Hello,
I was recently falsely accused of reusing a carnet ticket and would appreciate some guidance.
I have used carnet tickets for several months to travel from Hitchin to London Kings Cross and experienced no issues. On Tuesday this week (the 18th) I was running slightly late and wrote the date on my carnet ticket in a hurry before shoving it into my wallet. When I later took my ticket out I realised that not only was my writing very messy but it had also become slightly smudged. I therefore went over it again with my pen to clarify the date and make sure it could clearly be made out.
When I presented my ticket at Hitchin station, the staff member at the guard said he was 'not sure about the way the date was written'. I explained the above, and he said, "OK, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but next time..." He was presumably going to finish his sentence with "please make sure you write the date more clearly", but at this point another staff member interrupted and took my ticket. "That date has been overwritten," she claimed. In a sense she was right inasmuch as I had tried to make the date clearer, but not in the sense that she meant it. "You've used this before," she clarified. I told her that I hadn't. "Yes, you have. If I put this through the barrier it will show that it has been used before." I told her she was welcome to do this. When she did, the barrier remained closed - which I believe is always the case when putting a carnet through the barrier at a departing station - and the code '125' displayed. Considering this to be proof of my guilt, she wrote 'Not Valid' on my ticket and ordered me to use another. As I had no other tickets on my person, I had to return to the ticket booth and buy a new set of carnets.
I took my new carnets back to the staff and told them that I would like to put one of these brand new tickets through the barrier to see what would happen. Just as I had expected, the result was exactly the same as when I used my original ticket; the barrier remained closed and the code '125' displayed. I told the staff member that this showed that her accusation was baseless. She did not relent and mainted that the ticket was overwritten. "The 18 used to be a 16", she claimed. I pointed out that 16th December was a Sunday; why would I have used a peak-time carnet ticket on a Sunday when I could have purchased an off-peak return for considerably cheaper? "I don't know what you do," she responded. (As it happens I did travel to London on Sunday 16th, and still have the Zone 1-6 travel card I purchased on that day.)
Not wanting to miss my train, I told the staff that I was very insulted and made my way to the platform. During my journey I wrote a complaint via the Great Northern website explaining the above and requesting an apology from the member of staff and a refund for the ticket I was unable to use, affixing a photo of the ticket. I did not receive an acknowledgement email from Great Northern and I am not sure if the complaint actually reached them. However, I am now starting to worry that they will double down on their accusation and that making the complaint was a mistake. I do not know how advanced ticket barrier technology is, but my hope is that Great Northern will be able to check their records to see that my ticket had not been used until 18th December. If this is not possible then it will be my word against theirs, and it will come down to their analysis of my writing. In hindsight, I was foolish to have written the date in a rush and to have then tried to make it clearer, but I really did not anticipate this accusation and would not have thought to simply discard an usued ticket on account of messy handwriting.
This whole episode has caused a lot of unnecessary stress, and I would appreciate any advice or comments anyone can provide.
I was recently falsely accused of reusing a carnet ticket and would appreciate some guidance.
I have used carnet tickets for several months to travel from Hitchin to London Kings Cross and experienced no issues. On Tuesday this week (the 18th) I was running slightly late and wrote the date on my carnet ticket in a hurry before shoving it into my wallet. When I later took my ticket out I realised that not only was my writing very messy but it had also become slightly smudged. I therefore went over it again with my pen to clarify the date and make sure it could clearly be made out.
When I presented my ticket at Hitchin station, the staff member at the guard said he was 'not sure about the way the date was written'. I explained the above, and he said, "OK, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but next time..." He was presumably going to finish his sentence with "please make sure you write the date more clearly", but at this point another staff member interrupted and took my ticket. "That date has been overwritten," she claimed. In a sense she was right inasmuch as I had tried to make the date clearer, but not in the sense that she meant it. "You've used this before," she clarified. I told her that I hadn't. "Yes, you have. If I put this through the barrier it will show that it has been used before." I told her she was welcome to do this. When she did, the barrier remained closed - which I believe is always the case when putting a carnet through the barrier at a departing station - and the code '125' displayed. Considering this to be proof of my guilt, she wrote 'Not Valid' on my ticket and ordered me to use another. As I had no other tickets on my person, I had to return to the ticket booth and buy a new set of carnets.
I took my new carnets back to the staff and told them that I would like to put one of these brand new tickets through the barrier to see what would happen. Just as I had expected, the result was exactly the same as when I used my original ticket; the barrier remained closed and the code '125' displayed. I told the staff member that this showed that her accusation was baseless. She did not relent and mainted that the ticket was overwritten. "The 18 used to be a 16", she claimed. I pointed out that 16th December was a Sunday; why would I have used a peak-time carnet ticket on a Sunday when I could have purchased an off-peak return for considerably cheaper? "I don't know what you do," she responded. (As it happens I did travel to London on Sunday 16th, and still have the Zone 1-6 travel card I purchased on that day.)
Not wanting to miss my train, I told the staff that I was very insulted and made my way to the platform. During my journey I wrote a complaint via the Great Northern website explaining the above and requesting an apology from the member of staff and a refund for the ticket I was unable to use, affixing a photo of the ticket. I did not receive an acknowledgement email from Great Northern and I am not sure if the complaint actually reached them. However, I am now starting to worry that they will double down on their accusation and that making the complaint was a mistake. I do not know how advanced ticket barrier technology is, but my hope is that Great Northern will be able to check their records to see that my ticket had not been used until 18th December. If this is not possible then it will be my word against theirs, and it will come down to their analysis of my writing. In hindsight, I was foolish to have written the date in a rush and to have then tried to make it clearer, but I really did not anticipate this accusation and would not have thought to simply discard an usued ticket on account of messy handwriting.
This whole episode has caused a lot of unnecessary stress, and I would appreciate any advice or comments anyone can provide.
