Ticket purchased five seconds late – CHF 115 fine

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The carnival is over. Finally. Basel and Lucerne again just… Basel and Lucerne. This year, I almost let my work colleagues talk me into going to the carnival. Something came up at the last moment. Dani’s colleague is not so lucky.

Dani had to go to Lucerne for the carnival. Saturday, noon. Daniel is having fun. But Dani will soon get bored. Two or three beer cans later, Dani shakes the confetti off her clothes and races to the train back to Zurich. Shortly before departure, he sits down, takes out his mobile phone and buys a ticket. The train starts moving. Almost did it, Dani thinks. Wrong thought.

Fifteen minutes later, the conductor appears: “Ticket, please!” Dani shows the QR code on her phone. Explorer scans and says nothing. Dani is already leaning back. But the conductor remains standing. “That amounts to 115 francs.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Dani no longer understands the world. The conductor remains without emotions. “You bought your ticket too late!” Dani is flustered but remains calm. “How late?” he asks. “In a matter of seconds,” the conductor replies. Dani appeals to common sense. “It’s been 15 minutes. You see that I bought a ticket and under no circumstances did I want to evade the fare.”

The conductor is annoyed and points to his smartphone. “Sign here.” Dani puts his signature on his mobile phone and writes down the conductor’s personal number.

Two days later, Dani sits down and writes a long email to SBB customer service. He describes the situation and is frustrated by the lack of good will. He asks for an answer.

A week passes. Dani didn’t get a response from SBB. He cannot forget the incident. So Dani picks up the phone. He has good luck. The lovely woman patiently listens to his case. She looks in the files. “You bought your ticket five seconds after departure,” she tells Dani.

Five seconds! Of course, the federal railways in such cases go forward, – the woman says, asks for forgiveness and cancels the bill. Dani says thanks. All is well that ends well.

What does this story teach us?

1. If you get to the wrong conductor at the wrong time, you’re out of luck.

2. It is better to call directly than write to the mail – the issue will clear up faster.

3. It is generally better not to go to the carnival!

Source: Blick