Ok So my wife goes to get a multi day ticket for our local area. I know this is zone 50 in ZH. She takes her half tax card and tells the ticket office guy that she wants a multi day pass for herself and another one for our two dogs. He then sells her a two zone (50 & 51) multi day pass without the half tax reduction and tells her that when she travels with the dogs she must just punch it twice. One for her and one for the dogs.

She then climbs onto a bus with her mom and the two dogs and puts the newly acquired ticket into the ticket machine twice for her and the dogs. The ticket inspector then comes up to her and asks her for her ticket which she present all proud she did it all on her own. The ticket inspector says that it's wrong and starts giving her a fine. She asks what the problem is and she said that the ticket sales guy said she must just punch it twice and he then says he doesn't understand English. He says this in English. He hands her the fine and says, in English, that the payment advice will be in the mail. This really upset my wife. She hasn't been out the house without me for months and now this.

When I got home I looked at the ticket and we have in fact over paid as the value of the two punches in the ticket machine is CHF14 when if she got her ticket from the bus driver she would have paid CHF9,20 for her and both dogs. What is up with that?

Can we contest the fine? Can I write the SBB a "strongly worded letter" as is customary here in Switzerland? My poor wife now doesn't ever want to use the busses without me. I am so angry I just want to give this jerk a large chunk of my mind.

Yes you can contest the fine. I can't remember the exact procedure but it is usually written on the back of the fine when you receive it. If she was travelling within the zone then I would contest it. However I do not want to make guarantees as I've not read the small print on your tickets etc. It happend to me before that the local bus was not covered by the normal tickets...

I would suggest that you wait until the bill comes in the mail, and then take it all down to the ticket office where the person sold you the original ticket...and ask what you did/they did wrong...

Can you tell your wife from me to not feel so bad - I scored my first bus fine the first time I took the bus on my own - one stop outside zone 10

I now know what 'Stadtgrenze' means

Which Jerk exactly? The one who sold the ticket or the inspector?

I find the SBB staff generally very helpful, considerate and polite. Not all of them speak English, and I can't find it in myself to get so angry should they not and I screw up somewhere along the line, but that's just me. Really, chill, you'll have a chance to contest the fine. Please let us know the outcome.

While the SBB staff are extremely friendly, it is not beneath them to try and pull a fast one on a non-german speaking naif. I once had a very decent Swiss gent lean over my shoulder in the ticket queue and tell the clerk that he was either making a mistake or ripping off the tourist. The clerk went beetroot coloured, and asked me again what ticket I wanted. Surprisingly, the second ticket issued was some 40 % cheaper.

You have been warned...

Jim

Not really about the fine, but I found that buying my tickets on-line from SBB.ch avoided a lot of confusion. It's all in English including the explanation of the ticket type and the ticket that you actually print out is in English. I always use it for visitors cos I hate standing at the front of a bus asking in pidgin German for tickets.
Most different types of ZVV tickets are available, but unfortunately any that need stamping seem to be sent by post. Singles, day passes etc however can all be printed at home.

Write a letter and explain and provide the ticket/reciept, see what they say.

Just out of interest... is she mentally or physically impaired, or just terrified of actually leaving the house without you? If its the latter then she knew what moving to a foreign country would entail and unless she has aggrophobia she just needs to go out there and experience the place or she will never learn what's what.

i feel for you and your wife! but please encourage her to act like a 'foreigner' and carry on regardless! on my first trip alone in the car to the mall i was fined F250 - i was so mortified, it took me a week to tell my husband and my mom!!! but these things happen, so just call it school fees and get on the next bus...i still get the chills down my spine when i see a police car!
i've decided to remain the helpless foreigner for a long time - although i speak the language better than adequate and am really a very independent woman?!?!
good luck
sd

A week ago my better half was travelling to Zurich and as usual she got her a return ticket. She was inspected on the tram and got a fine for not having a valid ticket on the tram. She paid for the fine lately but it was shocking for us that it doesnt cover the city as well. I guess the fine must have been for not having a valid ticket when cahnging the zone?

Jacek, when you go to ZH for example there is the option to enclude the city in the ticket price. I think its even called City Ticket.

The SBB/CFF/FFS are on record as having a new ticketing policy where if you don't have the exact ticket you need for your journey it'll cost you.

And relying on the advice of the staff is unfortunately variable like how sympathetic an inspector might be.

If you're not enough conversant to buy in person use either a machine or online (print at home or mms to mobile phone).

Otherwise consider a multi-journey ticket in advance that you can reorder easily from machines or staff based on the old one.

Personally I have been badly sold tickets that I managed to negotiate myself out of. I've also seen sales staff in the HB easily flustered by non-routine requests.

I guess it's like certain things that don't go together as suggested by Dave Ramsey eg Airline Service, Tax rate reasonableness etc.

Yes buying on line can be easier but be careful!

We bought 2 day passes and then the person we were going to meet cancelled.

We could not get our tickets reimbursed even though we were there the day before the ticket was to be used. The teller said that as it was bought on line she was not authorized to do anything about it. And the help desk number said that since it was bought on line there are no reimbursements.

Last week I got a return from Sargans to Obberieden. Later in the day I got an invite for a beer in Zurich so bought a return from Ob to Zh. Before I went for the beer I asked at the info desk if I could use the 2 returns on a direct fast train back to Sargans. I was told yes, if I got the train that stopped in Thalwil as it's in the same zone as Obberieden.

After my beer(s) I was about to board this train and saw 2 ticket inspectors. I thought I would double check and they told me I couldn't, I would have to buy an extra ticket. They started punching in details into their machine and eventualy said (with a big smile) it would be about 50 rappen and they wouldn't worry about it.

I guess a lot depends on who the inspector is and what mood he's in!

There were two inspectors a friendly guy, who acknowledged my bh's fault as innocent bliss of ignorance (and soon after she would rectify her wrondoing) and a nasty woman (possibly not being laid properly ) who insisted on writing a fine

She didn't have a ticket. None whatsoever. VBZ and SBB are independant organisations. It said Zürich HB or some other station on her ticket and nothing like Zurich Zone 10 or city of Zurich or anything like that. VBZ doesn't get a dime for a ticket like that. I would have fined her too. Sorry.

This is correct, therefore always buy day passes from the counter or a ticket machine. This is stated in the conditions of sale on the website in advance.

Don't forget ZVV for the city/canton too, not to mention the independent lines like Uetlibergbahn etc.

Maybe then I should rant elswhere saying damn VBZ or ZVV, it is same kind of cheese same thing to me

we got similar experience; SBB sold us a monthly ticket with the wrong zone and got a fine by a nasty "inspector"...We complained strongly at the ticket SBB desk and got the fine cheaper.Just complain and explain the situation at any SBB desk, i am sure they will do something like for us.
Dont be nice because when it happen, they are not.

Seems you either love 'em or hate 'em:
I ♥ Switzerland