Dear Mike
Sadly the saga continues and the ombudsman has accepted that GA is correct in saying I can’t use my 60+ Oyster card on any of their services other than the Stratford service. I would sore istevyiurvthought as I face a fine abstention prosecution if I continue to use their services Stansted service with an extension despite TfL telling you I can
Dear Mr. Moule,
I hope you are well.
I am contacting you regarding your case against Greater Anglia, the Rail Service Provider (“RSP”).
Thank you for your patience whilst I have been reviewing your case file.
I understand that you spoke to my colleague earlier this week, and I apologise that I was unavailable to take the call.
Following receipt of your application, we requested a response from the RSP as part of our investigation so that we can consider the information from both parties. To update you on your case, the RSP have provided a response as follows:
“The customer is travelling with an Oyster 60+ TravelCard which allows for free travel on the TFL network if the user lives in a London borough. When attempting to travel from London Liverpool Street to Bishops Stortford, the customer was stopped and advised that he could not use this particular ticket on our services. The customer claims that the inspector was rude when explaining these rulings and that the advice given was incorrect.
We have explained to the customer that in line with his Oyster 60+ Travelcard, travel is not permitted on GA services except between London Liverpool Street and Stratford. If the customer is looking to travel to Bishops Stortford, he would need to travel to the closest TFL station (for free – using his pass) and then purchase an extension ticket to travel on GA services. This is detailed in the terms and conditions of the card as below:
https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/60-plus-oyster-photocard
We have also apologised for the interaction that the customer had with our colleague. We have advised that even when giving disappointing news, we expect staff to be polite and courteous and so we are sorry that this was not his experience. We have passed this on to the relevant management team to investigate with the colleague concerned, as per our internal processes. The outcome of the investigation would not be provided in line with GDPR. In terms of CCTV or body cam for the incident – no footage was requested and so any relevant footage would have subsequently expired.
The customer appears to have referenced several rulings in relation to Oyster and extension tickets, particularly section 14.3 of the NRCOT – which permits the customer to use an Oyster card and an extension ticket without the train needing to stop. However, this does not apply in this instance.
As per the terms of the customer’s ticket, free travel is not permitted on GA service, except between London Liverpool Street and Stratford. If the customer was attempting to travel to Bishops Stortford on GA services using this ticket, it was correct that he was stopped and asked to purchase another ticket. It would NOT be the case that he could travel to the Oyster boundary zone using the ticket, to then buy an extension – free travel would not have been applicable.”
Following the response, I have also reviewed the website (https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/60-plus-oyster-photocard#on-this-page-1) which indicates that travel is only permitted between Stratford and Liverpool Street on Greater Anglia services.
From your application form, I understand that you were seeking an explanation or apology.
Please can you review the response provided by the RSP and confirm if you wanted anything further clarifying?
Kind regards,