Administration fee for train fare

Amanna

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this query but it seemed the most likely.

A few months ago I took the train to visit my friend. I normally have a bus pass but decided to get on the tube. I swapped onto the overground but didn't swipe my oyster card. There were inspectors on the train, and they refused to accept the money I had on my oyster card even though they said it was enough. They said they would be fining me £20, so I paid what I had on the day and they said they would send me a request for the remainder in the post.

When the letter arrived, the fee had doubled to £40 including about £30 administration fee. I wasn't happy about paying it, and intended to post on here to find out whether they could legally charge me that amount for simply typing a letter. I know successful claims have been brought against banks for doing the same but I didnm't know if it applied.

I didn't get round to doing it, and within a week I received another letter, now upping the fee to £60 because I didn't reply to the original letter. Again I didn't respond as things had come up (I am in the early stages of a redundancy period and looking for a job was uppermost on my mind).

Over the weekend, I received a letter from the debt collector telling me that they would be visiting me on 12th January 2012 to collect £77. My question is, am I obliged to pay their overblown admin fees, or can I just pay the amount that I was initially told it was going to cost? I know I have left it incredibly late, and I have learned my lesson about swiping in (I learned that on the train, before I got the first letter). Just want to know if I have any legal rights here, or if I should just pay up and shut up?

Thanks in advance!

Annisele

I'm not an expert, but my (non legal) opinion is that you should just pay up.

Transport for London puts its policy on penalty fares online. Just because an organisation says it's entitled to charge a penalty fare doesn't mean it is - but TFL says the Greater London Authority Act 1999 gives it the right to levy them, so the situation isn't identical to the one with the banks.

If you did want to challenge the admin fee, then you might have had some chance if you'd done it straight away. However, the fact that you've left it months means that TfL probably thinks you have no intention of paying.

Ultimately, I think that trying to challenge the fee will likely cost you more than just paying it. Even if there is some loophole, you'll likely not find it on your own - so unless somebody else comes along and enlightens you, you'd have to pay for legal advice on the offchance they'll find something that helps you.

If you can't afford to pay, TfL may well be willing to discuss payment arrangements.

Amanna

Thanks Annisele. That was pretty much what I was thinking but I was hoping I wouldn't have to. Oh well, pay up and shut up it is.