270 euros SNCF fine for agreeing to change seats on the train

He wanted to allow a father and son to join together and received a heavy fine from the SNCF inspectors.

A mishap that he could have done without. This Monday, March 4, 2024, an SNCF user was issued with a heavy fine. The reason ? He was seated in first class after swapping places with another passenger who wanted to be seated next to his son in second class. A rather courteous gesture on the part of Hugues, holder of a subscription on the TGV Sud-Est line. Problem is, this arrangement is not at all to the taste of the flight attendants when checking tickets. According to them, Hugues travels without a ticket. Result of the races: the latter must pay a fine of 270 euros (if it is paid immediately).

“Rotten honest people like that”

Disillusioned, Hugues shared his unpleasant experience, to say the least, on no longer hate” we can read on his account. Despite the support of the second passenger with whom he exchanged places, nothing worked, the controllers didn’t want to know anything. “The gentleman with whom I exchanged places came to support me and plead our good faith. Something which was totally ignored by the controllers” he laments. “Frankly, sorry eh, but I wonder how you can do this job, ruin honest people like that, then go home, kiss your wife and your kids and go to bed happy and fulfilled” he concludes, quite annoyed.

A fine higher than the usual rate?

In fact, moving from second to first class is not punishable by a fine for “no ticket” by the SNCF. Hugues would have had to pay the amount of the difference between a second class ticket and a first class ticket (upgrade), an amount to which is added a penalty of 15 euros, or 7 euros if the journey is less than 150 kilometers and the The user reports his irregularity. In all likelihood, despite the fact that he does not detail the amount of his fine, the controllers of the train taken by Hugues imposed a heavy sanction on him, namely the price of the ticket plus an additional 100 euros “if the customer does not pay not the fine immediately”, the choice made by Hugues, as indicated on X.

The director of the TGV South-East route contacted the user directly on X: “Can you send me the ticket window reference?” At the same time, SNCF Voyageurs also contacted the subscriber to try to find a solution: “Hello Hugues, we understand your dissatisfaction and are sorry about this situation. We would need more information”. Bad publicity for the SNCF after the episodes of strike by controllers and switchers at the end of February which disrupted the departures and returns on vacation of the French.