tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post6287935246649859529..comments2024-03-25T22:17:35.616+00:00Comments on Public Transport Experience: The Sorry Saga of Phil McCafferty [2]fatbusblokehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06833340546527596517noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-4927273270818055582013-02-11T19:08:48.347+00:002013-02-11T19:08:48.347+00:00Echo the above, what happened in court?Echo the above, what happened in court?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-86695626014749406922012-11-05T19:17:44.632+00:002012-11-05T19:17:44.632+00:00What did the magistrates say when he fought the ca...What did the magistrates say when he fought the case in court?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-35547221193463221662012-03-25T19:27:06.601+01:002012-03-25T19:27:06.601+01:00Even given that 'Phil' was 'in the wro...Even given that 'Phil' was 'in the wrong', the behaviour of the Southern staff involved was completely unacceptable in several respects, and, frankly, incompetent. If the staff were shown the previous week's 'Weekend First' receipt, surely they should have seen that it was issued by a different company? They could then have politely explained that it was a different operator, and that such upgrades were not available on the particular train 'Phil' was travelling on (assuming that they had the aptitude and training to be placed in a customer-facing situation - which seems rather doubtful, from the story!) <br /><br />Given the procedural failings - no copy of the penalty notice, abusive language, unenforceable threats - I would imagine that a lawyer would have a field day with Southern, if 'Phil' chose to pursue the matter in that way. Given that there seems to be an appeals facility for penalty fares (judging from the website discussed yesterday) that might be worth pursuing as well; but perhaps a more effective way of ensuring that Southern takes some notice would be to report the whole story to the press - the BBC and/or Daily Mail come to mind as suitable channels. In general, I would always recommend taking an issue up directly with the responsible party, but sometimes the attitudes displayed by that party (and/or its staff) warrant the involvement of a third party. In today's image-conscious world embarrassing publicity is often the most effective method of obtaining redress. In this case, 'Phil' has already made direct contact with Southern, but a second 'route' would seem justifiable.<br /><br />Incidentally, the story implies that 'Phil' was travelling alone, and I wonder if the Southern staff involved would have adopted the same aggressive approach if he had been one of a group of three or four 19 year old football fans on their way to a match - or perhaps, on their way back from a match that their team had lost! I guess that question is fairly easy to answer!RC169https://www.blogger.com/profile/03921368833118123055noreply@blogger.com