I have somes used a second ticket when the first one didn't work. Was any thought given to this solution?

somes = sometimes

I'm with azzure. In some cities, it's okay for two people to ride on one pass (it just deducts both rides from the card). Paris seems to be adding all sorts of travel cards these days, so how was the OP to know that the person wasn't just being kind and paying for them?

I don't think it was necessarily a sting, but since the OP was a tourist, it would have been nice for the cops to at least give them a chance to go back and buy a new ticket. 50 euros is a lot of money for something that could be an honest travel mistake.

Zeus wrote: "Now I remember why I stopped posting here... Always someone to scold you no matter wht you do or what advice you offer...."

That's just not true. Most threads are are simply exchanges of advice or information or opinion.

Now and again there is disagreement, and sometimes it is expressed in an inappropriate tone. Not here, though.

I think that wjg's remark that "obviously she was working with the cops" was contentious and invited debate. That debate has ensued. That's not scolding; that's not unreasonable. I am one of many who think wjg's claim that it was a scam or an entrapment had no solid basis, and I would think it wrong that such a claim be left unchallenged.

Zeus, if you believe that posts should not be subject to critical consideration and open to challenge, then I think it right that you adhere to a policy of not posting.

slangevar wrote: "how was the OP to know that the person wasn't just being kind and paying for them?"

Even the OP did not make this suggestion. The wording "walk through with her" suggests that the OP knew that this was not the normal way to do business.

Can you even get two people through those turnstiles at the same time? I feel like they're going to eat me when I walk through them.

slangevar asked: "Can you even get two people through those turnstiles at the same time?"

Are you trying to trap me? I wouldn't know, because I have never tried.

I think it is quite possible.

I live in a poor neighborhood and people push up against my butt when I am going through several times a week.

Maybe they're just being friendly, Kerouac. :-)

Yes, you can easily get two people through the turnstiles. You could get three people my size through one of them.

And let's not forget, the OP said this was her 7th trip to Paris. Being the guileless uninformed tourist just doesn't cut it.

I'm not harsh because I think the OP is an horrible thief who richly deserved to be fined. I can understand that she accepted the offer of the woman, I don't really care.

I'm harsh about his ludicrous hypothesis that it was a scam involving a person posing as an helpful stranger and actually waiting for innocent tourists holding a ticket that doesn't work.

Oh! And if you want a real scam warning involving metro ticket and helpful strangers :

If you happen to be stuck in a long line to buy your tickets, don't buy them from this helpful stranger who is roaming around.

<i>I'm not harsh because I think the OP is an horrible thief who richly deserved to be fined. I can understand that she accepted the offer of the woman, I don't really care.</i>

Seriously? This shocks me way more than the OP's original post.

&gt;&gt;&gt;I had to pay a 50 euro fine.&lt;&lt;&lt;

If it happens where I live the fine is 80 ?. So 50 ? is not too bad, and it was given for a reason.

Why does euro mark turn into ?.

where is the OP? S/he posted and has disappeared...

azzure - I agree with you. Actually the OP had bought and paid for a service and was prevented, by a malfunction of the SELLER's equipment, from receiving what he/she bought. So as far as the &quot;normal way to do business&quot; goes, the seller violated the &quot;normal way to do business&quot; first. The OP may have been violating the strict letter of the rules, but he/she was NOT violating the spirit, so I would cut them some slack.

I don't know if transit cops have time to verify people's stories, and I can understand if they don't, but I would have admired a cop who could take into account the details of a particular case and any extenuating circumstances - if the person had legitimately paid for the service, I would have let them off with a warning.

I think the OP should fine the metro 50 euros for inconveniencing them and not delivering what they had paid for - entrance onto the metro platform. ;-&gt;

&gt;&gt; he/she was NOT violating the spirit&lt;&lt;

Yes, s/he was. The option, if your ticket doesn't work, is to go and ask a person in authority what's wrong. Forcing your way through a turnstile is simply not on: that's why they're there.

The system didn't &quot;not deliver&quot; on what the OP had paid for: s/he preferred to take a demonstrably illegal way (what else is a turnstile for?) to get what s/he wanted.

NorCalif, that is an absurd position. If somebody fails in providing me with a service, it is not a licence for me to deal with the situation in any way I see fit; it is a circumstance where I should follow proper procedures. Procedures exist, and they have been described here, for dealing with the situation where a metro ticket or ticket reader is faulty.

<i>Author: elina
Date: 09/06/2008, 07:41 am

Why does euro mark turn into ?.</i>

Try the standard HTML way of writing &euro; - <b>&amp;euro;</b>