Caroline_08
New Member
BELOW IS THE E-MAIL I SENT TO LNER ON APRIL 15th – IT MAKES MY SITUATION CLEAR.
AT THE BOTTOM I ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION; ALL ADVICE GRATEFULLY RECEIVED.
……..
On 2nd April, my 12-year-old son and I arrived at KingsX a good 40 minutes in advance of our 11:27 departure to Edinburgh.
On the departure board we couldn’t see a departure for Edinburgh at 11:27 - only 11:30. (The only departure visible for 11:27 was to Cambridge.)
I spotted a group of 3 or 4 gentlemen with signs on the backs of their tabards saying ‘Passenger Assistance’ (or something like that).
I explained our confusion to one of them, and he told me that it was ok - the 11:30 for Edinburgh was the one we needed.
When the platform was announced (for the 11:30 train), we headed over. We looked for Coach D, as per our reservation, but couldn’t find it …. We asked an employee (an LNER employee, standing right beside the train) what had happened to Coach D? He said there must have been a change, some confusion, and told us not to worry, we could just sit in any seat with a green light above it.
He was very nice, and again I voiced my concern about the timing and showed him our tickets on my phone; again he said it was a change and not to worry - he even apologised for the confusion.
It was only once the train was moving and the ticket inspector came around that we realised what had happened - this was an LNER train, and we should have been on a ‘Grand Central’ train (which had been scheduled to depart at 11:27).
The inspector said we needed to pay £298 for on-the-day fares!
I opted not to pay, and appeal instead, on the following grounds:
>2 members of rail staff - a KingsX employee, AND AN LNER EMPLOYEE - told me that the 11:30 LNER train was the correct one.
Given the TWO slightly disconcerting anomalies (time / coach) I would not have boarded the train without asking questions.
>Please use your discretion. Clearly we were not fare dodgers! This incident aside, I am a good LNER customer – for example, yesterday I took your 12:00 train from KingsX back to Edinburgh.
>We have a confusing system in which the honest consumer is very likely to get into trouble - on the day in question, we had two different operators leaving the same station at almost exactly the same time, following the same route, arriving in the same destination at almost exactly the same time.
Having purchased on thetrainline.com, our tickets to London were LNER, so we naturally assumed we’d return on same – since this incident I have registered with LNER and have resolved to only buy my tickets from there.
>Our original return booking totalled £143, so call it £75 each way - if it had been much more than this I wouldn't have been able to afford it, and would have driven instead. With the cost of living crisis, £333 is very much in excess of what I can afford.
>Given climate change, people should be encouraged to use active travel – creating such a scenario in which honest and well-meaning people are bound to make mistakes, and then harshly penalising them when they do, will discourage people from using active travel.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
……..
Since sending this in, I have had a bit of a back and forth between myself and LNER.
First, they raised the penalty (I know it’s not technically a penalty, but it certainly feels like one!) to £333.
…. Then it was escalated, and I have been offered a compromise, I would only need to pay £169.
The Rail Omubsman has also been mentioned as an option.
SO, MY QUESITON IS – IS IT WORTH PURSUING WITH THE OMBUDSMAN?
And incidentally, since this happened and I have discussed with friends – none of them had heard of ‘Grand Central Trains’! They are new operators on this route right? Must be very annoying for LNER. The body language of the inspectors on the day suggested this was a regular occurrence.
AT THE BOTTOM I ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION; ALL ADVICE GRATEFULLY RECEIVED.
……..
On 2nd April, my 12-year-old son and I arrived at KingsX a good 40 minutes in advance of our 11:27 departure to Edinburgh.
On the departure board we couldn’t see a departure for Edinburgh at 11:27 - only 11:30. (The only departure visible for 11:27 was to Cambridge.)
I spotted a group of 3 or 4 gentlemen with signs on the backs of their tabards saying ‘Passenger Assistance’ (or something like that).
I explained our confusion to one of them, and he told me that it was ok - the 11:30 for Edinburgh was the one we needed.
When the platform was announced (for the 11:30 train), we headed over. We looked for Coach D, as per our reservation, but couldn’t find it …. We asked an employee (an LNER employee, standing right beside the train) what had happened to Coach D? He said there must have been a change, some confusion, and told us not to worry, we could just sit in any seat with a green light above it.
He was very nice, and again I voiced my concern about the timing and showed him our tickets on my phone; again he said it was a change and not to worry - he even apologised for the confusion.
It was only once the train was moving and the ticket inspector came around that we realised what had happened - this was an LNER train, and we should have been on a ‘Grand Central’ train (which had been scheduled to depart at 11:27).
The inspector said we needed to pay £298 for on-the-day fares!
I opted not to pay, and appeal instead, on the following grounds:
>2 members of rail staff - a KingsX employee, AND AN LNER EMPLOYEE - told me that the 11:30 LNER train was the correct one.
Given the TWO slightly disconcerting anomalies (time / coach) I would not have boarded the train without asking questions.
>Please use your discretion. Clearly we were not fare dodgers! This incident aside, I am a good LNER customer – for example, yesterday I took your 12:00 train from KingsX back to Edinburgh.
>We have a confusing system in which the honest consumer is very likely to get into trouble - on the day in question, we had two different operators leaving the same station at almost exactly the same time, following the same route, arriving in the same destination at almost exactly the same time.
Having purchased on thetrainline.com, our tickets to London were LNER, so we naturally assumed we’d return on same – since this incident I have registered with LNER and have resolved to only buy my tickets from there.
>Our original return booking totalled £143, so call it £75 each way - if it had been much more than this I wouldn't have been able to afford it, and would have driven instead. With the cost of living crisis, £333 is very much in excess of what I can afford.
>Given climate change, people should be encouraged to use active travel – creating such a scenario in which honest and well-meaning people are bound to make mistakes, and then harshly penalising them when they do, will discourage people from using active travel.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
……..
Since sending this in, I have had a bit of a back and forth between myself and LNER.
First, they raised the penalty (I know it’s not technically a penalty, but it certainly feels like one!) to £333.
…. Then it was escalated, and I have been offered a compromise, I would only need to pay £169.
The Rail Omubsman has also been mentioned as an option.
SO, MY QUESITON IS – IS IT WORTH PURSUING WITH THE OMBUDSMAN?
And incidentally, since this happened and I have discussed with friends – none of them had heard of ‘Grand Central Trains’! They are new operators on this route right? Must be very annoying for LNER. The body language of the inspectors on the day suggested this was a regular occurrence.
