Remember Your Railcard!

[Ferret]

http://www.gofundme.com/stopalexgoingtocourtoverarailticket

I'll refrain from commenting on this one I think!

 

[Mojo]

Is that your doing?

 

[ainsworth74]

Well certainly is an inventive way of paying for your rail travel!

 

[Mojo]

I can't see what the origin is, but the description says the full fare was over £200, but neither a SOS from Durham to Penzance, Swansea or Wick are over £200.

Has this been on the news or another forum? There have been some pretty nasty comments left on that page in the last few minutes...

 

[me123]

I have no sympathy for the woman, so as such I can't understand why anyone would want to fund her. Quite simply, she's travelling with an invalid railcard. It's hardly a minor technicality; the concept is pretty simple, and the date of expiry is written in rather large writing on the front of the railcard. I don't see why I should fund sheer stupidity/ignorance.

Full marks for inventiveness. Zero marks for intelligence.

 

[Ferret]

Is that your doing?

No, it's not one of my efforts! I've had quite a few though recently, so perhaps somewhere in cyberspace, I'm being bitched about right now!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I can't see what the origin is, but the description says the full fare was over £200, but neither a SOS from Durham to Penzance, Swansea or Wick are over £200.

Has this been on the news or another forum? There have been some pretty nasty comments left on that page in the last few minutes...

It was linked on wnxx, and I dare say some of the main protagonists on there have been pretty unsympathetic!

 

[YorkshireRider]

A train i was working just over a year ago now had Janet Street Porter on with an out of date senior railcard, the guard withdrew it and charged her for a FOS, Kings X to Leeds. She was 'f' ing and blinding. "Im a fu**ing OAP, im going to write an article in the paper about you and this company"

She never did, thing is the guard told me it was over 3 months out of date:roll:

 

[Matt Taylor]

Oh dear!

And £254 is just the start, she's looking at closer to £500 by the time the courts are done with her.

 

[Chapeltom]

I have no sympathy for the woman, so as such I can't understand why anyone would want to fund her. Quite simply, she's travelling with an invalid railcard. It's hardly a minor technicality; the concept is pretty simple, and the date of expiry is written in rather large writing on the front of the railcard. I don't see why I should fund sheer stupidity/ignorance.

Full marks for inventiveness. Zero marks for intelligence.

Take the words out my mouth. Anyone funding her, is essentially giving money to a criminal as breaking bye-laws is a crime surely?

I'd encourage people to give nothing.

 

[lyesbkz]

Why do they expect the rest of the world to be paying bills which they have incurred?

The point is, everyone makes mistakes and we all have to learn the hard way at some point - so it's only fair that they pay the fees.

I'm sure a lot of people will notice the 'Donate' button and think, "Why should I be donating to somebody who's dug themselves a hole, when there are charities out there collecting genuine 'Donations' for unfortunate people, as opposed to careless people?"

Not meaning to be hateful, just realistic. I think that sympathy can be expected from the general public but asking for money is sheer panhandling.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Also, the fact that they are deleting every comment which opposes their own view on the situation is going to make people think little of them. I'm really not surprised people are now posting such abusive comments (not that I condone them).

Edit: They seem to have changed their mind and deleted the page altogether?

 

[causton]

Nope, 'tis gone!
Thank god :P

 

[Matt Taylor]

The page has been removed.

One of the comments:

'This is appalling and makes a mockery of the genuine charities that need money. Why not do a 20 mile run to fund the money? Or a sponsored shut-the-fk-upathon? Seriously. This makes me sick to the stomach. "Mentally and physically ill"??? Maybe if you stopped eating so much and made your life worth something instead of going back to uni over and over and over again you wouldn't be such a miserable fat cow.'


I thought the Digital Spy forums were harsh but that comment was on a whole new level. What exactly did she expect?

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Why do they expect the rest of the world to be paying bills which they have incurred?

. . . . .

I think that sympathy can be expected from the general public but asking for money is sheer panhandling.

There's dozens of please for cash in Private Eye every fortnight, and presumably other publications which I don't read, with little or no 'reason' or story for the request. I've often wondered if many of them ever receive any cash.

I've travelled with passengers who have 'confessed', in hushed voice after a ticket check, that they had been travelling with an out-of-date Railcard for many months without being detected. And just tonight, while coming home (GLC-NCL) my own railcard wasn't seen during the inspection (though perhaps that guard recognises me by now, though surely not the date on my RC). So, it does seem to me that regular travellers can begin to aquire some sort of confidence in travelling without a valid Railcard, simply through a sustained history of not being detected.

In the case of the OP's report, I have sympathy but can offer no support. But on the other hand, I do wish the use of Railcards was subject to a more methodical process of validation (whether on-board, at departure or at point of sale).

 

[Matt Taylor]

May I direct people here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=210&t=953538&mid=0&i=0&nmt=No.1%20on%20the%20list%20of%20%22appalling%20things%20I've%20seen%20today%22&mid=0


Looks like there were some rather unpleasant comments.

 

[MikeWh]

May I direct people here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=210&t=953538&mid=0&i=0&nmt=No.1%20on%20the%20list%20of%20%22appalling%20things%20I've%20seen%20today%22&mid=0


Looks like there were some rather unpleasant comments.

And that's been deleted as well.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

that they had been travelling with an out-of-date Railcard for many months without being detected. .

