Virgin Trains are investigating an incident in which a Train Manager allegedly subjected a Deaf woman to a angry tirade which horrified other passengers.
Michelle Quayle boarded a train from Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly on Saturday morning.
She was sitting in her seat reading a book when the Train Manager got her attention by waving his hand in front of her face.
Her written complaint to Virgin Trains states:
“He was huffing and puffing red faced shouting at me. I gestured I was deaf but he continued to shout. I gestured pen and paper so he could write down what he was saying but he stood adamantly and continued to shout. All the passengers were looking at me now. The lady next to me tried to say something to him but he looked away ignoring her and carried on staring eyes shouting directly at me.”
According to her complaint, she gestured again to him to write down what he wanted to say, then took out her purse, which held a bus pass covering part of her journey – which she says the Train Manager took away as the train pulled into Wilmslow station.
When he returned, her complaint states:
“At this point I wanted my bus pass back in case he left with it again, I tried to take it, he [but he lifted] up his elbow and shook his head no.”
Her complaint states that he continued shouting at her before agreeing to write on the paper.He wrote down “pay first” and then asked in writing which station she had boarded at.
There was more confusion when Quayle gestured to him to add a Disabled Railcard discount for her journey.
Her complaint says the conductor shook his head, before he realised what she wanted and, in her words, “angrily hit some buttons on his ticket [machine].”
Quayle says:
“After he stormed off, I was shaking and reduced to tears. All the passengers rallied round me to see if I was okay. The older lady next to me kindly gave me a tissue.”
A witness on the train sent us her own complaint to Virgin Trains. She wrote:
“[The Deaf woman] was crying and obviously distressed. As he turned and walked past me he said ‘I should have just kicked her off’ and muttering more down the carriage. He effectively silenced a women who couldn’t communicate, laughed in her face, abused and degraded her in front of a carriage of people. His behaviour was despicable and I hope action is taken.”
Shortly after the incident, several passengers tweeted Virgin Trains to express their disgust at what they had witnessed:
@VirginTrains i have just seen the most abusive behaviour displayed by a member of the virgin train staff to a lady who is deaf!!
— MEGAN (@megleanne) July 19, 2014
@VirginTrains I have just seen an inspector abuse a deaf and dumb lady to the point of tears all about a ticket misunderstanding #disgusting — John Young (@johnyoung1) July 19, 2014
(Please note: a Deaf twitter user corrected this man on his use of the term ‘deaf and dumb.’)
Quayle describes the incident as being “absolutely disgusting and degrading.” She said: “I have no idea what abuse was thrown at me because I couldn’t hear/lipread a word.”
Her complaint to Virgin Trains also states:
“Never ever in 29 years of my deaf life have I ever experienced an encounter such as this. Sure I’ve come across impatient people, people with lack of awareness but never abuse such as this. Never has my deafness ever brought me down, I have aspired to live my life to the full. After this experience, for the first time ever, it has hit me hard and knocked me for six.”
We contacted Virgin Trains about the incident, sharing the written complaints and tweets with them. Their spokesman said:
“We take this allegation extremely seriously and have launched an investigation to uncover the full circumstances of this case. Naturally we are not in a position to comment further until this investigation has concluded and we are in command of all the facts. However, we would like to apologise for any distress experienced.”
By Charlie Swinbourne, Editor
Photo by Jamie McCaffrey
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Robyn
July 23, 2014
I hope he loses his job 🙁
Kathy
July 23, 2014
Please let us know the outcome of this. Disgusting behaviour from him :-/
Editor
July 23, 2014
Virgin Trains have said they will be happy to update us when the investigation is complete, so we will do this. Thanks Charlie (Ed)
M
July 23, 2014
It reminds me of my experience at Chester. It makes for sad reading that again the so called “deaf awareness” training that they said they do had not worked. I hope this lady get loda money for a real nice holiday and the man in question is removed from his post as unfit to work with ANY customers. The staff in question must be heading for a mental breakdown in his job. But in this day and age we still are enduring abuse – we do have the legislations in place but is NOT WORKING. I do hope Michelle confidence is not damage long term and that she recovers in good time reading twitter/support that she is a victim and he incident will be sorted for her to bring closure. I hope Virgin does their investigate fairly.
