Hi,
I landed into Gatwick and picked up a ticket (reading the details from it) OFF-PEAK TCDS Gatwick Airport & LONDON ZONES 1-6 Route SOUTHERN ONLY.
I traveled to Victoria and my ticket did not work on the barrier to leave the station. I gave it to the member of staff on the barrier and she said it was not valid on the Gatwick Express and I had to pay an 'excess'.
I was aware that the ticket was only valid on Southern routes (and not FCC routes) so to clarify the Southern routes I showed her the "Southern route map" on their website:
http://www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/plan-your-journey/network-map/
The Gatwick Express route is clearly shown as a Southern Route, much like the West London route and the Coastway West route. This is the same as the route map shown at all stations which would show the services I could taken on a Southern Only ticket.
The ATOC website also shows the Southern train operator as operating the Gatwick Express:
http://www.atoc.org/train-companies/southern/
Coming from the horse's mouth this seemed a pretty open and shut case, however she did not listen to me and insisted I had to pay an additional fare. Further lack of listening continued for about 20 minutes between her colleagues after which I was late and had to get home so my partner could continue to not listen to me.
I refused to pay an additional fare but offered to give my name and address if they wanted to follow it up at a later date. Again they refused this and I said I needed to leave the station, I wrote down my name and address and gave it to her and offered my driving license if they wanted ID but I wasn't going to stand penned in for hours in deadlock. Still trapped 10 minutes later without any change in their position when the subsequent train arrived I left the gateline with another passenger, again offering my details if they wanted to pursue it.
At this point a guy in a Southern uniform came over and said he was going to charge me a penalty fare. I explained the situation again but he didn't listen, and he said I had to pay £10 on the spot or he would call the BTP for fare evasion. At this point I had little choice and gave him my credit card. He retained my ticket and I'm now presumably waiting for something in the post.
My credit card company were very understanding and charged back the £10 and the £16.20 for the original ticket as I was unable to use it for the rest of the day, but I'm not sure what to expect now?
In my view the ticket restriction is for Southern routes, i.e. routes operated by Southern, and by Southern's and ATOC's own admission Southern operates the Gatwick Express... case closed?
I landed into Gatwick and picked up a ticket (reading the details from it) OFF-PEAK TCDS Gatwick Airport & LONDON ZONES 1-6 Route SOUTHERN ONLY.
I traveled to Victoria and my ticket did not work on the barrier to leave the station. I gave it to the member of staff on the barrier and she said it was not valid on the Gatwick Express and I had to pay an 'excess'.
I was aware that the ticket was only valid on Southern routes (and not FCC routes) so to clarify the Southern routes I showed her the "Southern route map" on their website:
http://www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/plan-your-journey/network-map/
The Gatwick Express route is clearly shown as a Southern Route, much like the West London route and the Coastway West route. This is the same as the route map shown at all stations which would show the services I could taken on a Southern Only ticket.
The ATOC website also shows the Southern train operator as operating the Gatwick Express:
http://www.atoc.org/train-companies/southern/
Coming from the horse's mouth this seemed a pretty open and shut case, however she did not listen to me and insisted I had to pay an additional fare. Further lack of listening continued for about 20 minutes between her colleagues after which I was late and had to get home so my partner could continue to not listen to me.
I refused to pay an additional fare but offered to give my name and address if they wanted to follow it up at a later date. Again they refused this and I said I needed to leave the station, I wrote down my name and address and gave it to her and offered my driving license if they wanted ID but I wasn't going to stand penned in for hours in deadlock. Still trapped 10 minutes later without any change in their position when the subsequent train arrived I left the gateline with another passenger, again offering my details if they wanted to pursue it.
At this point a guy in a Southern uniform came over and said he was going to charge me a penalty fare. I explained the situation again but he didn't listen, and he said I had to pay £10 on the spot or he would call the BTP for fare evasion. At this point I had little choice and gave him my credit card. He retained my ticket and I'm now presumably waiting for something in the post.
My credit card company were very understanding and charged back the £10 and the £16.20 for the original ticket as I was unable to use it for the rest of the day, but I'm not sure what to expect now?
In my view the ticket restriction is for Southern routes, i.e. routes operated by Southern, and by Southern's and ATOC's own admission Southern operates the Gatwick Express... case closed?