Hereford - Paddington query

[s3an]

Yes it does look like it. oh well I had already booked a couple of others online, so not as bad as it could be. I will have to go via Evesham, scan for Advances, or pay £59.

 

[SickyNicky]

Yes it does look like it. oh well I had already booked a couple of others online, so not as bad as it could be. I will have to go via Evesham, scan for Advances, or pay £59.

Or buy a route EVESHAM ticket and go via Evesham, excessing the return up to SUPER-OFF-PEAK (or vice versa) for travel via Newport.

I prefer the Evesham trains to going via Newport anyway - it's not much slower and I hate standing around at Newport. The main problem is the limited number of services that go direct from Hereford to Paddington and that there's no late train coming back that way.

There's always the ultra-cheap advances on London Midland (via Northampton) if you have the time - I have one for £5.30 (DSB).

 

[Smethwickian]

However, a lot of people will buy the cheapest ticket, and try to travel a more expensive (usually because it is quicker or more convenient) route, and then try to argue "The man on the platform said...".

We're not talking about 'a lot of people' nor 'what the man on the platform said' but one specific example from a specific booking given in writing (as it were) on a TOC booking website.

Contrary to Flamingo's apparently automatic assumption that every passenger must be up to no good, no subterfuge or deceit would have been entered into to obtain the tickets offered - just entering a journey requirement and time in the perfectly normal manner that would be used by any perfectly normal customer, not familiar with the byzantine compexities of the ticketing system, routeing guide and validity codes discussed at great length here, and which can apparently perplex even the most experienced members of railway staff.

Other similar discrepencies have been mentioned on this forum before, one by myself. Use it and stand your ground, I say, and if you have to later complain to a TOC about jobsworth attitudes like Flamingo's, so be it. Consumer legislation and 'fair contract' law will be on the side of the passenger every time.

 

[bnm]

Such a shame that your eloquently put point of view, Smethwickian was totally ruined at the end by including the 'J' word. :roll:

 

[island]

Such a shame that your eloquently put point of view, Smethwickian was totally ruined at the end by including the 'J' word. :roll:

Agreed. The word has totally lost its meaning these days, which is derived from the saying "it's more than my job's worth to do that" — its etymology makes it clear that it refers to staff who are afraid to bend the rules because of the threat of disciplinary action. Flamingo does not appear to be so afraid; he just has limited tolerance for people trying it on.

 

[Flamingo]

Such a shame that your eloquently put point of view, Smethwickian was totally ruined at the end by including the 'J' word. :roll:

Agreed. The word has totally lost its meaning these days, which is derived from the saying "it's more than my job's worth to do that" — its etymology makes it clear that it refers to staff who are afraid to bend the rules because of the threat of disciplinary action. Flamingo does not appear to be so afraid; he just has limited tolerance for people trying it on.

Thank you both, more eloquently put than I would have done!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Contrary to Flamingo's apparently automatic assumption that every passenger must be up to no good,

It's called experience

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Consumer legislation and 'fair contract' law will be on the side of the passenger every time.

Brave of you to make such a big assumption. Unless you have some case law to back it up? I would like to see that.

 

[W-on-Sea]

Gotta say, Flamingo has never seemed remotely "jobsworth" in my reading of his contributions to ticketing discussions here... and in general I don't find "jobsworth" attitudes common in on-train RPI staff in Britain, at all, really - although I accept that may be due to a combination of good fortune and the attitudes of the specific TOCs I travel on most frequently. I have experienced jobsworth attitudes elsewhere, but I'd say they are pretty rare on the trains in Britain today...

 

[Flamingo]

Gotta say, Flamingo has never seemed remotely "jobsworth" in my reading of his contributions to ticketing discussions here... and in general I don't find "jobsworth" attitudes common in on-train RPI staff in Britain, at all, really - although I accept that may be due to a combination of good fortune and the attitudes of the specific TOCs I travel on most frequently. I have experienced jobsworth attitudes elsewhere, but I'd say they are pretty rare on the trains in Britain today...

Thank you

 

[b0b]

the main problem here is that there is no way to authenticate the website booking details with the ticket held, therefore it allows chancers to create their own itineries and try and pass them off as valid.

that being said, this is a solved problem, and legitimate passengers shouldn't be caught out by this!