bmartin1uk
New Member
- Joined
- 8 Dec 2014
- Messages
- 1
Hi Folks
I've had to 'deal' with First Capital Connect (Now Govia Thameslink) recently, and i thought i'd just give a little snippet of what happened, the outcome, a few phone numbers and some advice to anyone dealing with them as well.
Let me start by saying i travelled without a ticket and i accept full responsibility that i was in the wrong. I travelled in to work one morning and left my season ticket at home....it turned out it had also expired the previous day. oops!!
My first bit of advice: Pay the penalty fare - claim it back later.
The really helpful woman at the ticket barriers told me not to worry and that i had 30 days to send in a copy of my season ticket. At this point i didnt know it had expired. Had i actually said no, i'll pay a penalty fare instead, that would have been the end of it. You can pay the fine and supply a copy of your season ticket for a refund, which is what i would suggest to anyone....ok its a bit drastic if your memory isn't as bad as mine and you definitely know your season ticket sat at home is valid.
My second bit of advice: Don't panic!
I called as soon as i realised my mistake and spoke to a really nice guy who freaked me the $$$$ out. He talked about court and having no interview rooms at their offices etc etc. He told me i had to wait 30 days to default on my agreement to supply a copy of my season ticket and then a letter would be issued. All i wanted to do was pay the penalty fare. Weird system, but hey ho.
My third bit of advice: Leave voicemail messages or call at 9 oclock
After many many failed telephone calls i decided to leave a voicemail. It all seemed too important just to leave a message and rely on people to get back to me. Surely if they were too busy to answer the phone, how could they have enough time to go through messages? I was wrong. Twice, someone got back to me within a day of leaving a voicemail. One told me there were only two people in the office and 4 phones....? Seems a little strange, and i have spoken to another very nice person since that conversation, so i can assume there's at least three of them. I got through to them at 9 o'clock on the dot. A good time to ring anyone i suppose.
My fourth bit of advice: Don't panic!....again
After a telephone conversation, i was told that they wouldn't be taking me to court if i paid a £65ish fine. However, shortly after receiving a letter confirming this, i then received a court summons. This apparently is standard. After paying the fine over the phone, i was told that they would withdraw this (crossing fingers).
So don't panic, leave voicemails or call early, when you get through to them, they're actually really nice and very helpful. They just have some odd admin procedures in place and are clearly very busy.
The numbers i used were:
0207 465 9267
0207 922 4923
0207 922 9061
0208 929 4004
I hope this helps some people.
Have a Merry Xmas everyone
Ben
I've had to 'deal' with First Capital Connect (Now Govia Thameslink) recently, and i thought i'd just give a little snippet of what happened, the outcome, a few phone numbers and some advice to anyone dealing with them as well.
Let me start by saying i travelled without a ticket and i accept full responsibility that i was in the wrong. I travelled in to work one morning and left my season ticket at home....it turned out it had also expired the previous day. oops!!
My first bit of advice: Pay the penalty fare - claim it back later.
The really helpful woman at the ticket barriers told me not to worry and that i had 30 days to send in a copy of my season ticket. At this point i didnt know it had expired. Had i actually said no, i'll pay a penalty fare instead, that would have been the end of it. You can pay the fine and supply a copy of your season ticket for a refund, which is what i would suggest to anyone....ok its a bit drastic if your memory isn't as bad as mine and you definitely know your season ticket sat at home is valid.
My second bit of advice: Don't panic!
I called as soon as i realised my mistake and spoke to a really nice guy who freaked me the $$$$ out. He talked about court and having no interview rooms at their offices etc etc. He told me i had to wait 30 days to default on my agreement to supply a copy of my season ticket and then a letter would be issued. All i wanted to do was pay the penalty fare. Weird system, but hey ho.
My third bit of advice: Leave voicemail messages or call at 9 oclock
After many many failed telephone calls i decided to leave a voicemail. It all seemed too important just to leave a message and rely on people to get back to me. Surely if they were too busy to answer the phone, how could they have enough time to go through messages? I was wrong. Twice, someone got back to me within a day of leaving a voicemail. One told me there were only two people in the office and 4 phones....? Seems a little strange, and i have spoken to another very nice person since that conversation, so i can assume there's at least three of them. I got through to them at 9 o'clock on the dot. A good time to ring anyone i suppose.
My fourth bit of advice: Don't panic!....again
After a telephone conversation, i was told that they wouldn't be taking me to court if i paid a £65ish fine. However, shortly after receiving a letter confirming this, i then received a court summons. This apparently is standard. After paying the fine over the phone, i was told that they would withdraw this (crossing fingers).
So don't panic, leave voicemails or call early, when you get through to them, they're actually really nice and very helpful. They just have some odd admin procedures in place and are clearly very busy.
The numbers i used were:
0207 465 9267
0207 922 4923
0207 922 9061
0208 929 4004
I hope this helps some people.
Have a Merry Xmas everyone
Ben