Is this a common Scotrail scam?

[pemma]

this whole debate would be at an end if people simply had common sense and carried either a debit card which works onboard trains or smaller denominations of cash to pay for their fare!

We'd need operators to eliminate any unexpected fare rises or any huge fare rises when they have publicised them, otherwise the passenger may have £5.20 in change but they find the fare is now £5.90.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Arguing over legal tender used on trains is a bit pedantic, this whole debate would be at an end if people simply had common sense and carried either a debit card which works onboard trains or smaller denominations of cash to pay for their fare!

In a dream world, I know!

And quite often, it is not the person fault if they have neither.
Many banks refuse to give under 18's proper debit cards, and for other people, banks can be funny for a whole host of reasons.
And in terms of smaller amounts of cash - why? ATM's mostly just give out £10 or £20 notes. You seriously expect the person to have to buy something for the sake of it just to get change?

 

[Urban Gateline]

We'd need operators to eliminate any unexpected fare rises or any huge fare rises when they have publicised them, otherwise the passenger may have £5.20 in change but they find the fare is now £5.90.

Not many people bring exact change though, that's not what I meant in my most, a reasonable amount like £6 or even £10 could be changed easily as opposed to £20 or £50! Fare rises aren't exactly unknown either, what with all that media coverage!

 

[Bungle73]

Not many people bring exact change though, that's not what I meant in my most, a reasonable amount like £6 or even £10 could be changed easily as opposed to £20 or £50! Fare rises aren't exactly unknown either, what with all that media coverage!

A went on a regular train journey a few months ago, and the first I knew the fare had risen was when the guard stated the fare to me; I'd already got the change together to pay the fare as it was. I thought she'd made an error.

 

[Urban Gateline]

And quite often, it is not the person fault if they have neither.
Many banks refuse to give under 18's proper debit cards, and for other people, banks can be funny for a whole host of reasons.
And in terms of smaller amounts of cash - why? ATM's mostly just give out £10 or £20 notes. You seriously expect the person to have to buy something for the sake of it just to get change?

The situations you speak of are not so common though, most people will have access to a debit card or change as part of their everday life.

No I don't expect the person to have to buy something to get change, but they can use a credit/debit card or carry enough change in the first place. I put it to you that on a bus, a person will have similar problems trying to pay for a fare with a large denomination of note, so what is the solution? Carry more float... which I do agree with, but in reality it's not likely to happen is it!

 

[Greenback]

This is nothing new really. I remember when I was a small boy in the early 1970's seeing my mothe rtold not to bring large notes on to the bus when she tried to pay for a 7p fare with a £1 note!

Most people are considerate enough not to use larger notes if they can help it, but at the same time it's not always possible to do this. I usually plan things thoroughly, but even I have been known to be stuck with a £20 note for a £2, far in my time.

As Molesey Boy said earlier on, in ideal world everyone would have the right cash, or an acceptable card, but as we don't live in such a world we have to get by as best we can!

 

[WelshBluebird]

The situations you speak of are not so common though, most people will have access to a debit card or change as part of their everday life.

No I don't expect the person to have to buy something to get change, but they can use a credit/debit card or carry enough change in the first place. I put it to you that on a bus, a person will have similar problems trying to pay for a fare with a large denomination of note, so what is the solution? Carry more float... which I do agree with, but in reality it's not likely to happen is it!

But they are common enough.
And a bus is different to a train. It is regular policy for bus companies / drivers to not accept larger notes for fares. That is not the case on the railways. The railways DO accept £10 / £20 notes for fares. So someone should not be judged as a possible fare evader for using those notes.

I work in the SU shop when I am at university, and we always get people paying for small things in large notes. It isn't something that can be helped. Especially as the cash machine near us has a habit of only having £20 notes in it!

 

[island]

I don't think the Royal Mint site is self-contradictory. It says a legal tender must be the exact amount, and also that notes are legal tender for any amount [implying that it must still be the exact amount].

But legal tender semantics are really pointless

 

[Urban Gateline]

But they are common enough.
And a bus is different to a train. It is regular policy for bus companies / drivers to not accept larger notes for fares. That is not the case on the railways. The railways DO accept £10 / £20 notes for fares. So someone should not be judged as a possible fare evader for using those notes.

I work in the SU shop when I am at university, and we always get people paying for small things in large notes. It isn't something that can be helped. Especially as the cash machine near us has a habit of only having £20 notes in it!

Similarly as said earlier in the topic, you can't compare a fixed location like a shop to a cash handler that moves from place to place, there are extra security risks involved so it's simply not possible for the Guard to carry enough change for everyone on their train to pay with a £20 note or larger for a fare of a few pounds!

I agree with you that somebody with money shouldn't be judged as a potential fare evader to an extent, if the same person keeps trying it then its a bit different though.

 

[route101]

Today coming back from the SECC i got off at Argyle St and couldn't get through the barriers i had to buy a ticket from a member of staff . I only had £20 note and i had nothing smaller , so he just let me through the barrier!

 

[mralexn]

Isn't this a difficult one?

Scotrail withdrew the ability to pay in cash at ticket machines and permits payment of fares in cash on the train.

£20.00 isn't a large note to give change for are you sure it wasn't a £50 or £100?

Or course, a company doesn't need to give change...

a £100 Note?

Ill take some :P

 

[34D]

a £100 Note?

Ill take some :P

Scottish aint they?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....Fare rises aren't exactly unknown either, what with all that media coverage!

You'd think so wouldn't you, strange how 90% of the people I sell tickets to the week after New Years Day ask me when the fares went up and they are everyday commuters!

 

[Roylang]

The situations you speak of are not so common though, most people will have access to a debit card or change as part of their everday life.

No I don't expect the person to have to buy something to get change, but they can use a credit/debit card or carry enough change in the first place. I put it to you that on a bus, a person will have similar problems trying to pay for a fare with a large denomination of note, so what is the solution? Carry more float... which I do agree with, but in reality it's not likely to happen is it!

To be honest, cash is becoming rarer. I very rarely have much change and, as noted above, cash machines only giving out £10 and £20 notes does not help. You say you do not expect somebody to buy something to get change but where does their change then come from? I refuse to buy something that I do not need from a shop just to get change, that is, in effect, putting the cost of my journey up by the cost of a Mars Bar etc. and I am unlikely to have change without doing so. Rock << Stuck >> Hard Place

The railways have got to move with the times and accept that there is a big shift away from cash, accept cards that they do not today (with the technology in place to do so) or accept that the offering of £10 and £20 notes will become far more common.

Whilst I mainly use a debit card for fares, those whose cards are not accepted by the railway should not be "punished" for offering cash in the form of a note.

Roy