Ali lynch
July 23, 2014
I saw that a spokesman from Virgin contacted these people who tweeted directly on Twitter ( they wanted further details of the incident) it’s good that if you complain on Twitter these large organisations are taking note.
Ramon Woolfe
July 23, 2014
Sadly this attitude is not a stand alone issue. For the most of the members of the public service, they are great but there are some people who share a similar attitude which is not tolerable at all costs.
Rather than him losing his job, I’d love to see measures where this attitude can be challenged and put to bed otherwise sacking him may trigger to more hate and ill-wanted rebukes.
jeremyhine
July 23, 2014
Ramon I agree with you. My initial reaction would have been for him to have been sacked but as you say that doesn’t help anyone. A demotion perhaps with a final warning and certainly some more training and of course an apology to the lady. Hopefully it might also reinforce the need for more awareness training for their staff. However the cynical side of me thinks that there are people out there with this kind of attitude who are unlikely to ever change!
James
July 23, 2014
Regardless of the victim’s background, it is still a VERY unprofessional behaviour by the train staff; I hope that Virgin Trains do a thoroughly disciplinary procedure with this guy. I couldn’t frankly see him remaining in his post.
Well done to the victim for reporting him, I hope that Virgin Train do their investigation properly and that things goes her way, i.e. a proper apology and compensation.
Leah
July 23, 2014
I feel shaken from just reading this, can’t imagine how bad this poor girl must have felt 🙁 I feel bad enough if shop assistants look slightly impatient with me, often not easy to understand their Australian accent if they talk fast. So I’d have died if somebody humiliated me like this 🙁 good to know fellow passengers supported her & complained about the ignorant ticket inspector!
Lucy woodcock
July 23, 2014
Absolute disgrace! He shouldn’t be working with the public.
Stuart
July 23, 2014
Very serious gross misconduct for his behavior and respect value to passengers and public . Tanish vigin reputation to the public they way he treated passenger and public views. Take lady bus pass from her purse with out permission there fore this treated as theft… In my experience concerns it is sackable plus handed over to police about the incidents
Andy, not him, me
July 23, 2014
This must be the worst story of abuse I’ve heard so far. I am sure the railways admin will do what is necessary to put this right. With a bit of luck we might get them to provide some awareness training. That’s better than sacking someone.
It’s a good story to tell those people who think we can get through the day with a pen and paper!
Rachel
July 23, 2014
Virgin should use this experience to wake up and have ALL of their staffs to have Deaf awareness……….
Swan
July 23, 2014
Abuse is not acceptable, hope they do a good thorough investigation.
Heather hope you recover from this ordeal quickly. You have the public support behind you.
Mark Stevens
July 23, 2014
As much as I don’t condone the actions of the Train Manager, it appears that the complainant did not hold a valid ticket for the journey being made – the ‘bus pass’ is actually a mobility pass, and would be valid for only a small section of that journey. As Crewe is a staffed station with a ticket office and a ticket machine, why did the complainant not purchase a valid ticket prior to boarding as required by the railway laws? Whilst the Train Manager’s behaviour appears to have been substandard to say the least, I find myself asking if there was an attempt at faredodging here by abusing a mobility pass, something which I will also not condone.
Editor
July 23, 2014
That’s not the case, Mark (that she was trying to avoid the fare). Her bus pass covered the initial part of her journey (as the Train Manager spoke to her, her pass was valid at that point in the journey) and she was buying the ticket for the rest of the journey for when the area covered by the pass ran out. She had run for the train and had only just managed to board as the train was about to depart – that’s very common for many commuters and doesn’t suggest she was trying to avoid the fare. Ed.
Mark Stevens
July 23, 2014
Ed, I’m afraid you are mistaken. The mobility pass only covers Stockport -Manchester Piccadilly and not Crewe-Stockport, that being the larger part of the journey for which no ticket was held.
