The last three times I phoned up National Rail, no one could understand what I was saying, and I had ridiculous answers.
"My train is cancelled, I fear the next (last of the day) will be too, will you put me up in a hotel if it is? It will take hours to travel 100 plus miles by road, and I have an early start tomorrow just to travel back here."
"Well sir, I'm really really sorry and completely very much understand the inconvenience and am really really sorry, but you will need to phone the train company sir, I'm really really sorry."
"But at 11:30pm, if I try to phone Transport for Wales, I will get an automated message telling me that they're closed, obviously."
"Well sir, I'm really very sorry and completely and utterly really very much understand the inconvenience and am really so so sorry, but I am here to help you sir - so I can advise you this: you can phone them in the morning and ask them then."
How on earth does it help telling me to phone them in the morning to ask if they'll put me in a hotel tonight?! All you get is grovelling apologies and useless advice.
We got stranded at Hertford East at midnight due to a complete shutdown of the WAML back in September, and we waited TWO HOURS for the taxi they were supposedly providing - and that was after being begged to phone Greater Anglia instead a hundred times, and me repeatedly telling them that GA's phone line was closed.