Couple ‘treated like criminals’ by train ticket staff
PASSENGERS CRITICISE THE ‘HEAVY-HANDED’ BEHAVIOUR AFTER POLICE WERE CALLED IN ROW OVER RAIL FARE
PASSENGERS claim Northern Rail ticket staff are failing to follow their own rules – with reports of police being called on commuters and a teenager being fined for trying to pay on a train.
Incidents described to the M.E.N. go against Northern’s promises when they introduced a new tougher ticket policy in April.
The operator launched new fines of £20 – or double the ticket price – for passengers arriving at their destination without a ticket.
At the time, a Northern spokesman said all passengers would still be able to buy tickets from conductors ‘on every train,’ despite the campaign being called ‘Buy Before you Board.’
He said the only difference would be that passengers who couldn’t prove they had tried to buy a ticket before boarding wouldn’t be able to pay the cheaper rate.
Vivien Globe, 61, and her husband Chris, 55, contacted the M.E.N. after they claimed they were ‘treated like criminals’ by a member of staff when they were unable to buy a ticket on a train.
It led to the police being called, a situation Vivien described as ‘a completely frivolous approach to wasting scarce and valuable police resource.’
She says their ‘horrendous’ ordeal began when they arrived at the station just in time to catch a train from Gatley to Piccadilly and were told by the driver to ‘jump on.’
Vivien says they couldn’t find an inspector, so on arrival at Piccadilly, they went straight to the ticket office to pay the fare.
Vivien, who runs a marketing firm with Chris, says she explained there had been no time to buy a ticket at the station and that they had been unable to find an inspector.
She says the member of staff demanded their personal details and told them he would have to fine them £20.
When Vivien and Chris refused to give their details and asked again to buy a ticket, a police officer was called from a platform.
Vivien added: “We explained to the police officer what had happened – she showed sympathy and said she would reason with him, but he refused to listen to her and insisted on pursuing the matter formally and said we would be arrested if we did not comply.
“Not only were we feeling angry and humiliated, we were extremely embarrassed that Northern Rail could so easily call upon the police and waste their already stretched resources.”
In the end, the couple shared their details but also bought a ticket for their journey. Vivien has appealed and lodged a complaint against behaviour she describes as ‘intimidating and heavyhanded.’ She says she received a message back to say their case was on hold ‘due to high volumes.’ The M.E.N. has received a complaint from another passenger whose son was fined by Northern when he tried to buy a ticket on the train. In response to Vivien’s complaint, a Northern spokesman said: “Penalty fares have been introduced on some lines to target those who persist in travelling without paying the correct fare. “We certainly have no intention of criminalising our customers and apologise for the distress caused in this instance. “We will be speaking to the staff involved and have cancelled the penalty fare with immediate effect.” Northern Rail spokesman