We are not amused, but not so angry

Well, it's been nearly a year since I started the blog, and as the long winter nights start to draw in, I have to say I'm a lot less angry than I was back in January.

And I think there are three reasons for this.

1) Moving house - I can highly recommend living nearer your place of work. It still takes me a fair old while to get to the office, but the delays just aren't as severe as when you have to travel out into the wilderness beyond Reading. Of course, I realise this is not a solution for most people, but it's certainly made a difference to me. And, is it just me or are things slightly better in terms of delays these days? I think they are, at least up my neck of the woods anyway.

2) Getting the full picture - My gratitude to those members of FGW staff who have made such an effort to explain to us why the trains are late, overcrowded and cancelled. Two have even set up their own blogs for the purpose, which is marvellous. It's so much easier to cope with delays if you understand why they happen, even if you don't have much sympathy at the time.

3) Having someone to talk to - Thanks to everyone who takes part in this blog on a regular basis. I find that it's very hard to explain to a non-commuter how awful things are sometimes - people either assume I'm a scary aggressive person, for wanting to give out badges with the word "hate" on them, or just switch off once I start relaying my morning commute to them, blow by blow. It's good to share, even if we're only sharing the need to have a good whinge.

But, on the flip side of the coin, there are things I still don't understand, and which still make me unhappy. And these are they:

1) Why are the train managers given stupid rules to follow that don't make sense?

- Not allowing season-ticket holders to sit in First Class if standard class is full, even though the Conditions of Carriage say you're allowed to ask

- Not allowing standard class ticket holders to upgrade to First Class on the train, even when they're offering you money up front and the rest of the train is full

2) Overcrowding

- It's still not okay to pay a large sum of money to be squished up to your neighbour's armpit on a regular basis, and no-one's come up with a really good explanation of where all the carriages went and why. It's something to do with money and the department of transport, but to be honest, isn't providing the maximum number of seats possible on each rush-hour service something that should be a priority?

3) Customer Service

- Why does the complaints department always try to fob you off with a standard letter, no matter what your complaint? It's insulting and makes us angry. No-one likes complaining, and certainly no-one likes complaining twice, or three times...

- Things seem very unclear. I've discovered that season ticket holders can reserve seats, although I'm not sure if they're supposed to. And I only found out about the off-peak upgrade from someone else with a season ticket, it seems that passengers could do with a bit of the website that would tell us about the reasons for delays, any offers, and other useful information. I'm sure it's all there on the website somewhere, but it's not the easiest to get around.

I shall be investigating, and see if I can find some answers...

You can't sit down, not even if you pay me

My eyes and ears at Reading station (actually she's a whole person, but it would take too long to list every part) has complained to me of a worrying case of jobsworthiness, as follows:

She quite often pays on the train on the way home from Paddington for a first class upgrade, as when it's very busy, she feels it's worth the £13 extra just to have a nice sit down after a hard day. However, two days ago she asked the train manager if she could upgrade and he said no. She asked why, and he said she couldn't upgrade her ticket on the train, and should have done it beforehand.

However, how did she know whether or not she was going to get a seat until she got onto the train? And surely, anyone who's prepared to pay a few pounds to go and sit in a half-empty carriage and help ease the congestion in standard class should be welcomed?

My friend then questioned the train manager, saying she often upgraded her ticket on the train. His response was that the people who were upgrading her weren't doing their jobs properly, as it wasn't allowed.

Livid, my friend found that her only possible revenge was to stand defiantly in the first class carriage all the way back to Reading, and then ring me and complain about it.

Surely this train manager was wrong? Please can I have some guidance on this, as it seems unbelievable that on-train upgrades aren't allowed, when seats are quite clearly available.

Tick Tock

It's been nearly three weeks now since I received a letter telling me that I would be sent a refund from the First Great Western finance department, for a journey I took back in April during which my friend and I were abandoned at the side of the road after midnight, when a replacement bus failed to materialise.

It's not a large amount of money - the taxi home only cost £12.00, when we finally managed to flag one down - but it's the principle of the thing. And the fact that the company tried to brush off my claim for a refund with a standard letter spouting a passage from the infamous CoC (Conditions of Carriage).

It's just not good enough to treat people like this, forcing them to write two letters of complaint before anything is done. It's one of so many reasons that I hate FGW, this complete disregard for people's anger and frustration. It's not like I was expecting compensation, just a refund for a journey I was forced to take when their service failed.

One of the blog's visitors, a rail employee, says he's heard through the grapevine that all complaints are now being sent to the ombudsman, to make sure the system is being improved. So once again, I urge you to complain in writing every time you feel that anger at being treated badly, at being squashed into a full carriage, at being delayed and late for work, or, like me, finding yourself standing by the side of the road in the dark.

I'll wait another week for this money, but then I shall be putting another complaint in the post. And this time I will be asking for compensation. And interest at the standard rate. Tick tock, tick tock...

Please may I fly first class to the moon?

You may remember that last week I was introduced to First Great Western's fascinating "Conditions of Carriage", a document which suggests that, for the payment of a certain sum of money, the company has no responsibility to take you anywhere, at any time, unless it feels like it.

Reading on, however, I found a paragraph saying that if the standard class carriage is full, you can ask the train manager if you can sit in the first class carriage. This sounded promising, I had visions of travelling to work in a much more civilised fashion in the future and looked forward to putting this new knowledge into action.

