A man has been left horrified after a ticket inspector tried to charge him £154 for taking an earlier train than he had booked – and people are divided.
One man has sounded the alarm for anyone who has ever thought about getting on an earlier train than indicated on their ticket.
Jack Taylor shared his ordeal on TikTok, saying he was made to “feel like a criminal” despite having a ticket. He expressed his frustration with the message: “DO NOT get on ANY earlier trains. I HAD A TICKET. I felt like a criminal.”
In the comments, she revealed that she had shelled out £100 for her ticket to London. Overlaying her video, she wrote: “POV: watching me get fined for catching an earlier train.”
The recording begins with the conductor asking for a sum that appears to be £54.50. Jack can be heard gasping: “Fifty pounds?” but the conductor clarifies: “£154, sir.”
Jack protests that “it’s too much money” and insists that he can’t afford to pay that amount, but the inspector is adamant that it’s “non-negotiable.” The inspector then gives him his options: either get off at Darlington and pay for that part of the journey only, or pay the full £154, please.
He ends up paying £9.40 to get to Darlington, where he asks the inspector, “Do you feel bad about doing this?” The answer is, “No, sir. Everyone else on this train has paid exactly the same price.” Jack had no choice but to “get off the train” and kill time for “an hour and a half” until his scheduled service arrived.
Their plight sparked a flurry of responses on social media. One wrote: “The ticket inspectors were definitely the kids reminding teachers that they would be leaving homework just as everyone was leaving.”
Another vented: “The ticket inspectors are the real villains. They don’t do their job, they’re just evil.” A third posted: “God why do they care SO MUCH if you get a ticket early? They still keep the money, not like you got on for free.”
However, there were those who supported the inspector, with one person asking: “I’m confused. Did you get on a train that you hadn’t booked a ticket for? Because if you booked a ticket for one flight, you can’t expect to get on an earlier flight, right?”
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