Train fare evasion - need advice please

RobertoMoir

Tesco_points_addict wrote: »

Come on guys, give the woman a break, have you never done anything wrong in your lives, done 32 in a 30 limit taken a pen home from work, made a peronal call at work etc?....ippy said she undertood she has done wrong and is willing to take her punishment she doesn't need a telling off from anyone on here.

ippy, yes you did wrong but you are under incredable strain, why don't you contact the station tomorrow, explain the situation and see what the options are?

Best wishes

TPA

Posts like this, accusing people of having a go at someone when they haven't, are just as bad as the people who do have a go at others.

Congratulations, you've made me start wishing there was a "No Thanks" button on the forums next to the Thanks button. I hope you're proud of yourself.

teambathmat

Tesco_points_addict wrote: »

Come on guys, give the woman a break, have you never done anything wrong in your lives, done 32 in a 30 limit taken a pen home from work, made a peronal call at work etc?....ippy said she undertood she has done wrong and is willing to take her punishment she doesn't need a telling off from anyone on here.

ippy, yes you did wrong but you are under incredable strain, why don't you contact the station tomorrow, explain the situation and see what the options are?

Best wishes

TPA

New to this forum, but eh?? What an unusual post?, having a pop at other members for giving advice? This is the kind of posts that start off fights etc on boards. And whats with the fancy writing anyway!

ippy_2

hstudent, it was Northern Rail, unfortunately, who yes did prosecute a woman and fined her £465 over a 40p fare discrepancy. They don't do penalty fares unlike most other rail companies.

davetrousers, I generally do get a weekly pass but as I was only in work for 2 days that week, I didn't.

DCodd - I've not had anything through the post yet but was told by the revenue protection officer they'd write in four to five weeks.

hstudent

I check Northern Rail train running information on BBCi reguarly and wasn't aware of any stations being closed (for engineering works), but I suppose you could have meant the station you named has a once a week service (and is closed most days) or was closed down a while ago.

With Northern Rail (and other companies like TransPennine Express and Arriva Trains Wales) they can sell you the most expensive type of ticket available for your jouney if you choose to walk past open ticketing facilites without making a purchase e.g. Standard Day Single instead of Off Peak Day Return. This is instead of a Merseyrail type approach of a ￡20 penalty fare as well as the price of your ticket.

However, as you lied about where you started your journey you've violated a rail bye-law meaning that they can take legal action against you. You should note though that the woman who had the 40p descripancy chose not to be represented in court. In another case a woman who was a trainee teacher was taken to court by Merseyrail for violating a rail bye-law by putting her feet on the seats. The woman attended court and faced no charges. This made the headlines as trainee teachers with criminal records wouldn't get a job. While your case is more serious than that one if you get called to court you should be represented and make it well known that had the conductor had a working ticket machine you would have purchased your ticket then.

alared

Everyone has at some time or other done something they later regretted.
All you can do is wait (which is a punishment in itself)and see what the letter says.
Could be anything from a caution,fine or court and as already pointed out,you did offer to pay but the conductor`s machine wasn`t working.

smc1981

Hi

I have a fare story today that I'm still raging over and wonder if anyone can offer some advice.

I got onto a train today - the route I take home about 3 times a week infrequently - and only just made it before the doors closed. I hadn't had the chance to buy a ticket, so went to find the guard on the train. As it's a stop at a university, it's a busy train and so there was a queue when I found her.
The queue lasted for the entire 9 minutes of the journey and I wasn't able to buy my ticket. So, before I continued my onward journey (one stop) I went to the office to buy the ticket. I had the exact money and went to pay when i was told to 'talk to this chap' who then proceeded to fine me £20 penalty fare for not buying a ticket!

I accept that I should've had one before boarding, but I couldn't have done any more to purchase my ticket and be an honest consumer and I had to catch that train as I was showing my house that evening to new tenants. The attendant at the station couldn't give a rat's !!!!. He wouldn't listen to any common sense - I was willing to go and buy the ticket with him following me there and then. All he wanted was to fine me.

I'm incensed as I actually tried to do the right thing. But I've read other forums about appeals and it seems that I'll go through the process just to be told 'tough luck'.
Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks

hstudent

smc1981 wrote: »

Hi

I have a fare story today that I'm still raging over and wonder if anyone can offer some advice.

I got onto a train today - the route I take home about 3 times a week infrequently - and only just made it before the doors closed. I hadn't had the chance to buy a ticket, so went to find the guard on the train. As it's a stop at a university, it's a busy train and so there was a queue when I found her.
The queue lasted for the entire 9 minutes of the journey and I wasn't able to buy my ticket. So, before I continued my onward journey (one stop) I went to the office to buy the ticket. I had the exact money and went to pay when i was told to 'talk to this chap' who then proceeded to fine me £20 penalty fare for not buying a ticket!

I accept that I should've had one before boarding, but I couldn't have done any more to purchase my ticket and be an honest consumer and I had to catch that train as I was showing my house that evening to new tenants. The attendant at the station couldn't give a rat's !!!!. He wouldn't listen to any common sense - I was willing to go and buy the ticket with him following me there and then. All he wanted was to fine me.

I'm incensed as I actually tried to do the right thing. But I've read other forums about appeals and it seems that I'll go through the process just to be told 'tough luck'.
Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks

If you walked past an open ticket office and boarded a train ran by an operator who issue penalty fares then they are entitled to issue you with a penalty fare just after you board the train, never mind after you left the train and completed your journey. It sounds like this is what happened to you and the revenue guy at the station was sticking to the rules. If this is the case you have a 0% chance of getting your £20 back. Next time buy a ticket before you board the train.

Most operators will charge you more if you don't buy a ticket when a ticket office or machine is available at your origin station e.g. selling you a Standard Day Single on the train when you could purchase an Off-Peak Day Return in the ticket office, but not all operators use penalty fares.

Softbrowneyes25

Hi, I am writing this as I need some advice as soon as possible. My son was fined £20 a couple of weeks back at Gipsy Hill BR station on the way back from Coulsdon South BR Station and he could only pay £1.00 as he had no money on him. He told the inspector that he had left his ticket at home. The ticket inspector issued a Penalty fare receipt and told him that he should make a photo copy of the tickets and write a letter to the Independant Appeals Service stating that his ticket was at home and then he did not have to pay the balance of £19.00. I managed to photocopy the ticket and also the penalty fare receipt and with a letter sent it to the Independent Appeals Service. I have received a letter today saying that under the rules that my son did not have a ticket on him when being inspected that the penalty fare should be paid. I have now bought a Postal Order to the value of £19.00 which I will post it today. I do not know as to why the Inspector said that there would be no penalty charge if my son proved and showed that the ticket was bought. Can anybody explain as I do not seem to understand why one says one thing and the fine still has to be paid. Anyway, from now on I will make sure that I will buy the weekly ticket for my son and I will make sure that he carries his ticket on him when he travels. Thanks for reading this post.

kwaks

I would say that the inspector believed the appeals process might show some compassion, unfortunately they rarely do.

KimYeovil

smc1981 wrote: »

I'm incensed as I actually tried to do the right thing.

This is a joke post, yes? You are not a real person - you are Tesco Points Addict returning with an alias to post outrageous nonsense to trigger a less than polite reply in order to justify TPA's ridiculous first post. Surely? Your post can not be serious.