Trains: aggressive ticket inspectors

[ShesGottaTicket2Ride]

I know that the ticket inspectors at major stations have a tough time with people who want to 'ride for free'.. as well as drunks, injuries, bad pay etc...(and I am VERY sympathetic) .. HOWEVER, my dd just had a really difficult time with the local ticket inspectors (we are in a big city). She'd forgotten her 16-25 railcard (had never forgotten it before)... and was travelling a long distance. It's her fault (and we told her so) but the ticket inspectors apparently reduced her to tears while 5 other ticket chaps stood there staring. The chap in question told her that she would get a criminal record, stood intimidatingly close to her, wanted to know her height (?... what was THAT about), and apparently said: well I don't know how you'll get home!.....' it's just that dd is a timid sort and the treatment seemed a bit heavy-handed. I don't know if any other parents have similar stories (I would be interested to know). I was talking to the local police (on another matter) and mentioned this incident... kind police lady said: yes - we've been getting a lot of reports about this sort of behaviour... do let us know if you have a problem like this again...

MabelFurball
I do sometimes wonder if these ticket inspectors would be so harsh and intimidating if it was a man they were dealing with.

yes they are.

it doesn't matter how well they police the sale of 16-25 cards. It is easy to get one you are not entitled to (I won't spell out the details) but no one bothers. You just buy 16-25 tickets, which work gate lines perfectly, and mutter about having forgotten it if challenged.

thank you everybody.. my dd can see that it's not just her!

... some of the train personnel are really great.. but others are bullies - yet those positions are 'customer service' positions!

I could drive dd everywhere but she wants to be independent and also, public transport (even though it's expensive) is better than everyone driving (less pollution).

However, if the experiences that we have (including all the stuff going on with Southern Rail this past week) are so miserable, people will just want to drive!

Smartieskid that's horrible. I have also been on a bus where the driver has refused to stop despite me ringing the bell. I think some of these people are on a huge power trip, but it's awful at the time.

In fact, I have now asked my kids to use their mobiles and VIDEO all interactions with train personnel... a bit extreme perhaps but once I got into an argument with a Virgin train guy who didn't want to let me take a musical instrument on board.

When I tried to explain, he told me that I was being aggressive ... I could tell it was going to be the transport police (next thing I knew) with my word against his so gave up and went home (and missed the performance...)

on the good side .. I was hassled by a drunk on a train, I told a fellow passenger who reported it and the drunk was OFF at the next stop...

I once bought a return ticket without realising that my railcard expired a couple of days later before my return journey. On the way back I was about to change trains from a local journey that was less than a fiver to an intercity train that was about £80 and was stopped st the station. I was completely surprised at my mistake and said I would renew it and buy an adult ticket for the train I had just taken. I was apologetic and it was an honest mistake. They took my ticket and photo card and ripped them up and actually threw them in my face. The yp railcard has a separate photo card that you don't replace each time and I had to got to a photo booth to get a new one to get a new card. They did it just to cause me some extra trouble and were very nasty. I had all my stuff to go back to college with me and I had to stand at the station with my luggage and cry because they'd been so aggressive.

I was once travelling on a full price ticket and took it out of the rail card holder to show the conductor. He asked to see the railcard so I pointed out that it was a full price ticket abd showed him the ticket again and he continued to demand to see my railcard. It was valid (I always obsessively checked after the woman ripped mine up) but I wasn't willing to show him for no reason. He was very rude about it for a long time saying I had to show it if asked or I could be fined.

In my experience it's guilty until proven innocent with a yp railcard. I'm in my 30s now and have a much nicer time of it now.

I've been on the train when an older person has an out of date pass and I've only ever seen them be reminded to renew it next time. I've seen this happen 5-10 times.

I know inspectors get a hard time from some customers but some of them are very aggressive with no provocation. I hope your DD is ok, and can just forget about it, is she old enough for or should I just offer ?

HeyRobot - thank you! she's old enough for that drink but won't drink after seeing some of the escapades at her school! (some call it being drunk - I call it alcohol poisoning!) .. thank you for posting your experience. Interesting that it's happened to so many people....

Sensible girl!

