Train ticket Unpaid Fare Notice..Please help!

cabbagetom

Hello All,

Two weeks ago I travelled from London to Edinburgh. Just before getting on the train I realised I had lost my wallet with my train tickets in. I told the train guard, and he suggested I get on and appeal against the unpaid fare notice by offering proof I had paid to travel on the train.

I sent my Unpaid Fare Notice along with evidence I was booked on the train, and explained that I had lost my wallet and had been told to get on the train.
I was told that my claim had been rejected, and that staff cannot be held liable.

I now have a £135 unpaid fare notice, and a £15 admin fee which has been added. I have paid this...and I'm not sure what I should do to get my money back?

If I had known that this would be the case I would not have listened to the train guard's advice and would have travelled on a different day using my railcard...

Please help...what steps can I take now...
I paid for a ticket, listened to the staff's advice, got on the train, and have now been saddled with a £150 debt...

Pete*G_4

did you get the staff member's name? can you appeal again? maybe to a higher authority or ombudsman?

thescouselander

The best bet is to take this as a lesson learnt and don't travel on the train again. Better to fly in future.

wealdroam

thescouselander wrote: »

The best bet is to take this as a lesson learnt and don't travel on the train again. Better to fly in future.

Not sure whether that's the best answer or not, at least they won't let you on a plane without a ticket.

bigstevex

Curious, did the guard who let you on the train give you the unpaid fare penalty?

Voyager2002

Google with a vengeance!

I vaguely recall a case that went to court, and so set a precedent for this kind of thing. A passenger lost his ticket towards the end of a long journey, and refused to pay the penalty fare on the basis that his ticket had been checked several times and so there was absolutely no doubt that he had indeed paid for a ticket. Under the special laws governing the railways, this was initially treated as irrelevant and he was ordered to pay. However, he took it to appeal and ... sorry, I don't remember the end of the story.

cabbagetom

Yes...I told him my situation and he told me to get on the train, explained that he would issue me with an Unpaid fare notice which I could then appeal against. I appealed but was sent a threatening debt collection letter which my mum suggested that I paid. She said it was analagous to getting a parking ticket incorrectly...you pay the ticket and then appeal afterwards...

I will try to appeal again...I guess I could threaten to take the company to court to get my money back...?

I just hate that everything has to be in writing so it is like snail mail following the process through...everything about these large businesses !!!!es me off so much...they invoke sub-clauses such as 'there is no staff liability' and demand immediate payment to avoid even further fees being added on, but then give themselves a ridiculously large window in which to respond to any appeal..so people like me are always forced out of money in the interim and then have a ridiculous hunt to get it back...

Thanks alot for all the help guys...I'm very gratefiul