Not necessarily. It could be that they’ve been poorly trained in the first place and/or not had refresher training when the T&Cs changed. The member of staff could honestly believe what they’re saying is correct
I don’t think this matters as such with multiple identical instances. If you truly believe a rule and someone questions it you can stand by this rule, but when they really start to question this multiple times, or in many cases, multiple people question it in the exact same way then anyone with any reasonable skill and common sense (and no motive for increasing revenue/target numbers for their employer and possibly themselves) would question themselves as to WHY it is happening. Even if I was absolutely sure on a rule about something based on what I have been told, I’d stop and think about it if multiple people questioned it because I am human, just as they are.
Many organisations that I have been involved with have had a bit of a blind spot when it comes to training on changes to existing systens as opposed to wholesale replacement. The other issue is "on the job" training where there is no reference back to the source material so A was trained by B who was trained by C and the whole thing ends up like a game of Chinese Whispers.
I agree with the concept of whispers here, which proves to me beyond doubt that there’s a serious lack of training to start with.
However, that said..
......... I find the idea that customer facing staff go round deliberately inventing rules laughable. The fault is invariably with management............
The trouble is, there are 2 real groups split further. There’s staff with a keen interest in the rules, they know them for the most part and if they don’t they’re anxious to learn them, often when they’re at home in their own time because of their interest. Many of these staff will be on this forum as their interest in the railway drives them to be the best they can be in their job. Then you’ve got the ones who may or may not enjoy their job but don’t really have an interest in it as a whole, it doesn’t make them less good at it although they might find restrictions in their knowledge because training is so appalling in some areas. Some of these people do like the sense of power and authority and whilst the vast majority don’t abuse it, a good number cannot bring themselves to come across as lacking in knowledge about their job. It is here where the problem starts, if they don’t know a rule, those with a keen interest will find it out, those just there to do the job and get paid will either listen to another staff member or will make it up. Where there is a revenue difference (particularly if it includes commission) then you can see why there might be a bias towards an outcome that involves selling a new ticket, even if it’s wrong.
I know for a FACT that EMT (so likely EMR) didn’t always (if at all) question staff who had charged new tickets incorrectly based on lack of training, nor were they trained further, the person who had had to pay an extra couple of quid per day for over a month got their money back and the guard was never told they’d done anything wrong. I suspect that even a few years on they still believe they are correct and likely still charge the wrong price. And it all comes neatly back around to revenue. Unless forced, No operator in their right mind is going to spend time and money providing training for staff if the result is lower revenue.
Finally...
If your allegations are accurate than that is a matter for the police or the local trading standards.
Meanwhile back in the real world, neither will be able to or be willing to even look into this. This is the railway we are talking about, it’s IS the law.
What is the proposed outcome of this member of staff’s request at Sheffield?
Do they want to sell you a new ticket? Would they earn commission for this?
do they want to issue a penalty fare? Would they earn commission and/or a tick in the targets box (if EMR have them like others) for it?
Do they want to issue another form of prosecution? (Same question about commission / targets). ?
Or do they just want to continue on their power trip? Or something else entirely.