Money Moral Dilemma: Should I go back and pay for my train ticket?

I remember a time when, in addition to ticket offices being open all sorts of hours, there were inspectors and collectors patrolling the carriages when on the move, and invariably station-masters posting themselves at the exit gates to take tickets at destinations and unpaid fares.

If railway companies today are so disorganized and poorly managed that stations can't even be bothered to man ticket offices when trains are running, it's little wonder they're in the state they are.

In your position, I certainly wouldn't have sleepless nights over such crass inefficiency. Look upon the experience as something gained through another's negligence.:)

REJP wrote: »

Depends on how you have been brought up. I was taught to always be honest, so I would try to pay on my next journey.
I can understand why people paying a lot of money for tickets who often suffer from delayed journeys and therefore miss work might want to avoid paying, but there is a mechanism to claim compensation for delays.
The more people travel without paying means increases in fares in the end for those who pay.
This seems to me to be an Infant 5 lesson on honesty. Who dreamed the question up?

It's true that I ought to pay for my ticket each and every time. But there really is a limit to the headspace I'm going to give a £1.15 fare - in either direction ! I don't bother claiming refunds when I could either. As I said, practically speaking it'll come out in the wash... other situations might vary of course.

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

You can hold Network Rail in as much contempt as you want. They have nothing to do with ticketing or revenue protection - that's the responsibility of the various, private, Train Operating Companies.

I tend to incorrectly use the term Network Rail to refer to all of the companies. I'm aware that as a company themselves, they have no role in the ticketing etc. They do, however, have part responsibility in ensuring the trains run on time..... and they're failing.

musicmonkey1 wrote: »

My daughter tried to pay for her rail ticket at her destination station and unbelievably instead of taking the payment the rail company fined her for travelling without a ticket! It was featured in our local press at the time and the rail company's response was that it is an offence to travel without a ticket. (Predictably this was Southern Rail).

Also on Southern Rail, my husband was told at his starting station to pay at his destination. When he arrived and went to pay, he was told there was no mechanism to take payment for the ticket so they had to issue a fine, but if he appealed it then it would be refunded. He did and it was.

When catching a train there was no time for me to buy a ticket. The lady at the station said not to worry, I could buy one at my destination. However, when I arrived, the ticket office was closed, so I left without paying.

Presumably this was a station employee? In which case you had chance to purchase a ticket.Was there not a ticket machine at either station?

Most times on British trains my tickets are checked (Anglia region) or there are barriers at the station at start or end of journey.
As many have mentioned Germany as a frequent traveller there (and this is travelling a lot of the day) I find tickets are checked a few times - 3 or 4 at most. Very rarely on trams or S-bahn/U-bahn.
We did have one day when we had no checks at all. I did have a ticket.

Moral money dilemma - A few years back when in the local region getting on at the last stop before the trains destination, we were not ticket checked and the guard did not come forward to check or sell us a ticket (my error in no going to find the guard) A fare of around £2.20. Should now I forward this amount to the train company as we did not pay?
Incidentally the guard was right near us and made no attempt to check our tickets.