Perhaps not, but the deadwood surrounding them is. And we are talking about the exceptional circumstances, and how the industry deals with them. That is where the problems occur....
People in this thread may be picking out obscure or exceptional case to try to prove a point, but the thread was started by an article which does not make such distinction. All rules have to account for everyone, not one of the people who happens to be travelling without a valid ticket (genuine or not).
....The Ts&Cs have evolved over that time, but they have not evolved quickly enough to be entirely relevant or fair for the new concept of ultra-cheap advances....
The conditions for Advance tickets were devised when the Virgin Value tickets were created (by Virgin Trains as it happens) sometime around 1999-2001. They were adopted as a standard set of restrictions during simplification.
....They have "evolved" by having new lumps bolted on to existing sections; to be brought up to date requires that the overall effect of each new lump needs assessing and perhaps incorporating into newly drafted documents. As I am sure you know....
So your suggestion would be to redraft the NRCoC every time the fares conditions change or need updating? Doesn't sound economical or simple for the passenger.
....Very funny - I cannot remember when I was last offered sight of the NRCoC when I bought a ticket. Perhaps there should be a tick box to say that the salesman has read them out to the customer. That would encourage travel!....
When was the last time you asked for a copy? (a copy must be available upon request). It is the restrictions to the ticket that must be given to the passenger, not the NRCoC.
....Perhaps, to those who have a rough idea of what they are looking for. But, to anyone else - i would hazard a guess at 99% of travellers - that is not the case. And, when you do find them, they are unclear, complex, and gargantuan. Not the best documents. It is rather like asking a patient to read the Health and Social care Act before booking an appointment with a GP....
If you go into a shop to buy something, but can't find it, do you walk out assuming they don't have it? do you just buy something similar and hope for the best? or do you ask the shop staff?
Once again I have to say that the conditions (especially in relation to Joe Public) are simple, relatively small and quite clear.
The Health and social care act is hardly the same as the NRCoC, nevermind the four or five terms of the Advance fare.
....Sadly, the thread has become, like so many before it, polarised between those who say the industry should be customer-focused, attractive and profitable,...
And gives in to anyone who dares to put up a fight (which would be any fare evaders with an ounce of sense). Incidentally, given the options mentioned in this thread, I hardly think customer focused and profitable could be used in the same sentence.
.... and those who say that procedures should be based on the idea that everyone is out to rip the railways off, and that the current structure of laws and regulations proves it does not need to change.
No, the other side is that there are people who will do ANYTHING to avoid paying a fare to the extent that they will attempt to look like "genuine customers" to try to fool staff (the other side fails to acknowledge this or account for it).
The rules must apply equally to all people, that either means letting the fare evaders go, or charging "genuine customers" for not obeying the terms of the ticket that they agreed to. The article in The Guardian is not about people who had a medical condition or were hampered by a rogue helicopter, but by people who failed to comply with the basic conditions of the advance fare, conditions which are not that different from those of the Apex and Super Advance fares of the early 2000s.
Imagine me sitting in a seat on a train, it doesn't matter what you imagine I look like, so let your imagination run wild. Imagine you are a ticket inspector checking everyone's tickets. Imagine when you approach me, I tell you that I have accidentally left my reservation coupon at home but I have actual ticket. I have lots of old tickets for you to see which I insist clearly proves I pay my fare regularly.
Do you think I am telling the truth? Do you think I shared my ticket with someone else in an attempt to reduce the cost of travel and I'm trying my luck? Or do you think I have picked up a few discarded tickets to use as my own? How can you be sure what I'm doing? Do you apply the conditions of the ticket? Or let me off with a warning?