Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2007 22:13:48 GMT
I know that in LU circles this practice is well known, but there may be members not familiar with this kind of thing, so I'm gonna warn them about what can go wrong with self service machines on stations.
What happened to me occurred at London Bridge NR. I put a £10 note into a machine, and nothing happened. Trying to start the process again didn't work. I looked underneath the note acceptor and (much to my surprise :
found some enterprising ticket tout character had blocked the thing up with a used ticket. Touts block machines, and then unblock them when no - one's around, to get the notes which would have come out.
There were no members of staff present at all, and I shouted to a ticket barrier for help, being told "We're Southern, Southeastern do that so you'll have to go to the ticket office". As you can imagine I was in a bit of a pickle. Either try and get the money myself, and risk looking like a tout, or going to the ticket office and having my money nabbed while I was away. I decided to do the latter. The woman was really unhelpful (after I queued for about 5 mins) and didn't even want to leave the office. I eventually got her to look at the machine, and it had been unblocked by that point (couldn't see that coming could you?) she told me there was nothing she could do and I had lost my money, with no refund. I told her that was out of order, and that LU would not do that. I suggested maybe the rules weren't being followed properly. Anyway, I found a couple of BTP PCSO's (which would have been handy in the first place) and they gave me a freephone number, to get a crime reference number. I will be obtaining this when Bank Holiday is over, and forwarding the reference and some enquiries to Southeastern, as I don't see why I should be ripped off (even though it wasn't the TOC's fault, the lack of staff and help certainly didn't help the situation) without a fight - £1 or £1000, it's the principle!
Went to buy a NR ticket last night at Waterloo, checked the machine before purchasing - guess what? Blocked up. So was the one next door too.
So members, to avoid getting seriously ripped off, try and use coins or a bank debit card - I'd really advise not using notes in NR ticket machines if you can help it. LU stations generally have more staff and their machines are different, but this note jam thing is rife on NR where there are practically no staff to do anything
What happened to me occurred at London Bridge NR. I put a £10 note into a machine, and nothing happened. Trying to start the process again didn't work. I looked underneath the note acceptor and (much to my surprise :
found some enterprising ticket tout character had blocked the thing up with a used ticket. Touts block machines, and then unblock them when no - one's around, to get the notes which would have come out. There were no members of staff present at all, and I shouted to a ticket barrier for help, being told "We're Southern, Southeastern do that so you'll have to go to the ticket office". As you can imagine I was in a bit of a pickle. Either try and get the money myself, and risk looking like a tout, or going to the ticket office and having my money nabbed while I was away. I decided to do the latter. The woman was really unhelpful (after I queued for about 5 mins) and didn't even want to leave the office. I eventually got her to look at the machine, and it had been unblocked by that point (couldn't see that coming could you?) she told me there was nothing she could do and I had lost my money, with no refund. I told her that was out of order, and that LU would not do that. I suggested maybe the rules weren't being followed properly. Anyway, I found a couple of BTP PCSO's (which would have been handy in the first place) and they gave me a freephone number, to get a crime reference number. I will be obtaining this when Bank Holiday is over, and forwarding the reference and some enquiries to Southeastern, as I don't see why I should be ripped off (even though it wasn't the TOC's fault, the lack of staff and help certainly didn't help the situation) without a fight - £1 or £1000, it's the principle!
Went to buy a NR ticket last night at Waterloo, checked the machine before purchasing - guess what? Blocked up. So was the one next door too.
So members, to avoid getting seriously ripped off, try and use coins or a bank debit card - I'd really advise not using notes in NR ticket machines if you can help it. LU stations generally have more staff and their machines are different, but this note jam thing is rife on NR where there are practically no staff to do anything
