Yet another very petty complaint about First Great Western

[JamieLei]

So First Great Western has failed us yet again. As the cheapest way from Birmingham to London and back over the weekend was buying Advance singles changing at Oxford (Virgin was down, as such Chiltern not offering E-Day, and WSMR costing "£ Ridiculous"), I thought it would be nice to try out FGW's HST refurbs. I even managed to use an online seat plan to ensure that we got table reservations there and back.

Stepping off the CrossCountry train on time against the storm of people pushing to get on (weird how they all want to go one stop to Reading), turns out that the booked FGW train to London was cancelled. So back on the jam-packed 220 to change at Reading. A 3-car 166 duly pulls up after 20 mins and it's standing all the way to London.

Coming back, the train leaves on time, and arrives on time, so no complaint about the timing. However, someone decided to substitute the nice comfy HST for a 6-car 165, which was still packed and standing - on a Sunday! How it managed to keep up with the HST timings still amazes me...

My main complaint was that FGW ran neither service we booked for. The first simply didn't turn up, and the second got substituted for a commuter train without reservations.

Because we didn't suffer any delays, we're not eligible for any compensation. However, if your train is cancelled and you're forced to stand in conditions created by said cancellation (when you originally had reserved seats), should you be eligible for such compensation? Any thoughts?

[Kevo00]

Well, I'd be pretty unhappy if I booked a seat to somewhere and was forced to stand. I suggest you try writing to them anyway.

I'm so glad I mostly use the East Coast. I don't understand about the Chiltern thing though because I got a nice cheap ticket from them on a Saturday a couple of weeks back, and it was a lovely quiet 165. Although it took an absolute age to get to London and lacked a trolley service, which is not what you want after a conference.

[Ameecher]

A train company is oblidged to transport you from place to place, they don't have to provide you with a seat. They could, if they wanted have no seats at all but well, that'd be silly. As your seat reservation was free of charge you don't really have any grounds to complain.

[Kevo00]

A train company is oblidged to transport you from place to place, they don't have to provide you with a seat. They could, if they wanted have no seats at all but well, that'd be silly. As your seat reservation was free of charge you don't really have any grounds to complain.

Interesting point. As the whole point of advance singles is selling you the seat on a specific train, not the obligation to transport you from place to place, arguably this does change things.

[andel]

A train company is oblidged to transport you from place to place, they don't have to provide you with a seat. They could, if they wanted have no seats at all but well, that'd be silly. As your seat reservation was free of charge you don't really have any grounds to complain.

Interesting point. As the whole point of advance singles is selling you the seat on a specific train, not the obligation to transport you from place to place, arguably this does change things.

No, the point of an Advance Single is that you *travel* on a train with a reserved number but it doesn't not guarentee you that seat. Ameecher is right.

[JamieLei]

No, the point of an Advance Single is that you *travel* on a train with a reserved number but it doesn't not guarentee you that seat. Ameecher is right.

True - Chiltern's former E-Day Advance tickets are restricted to certain trains, but there's no seat reservation. Nonetheless, the train I was restricted to travel on was cancelled, and thus the service I was sold was not fulfilled as advertised.

[Dave]

You can book seat reservations with non-advance trains - I did it when going to Colchester - good I did too, since I was delayed going there and was early coming back.

[Parkey]

FGW are very good at putting suburban trains on intercity routes and especially on Sundays. Just be glad you weren't doing the London-Hereford route, that one's more often than not a super jam-packed turbo.

On one occasion I've even been denied entry onto the platform at Oxford because the next express train to London (from Hereford) was "already full" before it even reached Oxford. Sure enough it was a turbo. They made everybody wait for the next train, which was the stopping service half an hour later that takes an hour longer to get to Paddington. There were a few people who were booked to catch flights from Heathrow who weren't very happy.

Sorry JamieLei but this is business as usual for FGW.

[andel]

No, the point of an Advance Single is that you *travel* on a train with a reserved number but it doesn't not guarentee you that seat. Ameecher is right.