As I say, this doesn’t excuse the way the matter was handled, but I’d like to hear why the complainant hadn’t purchased a valid ticket before boarding – as required by the law when facilities exist to purchase before boarding.
Editor
July 23, 2014
I’m not an expert on Manchester travel passes Mark and apologies for my error in which part of the journey was covered. However, I refer you to my earlier response – she had run to catch the train and did not have time to buy the ticket first. Thanks, Ed
Mark Stevens
July 23, 2014
No problem Ed. I fully expect that this Train Manager will be offered ‘suitable words of advice’ on dealing with passengers with any form of disability, and rightly so!
I expect Virgin Trains will apologise to the lady for the distress caused, but I also expect they’ll remind her of her responsibility to purchase a ticket before she gets on the train (Ed – in law, not having time to purchase and having to run for the train will not be accepted as a defence to a Railway Byelaw 18 case, just fyi).
I hope the lady concerned has not been put off using any form of public transport in the future as a result of this incident.
Editor
July 23, 2014
Technically you’re right that people have to buy a ticket, but in practice, many people buy tickets on the trains, certainly where I live in Yorkshire. That doesn’t mean there is the intention of not buying one and trying to avoid the fare.
Mark Stevens
July 23, 2014
It’s a cumulative thing Ed – from your excellent article, it seems to me she was reading her book, and not trying to buy a ticket – then when the Train Manager challenged her, she showed a mobility pass whilst out of area, then when asked to pay, bought a ticket to Stockport with a disabled railcard. If the Train Manager had not challenged her, would she have paid her fare on arrival at Manchester? Only she knows the answer to that question.
I agree at some stations, it’s not possible to purchase a ticket – my local station frequently shuts up shop at 1400, but when that’s the case, one must make a reasonable attempt to purchase on board, and sadly burying one’s head in a book is not making an effort to pay. It’s this cumulative set of circumstances that lead me to question whether it was an attempt at not paying the fare, which then ended up with the Train Manager reacting in a very poor way.
As is so often the case, it seems that neither party is wholly blameless, but I agree that the Train Manager could have handled this situation a lot better than he did.
Editor
July 23, 2014
Ok Mark, so you think Deaf people, when they get on a train, should spend the whole journey looking in front of them waiting for the moment when the ticket collector/train manager arrives? Surely she has a right, as every other passenger does, to occupy herself with a book, her phone, iPad, whatever, until the collector comes. The fact she is reading a book does not mean she is “not making an effort to pay.” It means she is reading her book. And when he does talk to her, as a Deaf person, she has a right to expect him to do so courteously, politely, and adjust to her deafness. If a passenger does not respond to verbal communication, a ticket collector should be prepared to try other means of getting their attention, bearing in mind that they may be deaf. One in six people have some level of deafness, so there are plenty of others like Michelle out there. Regarding the chain of events you describe, her account says he was angry straight away, he also did not adjust to her communication so they could understand each other. So if the conductor felt confused in some way by the cumulative chain of events, by her presenting her buss pass and so on, he bears the responsibility for that. How could she make herself understood with someone who was allegedly shouting at her and red in the face, who was allegedly refusing to write down what he was saying on a piece of paper?
Laura Holdsworth
July 23, 2014
Mark, at no point in the article does it say that Michelle gave the conductor her travel card, it says she opened up her purse where her travel card was on display and he took it from there. I know Michelle personally and she is a law-abiding citizen who uses trains regularly and does buy tickets. She did not deserve the attitude she got, if the conductor got the same impression as you – that she was trying to dodge her fare then he should have found an appropriate way of communicating with her to establish if this was the case in a calm manner, even much more so with her being Deaf. If she was dodging the fare, don’t you think her fellow travellers would have been shaking their heads in disapproval rather than supporting her and in shock of the attitude she received. That’s all from me.
