Just wanted to have a quick moan. Renewed my annual gold card train ticket on the assurance from Southern Customer Services and staff at the ticket desk in Victoria station that having the gold card entitled pregnant (and I believe elderly and less able passengers) a free upgrade to first class seating when the train was full and there were seats available in first class that were not being used or needed by first class ticket holders. I renewed it on this assurance despite knowing that I would lose money doing it this way rather than on a month by month basis as I would have to cancel it after just 4 months (you only get a partial refund based on a discounted rate of travel).
I had to test this for the first time recently when I sat in first class as the train was packed. First class was entirely empty. I met the most abusive young FEMALE conductor who said there were seats available 11 carriages away and that I should have walked up and down looking more thoroughly or waited for the next train (30 minutes). I wrote to Southern to query how it all works and they wrote back saying how concerned they were as they do not offer this policy at all. After further investigation it seems most other train lines offer this, except Southern!
Feeling really pissed off and duped by their sales/ticketing team and now considering having to revise when maternity leave starts. 25+1 at the moment and pretty huge with it and all the normal joys of acute round ligament pain and back ache make commuting a real low point of the day (hmm, was it ever a highlight?).
On contrast, South West trains could not be more lovely and have even gone so far as to pluck me out of standard class and give me a seat in first class (fancy reclining seats too!) while carrying my bags and asking me where I'm going to get off so that they can come and help me!!! How lovely is that?!
On my train journey home with Southern last night,grrrr,packed to standing room only but managed to get a seat by taking the later train and boarding 25 minutes before departure, the patronising male ticket inspector obviously wanted to liven up the journey for us all so seeing me sitting quietly reading the paper he decided to announce to the whole carriage out of the blue "this is the easy bit love, wait till you're at home with a crying baby!". Hmmm, pregnant much are you chump?! Give me home with my children any day over smelly, overcrowded, overpriced cattle cart of a train journey twice a day!! Now, about that lottery win to make that life a reality....
Okay, rant over :)