Southeastern apology for train ticket error
by Emma Grove
egrove@thekmgroup.co.uk
Train firm Southeastern
has apologised to a family after a series of mix-ups left them
paying more than £100 extra for fares - and then being given
tickets 500 miles from where they wanted to go.
Mark and Rebecca Simmonds had driven from their Sheppey home to
Sittingbourne station to buy a ticket to Thurnscoe, near Barnsley,
South Yorkshire.
The couple were heading up there with their youngest daughter,
five-year-old Georgie, to buy a dog.
They had researched the ticket prices online and were expecting
to pay about £120.
When they arrived at the booth they were told it would cost
£232.70 and when they queried the price, they were told this was
definitely right and they must have looked at the wrong
section.
Eventually they paid the extra cost and boarded the 10.37am
train last Tuesday.
It was only when the ticket man came round they realised they
had been sold tickets to Thurso, which is the most northerly town
on the British mainland - home to the country's most northerly
railway station and 503 miles away from Thurnscoe.
Rebecca, of Queenborough Road, Halfway, said: "The ticket man
said 'you're going a long way, you're not going to get there within
a day'. When we said it's not that far he told us Thurso is at the
other end of Scotland."
The Simmonds, who have four other children, were advised to stay
on the train until St Pancras, where they would be able to get a
refund.
But this was refused because it is a different train company
which operates in London.
They then had to pay out again for the correct tickets, from
Sittingbourne to Thurnscoe, at a cost of £131.20.
There was a happy end to the day though as the Simmonds, who
already have one Northern Inuit dog named Timber, eventually made
it to Thurnscoe and returned with another dog, which they have
named Takarra.
However, they are still waiting for their refund from
Southeastern.
Southeastern has apologised for the error and said they can
expect a refund as soon as possible.
A spokesman said: "We apologise if there has been a problem in
this particular case.
"We are currently looking into this case as a matter of urgency
to establish the facts and are working with the passenger to get it
resolved as quickly as possible."
Thurso/Thurnscoe factfile
- Thurso is a town on the north coast of Caithness in
Scotland.
- The town is often seen as a stepping stone to Orkney,
with established
- Many people use Thurso has a point of departure for the best
scenic route Scotland has to offer, the 140 miles taking in the
north and west coasts via Durness to Ullapool.
- Thurnscoe is a village in Barnsley in South
Yorkshire.
- It is one of the many former mining villages in the
Yorkshire coalfield.
- Thurnscoe was hit by a flood in June 2007 which burst the
banks of all the dykes in the village.
Tuesday, February 02 2010