Yvonne Davidson
July 23, 2014
Awful I can’t believe this day on age the Deaf lady/people should have to put up with that. I think it’s upto these big company’s to lead by example and give there staff some deaf awareness n sign language training, nobody is saying they need spend loads of money on interepters and let’s face it there’s government funding and you could probably of set it against tax. If the person who abused the lady doesn’t loose his job, I feel he should be made to go deaf for a day, so he can understand how she felt.
G
July 23, 2014
I may be wrong here, but shouldn’t this be brought to the attention of the police? If the train manager spoke to her in such a manner and she was black, there would be a major outcry and the police would be involved. This is abuse against someone because of her deafness. Is this not an offence?
Lyndon Borrow
July 23, 2014
Shocking… unacceptable customer services that have made my blood boils. That guy definitely need some kind of “be patient” counselling and the Virgin Trains to review their staff training and awareness programme. *sigh*
Daisy
July 23, 2014
Awful and horrible guy, hope he loses his job!!!
gargly
July 23, 2014
The experience alone and the highlighted attention Virgin Trains has been given because of this incident hopefully will be used in future awareness training for staff. The Train Manager no doubt is feeling the pressure and now probably suspended for the investigatory period,
Sadly he isn’t alone for having lack of understanding, Deaf Awareness is offered in most organisations the theory is always there but its the putting into practice and retaining the awareness.
I think the guy will probably learn a great lesson from this, and agree with a few of you he should keep his job..with perhaps a very private sincere apology to the lady involved.
Piso Mojado
July 23, 2014
Depending on your perspective this story could alternatively have been written as “Fare-dodging woman caught trying to defraud rail company”. The train manager may not have handled it well but the woman was in the wrong in the first place for not hiding a valid ticket.
Editor
July 23, 2014
I don’t agree. I live in the north and it’s very common that people buy tickets on trains – otherwise, why would Train Managers carry ticket machines that can sell them? They’d just report everyone wouldn’t they? The fact is that ticket offices are often busy, and there is often a queue by machines. So people do often buy them on trains. That doesn’t mean a person is trying to get away with not buying a ticket. Ed.
Piso Mojado
July 23, 2014
I’m afraid it does. Under the National Rail Conditions of Carriage it states “Before you travel you must have a ticket or other authority to travel which is valid for the train(s) you intend to use and for the journey you intend to make”. The only exception is if the station you’re starting at has no ticket office nor ticket machines, which is not the case at Crewe.
Whether the ticket office is busy or there’s a queue is irrelevant, it’s the passenger’s responsibility to get there in plenty of time to buy a ticket.
Hence even though the Train Manager’s behaviour may have been unacceptable (and remember none of us were there and only have one side of the story), he was quite correct to challenge the woman for travelling without a valid ticket, which is viewed as attempted fraud.
Editor
July 23, 2014
There isn’t just one side of the story though, are two accounts of the story here, the Deaf woman and the witness. Yes he has a right to challenge her, as he does any other passenger, but obviously he should do so without subjecting her to an alleged tirade. Re: ticket – technically, you’re correct, but in real life, day to day on the trains, whatever the law says, thousands of people get on trains at stations with ticket buying facilities without being able to first buy a ticket. And go on to buy it on the train. That happens at my local station, and many other stations on my local line.
M
July 23, 2014
“Sadly this attitude is not a stand alone issue. For the most of the members of the public service, they are great but there are some people who share a similar attitude which is not tolerable at all costs.
Rather than him losing his job, I’d love to see measures where this attitude can be challenged and put to bed otherwise sacking him may trigger to more hate and ill-wanted rebukes”.
Ramon – if this was a racist incident would you agree that he should keeps his job?
I agree we need to appreciate other staff members might not be like him and do behave well in their customer services.
I also should have taken note to listen to two side of the coin and let the third side of the coin be the decision and I am not sure if this will be an independence decision for a good transparent outcome.
I do feel that this was a disability hate crime the way it was conducted.
I do hope Virgin learns from this to ensure no other staff can inflict injury against disabled people in this way but ensuring that the management has in its place good quality training and it is monitored in partnership with disabled/deaf people through grassroot survey checks.
