*Update Part 1*
So per advice i contacted all 3 companies in a joint email on Friday(Chiltern Claim number issued Friday, WMT and Avanti claim number issued Monday for some reason), i do genuinely feel bad at the length in which i detailed it for the people that look into it, i called them out on their BS jointly and explained individually where their at Fault using the advice and points a lot of you have given me and again i thank you for that(for those that do wanna read what i said here it is, but its kinda long winded so don't exhaust yourselves).:
Any information below will be shared with Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Trains aswell, so that you are all given the same information
To Whoever picks this email up, Hi(and sorry),
I purchased a Super off peak return(Via Hight Wycombe) on Thursday 3rd February via the chiltern website for £33.10, conditions were via High Wycombe, I did it as a guest, not sure why as I have an account I think. The date of Travel for my outbound was on the 4th February for the 15:32 London Marylebone – Birmingham Snow Hill absolutely no problems whatsoever on your service on this occasion, I did find it very relaxing with smooth connections all around to Stourbridge Town, what I would call a perfect Journey, credit where credit due.
However my return journey on the 7th February that was confirmed when I purchased the tickets was the:
20:20 Stourbridge Town – Stourbridge Junction
20:26 Stourbridge Junction – Birmingham Snow Hill
21:10 Birmingham Snow Hill – London Marylebone (arrival 23:12)
However on Monday night(7th) I started my Journey at Stourbridge Junction as it was more convenient to get to, from where I originated from and I was well within my right as the condition of the ticket allowed a break of journey on my return portion, I arrived at approximately 20:00 – 20:06 where I spent a few minutes saying goodbye to a friend in the parking lot, I had no clear line of sight of the departure Boards at the station (i had previously checked if there was any problems with the trains at approximately 5-6pm and there was no disruption Barr a few changes of train formation on Chiltern routes and services that were inapplicable to myself) I will describe the chronological timeline as close to accuracy as possible and this will be shared within emails to both Avanti and west Midlands Trains as I will explain in further detail what had transpired and where all 3 companies are at Fault, I will add additional details of train service Headcodes to help provide a better position of clarity and Journey for when each respective company wants to do their fact checking and investigations and CCTV monitoring if that’s something each respective company wants to go to that petty level.
Intended Travel Journey:
20:26 Stourbridge Junction – Birmingham Snow Hill (2C84)
**12 Minute connection at Birmingham Snow Hill**
21:10 Birmingham Snow Hill – London Marylebone (arrival 23:12) (1H84)
1.Arrived at Stourbridge Junction car park approximately 20:00 – 20:06
2.From this position I had no clear Line of sight to any Departure Board, I spent a few minutes having a cigarette and saying goodbye to a friend.
3.I entered Stourbridge Junction Via the car park at I believe it was 20:09, I remember this precise fact as I saw 2C72 on Platform 2, the front leading Unit was an ex-chiltern 172/1, I Glanced over to the departure board to check for my train, that everything was still on schedule, when I saw 2C84 was cancelled(my train) it was already too late to jump on 2C72 as the doors were already being closed and even Usain Bolt would not have been able to get down the stairs and up the stairs to catch that train in the time it took for the doors to close and lock, for argument sake we will say 10 seconds between realization of my intended train being cancelled and opportunity to have caught 2C72 as the alternative option.
4. Upon this situation and coming to terms im effectively now screwed because the preceding train to Birmingham Snow Hill was 2S86 20:53 Service which would not get me into Birmingham Snow Hill until 21:23(13 minutes after my connecting and last valid train by the conditions of my ticket had left) I entered a state of anxiety and can be seen near chain-smoking just outside the station at the car park entrance rinsing my phone battery at looking at alternative options available as I was effectively stranded at this point because of the restrictions of my ticket only being valid Via Hight Wycombe.
