Victim or Criminal?

I was going to blog about lots of other things this week.  I went to the Hampton Court Flower Show, I had a stall at the local market and I was taken out to lunch at the Dorchester, all of which were greatly entertaining (and free!).  However the least entertaining part of my week is the one I find the most blogworthy, being fined for travelling on the train without a ticket.

On Friday I went into London to meet one of my lovely cousins for lunch.  I was meant to get the 10.22 train but, as I was about to leave the house, made the huge mistake of looking in the mirror.   For once I was distracted from despairing at the wrinkles on my face by the wrinkles on my dress – how could I have missed so much of the dress when I ironed it?  I hate ironing and generally avoid it on the basis that life is just too short.  However as I was going to The Dorchester, I felt that it was worth losing a few minutes of my life to look presentable.  Clearly I had not put those minutes to good use, the dress looked like a dishrag.  I started ironing it again and as a consequence realised I would not make the train. 

I called my cousin and whined down the phone to her at my despair over missing the train.  Such tardiness is caused by the extraordinary amount of free time I have in my life, which somehow is never, ever enough time to be prepared.  I find this to be one of the most depressing parts of long-term unemployment, the time I take to do the most simple task is ridiculous.  A three-year old transfixed by ‘In the Night Garden’ could wash and dress quicker than I get myself ready to go out.  Getting up, showered and dressed to walk the dog takes minutes.  Bring contact with human beings into the equation and I flounder.   Having missed one train,  I therefore had plenty of time to gather my belongings, don the slightly less crumpled dress and get the next train.  I went upstairs to put the dress on, decided I would apply my make up with a little more care than I had originally and sauntered downstairs to leave the house, only to find that the 'few minutes' I had been upstairs was nearer 15 and I was in serious danger of missing the next train too. 

I grabbed some biscuits for the dog and threw them on his bed.  Gordon, the shar pei I fostered from a local animal home, only has one eye, and even that is not much use.  Although he saw or at least heard me get biscuits from his treat jar, he failed to see that I had put them on his bed, so he followed me to the door, repeatedly raising his paw for the biscuits.  I had to go back and show him exactly where they were.  It would have been too cruel to just leave him with his paw in mid air and that morose look in his one remaining eye.   He may have cataracts and a scar, but it is still very expressive - it is the wrinkles, they are so endearing.  If only the same could be said for my face and dress.  By this time I was seriously late and ended up having to run half the way to the station.

When I got to the station, the monitor said the train had arrived.  I dithered  for a nano-second over buying a ticket at the station, which would mean missing that train but going via Kings Cross on the ‘fast train’ or getting the Victoria train I had intended to get, and buying a ticket on the train, if I made it to the platform in time.  Victoria was nearer to the Dorchester and where my cousin was waiting.  I ran up to the platform, redder than my raincoat and somewhat dishevelled … the ironing by now having been completely wasted.  I was in luck (or so I thought) and made the Victoria train, my decision was made for me by the opportunity, and I got on the train.

Unusually, the conductor did not come round and so I could not buy a ticket on the train.  Being a habitually late person, I frequently buy tickets on the train or at the destination station.  I was not perturbed by not having a ticket.  It absolutely didn’t occur to me that I was fare dodging because I was going to buy a ticket, as I often do.  Late and disorganised, yes;  dishonest – no.  I got off the train and went to the ‘extra fares’ booth.  There were three rail employees there.  One asked me where I had come from and why I didn’t have a ticket.  I explained that I was running late.  He explained very politely that this wasn’t good enough – which is somewhat ironic from an employee of a company renowned for being late.  A company, in fact, that was once so incompetent at running trains on time that the government renationalised the franchise until another bidder could be found.  The new bidder made the wise move of keeping all the Connex staff, the rolling stock and the same crap attitude to customer service so in reality only the brand and the size of the government subsidy have changed.  I very much suspected that these were ex-Connex staff, it was that menacing but polite air of 'we are right, you, the humble, over-charged passenger, are very, very wrong', but I could have been somewhat biased in my judgement of them.  

Perhaps I could have explained my situation better, or pointed out that because it was raining, and this was not rush hour, my lateness didn't count towards statistics, I therefore couldn't be fined for it.  Southeastern can be late, they make the rules.  I, on the other hand, was finding out that I could not be late.  The staff were very polite, but a bit pompous.  I was quite polite, very upset and getting increasingly petty by the second.  “Are you intending to pay with your debit card madam?” one of them asked me, whilst his colleague was relaying my details via telephone for some reason, mere documenting of the penalty being insufficient.