OP id complain
Was this southern rail? I blatantly travelled in the wrong ticket with them this week and I told the inspector it was because I was worried about all the train cancellations so decided to get on an earlier one
He was fine. Frankly I think with the state of the service this week he didn't have any grounds to tell me off

Definitely complain to the company, make sure you note dates and times so they can see who was on duty. Sure,y she should have just been asked to pay the difference and that should have been the end of it.

Oh gosh yes had a horrible experience on GWR when I accidently travelled with an out of date Family railcard. I had bought a new one a couple of weeks before but accidently picked up the wrong one when I left the house.

The ticket inspector was very aggressive with me. Told me I had to pay up an extra £90 and if I didn't, threatened to throw myself and 10 year old son off the train at Didcot Parkway which was the next stop. He obviously enjoyed the power he had, and was rather small in stature . When I asked him " are you personally going to do that then." He replied " no, but there is someone else in this train who can ".

I paid the huge surcharge on the ticket on my credit card. Was so traumatised I couldn't face going into battle with GWR customer services. What really irked was that I had used the out of date railcard to buy the ticket in the first instance and no one at my local station had noticed.

I was shocked to be treated like this especially as I am a middle aged, middle class Mum with a child in tow. It was a horrible experience and I avoided GER for as long as I could. I occasionally travel in that line for work and still see the smug little Hitler patrolling the trains.

I had this at 15 or so because I forgot the photo part to my railcard but I had the ticket and the second part of my railcard which was in date. Stupid mistake on my part but I didn't realise I didn't have it unless asked for it.

Three ticket inspectors made me cry, it was humiliating. They said they didn't have the right machine to give me a standard ticket (it was right there in their hands) so I had to get off at the next station and walk 5 miles home. As well as a £20 fine and the line about getting a criminal record.

I am at this thread.

I wish someone that works at customer services in those companies could read this thread but they probably wouldn't care.

I witnessed a rude sarcastic aggressive ticket inspector a while back. When he got to me I refused to produce a ticket until he produced some id. He was furious. 'Why the F@@k do you think I'm wearing this uniform'

'I have no idea. A fetish?'

He eventually produced id which I inspected carefully (and slowly) before showing my ticket.

Amusingly every other passenger jumped on the bandwagon. Put him in his box nicely.

Of course make sure you have a valid ticket before embarking on this stunt!

You want to be a train driver.

You would settle for being a policeman.

You have flat feet and are colourblind, so you are a ticket inspector.

My DS recently bought a return ticket with his railcard to London, returning the next day. It wasn't until he reached London and it wouldn't let him through the barrier that he realised he had been sold a ticket that was valid starting the following day. The ticket inspector at the barrier insisted he had to buy a new ticket (but said he would let him off the £20 fine for travelling on an invalid ticket.) He did not have enough cash on him to buy a new ticket so they escorted him to a cashpoint and made him take out the money.

Why they could not have just taken away the outward part of his original ticket (so he could not use it again), I do not know. They told him he could have a refund, but only from the issuing ticket office. (Which we eventually managed to get) - he was embarrassed and upset at his treatment.

My 15 year old daugher was travelling alone on a child ticket, on the same line, and the conductor refused to believe her age. She did not have proof of age on her (too young for driving licence etc, and would not usually carry her passport). The conductor kept harassing her, and she was in tears, until an older couple stepped in and told him to back down.

A few years ago I made a very stupid mistake on a London bus. I was going into work early during a period when everything was pretty grim there and I had a lot going on in my head, not sleeping too well etc etc - yes, this is an excuse, but just for context. I got onto the bus with my Oyster card in my hand, touched in (as I thought) and sat down.

As I sat down, I noticed that standing at the front near the driver there was an inspector, so I didn't put my Oyster card away. He didn't start inspecting tickets, which I thought was odd, but I didn't think much of it as I was reading and trying not to think about the day ahead. Eventually he came up the bus to me and asked to see my Oyster card, which of course I immediately gave him. He checked it and said 'You didn't touch in'. I was astounded. I said immediately that it was an honest mistake, as I always touched in and out, as the card would show.

He said (and I am absolutely certain this was a lie) that both he and the driver had spoken to me as I got on and pointed out that I hadn't touched in. He had given me a few minutes to put things right by coming back and touching in. I was flabbergasted by this. If he'd spoken to me when I got on I would immediately have realised my mistake and put it right. I didn't have headphones on and would have heard.