5. Out of options I approached the Stourbridge Junction ticket Office at approximately 20:30 to see if they could assist me in the predicament, the Gentleman I spoke to understood exactly my predicament and didn’t hesitate to start helping me by looking at alternative options to get me back to London as fast as possible, he printed out a travel Itinerary at 20:33 for the 22:10 1B45 Avanti West Coast journey from Birmingham New street – London Euston service, He said they would have to honor my ticket given the situation I was put in at no fault of my own. He did mention as well to check in with the chiltern staff at Moor street to confirm this with them as it’s a Chiltern ticket.
6. I Boarded 2S86 2053 WMT service from Stourbridge Junction to Birmingham Moor Street arriving at 21:31, I exited via platform 1, and proceeded over the bridge to enter the main entrance where the ticket office was to confirm the plan with the chiltern staff member at the ticket counter, so approximately 21:35 at that point.
7. I approached your member of staff behind the counter, and politely explained the situation to her that I was in, she responded ‘’well we have no more trains to London, what can I do, there’s nothing we can do as it wasn’t our train that delayed you’’ I paused(more out of shock really) and then explained what the information that I was provided with by the Stourbridge Junction Ticket office and showed the Journey Itinerary they printed out for me and explained what was explained to me, that because of the situation of the WMT train being cancelled, missing my connection, that Avanti would have to honor the ticket because of the circumstance, she responded ‘’well you can try’’ that was the eye twitching moment for me, I asked one final question to her ‘’ if Avanti or northwestern don’t honor my ticket, when is the next train I can take?’’ ‘’09:55 or any train after’’ I responded ‘’sooooo 12 and half hours basically’’ she responded ‘’yeah’’ I thanked her for her time and proceeded for New Street station, I exited and proceeded along what google maps describes as ST Martin’s Queensway(Road) and entered the station after another cigarette outside.
8. I headed straight for the ticket office at New street station, I can be seen as the idiot trying to enter the exit only door until redirected to the other door by the counter staff inside, for further clarification, im also the one that allowed the station cleaner to proceed before me into the ticket office so anywhere between 21:40-21:55, I approached the gentleman at the counter on the left, and again explained everything that the WMT office clerk said to me at Stourbridge Junction, I showed him the tickets and the travel itinerary and he said ‘’he couldn’t understand why they sent me to new street’’, I repeated because of the situation I was put in by no fault of my own(i.e the cancelled train) the ticket would have to be honored, he must’ve missed my response because he responded with ‘’your lucky because I don’t think its that much more in difference of cost’’ and proceeded to check for the difference in price. His further comment was ‘’its going to be an additional £14.45. I straight up asked him ‘’so the only way your going to honor the ticket is if I pay an additional 14.45, would Northwestern not even honor the ticket considering it was their company that caused this situation?’’. ‘’yes because your ticket isn’t valid via this routing’’. My brain is fried at this point and said ‘’I need to consider my options’’ I left the queue and headed to the Hill street Entrance?(not 100% sure as I don’t know the area) had a cigarette and looked at coach options and prices( seeing I had no options for hours and prices I couldn’t afford in addition) I went back in to the ticket office which had closed despite on the window stating it was open until 23:00, there was staff working out of a single window to the side of the office, where I explained ‘’your colleague said I had to pay an excess?! She couldn’t figure it out what I was saying, but luckily the colleague that told me about the excess fare was coming out the back and helped her with the ticket change, my final comments to the office staff was ‘’so I can get on any train with this yeah?’’ ‘’yes’’ ‘’thank you’’ I headed for the red zone after checking the departure boards and showed my original tickets and the excess ticket to the gateline assistant who let me through, went to platform 1 and boarded 22:10 1B45 and sat down in coach B on the left at a window seat, when the guard came and checked my ticket, I showed him my original ticket and said ‘’I also have an excess ticket’’ but he responded with ‘’no that’s fine’’ and was half way down the carriage before I even got my excess ticket out my wallet. We arrived at spot on midnight on platform 5.
Additional Information:
To Aid in your own company investigations where possible, I have included train Headcodes, which will help your respective companies Identify where the problem was and which services I took to help aid a timeline journey, my personal description for those that want the petty level of checking CCTV: I was a white Man short hair even shorter on the sides, wearing a grey fleece with black shoulder pads, black tracksuit with a grey and red line down the side, black trainers, I had a black backpack on with a white brand on the back.