Not on my trains they don't. I must pull at least 1 out of date railcard every day. Fridays to Sundays I can easily get 3, 4 or 5 per shift. Generally student ones, although Senior ones are getting more common, and I even had a 11 month out of date HMF Railcard the other day too.

 

[me123]

Nope, 'tis gone!
Thank god :P

What baffles me is that people actually gave her money. She had amassed the rather amazing sum of £65 (that's more than a days work on minimum wage!) before they took the site down. Perhaps even more.

 

[Tom B]

I've travelled with passengers who have 'confessed', in hushed voice after a ticket check, that they had been travelling with an out-of-date Railcard for many months without being detected. And just tonight, while coming home (GLC-NCL) my own railcard wasn't seen during the inspection (though perhaps that guard recognises me by now, though surely not the date on my RC). So, it does seem to me that regular travellers can begin to aquire some sort of confidence in travelling without a valid Railcard, simply through a sustained history of not being detected.

When I get a new railcard (every June - NatWest), I stick it in the wallet behind the old one. I tend to forget when it expires, so only take the old one out to display the new one when it's pointed out by the guard - which is usually sometime around October.

(To clarify - I always had the new one with me, just not on show).

 

[Ferret]

Not on my trains they don't. I must pull at least 1 out of date railcard every day. Fridays to Sundays I can easily get 3, 4 or 5 per shift. Generally student ones, although Senior ones are getting more common, and I even had a 11 month out of date HMF Railcard the other day too.

I had one this week that expired in August. I did contemplate going straight to a TIR, but thought better of it - he claimed it was a genuine mistake as he doesn't travel very often. He could've been lying of course, but then he was chinged a substantial amount for a brand new ticket, though nothing like the 200 quid that the aforementioned female claimed she was asked for!

It's right what you say about Sundays though - forgotten railcards, out of date railcards - it makes you wonder just how many are on the fiddle, and how many are just genuinely dozy!

 

[Chapeltom]

What I think is most horrifying is peoples arrogance with out of date railcards. If you travel round for more than a month on an out of date railcard you've got some nerve. If I knew mine for due for expiry I'd get it renewed, simple as I wouldn't run the risk once. I'd pay full until it had arrived (mines an online one). Guards are not idiots, contrary to what some morons think. I reiterate I've no ounce of sympathy

 

[Greenback]

I once threw away the London - Swansea return portion of a Saver and has to buy an expensive ticket for immediate travel. I really should have set up a web page begging for money rather than think 'You cretin, that was a really stupid thing to do, I'll be far more careful in future'.

 

[island]

On a side point, does anyone ever enforce the requirement that to use the outbound half of a return ticket you must present the return coupon, unused?

 

[lyesbkz]

On a side point, does anyone ever enforce the requirement that to use the outbound half of a return ticket you must present the return coupon, unused?

I've never had mine checked (not that I use return tickets all that frequently), and I've always wondered why this particular condition exists?

 

[Deerfold]

I've never had mine checked (not that I use return tickets all that frequently), and I've always wondered why this particular condition exists?

There are returns which are priced differently (and deliberately) in different directions. I suspect where this is the case they're more likely to check to ensure you're using them in the correct order.

 

[John @ home]

does anyone ever enforce the requirement that to use the outbound half of a return ticket you must present the return coupon, unused?

It has been reported here that the return portion is likely to be requested when the outward portion is presented on a day other than the first day of its validity.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

On a side point, does anyone ever enforce the requirement that to use the outbound half of a return ticket you must present the return coupon, unused?

Yes, regularly. When commuters present me with an unstamped outward portion of an SOR from a previous date I'm always suspicious and ask to see the unused return portion. 8 times out of 10 they either don't have it, it has already been stamped, or by swiping it I can see it has already been through the electric gates and has hence already almost certainly been used.

 

[CarterUSM]

Yes, regularly. When commuters present me with an unstamped outward portion of an SOR from a previous date I'm always suspicious and ask to see the unused return portion. 8 times out of 10 they either don't have it, it has already been stamped, or by swiping it I can see it has already been through the electric gates and has hence already almost certainly been used.

I do also, though it is more for day returns purchased early doors being used later on in the day, especially avantix sold ones.

 

[Scotrail84]

I do also, though it is more for day returns purchased early doors being used later on in the day, especially avantix sold ones.

Swipe flexi passes and i bet you find a few that have been used before.

 

[CarterUSM]

Ken, they are the bane of my life on a benhar peak time service!

 

[Broken Viking]

I have to confess that on one occasion a few years ago, I travelled to Stansted to meet someone off of a flight...And as I was putting my ticket away following inspection, I only then noticed that my Railcard had expired about a month before and that my use of a Y-P ticket that day wasn't valid! hock:

I will clarify that this was a genuine mistake on my part (My Railcard only sees the light of day when I'm actually travelling) and when I got to Stansted I renewed my railcard from the expiry date of the old one, meaning that I'd at least paid-up my railcard coverage as if I'd renewed it normally.

Nowadays, I note my railcard expiry dates on my calendar and add a reminder a week before to renew. So although it's possible for someone to make a genuine error and not realise their railcard has expired, there are things they can reasonably do to atone for discounted journeys they've taken after the expiry date.

And personally, I have no sympathy for the subject of the link in post one...If I'd been caught out on my trip to Stansted above I would've at the very least had my ticket excessed to an SOR and apologised for my mistake at the time.