to make complaint about ticket inspector who detained child and took their phone?

Sounds like he was doing his job.

How is he supposed to tell the difference between your innocent' daughter and another teenager who was at it.

And is she was happy to post modelling pictures ins public internet site then not sure how that is an issue unless he was going through her private photos.

Sounds like Mr Ticket man is on a power trip.

I'd report him.

Some of you will really take any opportunity to shift the blame on to this child.

She had the wrong ticket. She shouldn't have done that. She should be fined and treated appropriately.

Beyond that...

It doesn't matter a damn what apps or pics she has on her phone

He shouldn't have had it to scroll through.

Her pics on Vinted, of course can be viewed by a wide variety of scumbags and creeps, but they aren't sitting in front of her while they are doing it.

He intimidated and scared her.

To say that is part of "doing his job" makes excuses for anyone to behave inappropriately, as long as they can find any tenuous link back to their position/role.

You’d have your phone over to a ticket inspector and let him go through your apps? Come on. Inappropriate. Fine her or if you need ID let her phone her mum

Yep they are arseholes and have treated other people this way, including me when I was younger. They threatened to take me to the police station when I had a season ticket inadvertently expired by one day. I was 17 and detained for half an hour at the train station with no way to contact my work or parents. My dad eventually got an apology but they do seem to love intimidating young people.

@Ilovelurchers Attitudes like this terrify me.

Op, I wouldn’t just complain. If it happened as described, report to the police.

Definitely report him.
100% he is not allowed to take her phone and go through it at all, and certainly not to 'verify age'.

Sounds like he's got some sort of power complex. How bizarre.

They will probably get rid of the fine as well. It's only 30p, how ridiculous.

Haven't read all the comments but can't believe someone actually agreed with what he did 🤣🤣🤣.

That is bollocks, if it's on the boundary zone 1+2 should have been fine! Angry on your behalf. Well done for questioning it.

Highly inappropriate- definitely report.

I'd report him!
He greatly overstepped.
Your daughter and her friend admitted their mistake and offered to pay the excess. That should have been enough. He definitely should not have told her to stop talking to you let alone take her phone off her, who knows what he could remember from it!
Report him to his bosses AND the police!

I like to use the test "Would my dad be treated like this?" - 60, tall white male. The answer is normally NO, because people don't piss take with authoritative looking men. He took advantage of your daughter and that is totally out of order. He should not have touched her phone let alone gone through it. He needs firing. Don't pay the fine.

The point people are making is that those photos are not private photos on her phone. They are public where anyone can see them. She shouldn't be uploading them onto the internet if she is uncomfortable with people seeing them.

It is a separate issue from what he did, but it is still important for the OP to address it with her daughter.

This!

I assume it happened at the station, after getting off maybe? Many stations won't let you through without a valid ticket.

I would be livid. Yes, complain. Her age verification wouldn't be in her Vinted photos, he sounds like a creep.

Also, it is 30p! If you complain, explain your daughter's mistake over stop and most importantly how scared she felt being detained and having phone removed. Also mention you hearing him say she wasn't allowed to speak to you.

Oddly you're quite happy for hundreds of complete strangers on the internet to see her modeling crop tops but not a fare evasion officer?

The number of people finger wagging over the girl having photos on Vinted is unreal.

Can people not see the huge violation and sexual threat in a grown man in a position of authority taking a teenage girl's phone, clicking through her personal apps, entering her personal Vinted account on her phone and then scrolling through pictures of her bare stomach in front of her while he's denying her the right to speak to her mother and detaining her? This is not comparable to any other use of those photos, even by online creeps. She doesn't need a lecture about it. She could never, ever have foreseen that a man would do this and it isn't her fault. Would she be similarly to blame if he'd been scrolling through her private photos of her and friends at the beach in bikinis? Would it be her fault for having those on her phone too?

I'd be reporting this to the police and making a complaint to the trainline telling them I want the ticket cancelled and that the threatening behaviour of their officer is now a police matter.

A few people have mentioned Sarah Everard and this is exactly why your OP gave me the chills. He wouldn't have done this to a man. He wanted to frighten your child because it made him feel powerful.

He was heavy handed and I would complain.

Get your child a pop card to prove their age.

It’s a life lesson that you don’t put any photos online you’re unhappy with people seeing - if you don’t want random men looking at you in crop tops, don’t post them online. Do you really think people aren’t scrolling through Vinted looking for pictures of teens in skimpy clothes? Of course they are! Get them taken down!

I think the only lesson from this is don’t post photos online that make you uncomfortable! Vinted is open for anyone to see, you can access it without logging in via website, so complaining that a ticket inspector went through photos that have been willing made public by your DD is not reasonable.

He shouldn’t have taken her phone though.

As for phoning you - this is a 15 year old girl, old enough to travel alone and sell her own crop tops on Vinted, not a tiny tot. I can see that he can't really be pausing every time he stops a 15 year old to allow them a conversation with someone they say is their mom

She is a child.

She was in a situation that would make a lot of adults upset or frightened.

Of course he should've let her speak to her mum.

OP, this would be the hill I die on.

Sorry if I have missed it but which train company? I’m relatively high up in a couple and can direct you.

That's your takeaway from this? Ew.

Don't suppose this was Warrington was it. Some of the most aggressive power hungry ticket inspectors I've ever come across. Sure they work on commission.

Ugh, these people are like little Hitler’s. I once ended up with a £40 fine for DS because I accidentally bought him the wrong ticket to go and see his dad. I thought I’d bought an open return but I’d actually bought one where you have to get on a specific train.

The irony is, the one I bought was about £1 more expensive so it was obvious I wasn’t trying to fare dodge and it was an innocent mistake. Hitler was having none of it, even when I explained over the phone. He still gave the fine and I’m still fuming six years later 😜😜

I see you are ipset, but would urge caution with any complaint, and what you include in it.

It does sound like he was bullying and scary in his manner. Unfortunately some officials can be - jobs like that (police, security, even teaching sadly!) CAN attract people who get a kick out of wielding their authority. (As well as attracting lots of nice people too!) This is not ok, but is it actually unprofessional? How does one define what manner it is and is not ok to have in this situation?

Your dd of course didn't find this experience pleasant. But, in a way, it shouldn't be a pleasant experience. She was travelling on the wrong ticket (admittedly only to a tiny extent) and got caught. It is in the train companies' interests (and all of our interests actually) to put people off doing that. Though it should be proportionate - we don't want a minor in this instance to feel abused and terrified.....

Can I ask exactly what happened with her phone? Did he really spend ages scrolling through her apps? Or just ask to see something that would prove her age, and she suggested the Vinted app, and he looked at that? That probably is reasonable in fairness. I can see that he did need to verify her age.

The crop tops issue has been discussed upthread - they are in the public domain, so no point worrying that he has seen them. She has put them somewhere they can be deliberately searched for by pervs the world over if those pervs so fancy - she may want to rethink that if she regrets the choice now.

As for phoning you - this is a 15 year old girl, old enough to travel alone and sell her own crop tops on Vinted, not a tiny tot. I can see that he can't really be pausing every time he stops a 15 year old to allow them a conversation with someone they say is their mom......

I am not saying your daughter's experience was pleasant, OR that this man isn't a jobsworth bully. Just that there may be reasons for some of what he did, so I would think through any complaint you make before you make it, and be careful to identify the things he did that you truly believe are unprofessional/against policy, rather than just things your daughter didn't like. It's not meant to be an experience she would like.

Of course I do hope she is ok. I understand your upset and would be just the same if this happened to my daughter. I am just saying we can sometimes get carried away by our instinct to protect our kids......