Last weekend, actually on Sunday, the Underground Piccadilly Line was
closed between London and Heathrow. However the Heathrow Express was
supposed to be an alternative. Indeed throughout the Underground system
it was widely advertised that Zone 1-6 Travelcards WERE valid on the
Heathrow Express to/from Paddington.

HOWEVER after a day in London, and arriving at Paddington to travel
back to Heathrow, we saw numerous displays clearly stating that
Travelcards were NOT valid on the Heathrow Express. The scam was
extended in that the HEX ticket machines had no warning notices on them
for that day, and they were only dispensing full fare tickets at £14.
I personally warned at least two intending passengers from using these
and sent them to get Travelcards from the FGWL ticket office, thus
saving each person more than £7. Then I pretended I wanted to purchase
a ticket from the HEX ticket office and I was told it would cost £14
the same as the machines. I then mentioned the misleading signs to
three blue-uniformed HEX staff, who responded by walking off laughing;
not their problem.

Then we saw a HEX train arriving at Paddington and it was
unsurprisingly full. We wondered how many tourists, visitors to rip-off
Britain, had also been conned into paying for full fare tickets into
London? Probably most of them.

So much for Travelcards being valid. So much for HEX / BAA customer
service. Rip-off Britain strikes again.

CJB

HEX tickets don't suddenly stop being available when that happens. Heathrow
Express are not obliged to stop selling their tickets and accept travelcards
as the main ticket. All they have to do is let you travel on travelcards.
Of course their machines don't issue tfl travelcards - they're hex machines,
not tfl.

I think you've completely misunderstood what tfl and HEX were doing that
day. No wonder the ticket agents laughed at you it's very funny.

dave

"CJB" wrote in message
oups.com...
Last weekend, actually on Sunday, the Underground Piccadilly Line was
closed between London and Heathrow. However the Heathrow Express was
supposed to be an alternative. Indeed throughout the Underground system
it was widely advertised that Zone 1-6 Travelcards WERE valid on the
Heathrow Express to/from Paddington.

HOWEVER after a day in London, and arriving at Paddington to travel
back to Heathrow, we saw numerous displays clearly stating that
Travelcards were NOT valid on the Heathrow Express. The scam was
extended in that the HEX ticket machines had no warning notices on them
for that day, and they were only dispensing full fare tickets at £14.
I personally warned at least two intending passengers from using these
and sent them to get Travelcards from the FGWL ticket office, thus
saving each person more than £7. Then I pretended I wanted to purchase
a ticket from the HEX ticket office and I was told it would cost £14
the same as the machines. I then mentioned the misleading signs to
three blue-uniformed HEX staff, who responded by walking off laughing;
not their problem.

Then we saw a HEX train arriving at Paddington and it was
unsurprisingly full. We wondered how many tourists, visitors to rip-off
Britain, had also been conned into paying for full fare tickets into
London? Probably most of them.

So much for Travelcards being valid. So much for HEX / BAA customer
service. Rip-off Britain strikes again.

CJB

"d" wrote in message
. ..


I think you've completely misunderstood what tfl and HEX were doing that
day. No wonder the ticket agents laughed at you it's very funny.

He's just so typical of anyone who loves to yell 'rip-off' at every
possible opportunity.

CJB, HEX is not a philanthropic society - it's there to make money for its
shareholders and to pay its staff. Business is business.

Ian

"Ian F." wrote in message
...
"d" wrote in message
. ..

I think you've completely misunderstood what
tfl and HEX were doing that day. No wonder
the ticket agents laughed at you it's very funny.

He's just so typical of anyone who loves
to yell 'rip-off' at every possible opportunity.

He's right!

HEX is not a philanthropic society - it's there to make
money for its shareholders and to pay its staff.

HEx were presumably paid for all of the passengers who would use travelcards
on that day, but then chose to lie to passengers in order to get more money
from them.

Business is business

Obtaining money by deception is not called "business", it's called "fraud".

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

My understanding is HEX are not paid when the Pic line goes down, just
as Pic aren't paid when HEX (occasionally) goes down and passengers
have to move on to the blue line.


