Couple fined for getting off train two stops early. Thoughts?

the post by britboy sums it up nicely, but what I don't agree with fully is the fine. They should have been made to pay the correct fare, and not given a refund on the promotional tickets.

I bought a ticket on the tube last month from a counter but he only sold me a zone1-3. (Even though i asked for a station in zone 4, unbeknownst to me at the time) When I got to the destination I was stopped and fined £25 for travelling without a valid ticket. Sucks, and the ticket I bought was 60p MORE expensive
 
Knubje said:
Wow. Just another reason to show why the UK Public Transport system is so dire. Trains are far too expensive for what they are.
Click to expand...

Don't you wonder how much it would cost to travel by train if it wasn't subsidised by the taxpayer? Train fares aren't cheap, but then again, it would most likely cost you more to drive there (and then add parking etc).
If you buy a heavily discounted ticket with conditions attached, you are entering into an agreement based on their conditions. I don't care if you think it's unfair, if you think it's unfair then don't enter into the contract with them in the first place.
Simples.
 
If anyone has had any real dealings with this countrys train companies then they'll know that anything they do is simply profiteering. I'm not surprised at all by this story. When the price hikes come round every year what tickets do they drop in price? The most unused routes of course. What ones rise? THe commuter lines. Train companies in this country are in it for profit and profit only, no wonder they try to fine people at every given opportunity.
 
With these recent cases I thought I'd better check my rail ticket this morning. It had "Restrictions apply" printed on clearly, but when I checked the ticket machine there was no indication of what these restrictions were. I'd ask someone but there's no ticket office at my station, so I risked it.

Radio 4 said that it's a precedent in English law that the more unreasonable a restriction in the terms and conditions, the more emphasis it should be given. In this case, the fact that you're not allowed to get off before your ticketed stop needs to be given very prominent emphasis.
 
scorza said:
With these recent cases I thought I'd better check my rail ticket this morning. It had "Restrictions apply" printed on clearly, but when I checked the ticket machine there was no indication of what these restrictions were. I'd ask someone but there's no ticket office at my station, so I risked it.

Radio 4 said that it's a precedent in English law that the more unreasonable a restriction in the terms and conditions, the more emphasis it should be given. In this case, the fact that you're not allowed to get off before your ticketed stop needs to be given very prominent emphasis.
Click to expand...

Any time I've bought those cheap tickets it's been apparent when breaking your journey is prohibited. Although I mainly buy tickets online, and you can see the Ts&Cs on there quite easily.
 
On a similar note: do all you people who feel the train company is in the right pay parking tickets issued by private companies in supermarket and hospitals etc?

Should be laughed out of court but somone needs to make a stand and not pay to see if the company would sue.
 
singist said:
On a similar note: do all you people who feel the train company is in the right pay parking tickets issued by private companies in supermarket and hospitals etc?
Click to expand...

If a private clamping firm is licensed or registered or whatever, and has been contracted by the supermarket or hospital to manage the parking, then I fail to see the problem.
 
I think a lot of people don't really understand how these things work and are jumping to conclusions a bit.

Firstly all those bleating on about civil law, how its unenforceable, etc etc. As a few people have mentioned and been completel y ignored the railway system in this country is governed by a specific set of bylaws which dictate what a train operator and cannot do. One of the things these bylaws allow operators to do is issue legally enforceable fines and penalty charge notices, something most private companies cannot do.

Next, lets talk a bit about terms and conditions on ticketing and the reasons why they exist.

The primary reason for lots of different types of tickets is that it is a very effective method of demand and capacity management.

Imagine a train travels from A to C, and stops at B. Lots and lots of people travel from A to B, but hardly anyone travels to C. This results in an overcrowded train from A to B and a virtually empty train from B to C. One of the best ways of dealing with this problem (Obviously on rypt-rail he would simply order 9 billion new coaches, this is because rypt knows everything (Except where he doesnt, then he runs away and hides like in yesterdays 777 thread)) is to have different tickets available for the different trips. By increasing the price of a ticket from A to B it encourages less people to use that train for the A to B section of the journey. By lowering the price of the ticket from A to C it means that the train is no longer under utilised from B to C. The airport example is another good one. If you've got a city to city service with an airport in the middle its no good if nobody going from city to city can't get on the train as its crammed full of people only going as far as the airport.

Clearly if you didn't have easily enforceable rules, everyone would simply buy a return from A to C, get off at B, and the overcrowding issue would continue.

An absolutely perfect example of this are trains out of London to Birmingham/Manchester which also stop at Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes is within the commuter area of London but the trains on the Birmingham/Manchester route are long distance Intercity services not commuter trains. Therefore these services are pick up only at Milton Keynes - you cannot get off. This stops them being filled to the brim with people going to and from work in London, which would discourage the use of the train by people making long distance trips - the very purpose for which they were designed. Get off at MK, get fined. I'm sure you'd all cry about that as well.

You will all now argue that Eastleigh is so close to Southampton that its unlikely there would be a huge amount of people wishing to travel to Eastleigh and nobody wanting to go to Southampton. This is probably true but the thing with rules is that you can't have 900,000,000 different variants, its far more workable just to say 'You must complete the journey only for which your ticket is valid.

Advance Purchase tickets are not a right. They are a privilge the train companies use to offer incentives to travel on services which are less frequently used.

It is very clear that these people were attempting to get around the rules to get a cheaper journey. This is why they asked for a ticket to Southampton, rather than Eastleigh. Whilst I agree on the surface its quite harsh that they were punished, it is also fair and just - you cant have one rule for some and one rule for everyone else. You have to apply restrictions equally, or they become unfair. The ticketing system does need revision and in some cases is quite convuluted but until it is revised, abide by the rules or use your car.
 
Yeah, the train ticketing system is a total mess, its farcical.

If I ever have the misfortune to use our antiquated and snails pace train service again, I shall damn well get off wherever the hell I want. What are they going to do, hold me on the train until the stop printed on the ticket?! LOL
 
Well no, but you might end up in court. If you want the freedom to get off wherever then just buy a flexible ticket. When you buy an advance ticket you are buying travel to station x, not station y.

Other companies do it as well. Try not turning up in your car to a booked return crossing on a day return ferry or eurotunnel and you will be charged then as well...
 
Last edited:
I've done this [sort of thing] before, technically against the terms of the ticket but I've always felt I could talk my way out of it in the unlikely event that anyone should challenge me. Maybe I'm wrong!
Would be interesting to see what would happen if there was a genuine emergency causing people to leave the train early though.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom