Swindled (part 2)

Updated: 22/03/10

Nothing more came out of the incident on Tuesday night, but on Thursday morning I was reminded that when it comes to being cheated a lone con artist is nothing at all compared to the companies that rip us off on a daily basis.

On Thursday morning I had to make my way to Birmingham for an assessment day for a company's graduate scheme. From here, Birmingham is a drive of about 3 hours, or you can take the train. I had originally considered driving, just because I can, but because I had to be there for midday and had to work the night before, I figured I would have to either drive late on Wednesday night, or very early Thursday morning. Instead I figured I'd let the train take the strain.

The journey was fairly simple -- one train into London, then another train out of London to Birmingham -- arriving early and giving me plenty of time.

I've been telling friends to guess how much my ticket cost me. "£40?" they might say, figuring that's quite a lot of money to spend on a train ticket. "60 quid, maybe?"

To the first, I tell them "Close, but try multiplying it by three."
In fact, a return ticket to Birmingham cost me £134.

A return flight from London to Barcelona would cost me no more than £50.
For another £50 on what I paid for my train ticket, I could fly to New York.
I could save £50 on my train ticket and get a six-week course of personal training at my gym.
Or for the same money I could buy a brand new pair of boots for my snowboard.

These are all items I would have dismissed as things I can't afford -- things I probably have the money for, but shouldn't spend. But on Thursday morning with the morning's commuters and dressed up in smart black suit I had no other option but to hand over my card.

The assessment day itself was unremarkable. A group exercise, numeracy tests, an individual interview and discussion about my business plan. It could go either way. I might have let myself down in the group exercise, or my numeracy skills might have failed me in the tests. The interview itself I was very happy with. And at the end of the day in a different city with a different set of commuters and snow blowing in the air, there was nothing else to do but get on the train and come back home.

People keep saying to me I should have booked my ticket in advance. Yeah, I say, I realise that now -- but I had no idea the ticket price could possibly be that much, and I didn't know what time I would be returning. I just had better get a job out of this now.

Update: I got my rejection letter today. That didn't take them long.