Train conductor took my money and didn't sell me a ticket

theoretica

littleboo said:

And presumably, along with the conductor not giving you the money back, you didn't ask for it either. Unless the train company finish their checks and find in your favor, you're probably have to say goodbye to the £10.

I agree - you gave the conductor money so it was legitimately in their hand or pouch.  You did not ask for it back, so I think it has the status of a possession of yours that you carelessly left lying around - lost property basically.  If the train company find they had £10 too much they should give it back (though some places charge for returning lost property).  If they don't find it, it is gone. 

KeithP

theoretica said:

littleboo said:

And presumably, along with the conductor not giving you the money back, you didn't ask for it either. Unless the train company finish their checks and find in your favor, you're probably have to say goodbye to the £10.

If the train company find they had £10 too much they should give it back (though some places charge for returning lost property). 

Yes, there is even a MSE article on rail companies charges for returning lost property...

Revealed: 10 train firms charge you to get lost property back

user1977

KeithP said:

theoretica said:

littleboo said:

And presumably, along with the conductor not giving you the money back, you didn't ask for it either. Unless the train company finish their checks and find in your favor, you're probably have to say goodbye to the £10.

If the train company find they had £10 too much they should give it back (though some places charge for returning lost property). 

Yes, there is even a MSE article on rail companies charges for returning lost property...

Revealed: 10 train firms charge you to get lost property back

But this isn't £10 lost property, it's a debt of £10 owed by the TOC to the OP. 

Pollycat

DB1904 said:

user1977 said:

GreatBritain said:

user1977 said:

GreatBritain said:

If they refuse to give me back my money, can I file a criminal report at the police station? 

No, because I can't see that any crime has been committed from what you've said, the police aren't going to be interested in your four quid change anyway, and even if they were, it's not their job to get the money back for you. The train operating company do however owe you the money, so you chase them up.

If you can't be bothered to read the post, at least read the title. The conductor pocketed my money. *He didn't sell me a ticket*. He took my £10 and that was that. It's theft. Now are you going to offer a helpful response? 

It was a helpful response, because I understand what constitutes the crime of theft. You need criminal intent for one, not just "oops I forgot to go back to that passenger and give him his money back". And like I said, even if it is theft, going to the police isn't going to get you your money.

So when the conductor was £10 up at the end of the day and decided to keep the money you know what that is?

This happened less than a week ago.
The train company are still investigating.

There is no proof that the conductor kept the money.
Therefore there is no theft - at this point at least.

This is a hypothetical situation which may well be resolved to the OP's satisfaction.
This will be more likely if the OP worded his/her complaint concisely and clearly.

GreatBritain

giraffe69 said:

Well, some of OP's answers may have been, how shall I put it, terse but I thought the situation was reasonably clear. Guard given £10 for a £6 ticket. Didn't give a ticket because machine was not working and didn't come back with the £10 either. Ticket purchased at the end to get through the barrier or whatever. Suppose you are getting off a train and appreciate you haven't got your money back but the train is about to move on and the guard is nowhere to be seen. What do you then do? I would have got off rather than travel to John O'Groats.
I would not go to the police because in the grand scheme of things that would get me nowhere but I would contact the train company and tell them what happened and make clear I wanted the £10 back and take it from there according to their reply. I'd be polite to them(at least the first time!) and would not accuse the guard of theft.

Thank you, some one with sense and reason. The company opened an investigation but it's been 2 days and I haven't received a reply and I can't find their live chat again. Should I threaten them or keep pestering them? 

Pollycat

GreatBritain said:

giraffe69 said:

Well, some of OP's answers may have been, how shall I put it, terse but I thought the situation was reasonably clear. Guard given £10 for a £6 ticket. Didn't give a ticket because machine was not working and didn't come back with the £10 either. Ticket purchased at the end to get through the barrier or whatever. Suppose you are getting off a train and appreciate you haven't got your money back but the train is about to move on and the guard is nowhere to be seen. What do you then do? I would have got off rather than travel to John O'Groats.
I would not go to the police because in the grand scheme of things that would get me nowhere but I would contact the train company and tell them what happened and make clear I wanted the £10 back and take it from there according to their reply. I'd be polite to them(at least the first time!) and would not accuse the guard of theft.

Thank you, some one with sense and reason. The company opened an investigation but it's been 2 days and I haven't received a reply and I can't find their live chat again. Should I threaten them or keep pestering them? 

Threaten them.
Or pester them.

Or wait until the train company get back in touch with you.

user1977

I would expect it to take more than a couple of days. Might take longer than that for the member of staff involved to even be back on shift.

Aylesbury_Duck

GreatBritain said:

giraffe69 said:

Well, some of OP's answers may have been, how shall I put it, terse but I thought the situation was reasonably clear. Guard given £10 for a £6 ticket. Didn't give a ticket because machine was not working and didn't come back with the £10 either. Ticket purchased at the end to get through the barrier or whatever. Suppose you are getting off a train and appreciate you haven't got your money back but the train is about to move on and the guard is nowhere to be seen. What do you then do? I would have got off rather than travel to John O'Groats.
I would not go to the police because in the grand scheme of things that would get me nowhere but I would contact the train company and tell them what happened and make clear I wanted the £10 back and take it from there according to their reply. I'd be polite to them(at least the first time!) and would not accuse the guard of theft.

Thank you, some one with sense and reason. The company opened an investigation but it's been 2 days and I haven't received a reply and I can't find their live chat again. Should I threaten them or keep pestering them? 

Threaten them with what?  

Silver_Shark

Just be patient, no need to threaten or pester them. You've filed a complaint, they are investigating and they'll get back to you.

GreatBritain

Silver_Shark said:

Just be patient, no need to threaten or pester them. You've filed a complaint, they are investigating and they'll get back to you.

The reason being companies often try to fob you off. For example I found the live chat and tried to connect again and received no reply multiple times. I thought it was strange, and I wondered if they were trying to avoid me, so I connected with a false name and received an agent connect straight away. They then tried to claim it was a connection error despite the fact I tested multiple times.

They've said they had passed the issue up to the managers, but the fact they deliberately avoided me despite the fact I had been polite with them shows that sometimes you have to be careful. I understand these things take time either way, so I'll leave it for a week before I chase them up again.