A rail company criticised for its poor customer satisfaction levels has issued an apology to a grieving passenger it wrongly fined and then accused of being confused by ticket rules.
First Capital Connect (FCC) incorrectly fined Lucy Graubart, claiming she had bought the wrong kind |of ticket to travel to a friend’s fun-|eral.
When Ms Graubart, from Brighton, complained through The Argus that FCC’s inspectors had been “rude, aggressive and intimidating”, the rail company insisted the passenger was mistaken and must have bought the wrong kind of ticket.
She said she had been subjected to “20 minutes of bullying” before being issued with a fine for having the wrong ticket by an inspector named Theo.
FCC claimed she had been correctly fined more than £50 as her ticket was only valid with a railcard.
But after Ms Graubart said she was determined to prove she had bought the correct ticket and been unfairly treated, FCC has finally admitted it was wrong.
'People power'
Customers rated FCC the third worst train company in the country for customer satisfaction with a rating of just 42 out of 100 last year.
Thanking The Argus for helping to resolve her complaint, Ms Graubart said: “Southern has now confirmed to me that the FCC staff were wrong. I was right.
“FCC treated me in that manner for nothing. It is ridiculous to have ticket inspectors out there without the proper training.
“People power does exist.”
Promotional offer
A spokesman for the train operator said: “We want to apologise to Ms Graubart for this genuine misunderstanding and the distress this has caused.
“We do need to ensure people pay for their journeys but clearly, in this case, Ms Graubart had indeed done so.
“As a result of her appeal, we have now been made aware of a promotional offer Southern is running on its website for tickets that are valid on our services.
“Ms Graubart is being compensated. The penalty fare of £50.40 is being refunded twice over in cash with a further £30 in travel vouchers.”
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