"Rip Off Britain" and Virgin Trains

[najaB]

If it goes well on XC I can see it being abolished across the board within a few years. With modern electronic systems there really not be any significant overhead for amending however many times you like.

Like many admin fees, the main purpose is to encourage people to 'buy right, buy once'. In many (most?) cases they don't represent the true cost of making the amendment.

 

[sheff1]

I was surprised to hear Calder was involved. I find that he is a great promoter of rail and a knowledgeable journalist.

Having witnessed Calder arguing with a conductor on the Porto heritage tram that he and his family should be allowed to travel on their normal day tickets rather than pay the special fare (all of about £2 each !), it doesn't surprise me at all.

 

[gray1404]

Is there a news article link for this one?

Also, I think we need to think about the impact of allowing people to change advances without having to pay an admin fee. You could get people booking onto all kinds of trains then knowing they can simply change it. It may pay it hard for others to find an advance ticket for their desired service.

 

[urbophile]

Is there a news article link for this one?

Also, I think we need to think about the impact of allowing people to change advances without having to pay an admin fee. You could get people booking onto all kinds of trains then knowing they can simply change it. It may pay it hard for others to find an advance ticket for their desired service.

That is missing the point that this family's situation was a special case and could have been treated more compassionately.

 

[SJN]

To be honest, most times I get asked to travel early on an Advance ticket, if I say sorry no I am then told its a family emergency etc. I usually say they can travel on any train but will have to amend their ticket accordingly. Generally they refuse to pay any extra. If I had a genuine family emergency, I wouldn't argue about paying extra, I'd just want to get there.

 

[najaB]

If I had a genuine family emergency, I wouldn't argue about paying extra, I'd just want to get there.

This, a thousand times over.

That is missing the point that this family's situation was a special case and could have been treated more compassionately.

Everyone is a special case. Where does it end?

 

[Hellfire]

What is it with Virgin and getting into the media?

I'm getting mixed up now but was it Jeremy Corbyn refusing to give up his seat for a disabled woman travelling earlier for a family emergency?

Sent from my HUAWEI MLA-L11 using Tapatalk

You are getting mixed up if you are referring to the famous incident when Corbyn had himself filmed sitting on the floor of a Virgin East Coast Service so he could make a political point about overcrowding when there were seats available.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

You are getting mixed up if you are referring to the famous incident when Corbyn had himself filmed sitting on the floor of a Virgin East Coast Service so he could make a political point about overcrowding when there were seats available.

On that, I read this week that the Guardian (who originated the story) mis-reported events and failed to correct the story before it reached the wider media.
This amounts to an apology, after an editorial investigation...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/07/fast-train-to-publication-too-fast

 

[Marklund]

Everyone is a special case. Where does it end?

Exactly. Did they have any proof that it was a matter of life and death?

Anyone can just rock up and say a relative is ill, and they need to get there now, much like the guy who asked me last week for a pound for a bus to get to the hospital as his wife was just taken there as she wasn't well.
Except he didn't realise he had already asked me days before for exactly the same thing...

 

[cjmillsnun]

That is missing the point that this family's situation was a special case and could have been treated more compassionately.

And not being funny how many people claim to the train company that theirs is a special case or a family emergency?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

You are getting mixed up if you are referring to the famous incident when Corbyn had himself filmed sitting on the floor of a Virgin East Coast Service so he could make a political point about overcrowding when there were seats available.

He was taking the mickey.

 

[trainophile]

The only time that I think there should be scope for some leniency is when the connection you have been ticketed for means you have to let an earlier train go because it is less than the official minimum connection time for that particular station, even though it is perfectly doable in a couple of minutes cross platform.

I have even stopped asking for this as I got too many refusals by London Midland guards at Crewe, so I now sit out the half hour in the waiting room.

 

[gray1404]

Same here, I have stopped asking too when changing at Stafford when on my Euston - Liverpool journey with LM. Although if my booked service is cancelled and I can make the earlier service, I simply board and explain when my ticket is checked.

 

[ainsworth74]

I had an AP on the 2000 from Kings Cross this evening, I arrived at Kings Cross in time for the 1900 so approached the guard and asked if I could travel on their earlier train. They refused. How do I contact the BBC to bring this to the urgent attention of 'Rip Off Britain'

 

[cjmillsnun]

The only time that I think there should be scope for some leniency is when the connection you have been ticketed for means you have to let an earlier train go because it is less than the official minimum connection time for that particular station, even though it is perfectly doable in a couple of minutes cross platform.

I have even stopped asking for this as I got too many refusals by London Midland guards at Crewe, so I now sit out the half hour in the waiting room.

No I disagree even there. You are booked on the train you are booked on. The only time for leniency is during disruption on the railway which means you miss your train because of a late running connecting service or your train is cancelled/severely delayed and you are advised to either jump on the first service available or use an alternative route.

 

[IanD]

No I disagree even there. You are booked on the train you are booked on. The only time for leniency is during disruption on the railway which means you miss your train because of a late running connecting service or your train is cancelled/severely delayed and you are advised to either jump on the first service available or use an alternative route.

That's not leniency, that's applying the rules correctly.

 

[trainophile]

Obviously no leniency expected when getting on the correct train at the start of your journey, but if you have booked a through trip with connections, you don't get any choice about the connecting service, and it always dishes out the next one after the minimum connection time. That is where the frustration comes in, having to watch a train (same TOC in my case) arrive and depart while I twiddle my thumbs for half an hour.

 

[Flying Snail]

Obviously no leniency expected when getting on the correct train at the start of your journey, but if you have booked a through trip with connections, you don't get any choice about the connecting service, and it always dishes out the next one after the minimum connection time. That is where the frustration comes in, having to watch a train (same TOC in my case) arrive and depart while I twiddle my thumbs for half an hour.

I think you are going to have to accept that you either take the longer connection on your cheap advance or spend more for a flexible ticket. The railway are not obliged to offer discounted AP tickets for every journey combination.

 

[yorksrob]

The problem here is that too many trains are now "reservable" when they don't need to be. This is particularly true of local services where you can't actually reserve a seat anyway !

 

[urbophile]

I could see the point of refusing access to a different connecting train if actual seats were reserved, because it might inconvenience others. If as is often the case they issue a nominal 'reservation' ticket with no seat allocated, that means no seat is guaranteed so no seat is lost.
I have to praise Northern Rail (or whatever it's called these days) because we had an advance ticket for a return journey from Manchester Airport recently, but the flight was delayed so we missed it. Not only did the conductor accept them on a later train without fuss, but we were allowed to change onto a connecting East Midlands service with the same ticket.

 

[jindivik]

not the exact same circumstances (this is a family) but a lot of cases like these are treated individually. One particular case, a group of friends had come down to the city and had a couple of days before their AP return was usable. One of the people in the party claimed someone in their family was very ill and needed to rush back home, i arranged that the man and his girlfriend could travel back as they were immediate family but the rest of the group would have to wait or purchase new tickets.
Not long ago Virgin issued some new ticket guidelines to staff and it seems they are taking a very hard line regarding advance tickets, other TOCs seem a little more lenient , for now at least.

 

[philthetube]

This has to be the most supportive, of virgin, thread I have ever seen

 

[Greenback]

I am no fan of Virgin, but in this case I believe they acted correctly.

 

[broadgage]

I am no fan of Virgin, but in this case I believe they acted correctly.

I dislike virgin, both the actual trains and the way that the company conducts itself.
However I agree that in this case that they acted correctly.