First class upgrade - no show

[railrambler]

Hi guys - Railrambler here
Yesterday I travelled on a TPE train from Man Pic to Leeds. I had a standard class ticket but whilst on the train before departure I decided to move to 1st class because of “unforseen reasons”.
After departure I was given a coffee and a biscuit from the “host” and quite willing to pay the £15 - £20 up-grade as I have done in the past.
Now my understanding is that if you want to upgrade from standard to first you find an unreserved seat in 1st and wait until the train manager / ticket inspector arrives and you ask for an upgrade which I have done in the past. It should not be on the onus of the passenger to walk down the carriages looking for the train manager to upgrade.
The train arrived in Leeds and I departed not having seen any member of TPE staff.
Do l have a guilty conscience of receiving a 1st class upgrade, cup of coffee and biscuit - NO !!!
Anyone else had a similar experience ???

 

[Polarbear]

I’ve had similar experiences in the past, though in an era when Weekend 1st upgrades were about £5 and didn’t come with complementary goodies.

I was travelling on New Years Day a good few years back on a Cross Country service from Birmingham to Oxford, diverted via Kidderminster, Worcester and the Cotswold line. A 47 & Mk2’s for the record.

Conductor wandered up to say hello, told me & my pal were the only two people on the train & decided charging us the upgrade was a waste of his time!

 

[185143]

Hi guys - Railrambler here
Yesterday I travelled on a TPE train from Man Pic to Leeds. I had a standard class ticket but whilst on the train before departure I decided to move to 1st class because of “unforseen reasons”.
After departure I was given a coffee and a biscuit from the “host” and quite willing to pay the £15 - £20 up-grade as I have done in the past.
Now my understanding is that if you want to upgrade from standard to first you find an unreserved seat in 1st and wait until the train manager / ticket inspector arrives and you ask for an upgrade which I have done in the past. It should not be on the onus of the passenger to walk down the carriages looking for the train manager to upgrade.
The train arrived in Leeds and I departed not having seen any member of TPE staff.
Do l have a guilty conscience of receiving a 1st class upgrade, cup of coffee and biscuit - NO !!!
Anyone else had a similar experience ???

At weekends yes, or on services which have upgrades advertised all the time, such as TfW and ScotRail.

But as a general rule if you have a standard ticket and wish to sit in 1st, you need to upgrade before boarding or see the conductor before taking a seat. Or you may be liable to a penalty fare or worse.

 

[43096]

I’ve had similar experiences in the past, though in an era when Weekend 1st upgrades were about £5 and didn’t come with complementary goodies.

I was travelling on New Years Day a good few years back on a Cross Country service from Birmingham to Oxford, diverted via Kidderminster, Worcester and the Cotswold line. A 47 & Mk2’s for the record.

Conductor wandered up to say hello, told me & my pal were the only two people on the train & decided charging us the upgrade was a waste of his time!

Likewise, I had a similar experience on Midland Mainline many years ago. Sat in FC, prepared to pay the upgrade for Weekend First - guard came round, offered to pay, he said his ticket machine was broken so no charge! The complementary extra was a Valenta on the first class end, whereas it was a VP185 next to the TGS.

 

[sh24]

Yes it happens, not often but certainly sometimes. My conscience salve is to donate to charity the cash I would have spent.

 

[VT 390]

A few years ago I was on a Great Western Railway service where another passenger had to wait over an hour for their complimentary refreshments as the staff member serving said they needed to wait until the train manager sold them the upgrade, which took a long time for them to come through first class.

 

[Sealink]

Hi guys - Railrambler here
Yesterday I travelled on a TPE train from Man Pic to Leeds. I had a standard class ticket but whilst on the train before departure I decided to move to 1st class because of “unforseen reasons”.
After departure I was given a coffee and a biscuit from the “host” and quite willing to pay the £15 - £20 up-grade as I have done in the past.
Now my understanding is that if you want to upgrade from standard to first you find an unreserved seat in 1st and wait until the train manager / ticket inspector arrives and you ask for an upgrade which I have done in the past. It should not be on the onus of the passenger to walk down the carriages looking for the train manager to upgrade.
The train arrived in Leeds and I departed not having seen any member of TPE staff.
Do l have a guilty conscience of receiving a 1st class upgrade, cup of coffee and biscuit - NO !!!
Anyone else had a similar experience ???

TPE webite says "Travelling at the weekend? Just find an unreserved seat in First Class and pay the conductor for your upgrade!"

You did your bit by finding the seat!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't bother any more as I prefer the upgraded Standard, but when I used to upgrade on board to Standard Premium (cannot be bought before boarding for a walk up fare) I probably got asked to pay maybe 50% of the time if that.

 

[kkong]

At weekends yes, or on services which have upgrades advertised all the time, such as TfW and ScotRail.

It's also fine to take a seat in 1st on LNER and request the upgrade when approached, in my experience.

 

[185143]

It's also fine to take a seat in 1st on LNER and request the upgrade when approached, in my experience.

Good to know.

 

[leshuttle]

Ten years ago, I was travelling from Edinburgh to Euston on a Virgin service that ran via Birmingham. I’d planned to do the weekend First Class upgrade and boarded the front half of a 10‑coach Super Voyager. The Train Manager, however, was in the rear portion of the set, so no upgrade was ever processed. There was no First Class host until after Birmingham. Before then, you could collect the usual freebies from the onboard shop, but only if you already had a First Class ticket to show. After Birmingham, a host finally appeared and handed out a soft drink and a snack, but that was it.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Ten years ago, I was travelling from Edinburgh to Euston on a Virgin service that ran via Birmingham. I’d planned to do the weekend First Class upgrade and boarded the front half of a 10‑coach Super Voyager. The Train Manager, however, was in the rear portion of the set, so no upgrade was ever processed. There was no First Class host until after Birmingham. Before then, you could collect the usual freebies from the onboard shop, but only if you already had a First Class ticket to show. After Birmingham, a host finally appeared and handed out a soft drink and a snack, but that was it.

That reminds me of a very pleasant journey I had one Sunday mid morning Preston to Glasgow via Settle and Carlisle probably around the year 2005. I had the entire First Class carriage in the front set to myself Preston-Carlisle-Glasgow. I can't remember if I had a First Class ticket, I'm guessing I probably didn't because the Weekend Upgrades were so reasonably priced in my opinion.

I once had an onboard Customer Service Assistant try to remove me from First Class on a Sunday afternoon Carlisle-Settle-Preston run. It was very unusual to have at seat service in First Class at the time but I'm guessing because of the engineering works they had plenty of onboard CSAs spare.
Allegedly the Train Manager had told the guy to check tickets as he offered complimentary refreshments and he wasn't aware that Virgin at the time allowed Standard Open (Anytime) holders to upgrade to First Class for free on Weekends and Bank Holidays.

 

[Farang]

I don't bother any more as I prefer the upgraded Standard, but when I used to upgrade on board to Standard Premium (cannot be bought before boarding for a walk up fare) I probably got asked to pay maybe 50% of the time if that.

About 50% on my TOC too. Not saying which because I want to continue enjoying my free upgrades.

 

[Coleridge]

Free upgrades pretty much guaranteed on GWR on Sundays. 3 out of 3 for me so far this year.