Jobsworth
Forget what I said in the last post, events have transpired that I need to rant about.
I have an annual season ticket printed, as with all annual season tickets, on the bog standard ticket stock using the normal printers. This fades with use going through the ticket machines. Why they don’t use the same plastic tickets they have for I don’t know. I’d be willing to pay to have the paper ticket upgraded to a plastic one, even if it meant using a normal one for a week or two while waiting for the plastic one to be posted.
Anyway, every day I get on the train, every day the ticket inspectors either inspect the ticket, glance at it, point at me and give me a thumbs up because the recognise me or fail to notice me and don’t check the ticket (the latter two happen more in the morning when it’s quiet). Recently there have been incidents of the ticket inspectors taking a closer look at the ticket because it’s faded a bit, however, no one has told me I need to replace it (which is ball ache because it involves queuing at rush hour in the ticket office to get it sorted).
Until, that is today. One of the more regular conductors decided today that I’d have to take my ticket out of it’s holder so he could inspect it. He then declared it unreadable and told me I’d have to buy a ticket. When I asked why he told me it was because the destination station was not visible. It’s not been visible for about a month. I’ve had many season tickets where it’s not visible, it’s one of the first things to go. When the ruddy great big expiry date stops being visible, that’s when people start complaining. Never in my decade plus of commuting have I ever been faced with that argument. I’ve also never been forced to buy a ticket, I’ve always been told to get it sorted soon, and I have. Nope, jobsworth is having none of it. I have to buy a single ticket to Cromer. Great. What if I don’t have any money? Well then, it turns out, I get treated like a fare evader and would be treated the same way someone with no ticket who refused to buy one would be, i.e. like a common criminal. I paid.
I also asked would I have to pay to get into Norwich tomorrow and got met with a smug “If the conductor is doing their job correctly and not just glancing at the tickets then yes”. In other words if another jobsworth is on the train in the morning I’ll need to buy another ticket. It’s ‘OK though’, because I can get the tickets refunded. Well that’s fine, except getting a refund on a ticket is bigger ball ache than getting the ticket changed. I can see me wasting half an hour tomorrow all because some git (who has inspected my ticket already thus week I should point out) is in a bad mood.
Grrrrrrrrrrr!
I think this is a job for the OMBUDSMAN. Always rant to right people. Very politely say that their season tickets are not “fit for purpose” i.e. they do last the right length of time prior to fading. With any other goods you would be able to complain, get a refund and something else for your trouble.
Or, insist on your day in court. Refuse to pay, say that you wish to be taken to the small claims court, and then voice your opinion which, because it is said in court, is not slander. In August the press, who have little to do at the moment, would lap it up.
All of the above is just such aggro and needs to be weighed up against how much energy you have for the fight.
I’m going to guess that the ombudsman will point out that it probably does say somewhere in the terms and conditions of carriage, right under the bit that states that, no matter how frustrated you get, opening up with heavy machines guns and other belt fed weapons is a bit off, that they can refuse to accept a ticket that isn’t readable at 50 yards by a myopic mole and so I wont have a leg to stand on.