Ross
--
The Smoke
http://www.the-smoke.com

On 17 Jan 2006 14:03:27 -0800, "Ross Hall" wrote:

My understanding is HEX are not paid when the Pic line goes down, just
as Pic aren't paid when HEX (occasionally) goes down and passengers
have to move on to the blue line.




For engineering work acceptance, LUL pays HEX a chunk of money to
cover travelcards.


You're wrong.


Rob.

(also works for LUL!)
--
rob at robertwoolley dot co dot uk

"John Rowland" wrote in message
...
"Ian F." wrote in message
...
"d" wrote in message
. ..

I think you've completely misunderstood what
tfl and HEX were doing that day. No wonder
the ticket agents laughed at you it's very funny.

He's just so typical of anyone who loves
to yell 'rip-off' at every possible opportunity.

He's right!

HEX is not a philanthropic society - it's there to make
money for its shareholders and to pay its staff.

HEx were presumably paid for all of the passengers who would use
travelcards
on that day, but then chose to lie to passengers in order to get more
money
from them.

Business is business

Obtaining money by deception is not called "business", it's called
"fraud".

They weren't deceiving anyone. The use of travelcards was permitted on the
service - travelcards didn't replace the HEX tickets.

I don't see why people are complaining they were allowed to travel on an
fast, expensive train for the cost of an underground ticket. No-one was
ripped off, no-one was defrauded. Some people just got a really good value
ticket, while others paid the correct fare. No-one was charged over the
fare - I don't get what the problem is.

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

"d" wrote in message
. ..

I don't see why people are complaining they were allowed to travel on an
fast, expensive train for the cost of an underground ticket. No-one was
ripped off, no-one was defrauded. Some people just got a really good
value ticket, while others paid the correct fare. No-one was charged
over the fare - I don't get what the problem is.

You'll never get them to understand. Some people think businesses exist
solely to do them favours. I'd like to see how *they'd* run a business!
;-)

Ian

"d" wrote in message
. ..
"John Rowland" wrote in message
...
"Ian F." wrote in message
...
"d" wrote in message
. ..

I think you've completely misunderstood what
tfl and HEX were doing that day. No wonder
the ticket agents laughed at you it's very funny.

He's just so typical of anyone who loves
to yell 'rip-off' at every possible opportunity.

He's right!

HEX is not a philanthropic society - it's there to make
money for its shareholders and to pay its staff.

HEx were presumably paid for all of the passengers who would use
travelcards
on that day, but then chose to lie to passengers in order to get more
money
from them.

Business is business

Obtaining money by deception is not called "business", it's called
"fraud".

They weren't deceiving anyone. The use of travelcards was permitted on
the
service - travelcards didn't replace the HEX tickets.

I don't see why people are complaining they were allowed to travel on an
fast, expensive train for the cost of an underground ticket. No-one was
ripped off, no-one was defrauded. Some people just got a really good
value
ticket, while others paid the correct fare. No-one was charged over the
fare - I don't get what the problem is.

Can't you? The first choice cheaper route was closed. so there was no
alternative. All these rail services are operated with a subsidy from the
tax payer, so they should be a public service. Public services should be
operated in the interests of the public. Having private companies run a
service without competition is a farce.


--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

d wrote:
I don't see why people are complaining they were allowed to travel on an
fast, expensive train for the cost of an underground ticket.
They aren't. They are complaining that the information that may have
enabled people to do so was not available at all ticket outlets.

No-one was ripped off, no-one was defrauded. Some people just got a
really good value ticket, while others paid the correct fare. No-one
was charged over the fare - I don't get what the problem is.
There *may have been* some people charged over the correct fare. They
would have been the people who had intended to travel by Tube, turned up
at the Tube, found it closed, and went to HEx where they paid the full
HEx fare without being told that there was a cheaper fare available.
Having arrived at Paddington, they may even have bought a ODTC to
continue their journey, thus being overcharged by the entire amount of
the (unnecessary in their circumstances) HEx ticket.
--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p14104763.html
(37 689, 37 668, 37 712 and 37 710 at Warrington Arpley, 21 Apr 2005)