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More HEX Shenanigans - ripoff Britain?
CJB wrote: 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. I assume you did a full survey and kindly distributed compensation forms, or at least, told the passengers so? So much for Travelcards being valid. So much for HEX / BAA customer service. Rip-off Britain strikes again. [I'd love to snip, but can't think of a decent way of doing it without losing the points I'm commenting on] Given that you said you "pretended" to buy a HEx ticket, how did you get back from Paddington to Heathrow? On your travelcard? Thereby showing that Travelcards were valid. If you did have to buy a HEx ticket then they have reneged on the advertised agreement and you have a case to take up with TfL and HEx. A compo form should be available by writing to them. Otherwise, you can't blame HEx for not actively advertising the fact that Travelcards are valid on their service. Do you see taxis outside LHR with the bus fare printed on their sides? AE |
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More HEX Shenanigans - ripoff Britain?
Martin Underwood wrote:
If the signs said that travelcards were not valid (which I think is what you are saying) when in fact they were valid, then passenger were being wrongly advised to buy the more expensive ticket. It's one thing not to advertise and promote the cheaper ticket (though that's bad enough); it's another thing entirely to give explicit information that cons people into buying a more expensive ticket that they don't need. As I recall, the Paddington PIS displays show the above note. Presumably someone forgot to reprogram them. It's a difficult one, really... I would suggest the best option would be to make Travelcards valid on Heathrow Connect only, and not on HEx. That way, the premium product could remain. Neil |
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More HEX Shenanigans - ripoff Britain?
"Martin Underwood" wrote: I'd like to see all ticket offices run by a separate, impartial company which was on the side of the passenger and which was obliged by law always to sell the cheapest ticket or combination of tickets so that a passenger can say "can you sell me a ticket [implied "the cheapest ticket"] between A and B", without needing to be an expert on the ticketing system in order to get the best deal. Not everyone wants the cheapest ticket. Many people value their time more than their money, and hence travel by fGW to Exeter, rather than the scenic tour of Dorset villages that SWT provide for half the price. Self-evidently, people who routinely travel First Class don't want the cheapest ticket. The cheap fares are there for the asking. People who know nothing about rail travel are, of course, at a disadvantage, but then people who know nothing lose out in all sorts of ways - that's life. I'm more concerned about booking office staff who flatly deny that certain ticket types exist, because either they've not been trained, or it's too much hassle to look up the correct sequence of key strokes to press. Chris |
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