So to keep the guy or sack him – I would want to know if he had the training and if he did have – then he is sacked or demoted to cleaning the public toilet.
Terry Purnell
July 23, 2014
I think it.s absolutely Despicable .. Having a Deaf Girl myself .. and having the same thing happened to her to ,, This man should be removed from his position .. As.regards the post crom John Young as much as i appreciate your .comment, I have to point out that deaf.people are not Deaf.And Dumb.they are just Deaf hate this word Dumb that they are not ..
hartmut
July 23, 2014
The root of audism lies in the expectation that everyone can hear and speak. becoming unduly indignant is one of many different consequences.
A deaf awareness training should be required for all public service personnel to undergo to erase this expectation and to learn how to communicate with deaf and hard of hearing patrons properly.
Hartmut
Be deaf!
madcapy
July 23, 2014
The Concessionary pass if Michelle lives in Greater Manchester goes up to (depending on which line travelling on) Handforth and Poynton on the southwards (going towards Crewe) route. We don’t know if Michelle was making a return journey from Crewe to Manchester and back again. Or if she had set out from Manchester and was returning.
I know when going on a journey that is outside of the boundaries for Greater Manchester residents it can get complicated. I once went to Southport on the train and had to double check the furthest I could go, and then book a return from that point to cover the whole journey. To try and do this when Deaf is fraught with problems if on their own or with other Deaf. There is a map of the bus, tram and train boundaries on the GMPTE website, but not everyone knows they are there as it is not advertised. It is also not very easy to find.
From the account it sounds like Michelle knew part of the journey would have to be paid for and she was going to do that on the train. If that moron had used pen and paper like indicated then along with the pass, and a bit of effort from the idiot in finding out where she was going to and from, he could have quite easily have worked it out. I am gutted for the stress and upset this had caused Michelle.
I have travelled Virgin trains to London quite a few times and had excellent service so this is a blow to recommending them. I can only hope the person who deals with it really does sort it out satisfactorily. The least they can do is actually hire a terp and go down in person to apologise with some sort of compensation. Just sending a letter of apology with a cheque is not enough in my opinion. They need to be seen to take this seriously. I will watch the outcome of this with interest.
Tim
July 23, 2014
Some people will go through the victim’s conduct with a fine tooth-comb, looking for petty and legalistic reasons to blame her. They are projecting their ‘it must be the Deaf person’s fault’ attitude.
Lee
July 23, 2014
It’s as if VT staff have been trained to act in this manner. When addressing people over the train speaker system, they seem to deliver this aggressive, threatening, almost shouting tone towards anyone on board. It’s often the same with their own staff at manned ticket gates (hello, Euston!!!) or their own platform staff. “Gestapo” is a word that is foremost when in their presence. But to be fair, they do have a few good, helpful staff.
I’m not entirely sure why they would behave in this manner towards paying customers / human beings. Perhaps they are bitter about the threat of losing the franchise? In which case, they’re doing a damned good job at losing it much quicker.
Tim
July 23, 2014
If she’s deaf,how can she say with any surety that he was shouting at her?
On that basis alone, the whole “story” is moot.
Editor
July 23, 2014
Er… From his facial expression, his lip patterns, and the shocked reaction of her fellow passengers, who have backed her account of what happened.
M
July 23, 2014
Tim – you need not be deaf to hear shouting…we have eyes and possibly wear hearing aids and also you only have to see people looking shock horror…the story is not moot….I can see people behaviour shouting – the face changes….
hartmut
July 24, 2014
What an idiotic response. You think, deaf people cannot see that he has been shouted on ? You don’t use ears for that. It is plain to see.
