I have a First Class 7 Day Season that permits travel on Virgin Trains East Coast services between Leeds and Wakefield. My intended train is the 1805 Leeds to London King's Cross, as far as Wakefield Westgate with this ticket.
Unfortunately I have just been turned away from the First Class lounge. I was informed that my ticket would need to be valid to Doncaster or beyond to permit entry. Has anyone ever heard of this rule before? I certainly haven't, and the page on the website about Lounges makes no reference to this. I asked if the policy was written down anywhere, but the staff couldn't find any written evidence of it to show me. I asked if the policy had changed recently, but was told that this had been the case for as long as this particular member of staff has worked there. I asked why the policy wasn't documented on the website or the poster outside the Lounge, the staff member didn't know. Finally I asked why it was that on the penultimate day of my Season ticket's validity I was being refused entry, but that I had been allowed in on four occasions on previous days using the same ticket. The staff member said this was because her colleagues "probably hadn't checked [my] ticket properly".
A big part of the reason I bought the ticket as First Class was because I knew from previous uses that I would be allowed to use the Leeds and Wakefield lounges with it. Had I not, I wouldn't have paid the extra cost of First Class. Additionally, it was very embarrassing to be turned away and if the policy had been clear, and I did not qualify, I would never have asked to be let in.
Any thoughts welcome.
Unfortunately I have just been turned away from the First Class lounge. I was informed that my ticket would need to be valid to Doncaster or beyond to permit entry. Has anyone ever heard of this rule before? I certainly haven't, and the page on the website about Lounges makes no reference to this. I asked if the policy was written down anywhere, but the staff couldn't find any written evidence of it to show me. I asked if the policy had changed recently, but was told that this had been the case for as long as this particular member of staff has worked there. I asked why the policy wasn't documented on the website or the poster outside the Lounge, the staff member didn't know. Finally I asked why it was that on the penultimate day of my Season ticket's validity I was being refused entry, but that I had been allowed in on four occasions on previous days using the same ticket. The staff member said this was because her colleagues "probably hadn't checked [my] ticket properly".
A big part of the reason I bought the ticket as First Class was because I knew from previous uses that I would be allowed to use the Leeds and Wakefield lounges with it. Had I not, I wouldn't have paid the extra cost of First Class. Additionally, it was very embarrassing to be turned away and if the policy had been clear, and I did not qualify, I would never have asked to be let in.
Any thoughts welcome.
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