Police appeal after train staff abused in Somerset - Thursday 4 August 2011

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the British Transport Police press release:

DO YOU RECOGNISE THESE MEN? POLICE APPEAL FOR INFORMATION AFTER MEMBER OF TRAIN STAFF ABUSED ^ SOMERSET

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) officers investigating an incident on board a train travelling between Highbridge & Burnham and Bridgwater railway stations are appealing for the public^s help to identify two men they wish to speak to.

Officers have today released CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) images the men they believe will have information which will assist the investigation.

PC Lauren Anderson, investigating officer, said the incident took place at about 10.40am on Thursday 4 August 2011.

^Two male passengers on board the 0900hrs Cardiff Central-Plymouth service attempted to buy tickets using a bank card which was declined by the train manager^s ticket machine,^ PC Anderson said. ^The pair boarded the train at Highbridge & Burnham railway station and alighted at Bridgwater station. As they left, they hurled abuse and swore at the train manager repeatedly. This was witnessed by a number of other passengers including families with young children.

^Enquiries into the incident are ongoing and, after viewing CCTV images, I would now like to identify and speak to the two men in these photographs as I believe they will have information which can help police. If you know who they are, or where they are, please contact BTP straight away.^

Anyone with information is urged contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40, quoting incident reference B4/WWA of 07/10/2011. Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Edit note: Images now removed due to expiry of copyright permission. CfN

[Brucey]

If the card was declined, does the machine still store the card number?  If it does, that could be a simple way of tracing them (although I'm sure the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) have already explored this route...)

[broadgage]

If the card was declined, does the machine still store the card number?  If it does, that could be a simple way of tracing them (although I'm sure the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) have already explored this route...)

That would be of limited use if the card was stolen, which could well have been the reason that it was not accepted.

[JayMac]

The crime that appears to have been committed here is one of public order, i.e. verbal abuse. There's no mention in the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) press release that they are looking for someone in relation to card theft or fraudulent use of a card.

If they were using their own card, I'd be very surprised if the card reader stored card details in such a way that they can be retrieved later by the police. Even if a card number was retrievable (I hope they're not stored - very unsecure) then if an offence was committed that had no relation to the use of a card I don't think the banks would give out personal information without a court order.

[Maxwell P]

Weighing in here, firstly problems of this nature, on this stretch of line are legion.  Bridgwater is a particular hotspot and IMO^▸ (in my opinion), not enough is done to ensure that passengers and staff may go about their business without fear of intimidation or worse.

With regard to the Credit Card incident, pure surmise, but I would suggest that the transaction could have been declined due to being made on one of the new generation of 'online' authorisation cards.  In a nutshell, these are an updated Electron/Solo facility, presumably issued to avoid stigmatising the holder as a poor credit risk.  They are virtually identical to a pukka debit card, but don't work in Thyron chip and pin machines. Something that the clearing banks should be addressing.  Holders are often well aware that these cards don't work on-train and some take advantage of this to plead ignorance when approached by a guard. 

[devon_metro]

Do the on train chip and pin not print out receipts then? These have the full card number and relevant details on the Merchant copy to persue the money. With card machines i've worked with they print out a partial receipt before being declined.

[Maxwell P]

Do the on train chip and pin not print out receipts then? These have the full card number and relevant details on the Merchant copy to persue the money. With card machines i've worked with they print out a partial receipt before being declined.

If a transaction is aborted yes, if declined no.