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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wonder why this man on the train lied to the ticket collector

54 replies

StealthPolarBear · 19/02/2018 15:54

He got on the train at the last station. When the collector came up he asked the man something I didnt hear to which the man replied "no, I've been on for ages". He had very ticket Confused
I realose this is none of my business and I will not be calling 101 to log it :o

OP posts:
Iprefercoffeetotea · 19/02/2018 16:26

I have changed carriages mid-journey so it could have been that.
It could have been something to do with fare splitting, or he got off and back on again, and as someone said, didn't know if it was allowed (you can do that on the return leg of a lot of journeys but not the outward journey).

A guy was put through all sorts of nonsense a year or two ago for allegedly getting on at Lancaster when he had a ticket from Preston or vice versa. The rail company made themselves look ridiculous, they even sought out CCTV coverage to see when the passenger had boarded the train, all because the fare from Lancaster is cheaper. www.thesun.co.uk/news/2776527/commuter-wrongly-held-by-cops-after-he-used-loophole-to-buy-cheap-train-tickets/ sorry about the link being the Sun but at least it's not the DM!

lostincumbria · 19/02/2018 16:27

Fare splitting is totally legal. Getting on/off at a different station to the ones purchased to pay less breaks the rules of carriage and they will fine people they catch.

ArcheryAnnie · 19/02/2018 16:28

Yeah you aren’t allowed to get off and on again

You are! I did this on Friday, and asked both at the ticket desk when I bought my ticket, and at the gate where I broke my journey. It was fine!

lostincumbria · 19/02/2018 16:29

Also Don't Buy The S*n. Or link to it .#JFT96

Iprefercoffeetotea · 19/02/2018 16:31

However, you can't craftily book a London ticket and get off in Oxford because the ticket barriers won't let you out

You can still do it, just ask the staff on the ticket barriers to let you through. Though I guess it's First GWR? I had a run in years ago with their staff who flatly refused to open the barriers for me at Reading because I didn't want the machine to swallow the ticket as I didn't have a receipt and I was on a work trip so wanted it to claim back expenses.

People at Woking have let me in and out, but that was in the days when it was SWT.

Iprefercoffeetotea · 19/02/2018 16:31

Getting on/off at a different station to the ones purchased to pay less breaks the rules of carriage and they will fine people they catch

Depends on the terms of the ticket. You are right about Megatrain - a few people have been caught out buying tickets to Southampton and getting off at Eastleigh.

Belindabauer · 19/02/2018 16:34

Maybe he bought the ticket but missed the train so had to chase the train and get on further along the journey.

LadyFlumpalot · 19/02/2018 16:39

In the summer I did a looonnngggg train journey from Penzance to Honiton. I purchased my ticket at the ticket desk in the station where the ticket guy sold me a ticket from St Ives to Honiton because it would be cheaper. Even though we weren't doing that leg of the journey. It's nuts!

MadMags · 19/02/2018 16:39

I'm disappointed at the sensible answers.

My vote is the heinous crime. Was he in black and white stripes? Carrying a sack with a dollar sign? Was he tiptoeing in a comical fashion?

PenguinBooksAndBiscuits · 19/02/2018 16:46

That would be the best way to commit a crime, Mags! So blatent no-one would suspect you. And if they gave a description to the police it's be all stripey jumper and bag marked "swag", they'd forget the important details... and probably wouldn't be believed anyway. Grin

bigbluebus · 19/02/2018 16:50

I know split ticketing is OK because I have bought split tickets at a station ticket office from a real person who actually suggested that he check if I could get the fare cheaper by splitting the ticket even though it was a straight through train - and it was cheaper.

I have no idea about the legalities of buying a ticket from a station further away from your destination than the one you are travelling from. Where I live, we frequently go north on one train to catch another to take us South to London - even though there is a route by going directly south. The train websites actually send us north - which seemed ridiculous to me at first but it is a quicker route.

OP perhaps your man is creating an alibi!

Apollo440 · 19/02/2018 16:54

Doesn't matter what their terms of carriage say, if they want to take someone to court they will have to prove loss. Someone terminating a journey early has not caused them a loss. Which is why they are never prosecuted. I'm sure they'll huff and puff though.

MadMags · 19/02/2018 16:57

The perfect crime, Penguin!

dreamingoficecream · 19/02/2018 17:06

Sorry to derail but did anyone else try the split ticketing website? It didn't work for me.

Unescorted · 19/02/2018 17:11

Manchester ticket staff do split tickets for me on a regular basis.

Also for season ticket holders you can buy an add on for the part of the journey that it doesn't cover. Even if the train doesn't stop at the station. Eg the GM travel card covers out to Little borough... So I buy a ticket from Littlegorough to Leeds and then catch the express from Manchester to Leeds which only stops in Huddersfield and another station (Halifax?).

I think your man is working for MI6 to create a false timeline so the double agent has proof that he was somewhere he wasn't when he gets back to the other office.

Bombardier25966 · 19/02/2018 17:16

This is not split ticketing, that's splitting the correct journey across several tickets for a cheaper fare. That is lawful.

This is starting a journey short, which is unlawful (unless the ticket allows for it, some open returns do). @Apollo is wrong, this is a strict liability offence and no loss need be proven. Rail offences are often prosecuted, though rarely reported upon as they're not particularly interesting!

LemonysSnicket · 19/02/2018 17:49

Maybe he’s going further than his ticket states and he doesn’t want the instructor to know when he’s meant to leave

Catinthebath · 19/02/2018 17:52

I’ve purchased a ticket at my local station to go to another city 30 mikes away (2 diff operators) and the local ticket seller said they’d print me a ticket for a stop 3 before mine as it was a bit cheaper. Still changing/getting off at same stops though

PersonA · 19/02/2018 18:04

Maybe there was a weirdo on his carriage so he moved. I’ve done this before.

John4703 · 19/02/2018 18:08

Maybe there was a weirdo on his carriage so he moved.
He missed out if that was the reason because the OP was in the carriage he moved to.

Witchend · 19/02/2018 19:10

It used to be cheaper to get a return ticket Preston to Edinburgh than a single. Confused

agedknees · 19/02/2018 19:48

Omg, I just did a dummy booking on national rail enquiries. Lancaster to London Euston £95, Preston to London Euston £175.

Belindabauer · 19/02/2018 22:35

Op did you check the toilets?
Was there a muffled sound coming from there along with banging?
Was he out of breath when he entered your carriage?

mummyrabbitpeppapig · 19/02/2018 23:18

Were his hands bloodstained. Maybe he bumped someone off ..........

Inertia · 19/02/2018 23:56

Did the journey start in Wales? A friend who lived close to an English and a Welsh station used to do the longer journey from the Welsh station as it was so much cheaper ( subsidised IIRC)