unless you join at a station where ticket selling facilities where available at the time of travel

make sure you have your photocard and you wont have a problem

what farce?

understood

violin anyone

what has this got to do with FGW^▸ (First Great Western)?

complaining about the staff, lack of ice....the list is endless

i dont think he was

yes there is, goves via box to Bristol and then over to Cardiff

to be honest I think a lot of it is the way you seem to think that people just go out of their way to upset you or be difficult towards you. You call them jobsworths. I call them people who are doing the job the way they are instructed to do it. Now you might not agree, or understand why or think you could do a better job or manage the process better but its just your premiss that your way is the right way that rubs.

Do you consider that for every person like yourself who will go thru with an off peak ticket before the time it is valid and mean what they say when they state "dont worry I am not going to travel earlier than allowed, I am going to sit on the empty train and await its departure" there are many many many more who will attempt to go thru and use just that reason as an exscuse to go past the gateline staff and wander off on their merry way onto a peak train with an off peak ticket, maybe on an adjacent platform.

Guess what those people will say to the TM^‡(resolve) or Senior Conductor when challanged about their ticket being invalid - yes that well used phrase "the man let me through" etc etc etc

There are usually good reasons why rules and restrictions exist, the man was quite right to prevent you coming through with an off peak ticket before the peak time restriction lifted.....you might not like it or agree with it or want to sit down and eat or ensure you get a seat before the rush......but he isnt wrong for doing his job correctly.

ahhh I see. If the Hereford window stickers are on the windows then it wont ever be changed - sorry, makes sense now.

Have you ever considered that just because someone says something other than what you are expecting or says no to you that they might just be following the instructions they have been given by their employer? Bit unfair calling people jobsworths without knowing why people do things isnt it?

That set of rolling stock may NORMALLY form the 1922 but how do you know that it wasnt intended for a different service. This can happen for lots of different reasons.

If you had just had let through and they had stepped up that set for another service and you had left early on it or missed your train because it was leaving from a different platform you would then be complaining that the man on the barriers shouldnt have let you through or that he should have come down to the train personally and told you that things had changed.

Why dont you wait like 99.9999999999% of the other customers who wait until the train is anounced and then board.

They all get the same - its not based on personal takings.

its quite simple really, if you board at a station where ticket selling facilities were made available and were in working order (as with TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine)'s) without a ticket then you should expect to pay the full undiscounted single or return fare (National Conditions of Carriage condition 7 if I recall correctly) and not be entitled to any railcard or other discounts.

if you board at a station where the ticket office is closed, or there is no ticket office and there is no TVM or the TVM is not working or if there is a sign saying 'Pay On The Train' then you should be sold the full range of walk on fares applicable to the journey you wish to make including being able to use a railcard if its valid to discount the ticket you want.

I know a lot of Train Managers when selling tickets on board if asked for a ticket where a customer has started their journey at a station with a ticket office or a TVM in working order will ask "is there a reason you were unable to purchase a ticket before you joined the train" - listen to the answer and then decide if it is appropriate to sell the cheapest ticket available as if it had been bought before boarding or a full price non discounted ticket.

I guess it all depends on the answer given.....no effort made, attempting to walk past to the buffet or toilet and then asking for a ticket when asked, clearly pretending to be asleep etc etc probably isnt going to get you the cheapest journey.

Coming up to the TM^‡(resolve) or Conductor on the platform or seeking them out will get you far. Or if you were delayed on another train or there was a que at the ticket office (rule of thumb - say 10 people join at Chippenham, 9 have tickets 1 doesnt then there prob wasnt a que.....9 without and one with, all saying "there was a que" then there probably was) then you should be fine.

Basically its down to the TM as to what and how much discrection should be shown. Discrection is a personal thing and its not for a customer / passanger / traveller to dictate or decide what or if discrection should be shown. However, the hard and fast rule is NCOC's state, board at a station where you had an opportunity to buy then expect to pay full fare with no discount.

The ICIS card isnt in itself proof of entitlement to a YP card. The railcard holder HAS to be studying for 15 hours or more a week and for at least 20 weeks of the year.

If the regs state OU courses or distance learning are exempt then holding a NUS or ICIS card counts for nothing.

If someone using a YP card who isnt a student for 15 hours a week or more for 20 or more weeks of the year was taken to court, waving a ICIS or NUS card at a Magistrate will not get you far.