Just discovered another way to claw back money off the bastad train companies.

Needed to go from Nottingham to Birmingham today, travelling in the morning off peak, but coming back at peak time.

Off peak return was 19 quid, any time return was 38.

I was advised to buy an off peak return, then get it upgraded in Birmingham before coming back.

I did that for just 6 quid.

Have that, train bastads!

I was told this story years ago by a fellow worker, I was an apprentice so it was a few years ago.
A fella he knew always used to travel free on the train, he would watch some one go to the toilet, follow them, knock on the door, Ticket please, reply, I am on the Toilet, ok just pass it under the door sir/madam then make of with the ticket.
Ok you couldn’t do it nowadays because of the Barriers etc.

this must be only country in Europe were staff are told to keep quiet about offers etc. Of course there are bad apples ( good apples really ) who escape the recruitment hurdles and tell people how to save money. FFS ! go abroad and people fall over themselves to get you the best deal, so you go away with a positive view of their country, not in rip off Britain though.

Anyone for a Smart Meter?

Jamie, the full story goes like this:

A group of accountants and engineers are travelling together to a conference. The engineers queue up and buy tickets while the accountants look at them smugly. Only one of the accountants buys a ticket.
A forthcoming engineer asks why no other accountant has bought a ticket and is told "just watch and see". They board the train, where one of the accountants lingers in the corridor. After a moment the stray accountant calls out "inspector!" and all the accountants dash off and squeeze into a toilet cubicle. The inspector duly knocks on the toilet door and says 'ticket please", so they slide their one ticket under the door. Then they wait till he buggers off before leaving the bog.

The engineers congratulate the accountants on their ruse and swear they will use the same ploy on the return trip. The accountants just smile.

For the return trip the engineers buy just one ticket, but are surprised to see the accountants not buy any at all. The train sets off, the engineers planning to use the same trick as the accountants. The same accountant stands guard and after a while calls out "inspector!" The engineers duly pile into the bog. As soon as they are safely inside, an accountant approaches the toilet door and says "ticket please".

buying a ticket to get on a train nowadays must be harder than getting a mortgage and nearly expensive. you need to be a rail enthusiast, an economist, read any rules and regulations of any rail companies you travel on. oh for the good old days when there were singles, period returns and cheap day returns with non of this ticket splitting nonsense where you need a knowledge of all train services involved. shove the railways i,ll carry on polluting the atmosphere with my diesel car where i just put fuel in and not asked loads of bloody questions just to go down the road.