He then took the card and found (I think to his disappointment) that there was plenty of credit on it, I had indeed been touching in and out every day and I had no record of fare dodging. He issued me with a penalty notice and I had to pay some huge sum (later I think, not on the spot).

It was excruciatingly embarrassing and I wish now I'd complained/appealed. However, at the time I decided that it would just increase the unpleasantness of that whole period and paid up through gritted teeth. I've been absolutely paranoid ever since about checking that I've touched in on the bus, as I'm convinced that if it ever happened again they would prosecute.

Sympathies to your DD, OP. Probably good advice to film encounters like that.

We were at Bristol parkway making a change.
Despite many people getting on the train the guard told dh to get off and physically pushed him off the train into me.
He refused to let dh board and told those arriving around us to carry on and get on the train.
When we asked why he had no answer and when we asked for customer services/his manager/his name, he said he would call btp if we complained and make something up. He said he knew it wouldn't stick but we would spend a few hours in a cell.

I was fucking fuming but we all-3 adults in our 30s with responsible jobs, mortgage and dc felt extremely intimidated and that we had mo option than wait for the next train so that we could get home.
During the whole conversation he was shouting at people to get on the train, They were because he was telling us we couldn't.
I complained in writing and never got a response.
I avoid routes through Bristol now.

PS I may add that at the time I was a respectable looking (I think!) 50yo woman. I reckon he needed to get his hit rate up and had been waiting for a dopey person to pick on.

Yes I wonder if they have a target number of people they are supposed to apprehend and fine in a week.
I hate this attitude that everyone in the UK is potentially dishonest and trying get somthing on the cheap !

It makes you want to avoid paying the fare, in revenge !

No one ever had the ambition to be a ticket inspector. It's a bad combination: small amounts of legal authority, a captive audience, and the resentment of failure.

You can legally refuse to engage, give your name and address, and suggest they call the police if they don't believe you. But only if your ticket is valid: it is a fast route to a prosecution if it is not. I have no time for jumped up inspectors bigging themselves up and have intervened in the past when they have chosen easy targets. On the other hand I have limited sympathy for people travelling without required and valid passes (see also "I am flying to Spain tomorrow and have just found all our passports expired during the Major years").

Being a ticket inspector is a shit job. A lot of people are trying it on. No, they should not be arsey. No, you should not travel with invalid tickets. Yes, the ticket system can be complex. But it really isn't hard to check the date.

topical! Yesterday I accidentally left our family and friends rail card at home after deciding to swap purses at the last moment.
As soon as I saw the ticket inspector I remembered and fessed up. He shrugged his shoulders and moved on.
phew!
I got dh to take a photo of my rail card and text it to me in case we got challenged on the way home. Gambled on the fact that there are rarely ticket inspectors late on Friday nights and it was fine. Was ready to pay up if they didn't accept a photo of it though.

Cuboidal - I'm not sure it is a shot job. Train companies often give free travel to employees and their whole family. That's a pretty good perk. Yes they deal with drunk people and rude people but so do lots of people.

I know it's not hard to check the date but it's not hard to make a mistake either. But I've seen the same people letting old people off and enjoying making young people cry. I've also seen commuters in suits lie about when they got on the train as they know they can get away with it and students get the inquisition about where they live in that town as proof they're not after a cheap ticket on the same train.

CuboidalSlipshoddy --

I couldn't agree more that it's a rubbish job and I have every sympathy for people trying to do their best in underpaid work. Also, I agree that there are lots of people who try it on... dd had a classmate who NEVER bought tickets and dh had a work colleague who also never paid ('public transport should be free')

However - it just seems like there should maybe be a code of conduct.

Interesting that when one tries to complain, there is no recourse. Virgin seems to have some sort of artificial intelligence screen that picks up major words and spits out a conciliatory letter (if you are lucky) while Northern Rail used to respond beautifully - but since its takeover by Arriva, we are getting nowhere. I don't know about other train companies...

incidentally - a friend tells me that it's illegal for those ticket inspectors to throw kids (16 and under) off of the train....

Sorry this happened to,your daughter, and agree it is worth complaining about how hangs were handled.

Don't agree with the handful of posters who think they shouldn't be challenged because they are middle class, or who look down their noses at inspectors.

GruffaloPants -

thank you GP - really - I don't look down at inspectors.. it can't be an easy job and I'm sure that others feel the same!