Train 2C84 was not cancelled throughout, it had only been cancelled between Kidderminster and Birmingham Snow Hill, platform announcement said because a person was taken ill on the train, but upon further investigation, the train was cancelled due to late arrival of the inbound service, which again further investigated, wasn’t delayed into Kidderminster, it was cancelled between Birmingham Snow Hill and Kidderminster, so basically 2C84 had started at Birmingham Snow Hill at 20:58.
Information for Headcodes and trains/Times was sourced from
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:G06419/2022-02-07/detailed
I was not abusive or aggressive with any member of staff from any of your respective companies at any point, I was visibly anxious and frustrated, but I did not lay any of that emotion on any member of your respective staff for the pure and simple logical fact, they would not have warranted such treatment, I was not put in this position by any particular person or by them, trains are cancelled up and down the country everyday for various different reasons, delays happen, it’s a it is what it is situation, so I repeat no acts of aggression was shown to any of your respective staff for the logical reason stated above.
So apart from being a stranded passenger on the railway, because I had no option available to me barr to get back to London, I have multiple disabilities that are recognized as disabilities and protected under the Equality’s act 2010, the two I want you to recognize in this situation is MAAD(Mixed Anxiety and Depressive Disorder) and Diabetes type 1, now before I continue I will state that none of the staff members in all retrospective companies involved was aware nor did I disclose this information, because it was not warranted to disclose, but to understand why this is a complex situation let me explain why its connected, had you all abandoned me, which if it wasn’t for my finance you all did, that’s just fact, I had to potentially walk around a city that I did not know for 12.5 hours where I had no idea if there was a convivence or food outlet to purchase products or where that would be and that would have protected me from a real world scenario of having an hypoglycemic reaction, which would have happened based on a heightened emotional reaction to anxious situation, the cold weather, no toliet facilities, no phone battery(I don’t hold blame on any of your companies for this, that is entirely my fault and responsibility) lack of sugar products, had that excess fare been 56 Pence more then what it was, I would not have been able to afford the excess fare and would have been abadonaded until 09:55 the next morning, but it is reasonable to predict based on those factors alone I could have had a hypoglycemic reaction, and without a phone unable to call 999 for assistance or unable find a hospital, its plausible to hold a theory that I could have passed out at any point, and be ignored by the public as one of the symptoms of a hypo is aggressive attributes and anyone that could have tried to see if I was alright, could have taken my symptoms as an interpretation as I was passed out from being drunk and not bothered or got involved(I say this example from a previous occasion where this did happen) a guide has been included to show other symptoms
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/complications/hypos.
Now why is this relevant especially considering this situation did not happen, I keep £15.00 on my card at all times for those kind of emergency situations for my health, which is why when told of the excess fare I hesitated in purchasing it, because the funds for the excess fare would have to be taken from that emergency allowance and I had to outweigh the balance aswell of would I be able to get to London based on how I was feeling(1 hour 50 minutes) or not.
Now at this point of this long winded complaint, your all thinking of your companies defensive positions in regards to this matter, pointing fingers and blaming each other, well just as much as your companies love fining and prosecuting fare dodgers for breaches of the NRCoT, im simply gonna paste the advice given to me in regards to this situation that has led to the format of this email complaint.
Now don’t get me wrong im not being inept in thinking this is some kind of weird conspiracy theory against myself or do I consider this discrimination on any level or the actions taken/given as, this is plain and simple incompetence, but it is very complex incompetence and to narrow it down to who is responsible is as complicated as the situation, because had the WMT service not been cancelled, this situation would not have happened, had chiltern offered assistance as they should have considering despite my ticket only being valid with their trains unless some sort of ghost operating company has started services via high Wycombe, my ticket is only valid on their trains, so they themselves broke the NRCoT by leaving me stranded, the exact same would be with Avanti, if I had not paid the fare and as described above I would have been stranded, but also to complicate the nature Avanti went 2 stages to far by 1.Financially Extorting my situation and 2. Intentionally committing fraud.
