WAGN Rail....What a joke

[JordanB]

quite a long story but what a joke this is.

 

a few months back i received a letter demanding £30 for "fair dodging" on a WAGN train. My name was correct and address was almost right yet all the personal information (i.e occupation, dob etc) was incorrect. Also that day i was in the office at the stated time and could prove it.

 

i called wagn and explained to them that i could prove (via clocking in and out system at work) that i was elsewhere and could not have possibly been on the train.

 

to cut a long story short the still made me go to court today advising me to bring any proof along with any witnesses.

 

so along i went today to enfield magistrates court with my sales director (as my witness) my records of time in and out of work, a statement from dartford river crossing showing i had used my dart tag that day so to prove i did drive into work, my passport showing that my DOB was incorrect on their forms etc.

 

i went into court and went through the usual procedings, name, address, plea etc. then i was told that the prosocutor from wagn would ask me some questions as would the ticket operator who issued the fine on the train. they stood up and appologised to the court and said that they did not recogognise me and had no questions. that was it...case dismissed. i enquired about any expenses i had and how i would claim them back i.e a days holiday from work etc to be told that i was not entitled to any loss of earnings but was allowed toclaim £1 petrol money from goffs oak. i asked what happens if this happens again next week and the week after, they said that i have to turn up to court again and again.

 

this happened to 3 other people whilst i was there. what a waste of tax payers money.

[mala_D]

What you do is write an "extremely angry" letter to the directors of WAGN Railways explaining the inconvenience of being wrongly accused by their ticket inspectors, and the fact that despite you informing them of your innocence, they insisted you go to court to prove it.

Try it...you might get jack-all out of 'em. Otherwise...wait for Big JR to answer this post...as he knows lots of procedures relating to this kind of thing!

Thanks for sharing the story tho', Pinnacle. It reminds me of incidences where people have had their car plates replicated by unknown persons and then been "billed" for unpaid congestion charges.

The other question is...as they nearly got your details right, was the original fair-dodger someone who knew you?

[JordanB]

yeah i think i will right a letter to them, only thing is that that is more of my time tey are getting! i will do it tho. it just annoys me all the time wasting when i offered them proof.

 

yes mate i believe the person knew me but it could of been a neighbour or anything.

[mala_D]

P'raps John Gaunt on BBC London 94.9 FM would be interested to hear your tale... <img src="/images/graemlins/whistling.gif" alt="" />

[Big J R]

Mala said 'Otherwise...wait for Big JR to answer this post...as he knows lots of procedures relating to this kind of thing!'

 

 

[color:"red"] I have taken the liberty of copying and pasting this in an E-Mail to a VERY good friend who used to be a senior revenue inspector for Network South East, before transferring to AMEC as Safety and Training Officer.

 

He MAY be able to offer some pearls of wisdom

 

[color:"black"]

[CANV EFM]

phone up the most senior person you can get hold of there and launch into a tirade of very personal abuse, just as you think they are about to hang up say 'sorry this is B.T. isnt it?' ..

totally fking pointless but it will make you feel better

[JordanB]

cheers big jr. i knew a fellow blue wouldnt let me down!

[Big J R]

For those following this thread, I am going to P.M a response to Pinnacle, who may wish to comment further on here !

[JordanB]

yes thanks for that bjr.

 

i will do as you suggest and write a letter and send a copy to the local paper.

 

it is such a shambles that this can happen! they were giving me all sorts of threats before saying i would be find £250 plus court costs etc and when they are wrong its just o ok sorry and see ya!

 

and for the record there were about 9 ticket inspectors present on the day for various cases, all on full pay no doubt.

 

one funny story i heard tho from the day was that a women ticket inspector was in trouble for attacking a chinese man who was rude to her! she did look tough tho (i certainly wouldnt like to mark her!)

 

thanks again and i will let you know the outcome of any further actions.