows me all the way across the road before she goes back inside.
I am not sure that GTR's Gatwick Express employees even officially have the authority to kick someone out the station. I highly doubt that they do.
Its very strange that they were now happy to let me travel completely free when i was more than happy to buy a £24.70 ticket. So i left London Victoria with no ticket at all.
In total there were six employees all in Gatwick Express uniform (three men and three women) who dealt with me yesterday. All six of them were completely rude and aggressive and unprofessional. They were even shouting at me (not just raising their voices but proper shouting). The whole time i was very polite but these people were just awful.
I still needed a ticket so i decided to walk to London Waterloo as this was the nearest station that has TVMs with a "tickets from another station" feature (something that GTR got rid if when they replaced their machines about a year and a half ago) so i was guaranteed to be able to get a ticket here and i was able to purchase the £24.70 one there with no problems.
From my calculations all of this added an extra two hours and fifteen minutes to my journey time (including all the hassle at London Victoria and then walking to London Waterloo and then getting back to the London Victoria area which was where i was going at first). So i am definitely complaining to GTR (not that they will do anything as they are a useless messed up company) and then claiming delay repay for this.
How on earth do GTR get away with all this. These are the most aggressive threatening staff i have ever come across.
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