 “Well yes, unless that is worthy of a fine as well” I replied, devastated that half a week’s dole money was being frittered on a fine to bloody Connex (they can change the name, I remain unconvinved).

“Can I have your date of birth madam?”.

 “Why would you need that information?  How are you going to store it?”. 

“We give you this copy”

“That isn’t what I asked, I asked how you intend to store my personal data”.

“I was getting to that, it gets filed and is kept for a number of years”

“how many?”


He wasn't sure, he had to ask his colleague, they assured me it was in the terms and conditions of carriage.  I once sat opposite a man who was reading the railway's terms and conditions of carriage, he refused to remove his briefcase from a first class seat so someone could sit down.  I asked him if the briefcase had a ticket, he didn't reply.  If that is the type of person who reads terms and conditions of carriage, I know it is not worthy reading material.  The colleague had also presumable read this document, or was quick enough to pretend to have done so.  

“Seven”

Not to be outdone in the quick response stakes I had a retort ready:  “It does not involve a financial transaction in the US, you do not need to store it for seven years”.    When I said earlier that I got somewhat ‘petty’, I actually meant childish and ridiculous, but I felt so, so livid – with me, with them, with the whole policy that I was emotional and irrational. I failed to buy a ticket before the journey, so should I have accepted that I only had myself to blame, or was I justly upset?   I also felt confused, one was taking my card and my money, the other was on the phone giving my details to an unknown third party ... I had no idea how many databases were being populated with my personal data, or why.  I was paying the fine, why were they also taking down so many details and going through so much bureaucracy?  Am I going to be further prosecuted.  The more senior of the trio pointed out to me that they didn't have to fine me, they could have just prosecuted me, so I take this to mean that they are not going to pursue a prosecution, but you can never be sure.  

I told them I felt victimised, and they told me it was the law.  Is it actually a law, or just a Southeastern company policy?  I do feel that, having bought tickets on the train and at my destination station so many times there was a reasonable expectation that I could do so on this occasion.  Southeastern did not agree.  Southeastern charged me £32 for a one way journey, and on top of that I would still have to pay my tube fares and my journey home.  Therefore a £13 journey ended up costing me nearly £50. 

I wouldn’t mind if the rule was consistently applied.  I also wouldn’t mind if it targeted the real fare dodgers.  In fact, had I not been so poor, I may not have minded so much this time, just accepted it as the price of not leaving the house in good time.  It just seemed to heap insult onto injury and my wrath with myself for being late and disorganised was almost equalled by my hatred of the train company.   I did thank the staff for being unfailingly polite to me, even though I was not the easiest customer.  But I do feel victimised.  I do also realise that I got away lightly.  I could have been prosecuted.  Large corporations increasingly criminalise their customers because it is an easy way to raise revenue and scare us all into paying up, even when we are sure that we should not be. 

The rail companies like to assure us that they are getting ‘tough’ on fare dodgers, unfortunately this isn’t the case.  Had I refused to give my details, said I had no money and just walked away, what could they have done.  I see this happen regularly.  I have seen conductors throw passengers off the train, only for the passengers to walk a few carriages down and get back on.   Passenger Focus, a rail watchdog, has suggested that the greater willingness to issue penalties is merely revenue raising rather than an active deterrent, and I would have to agree.  It was very unusual for there to be no inspector on the train I was on, so it seems a great coincidence that three officers were waiting at the ticket office, chomping at the bit to issue fines.   The real fare dodgers aren’t being dealt with, whilst the innocent are fined.  Rail fares into London are excessive enough. 

I will complain, even though it will get me nowhere, but I think the application of the policy targets innocent passengers and fails to deter the genuine fare dodgers.  I have an Oyster card, I could have just walked through the barrier, which would have cost me a maximum Oyster journey of around £7,  but I went to buy my return ticket, and even this was denied me.   Trains apply rules that no other company can get away with.  Can you imagine being fined in Asda or Waitrose for not having paid for goods whilst you are still in the store … and yet the rail companies have carte blanche to do this.   I had not left the arrivals platform, I was waiting to pay, how can this be deserving of a penalty?  

Southeastern have taken a big chunk of my weekly benefit money, reminded me of why I hated commuting so much but also made sure I will miss many more trains in the future before I risk not having a ticket.  However I will also claim back my fare for any late journey, and request compensation at least equivalent to a full priced single journey.   Contracts have to be fair and equal.  Southeastern have chosen the terms, I intend to make sure they abide by them as well.    


In case you were wondering, my lovely cousin was kind enough and patient enough to wait for me whilst this mini-drama unfolded, and we made it to The Dorchester for a lovely lunch.  I could quite happily have whiled away an afternoon drinking their very palatable wine if times and finances were different.