True - Chiltern's former E-Day Advance tickets are restricted to certain trains, but there's no seat reservation. Nonetheless, the train I was restricted to travel on was cancelled, and thus the service I was sold was not fulfilled as advertised.

You were allowed to get on the next one, and your restrictions were relaxed, allowing you to arrive into the capital.

I'd suggest being grateful

[Washu]

The train in question was cancelled due to fault on the train as far as I know Jamie, I happened to be travelling that day and was grateful that I'd taken the train prior to it to get my connection to Exeter St Davids.

[JamieLei]

Indeed, yes it was the Great Malvern train that we were booked onto, although they dedicated 3 out of the 6 cars to go to Oxford only.

I know I shouldn't complain (and this is, as in the title, a very petty complaint) but customers wouldn't expect such bad service from any other TOC. I've never seen one delay or cancellation on Virgin West Coast, and the only (quite minor) delay on CrossCountry was due to being stuck behind a very late FGW train!

[Kevo00]

Well, if the above happened to me on NatEx East Coast, or any other company, I would still try writing to them. Fortunately it doesn't. And fortunately I don't have many reasons to go to the west country.

[MjD]

No, the point of an Advance Single is that you *travel* on a train with a reserved number but it doesn't not guarentee you that seat. Ameecher is right.

True - Chiltern's former E-Day Advance tickets are restricted to certain trains, but there's no seat reservation. Nonetheless, the train I was restricted to travel on was cancelled, and thus the service I was sold was not fulfilled as advertised.

But technically your ticket was null and void then for the next service as your ticket was only valid for that one train service. In the interests of customer service you were allowed to travel on another train, but the guard would be well within his rights to make you buy another ticket, so be glad that although your train was cancelled, you didn't need to pay for another more expensive ticket.

MD

[Badger]

Hah, my parents had some fun Saturday morning.
They were coming back from a break in Paignton using the 09.20 Paignton - Paddington booked to be a HST set. This was delayed for some half-arsed reason and was sustituted with a Class 142!! There were a fair few families with large suitcases wedged into this piddly 2-car unit, and thats before the stop at Torquay to pick up even more holidaymakers. The HST was to start from Newton Abbot right time but still turned up late, and only after the passengers crossed the footbridge twice as the platform got changed then changed back again! My folks were slightly pissed off!

[EXTspotter]

That happens all the time, when you live here you learn to accept it. At least they finished their holiday off with a nice (nodding) donkey ride!

[Badger]

Why would you accept that? Its just s***, plain and simple!

[JamieLei]

Train travel should be something enjoyed, rather than something you have to put up with...
The fact is that FGW do an appalling job and the public shouldn't be standing for it. In fact they don't. There haven't been fare strikes anywhere else in the country...

[Parkey]

Nationalise them I say.

[/controversy]

[Kevo00]

Most intriguing thing here is, why are First so bad with this franchise, and yet appear to do at least reasonably with others?

Is it the subsidy v premium payment situation? After all FGW's portfolio of some IC and some regional services would appear to allow the cross-subsidy that many opponents of balkanisation claim to be so useful. I can only imagine that the franchise arrangements are somehow to blame because First's management on Transpennine and Scotrail appears to be good (in my expirience; cue billions of horror stories no doubt).

[Ameecher]

It's probably more to do with their stock, or more precisely the lack of it. It's got better now that the HSTs are all refurbished but they've got a shortage of 158s, enough to cover the diagrams but with no spares leading to substitutions with pacers etc. The local lines suffer from poor infrastructure and also due to the nature of the network if a unit does fail it is very difficult to get a replacement unit in quickly meaning that perhaps sometimes an unsuitable train appears instead. Take that HST to Paignton, if that had suffered late running on the inbound train caused by something out of FGW's control (I dunno, jumper say) there are likely to be no replacement HSTs in the area to get back to running on time, there is however a DMU depot at Exeter that could at least provide a train which is better than no train at all.

Admittedly they do seem to effing up a lot more than perhaps they should be.