London mum told to 'p*** off' on day-trip
Woman left ‘in tears’ at station
A YOUNG mum from London who visited Portsmouth for a day out with her baby says she was told to ‘p*** off ’ by a railway station employee after being left marooned when her ticket failed to print out.
Kashuana Carr, 19, was left in tears with her one-year-old daughter at Portsmouth and Southsea Train Station on the evening of Friday December 18 after claiming she was told: ‘We don’t want people like you here.’
The shocked parent, who had enjoyed a day out in the city including a visit to the aquarium, was trying to make her way home to Purley, near Croydon, at around 7pm as London was preparing to move into tier three the following day.
Ms Carr ran into strife when her £10 ticket she had purchased a month earlier online failed to print out at the ticket machine.
The mum then approached the ticket office for help when she encountered a female South Western Railway (SWR) member of staff.
‘I told the lady my ticket didn’t print out because it mistakenly said it had already been printed and she just said: “What do you want me to do about it?”’
‘I said I was from London and needed to get home. But she just said: “We don’t want people like you here.”
‘I asked to talk to someone else and she said “no” and told me to “p*** off ”.
‘I started crying and she said: “Here we go with your crocodile tears.” She told me to leave.
‘I was very calm and did not swear and she was just looking me up and down.’
With no ticket and not enough money to buy another ticket home, Ms Carr was left frantically contacting her family to ask them to transfer funds to her before she was able to purchase another ticket for £37.
The mum was finally able to board a train before getting home just before midnight after enduring a ‘ horrible journey’.
Ms Carr added: ‘I don’t know why she was saying those things. I don’t think I’ll be coming back.’
A spokesman for SWR said: ‘We are aware of this complaint, which is currently the subject of an ongoing internal investigation,’ a spokesman said.
‘While this means it would be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of the matter, we would like to make absolutely clear that SWR does not tolerate verbal abuse of any kind – whether it be directed towards our customers or colleagues.’