A few months ago I booked my train ticket for my return trip from the mountains. We all travelled down together in the car but I needed to be back by Friday and they were coming back on Saturday. I decided to take a night train because I'd taken one once before, back when I was a student, and it wasn't the worst experience of my life, so I figured, why not?
Just before my 26th birthday, my company bought me a 12-25 discount card because I take the train every week for work -- twice a month to Paris, and twice a month to Lyon. The advantage is that I can use it any time, not just for professional trips. I found a good rate online for a ticket from Megeve(Sallanches) to Paris(Austerlitz) and then Paris(Nord) to Lille. When you book online with the SNCF sometimes you get a few euros off, and then in addition to those two discounts, I also had a 20% off code. My ticket came to 65€, which is a damn good price for such a long trip, and in first class! I was so stoked.
Because we have a history of losing things just before trips, I decided to put my reservation number in my phone and withdraw my ticket the day of the trip. When the big day came and I showed up at the station to get my train, I learned that there is no ticket distributor at the train station in Sallanches, and because it was a night train leaving at 8:30, there also wasn't anybody working the ticket window.
Well shit.
After a brief moment of panic, the station manager assured me that all of the controllers aboard the trains were aware of the situation and could find my reservation for me. Then he showed me where this was indicated on all of the information screens in the station. Alright, I thought, this will be okay. I just need to get on the train and find the controller.
Normally when a train leaves the station, the controllers wait on the platform until just before the train leaves. There was nobody on the platform though. The train started to leave. I walked the length of the train twice looking for them and found nobody. Finally, I resigned myself to wait for them in my little room, on my bunk, patiently.
An hour and a half later there was a little knock on the door. In walks a toad-faced woman, asking for my ticket.
I got off my bunk and started to open the email with my ticket confirmation and proof of payment, explaining that Sallanches doesn't have a ticket machine but of course she already knew that... right?
Wrong. Well. She refused to believe it. Another controller arrived a moment later and accused me of having cancelled my ticket just before I got on the train in order to get a free ride. The woman accused me of wanting to waste everybody's time and asked why I didn't just go to the next train station down the line, a few villages away, Cluze? To which I replied, um, what and where and huh?
I kept trying to plead my case in a logical and calm manner when the woman snapped at me. "Oh just shut it!" she said. "You people are all the same", all the while using the informal "tu" with me as if I were some kind of child and not an adult travelling alone.
I asked the controller what the punishment was for SNCF's incompetence and was told that I would have to re-purchase my place -- a full price, first class ticket, coming to a whopping 166€, when I'd already paid 65€... ouch. (Later on I learned that what other people do is get off the train at the next stop and risk missing the train to go withdraw their tickets.. stupid me, right?)
What I found most frustrating about this situation was that before taking the train, I inquired as to what I should do and I followed the process required. I paid for the second ticket knowing that I would be able to fight this with their after sales services, but all the while frustrated because I was treated lowlier than an animal. I was called a liar and a thief and told to shut up whenever I attempted to defend myself. It was really scandalous and abusive. Even after I had paid, they continued to throw insults at me outright laugh about how much I was made to pay. "Of course it's expensive," the man said. "What did you expect? Oh yeah, a free ride. Ha!" -- I was disgusted.
On the stretch from Paris to Lille I actually managed to get my original ticket and presented it to the controller once on board. I also took advantage of his time to ask him what he thought of the situation. He was so upset for me that rather than fining me for not having my 12-25 card, he let me go. After he finished controlling, he came back to find me and whispered to me that I really needed to send a letter because what they did wasn't normal at all and that I was fully in my right.
I haven't had the time this week to challenge this situation in front of an actual SNCF agent, but it's first on my list for Friday or Saturday. I hope that justice will prevail and that my unnecessary ticket will be reimbursed. We'll see... in the mean time, I'm going to Paris tomorrow and i'm crossing my fingers for a completely uneventful, boring trip.
To be continued!
7 comments:
Oh man, I have been in that situation before and it sucks. Though if I were you, I wouldn't even bother talking to an SNCF agent about this - as far as I know, they can't reimburse you at the station anyways and it would likely just cause another fight. You are better off just writing to the address they gave you, explaining the situation, and asking for a refund. I've never had any problems being refunded, and they usually get back to you pretty quickly.
I do have two suggestions that could help avoid this in the future though. Do you have an iphone? If so, you should get the voyages-sncf app - you can store your ticket right in it, and the comptroller just scans it - no need to print or "composte" it. (As a side note, there is a separate SNCF app for train times & tracks that is also super useful for frequent travelers - but why they couldn't combine them into one app is beyond me!).
If you don't have an iphone, another option is the new carte de fidelité (although you may already have it since you mentioned a 20% reduction code?). Anyway, the card has a 'puce' and your ticket is automatically stored on it (assuming you were logged into your account when you booked it). So same thing as the app - there is no longer any need to have an actual ticket, everything is stored electronically.
Hopefully one of these ideas will be of use and help you avoid a similar situation in the future!
Oh my gosh what a horror story! Screw those people for treating you thusly. Best of luck getting your refund!
Hey! Yeah those are great ideas, totally worth recommending in order to avoid these kinds of messes. Unfortunately the 20% off, don't remember what it was because it was a code somebody sent to me, but it required me to have a printed out ticket instead of an e-ticket. I'm still waiting on them to send me my new carte frequence -- it's been four months since I asked for it!
Oh man, four months? Geez SNCF, get it together! Maybe it's worth reapplying again? One of my employees had been waiting for two months, so she reapplied and it showed up within two weeks.
Yeah I'm planning on re-applying. It'll be the third time :/
What a nightmare! I hope you get a refund, and make sure you write about the appalling behaviour of the controllers.
Lay it on a bit about how you're a law-abiding citizen, had followed the procedure as told to you by the guy at the station and yet the two on the train treated you like a common criminal. This ruined your travel and you hope that some reprimand will be forthcoming to the train's controllers.
Amber, this is insane. Why are they so rude to you? I think I would have started crying! Hope things go smoothly for the refund and you should definitely write an angry letter describing these people physically too so they get a reprimand (ha, like that happens in France!).
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