Hello, I am not sure whether or not I can complain about this now, whether it is actually worth complaining or even to whom I complain? Also please bear in mind I haven't travelled by train for years, so I am not really up on terminology. To cut to the chase, last week at about 30 minutes notice I had to travel from Thirsk to London. I went to Thirsk station and at the ticket desk asked when the next train was that I could catch for London and could I buy the cheapest ticket for it. I was given a ticket and told to catch the next train (which was due in about a minute later) and change at York for the next train to London. I thus got on the next train at Thirsk (which was going to Manchester Airport via York). The guard stamped my ticket and all was well. I thus got off at York to change trains for London. From what I could deduce from the monitors, the London trains shown were all running late for some reason. However when the next London bound train pulled in about 20 minutes later I got on it and sat down. The train was non stop to London which I thought was ideal. A while later, the guard came along and when he looked at my ticket said it was not valid for that train and I would have to pay another £84.60!! Obviously I wasn't too chuffed by this (even less so when he said that the train I was on had actually stopped at Thirsk shortly after the one I had boarded) and would have in effect been the 'next' train to London without having the need to change and I had been sold the wrong ticket). It impressed me even less when he said if I had missed out the booking office entirely I could have boarded his train without a ticket and just paid the £84.60 which was less than the ticket I had bought!! The guard did have the courtesy to explain that my ticket said 'EC and connections' on it, and it meant I had to travel by an 'East Coast' train and the train I was on was a 'Grand Central'. Personally I thought all trains were alike and that as I had in effect got a 'connecting train' from York it should have been valid as it was a connection. It was after all valid on a Trans Pennine Train (I have never examined a train ticket before so this was all new to me and I wouldn't have had a clue as to what 'EC' meant other than possibly thinking it was the 'East Coast' Mainline which I was traveling on). So, I am thus £84.60 out of pocket. I did ring up Grand Central in York to try to get a refund but they said it was an East Coast problem. I them tried ringing East Coast who said it wasn't their problem either and it was a Trans Pennine Express problem. I tried ringing Trans Pennine (who apparently manage Thirsk station) but they said as my ticket had been stamped (by their guard between Thirsk and York) as far as they were concerned it could not be refunded and I should speak with East Coast whose train I should have travelled on. So there we are, going round and round in circles. Is there actually any sort of central body to complain to so I don't go round in circles again??. Is there any point in complaining?. To be honest I will never travel by train again if this is the state of railways in 2014. It is the car for me in future, or even flying from Leeds Bradford Airport to London (it would probably be cheaper!!). Sorry for the rant, but I feel pretty miffed about the whole situation. Jonathon