Andy
July 23, 2014
As a train manager working for another company, I have to say that the person concerned acted very unprofessionally, and although he made a pig’s ear of this incident, he, like the rest of us who work on the railway, is only human. We do not know how long he had been on duty, how much abuse he had had to put up with during his shift (and believe me, we get plenty) and neither do we know whether he had any personal problems (bereavement, divorce, etc.) which could have affected his frame of mind. I cannot condemn a man who may need counselling until both sides of the story are known.
sammmymack
July 23, 2014
I don’t understand why he acted like this at all. There are so many foreign people on public transport who can’t communicate in spoken English that it’s surely not the first time he’s come across a passenger with communication difficulties. Even if she is really the first passenger he’s ever dealt with who hasn’t understood his spoken English that’s no excuse for this humiliation. At least the general public rallied round but it shouldn’t have come to this.
whosaidthat1
July 23, 2014
I hope Virgin pay her handsomely, For his Abuse for Shouting is enough as seen and heard by another passenger.
I had a problem On a virgin Train Long time ago, But guy was so nice, he asked where I as headed and if I needed to change, as it was I did need to change, And he came back to me as we approached a station, then he had a written letter of what platform and what time train is due and also it was next 1.
I feel sorry for this lady as she was treated very unprofessionally, Shouting at Deaf person is totally out of order, If he was shouting at me, I can tell you now, not being big headed, But I would of been arrested with my Reply, he would be eating the ticket machine.
CJ
Hlp
July 24, 2014
Michelle should not just leave it to Virgin Trains. She should also formally complain in writing to the British Transport Police. She should ask them to bring a criminal prosecution under the Public Order Act, probably section 4(1)a or section 5. See below. The comment just above mine shows why s4(1)a should be considered and she should include the comment. The writer if that says had it been him, it might have provoked violence… And the train man would be aware that his behaviour might make someone respond violently (that means anyone watching, not just Michelle). It doesn’t matter if she had the right ticket or not. His behaviour is the important thing.
S4(1)a is ” used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards another person…
either: with intent to cause that person to believe that immediate unlawful violence will be used against him or another by any person
or: with intent to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence by that person or another
or: whereby that person is likely to believe that such violence will be used
or: it is likely that such violence will be provoked
S(5) is ” used threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour …
Either with intention or awareness that behaviour may be disorderly;
or with intention or awareness that such behaviour may be threatening or abusive
within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress
G
July 24, 2014
This is a good point! Are the police interested in this? Do they even know?
Ria
July 24, 2014
I feel so sorry for Michelle Quayle. It saddens me that this is 21 years later and times haven’t changed.
I recall being on a train from Portsmouth to Salisbury on my way home early morning and I had already had a pre paid ticket. However I was in deep reading a newspaper (pre-Metro!) and did not realise the ticket conductor was waiting for me as I am totally deaf.
The next thing I knew was that he had pulled down my paper quite hardly and I recall feeling shaken and frightened.
I promptly said I was deaf but he did not react, quite harsh ..so I showed him my ticket and without an apology he walked off. That experience has stuck with me and I am now a bit wary of ticket conductors if they seem moody, as I don’t trust them. Even if it was a minor incident, it can be upsetting, and more so for Michelle as that was worst for her.
Malaika Rose
July 25, 2014
The British Transport Police should be sent a copy of the written complaint as well as it means they can look into CCTV as well. I am on the Independant Advisory Panel for the BTP in Scotland, representing Deaf issues that travellers have and there are similar Panels in England as well.
Susan Smith
July 25, 2014
Totally disgusting to put anyone through such abuse, but especially a Deaf person and not give them a chance to respond in anyway. This guy should not work with people at all. However could you imagine if he treats Human beings like this what would he be like with defenseless animals. I agree he should be made unemployed he obviously doesn’t want the job…
Harry Webb
July 27, 2014
Having read all these comments, as much as i feel for Michelle’s experience, i can’t believe how many times the Editor have to keep justifying the ordeal! In my experience, train inspectors, just a minority, are thoughtless people! Me and my sister found out that our Father had died whilst we were in Blackpool. We hurried for the train to get back to our Mother and because the train was almost about to depart, we were trying to explain to the ticket man our situation and that we would pay as we board the train but he was having none of it. That resulted in the train, the last one of the day, leaving. My sister was crying her eyes out and the ticket man tried to usher her away which made her push him back. British Transport Police got involved and the ticket man pressed charges! So while we were grieving with the sudden lost of our Father, we had a court case to face, which collapsed in the end cos there wasn’t enough evidence but it goes to show how thoughtless these people can be.
deaflinguist
July 28, 2014
I travel a great deal on the train in my personal and professional lives and have met every type of train manager from the friendly and helpful, to those who clearly take out their bad moods on hapless passengers.