I will expand below in further detail on my position with each of the companies, and their failures. I would advise all your companies pay close attention to not just your own company but each others, because ultimately if I am not satisfied with all 3 of your companies responses, I will then go to the Rail Ombudsman, and again if I am not satisfied a claim will be made against all 3 companies jointly in a public courtroom, the question that you should be asking before responding to me, is how much does your company value its public image, but nonetheless I will be fair despite holding all the cards, in giving each company the opportunity to amend this wrong, because ill be honest I find this cancel culture distasteful and im not a Karen(sorry if your name is Karen while reading this), im not gonna shout and scream and say im never using your services again, because that would just be a straight up lie especially in the case of west midland trains and chiltern, so like I said I will give your companies the opportunity to remedy this situation because whether you agree or not, your all implicit and accountable in the situation that occurred above and that’s before I even get into the consumer rights law.
West Midland Trains:
Well the obvious factor here is if your train wasn’t cancelled, I wouldn’t be in the situation and you wouldn’t be reading this long email, however these situations happen, but credit due where credit due, your ticket office clerk was brilliant in assisting me and communicating with me, I don’t have his name, but he is worthy of praise given this situation, if only to just say maybe something official like a stamp on my ticket or something official to show that my train was cancelled meaning I missed my connection, but in all honesty that particular staff member was brilliant in trying to assist me in consideration to Avanti and Chiltern Staff, however 2Y20 From Birmingham New Street – London Euston was a reasonable endorsement in recognition that ultimately I was screwed by one of your trains, but that argument you can have with Avanti directly for why that wasn’t a possibility. For the record don’t hit me back that it was unreasonable because it was a different company, I couldn’t care less what your trading names are, your franchise agreement wasn’t split with the DFT.
Chiltern Trains:
I don’t even know where to begin with your staff member, like seriously, you actually have her in a frontline customer role, I had a WMT staff member looking at plausible options for me, even Avanti’s staff extorting and commiting fraud, was courteous enough to look at options for me, your staff member didn’t even look on her system for options, ‘’we have no more trains to London’’ like really?, that is one of those statements that makes you question your own sanity and IQ, because its so inconceivable to imagine if there was another train to London, the customer would be on that train instead of standing in front of you asking for help. ‘’What can I do?’’ For starters she can actually have looked like she gave any attention to the situation and predicament I was in:
She could have endorsed a ticket on another companies train the same as where WMT could have
She could have at least looked at what options were available on your system for the type of situation
She could have spoke to someone/rang someone for advice on the matter as to how to proceed
She could have used some basic common sense and situational awareness, if I could wait until 09:55 the next morning, why am I standing in front of you 12.5 hours prior to that time asking for assistance.
That in itself is its own pisstake, your gonna sit there and tell a customer there’s nothing you could do and then tell him the first train you can take is in 12.5 hours, your not even gonna offer the option of going on the first train in the morning as an effort(right in all fairness it wasn’t a plausible option, but as I’ve stated in this email on a few occasions, credit where credit due, had that option even just been offered maybe I would have been a bit more lightly on my position of your staff member’s actions) your gonna tell him come back in 12.5 hours so you don’t have to make an effort.
To go from a brilliant journey on the outbound to returning via this mess is beyond disgraceful.
now per the NRCoT, there is plenty that you as a company should have done way before the extremities of a cab or an overnight stay at a hotel:
You could have endorsed a ticket with Avanti
You could have endorsed a ticket with Northwestern
You could have endorsed my ticket so I could have boarded 2204 1V04 Birmingham new street - Reading XC service where I could have changed for a service to London Paddington which was within the PU restrictions of my ticket albeit not going via High Wycombe
You could have given me a coach ticket from either national express or Megabus who both had journeys available during the night
these were all actions that would be considered reasonable alternatives before going by what the NRCoT would consider reasonable in which being accommodation or a cab.
It is utterly disgraceful for your staff member to have acted or not acted in this way on any level to assist me.