This morning, my route to work was different, as I stayed overnight with a friend in Reading, so went direct to Reading station. As is well known by the commuting population of Reading, all fast trains to London are full in the mornings, so you have to stand. "A-ha!" thought I, and approached the train manager to ask if it was true that I could ask to sit in the first class carriage when standard class was full.

"You can ask" he said, "but the answer should always be no, because you pay for the carriage, and not for a seat".

Righty ho, so the Conditions of Carriage allow me to ask the question, but it will almost always be answered with a no. So the document might as well say: "If the train is full, you can ask to fly to the moon", or "If the train is full, you can ask to be carried to your destination on the back of a giant golden pigeon".

Also, did you know that if the train is so full that you end up standing in the first class carriage, you can be fined for not having the correct ticket? Luckily, no train manager has ever been brave enough to try and enforce this rule.

I might write myself a new contract at work along the following lines, following FGW's example:

"I might turn up to work, but I might not, and I still want to be paid a lot of money. If I don't fulfil any of my duties, there's nothing you can do about it. You can ask me to do various tasks, but if you do, I'll probably say no. Please can I have the contract to do this job across the country and make vast sums of cash? Thanks"

And another thing...

Two posts in one day, I must have a bee in my bonnet.

Further to my annoyance at the letter I received in response to my complaint, I settled down and actually read FGW's Conditions of Carriage, and most interesting they were too.

Apparently, if the company leaves you stranded, it should provide you with alternative transport home, or put you up in a hotel. Cue another complaint letter, asking exactly how I could report the fact that I was stranded, since the FGW customer service line shuts at 22:00, and I was left by the side of the road at 00:30 on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. Since they were clearly unable to help at this time, I'm suggesting that they do, after all, refund the £12.00 taxi fare I incurred making my own way home. The good news is that the Customer Service address is a Freepost one, so I think I could pursue this one for quite a while. I've asked that they clarify what to do when one is stranded in a situation such as mine, as I'm sure it will happen again soon, so I'll let you know.

A blog visitor has also kindly passed on the First Group final report, which was released this morning, and my goodness, aren't they smug? If you believe what they write, they're running the best public transport service ever in the whole wide world. I quote you the following:

"All of our businesses have delivered a very strong performance. Our UK Rail division continues to go from strength to strength."

"Our successful rail division has delivered its best ever year of growth. We are committed to the long-term development of railways in the UK and are investing to deliver improved services for passengers. We are the only operator to run every type of overground rail service in the UK, from high speed intercity trains and overnight sleepers to local branch lines, regional and commuter services and open access, light rail and freight operations. We will continue to build on our reputation of investment, innovation and customer service."

"During the past 12 months we have consolidated depots, introduced a new management structure and common systems, brought together 4,400 staff, introduced new amalgamated timetables, commenced a substantial fleet refurbishment programme and started the many major improvements which we committed to as part of our franchise. Despite our best efforts to ensure a seamless transition we faced some operational challenges principally as a result of changing the rolling stock maintenance depot and the introduction of a new consolidated timetable. We made great efforts to swiftly rectify those issues, the majority of which we have now overcome. The new timetables which will be introduced in May and December this year will further improve services."

I mean, for goodness sake, I know this is a spiel for the investors, who incidentally are doing pretty well out of our misery, but do they have to sound so bleeding cheerful about it all? Don't they know how much we hate them? Maybe if you all wore a badge, they might get the message. Read the full final report at:

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20070516070100PDCE2

and if it gets you annoyed, order a badge today!

Computer says no....cough

Now, I'm going to have to take a deep breath before I start this post, because I'm so annoyed that I might not explain it well. You may remember that earlier this month, my friend and I were abandoned by the side of the road in the middle of the night, as the replacement bus service which was due to take us home never arrived. Having finally found a taxi, we spent £12.00 getting home. So, the next day, I wrote a letter of complaint to First Great Western, asking for a refund of that same £12.00. I have now received a reply. I shall print a part of it here:

"I regret that First Great Western is not able to accept liability for any loss (including consequential loss) caused by the delay or cancellation of any train, by any missed connection or by the closure of the railway. This is explained in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. I therefore cannot agree to your claim for the £12 taxi fare incurred as a result of the disruption to your journey".

So, what they're saying, if I understand correctly, is that First Great Western is under no obligation to provide a rail service which works properly, and the three and a half thousand pounds a year I pay to use this service guarantees me nothing at all. The company can cancel my trains, leave me abandoned in the middle of the night, or CLOSE THE WHOLE RAILWAY, and it doesn't have to pay me a penny of compensation if it doesn't feel like it.

But wait, there's more, and bear in mind that both my friend and I are unfortunate enough to be season ticket holders:

"As a gesture of goodwill on this occasion, however, I am pleased to enclose a Rail Travel Voucher for £24.00, which I do hope you find useful...I do hope future journeys with First Great Western are more enjoyable".

Ah, a gesture of goodwill. That's nice isn't it? Rail Travel Vouchers. You might as well have sent me Mars Dollars - since having money for travel is apparently no guarantee that the train will actually take you to your destination, be on time or in fact, arrive at all.

Except, wait a minute. A call to First Great Western has revealed that I can use these travel vouchers as a discount off my season ticket when I come to renew it.

So, how much work do you think I'll have to put in to get them to send me £3,500 of "goodwill" travel vouchers over the next nine months? It's definitely worth the cost of a few stamps and a few strongly worded letters, don't you think?