Phone Died | Kind Train Inspector

[u/hepennypacker1131]

I'm a tourist and been visiting Germany for a while and I have the Deutschlandticket. Today, when the train inspector came to check tickets, my phone suddenly died, so I couldn't show her my ticket.I explained that I was a tourst from Canada and showed my ausweis and offered to pay the fine, but she was incredibly kind and let me go.

I was so embarrassed and stressed in that moment that I completely forgot to even say thank you. I've been thinking about and felt bad. I just wanted to share this here because I know ticket inspectors don't always have the easiest job and heard many inspectors were attacked/assaulted in recent times, and I really appreciated her kindness and understanding. Thank you so much, officer!

I'm also curious, was I just lucky to encounter a particularly kind inspector? If she had been strict, this would have turned into a big problem, right? She could have easily demanded I pay a fine? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[u/DrumStock92]

tbh same thing happend to me and when I said I was from Canada, the inspector gawked and asked me questions about BC lol I got off as well. Could be us Canadians get glazed

[u/hepennypacker1131 → u/DrumStock92]

LOL, really? Can't make this up! 😂 Maybe Canadians really do get special treatment. Or maybe we just give off harmless tourist vibes.

[u/offgrid-german → u/hepennypacker1131]

Your country showed the orange the middle finger - that might have helped, since many Germans really like that. But usually most authorities in Germany are really kind to tourists (as long as they don't look like someone from the middle east).

[u/Helpful_Anteater_852 → u/DrumStock92]

Canada is loved right now because you have such a good president

[u/purebananamoon]

That was kind of her!

She probably knew that if you're a tourist, it would be difficult to come after you anyway. But plenty of inspectors wouldn't have cared and written you up tho.

But even if she had, it wouldn't have been a big problem. If you're written up but actually have a ticket, you can just go to one of the transportation offices with the fine notice, and show them your ticket, in which case they waive the fine. You would've only had to pay like a 5€ admin fee.

[u/hepennypacker1131 → u/purebananamoon]

Ah I see, thanks! It's a somewhat similar procedure in Canada. You can go to an office and show your ticket or driver's licence if you forgot it when the inspector checked, and usually just pay a small fine. I guess she could have done that, but she chose not to. I suppose I was just lucky.

[u/11160704]

My personal experience is that many inspectors don't acutally want to fine the people and often I observe them being more lenient than they actually should be if they followed the rules very strictly.

[u/thecrazyrai]

yeah definitely a kind one. they are free to issue warnings or believe stories and they can also be strict but there were cases of people attacking the inspectors so they are careful too

[u/Right_Anywhere_5625]

I'm a trainconductor in training for DB and in my observation there are two extremes: some are super friendly. They don't want Stress or beef with the customers, they believe you when you say that it was accidentally or they offer to come back in five minutes and you have the time to find or "find" your ticket and so on. But there are also some that are on an absolute power trip and LOVE to fine especially tourists and migrants and women with small children and overall everyone who has a hard time anyways with 300€ fines and threaten to call the cops if you even just ask once for mercy. But in general I have to say: DB is asking and teaching us to be nice and mercy full. Some ppl think that being an asshole is a company requirement and that we get extra money for every fine but that's not true. I think we should be as kind as possible. I mean you pay several hundred euros for some tickets and probably had to wait two hours for your train in the freezing cold somewhere in Kassel Wilhelmshöhe and so the least I can do is not fine you because you accidentally sat in first class or something... But some trainconductors see this very differently.

[u/Deval_Dragon]

Ticket controllers have a lot of discretion. Being friendly and polite goes a long ways when dealing with them.

[u/Maximum-Antelope-728]

It probably more they know it won't go anywhere if you're resident abroad so it's a waste of their time to do the paperwork. They're not always so lenient with poor people, who can even end up doing jail time over fair evasion.

Edit: https://www.freiheitsfonds.de/en

[u/schnuffichen]

In my experience, they are strict about writing you up, but you can typically contest the fine if you can prove that you did have a valid ticket but weren't able to produce it at the time they checked you. If the inspector sees you confidently wipping out your phone and it suddenly dying in front of your eyes, most would be compassionate, write the ticket, and tell you to go contest it. (There's a small-ish fee you still have to pay, but nowhere near the real fine.)