Avanti West Coast Trains:
I think it should come at no surprise that you’re the last operator that I explain the level of incompetency and disgusting attitude, if your wondering why your even being mentioned, your company manages the staff at Birmingham New Street ticket office:
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/commu...office and machines,Enquiries, 03457 48 49 50
Now I will state for the record the member of staff who ultimately issues the excess fare ticket was under the direction and assistance of the staff member that advised me that my ticket would only be honored if I personally pay the difference, because he had to end up assisting herself in processing the ticket, now I’ve explained in detail what transpired that night and even went to explain why I initially hesitated, now the extortion i.e qualifying assistance on the basis of an additional fare, as if that wasn’t an already bad enough PR image, let me explain why I also mentioned intentionally committed fraud.
The ticket was issued at Birmingham New Street, not Stourbridge Junction.
The Journey from Stourbridge Junction to Snow hill was done lawfully in line with my ticket.
Ignoring the extortion and failure to follow NRToC for a moment, why was I charged an excess from Stourbridge Junction when I was never going to make that journey and had already produced valid tickets and proved that the journey already made was valid, when the pure nature again ignoring your responsibilities under NRToC for a moment the excess should have only covered the journey where the excess was applicable, so in this instance Birmingham New Street – London Euston where Avanti sells a super off peak return between London and Birmingham for £38.00 and northwestern sells it for £25.50, so considering I was taking an Avanti service if my ticket was with chiltern and cost me £33.10, why was I not charged the excess fare between where excess applied and ended, not that you have any excuse whatsoever for charging me given the extraordinary situation I was in and given your responsibilities as a TOC to assist me without additional payment, why was I not charged £38.00 - £33.10 = £4.90 for the excess routing and area that ultimately the applicable excess fare would have been valid.
The shear fact Avanti or northwestern doesn’t offer a super off peak return to Stourbridge town from London Euston under the same booking times and conditions as when I booked my chiltern tickets and only offers an off peak return, your company fraudulently charged me for an excess journey I was not undertaking or had any need or want to take. So basically not only did you extort my position and was negligent in your responsibilities under the NRCoT, you fraudulently charged me an additional (£14.45-£4.90) £9.55 for a journey that did not exist or was going to exist.
So not only did you break the NRCoT in not assisting me unless payment was made, you also fraudulently charged me an additional excess where the application of that addition did not apply.
(Don’t worry everyone we’re getting there lol)
So WMT you had the best staff by far, who genuinely tried to assist me and was brilliant, however your company should have endorsed me at the very least on the northwestern Service.
Chiltern, as far as im concerned your staff member had given me as much assistance as a shop mannequin, the level of service or help given was disgusting, there’s no way in hell you can turn around and say to me that I was the first customer to have ever been in this position in the history of the company, but based on the interaction with your staff member it would seem as if I was.
Avanti(I apologize for the profanities used here) but your ****ed, your company is utterly ****ed it has no defense it can make that would be taken as reasonable under the circumstances I was in, you would have been in a stronger position had the additional fraudulent charge not been added, but with that in mind, you have condemned and made both WMT and Chiltern complacent in this act for the shear fact that had they assisted me in endorsement on other services or other comparable arrangements I would not have been in a position where I was being extorted by your company.
Now out of mutual respect I am giving all your companies the opportunity to resolve this with myself, I am not unreasonable, im fully aware of delay repay and who that falls under, but im sorry that resolution is not gonna cut it for this situation, yes because I’ve gone to this great length and stance to moan about 25% refund on my ticket(so roughly £8/9) plus Avanti’s bull**** excess charge, but I would seriously be looking at good will gesture complimentary tickets/vouchers for this mess, because on principal alone the damage and potential public opinion if this reaches a public courtroom could have some particular interesting results on public opinion on your companies tied in with legitimate legal defenses for fare dodgers that could use the angle that if your companies don’t have to obey the byelaws why should they. But ill leave that situation between the 3 of your own companies to decide what level of compensation is applicable in this situation, if im not satisfied with your final offerings well I’ve already made my position very clear in how I will proceed.
Many thanks for your time and energy in this matter.