Maintaining a professional demeanour is meant to prevent situations like the above from arising – calm professionals are much easier to lipread, shouting distorts the face and the natural reaction of fear takes away brain energy from lipreading when one is deaf. Thus this train manager was not able to ascertain the facts on the spot as he could have done if he had stayed calm as his actions served to escalate the situation.
I’ve met a few so-and-sos in the train management line in my time and have complained successfully on a couple of occasions, especially when one used his (very considerable) bulk to shove me into the luggage rack, when a gentle tap on the shoulder would have done.
Recently I boarded a train at a carriage door where a train manager, who was clearly in a very bad mood, was standing. As he came round a minute or two later, he inspected my (valid) ticket very closely, then barked something completely unintelligible. As he kept on barking it, I became more and more confused and he was clearly becoming more and more annoyed.
As it was none of the familiar questions I know after 20+ years of commuting, it was also difficult to anticipate in lipreading: it was: “Did you get on at [originating station]?”, in an accusing tone as if I’d been on the train all the way from London and not paid, which was not, of course, the case.
He was just out to have a go at someone on quite spurious grounds and it was uncalled for: I probably looked like “easy prey” because of being female and with a Disabled Person’s Railcard. Eventually I managed to work out what he was on about and just said “Yes”, and my ticket was returned with bad grace.
It would have made his own life easier if he’d just spoken to me calmly. Compared to Michelle’s experience, it’s a minor incident, but it just goes to show that some train managers do seem to be needlessly bullying of their customers.
Des
July 29, 2014
Have read through comments with some interests, can I be honest here, I am quite saddened to have read some of comments emphasising that the person, in question, should have bought the ticket before boarding the train. One comment cited: “Under the National Rail Conditions of Carriage it states “Before you travel you must have a ticket or other authority to travel which is valid for the train(s) you intend to use and for the journey you intend to make”.”
First of all, is that ‘Conditions of Carriage’ recognised by means of a leglsiation (i.e. passed by the Parliament and enacted)? No, I don’t think so (unless a specific pointer would be appreciated in respect of a relevant legislation).
For myself, I am a very very frequent rail traveller for any purposes (work, leisure, etc). I am, not just Deaf, but also have Ushers (visual impaired). My ability of purchasing tickets at the last minute (in order to comply with the ‘Conditions of Carriage’ depends on the access in all aspects. That would be the location of a self-service ticket machine, the accessibility features within the ticket machine screen as well as the staff member’s responsive towards my communication needs – prior to me boarding train of my intended departure time.
On several occasions, train companies could not make the ticket purchase facilities more accessible, I therefore board the train without tickets and enjoy my journey as usual (i.e. looking at my ipad, reading books etc). The ticket inspector usually grabbed to my attention in an acceptable manner and I bought tickets on board with absolutely no problems. On some occasions, no ticket inspectors on board the train so I bought tickets upon arrival from staff members on arrival.
With regards to the ‘advance purchase’ tickets on the long distance journeys, I usually book tickets online, collect tickets at the self-service ticket machines (giving myself more times to read the information displayed on screen due to inaccessibility features).
Although the Conditions of Carriage states that ‘in principle’ everyone must have a valid ticket however it would be important for flexible approach to be applied depending on the individuals’ needs. The ticket can be purchased in several different ways, such as self service ticket machines, ticket office (involving communication difficulties), ticket inspectors on trains and staff members at the station of your arrival.
Michelle
August 22, 2014
Hi I’d be interested to know the outcome of this issue. I was recently treated with extreme discrimination on the same line by a male train manager, and had been checking for others with similar experiences to my own. I intend to take legal action.