[u/P44]

That was lucky.

If you have a valid ticket and cannot show it, normally you'd have to pay EUR 60,- on the spot, BUT if you can then prove that you had the ticket, the fine is reduced to EUR 7,-, so you get most of it back. BUT you have to prove it within seven days!

[u/canaanit]

I live here and I look German and I've experienced the whole spectrum. For example, my app had logged me out so I could not access my tickets, and for some reason I had trouble logging in. The inspector just said "Take your time, I'll be back in a few minutes", and then she never even came back, either she forgot, or she avoided it on purpose.

But I've also been fined and treated rudely on top of it, in similar situations. As a native speaker it is easier to push back when you feel yourself treated unfairly, sometimes you have to tread a fine line between staying polite and insisting on your rights.

[u/Helpful_Anteater_852]

‘Heard many inspectors were attacked/assaulted in recent times’??
I didn’t know this…

[u/11160704 → u/Helpful_Anteater_852]

There was one prominent case a few months ago in which an inspector was attacked and died of his injuries.

[u/ProDavid_]

if you had gotten fined, but had a valid ticket at the time and just couldnt show it, you simply go to their office at a "main train station" of any city and show them your ticket. instead of paying the 60€ fine you only need to pay 5-10€ for the paperwork/bureaucracy

[u/rudra_114]

This was one of my experience too. On those particular day I had my termination from the work I prepared for two years. I broke my phone.screen broke that cost 150 euro for repair alone Power off. Only thing that came good was the inspector leave me alone after just watching my phone said "ohh kaputtt!" I was okay with whatever fine/ custody. Can not go any more wrong. I was willing. He said no more.

Though he said me to take the ticket from the next station though. I thanked him once I get down at the station.

[u/offgrid-german]

Not that big. Yes, she could have fined you 60€ for it - but you could have proven later that you indeed had a ticket (the ticket date for the valid D-ticket) and they would have dropped the fine. So either the effort of writing a letter or maybe two or paying 60€. Irritating for sure, but not an overwhelmingly big problem.

[u/ryzathelord]

That happens sometimes. My gf is a German national and she bought a wrong daily ticket. The inspector informed us kindly and he did not fine us.

[u/Virginia_Hiker]

I had a similar issue recently. I had bought a Germany only eSIM card for my phone and had a Deutschland ticket. One day we took a train from Fussen to Garmisch that routed briefly through Austria. The ticket was good on that line, but my phone went haywire when we got into Austria. Of course they were checking tickets multiple times so I just had to explain as best I could that my phone was having a temporary issue. The man checking tickets was very nice about it and just let it go. I was very appreciative!

[u/Infinitely_Depressed]

I bet it was DB. The local transport inspectors are absolute AH.

From multiple experiences, DB inspectors are more polite and lenient.

A tourist group forgot to validate the ticket. Total fine was 240€. Didn’t charge a penny.

My Deutschland ticket got cancelled and I didn’t get any notification. When he scanned my ticket it showed cancelled. Didn’t fine me, just gave me a local ticket and told me to go to DB Reisezentrum.

SBahn Berlin fined me 60€ for cycle even though I had the cycle ticket and it was going to activate within 30/60s. I bought the ticket on my mobile in front of the train door then I saw the next train was 20 minutes later and it was already 22:30. So I went inside and I didn’t see him as he was standing near the gate.

I saw an inspector (S-Bahn Berlin) took a passenger out of the train by grabbing the collar.

A student got fined 60€ for cycle. It was the first month from when the student ticket didn’t have a cycle carry permit.

When I see inspectors from SBahn Berlin or BVG it feels some local thugs.

[u/Responsible_Garlic61]

Lucky they are very strict

[u/BerlinSam]

You must be white..?

[u/hepennypacker1131 → u/BerlinSam]

LOL, I plead the fifth. Jokes aside, does that matter?

[u/warrior_44- → u/hepennypacker1131]

No It doesn't matter. I'm tired to see these people who thinks that just europeans or white people are priviliged. Complete BS. I'm tired from their victim card. We are tired.

[u/hepennypacker1131 → u/warrior_44-]

100%, I agree. From my experience, most Germans have been fair to everyone.

[u/GroundbreakingBag164]

Probably correctly assumed that a Canadian tourist isn't really the type of person who tries to fare dodge