What happens if you don't buy a ticket and aren't offered one by a guard?

Naf

HappyMJ wrote: »

You don't need to queue for 20 minutes to buy a ticket. There is a reasonable time to wait and 20 minutes is too long. As he couldn't move on the train purchasing a ticket at the destination is fine.

So what are you supposed to do in the case of a last minute emergency trip? Or when through no fault of your own your connection isn't in time so you have to jump straight on the train as you have an appointment/deadline to meet? Surely that's why there is a conductor? Because its not always reasonable to have to wait in queues.

System

If nobody asks for a ticket on the train and nobody asks for a ticket at your destination I would make no effort to go and buy a ticket.

Rail staff are often extremely unpleasant and dealing with them is often a very unpleasant experience.

They are unfortunately one of the groups of people who are junior so resent their lives but also have the power to annoy passengers by fining them for petty trangressions.

The day they are all replaced with automated machines and barriers will be a happy day for rail passengers.

DCodd

Sorry but I have to ask.... Why are people discussing whether the OP's Brother should have bought a tickert prior to travel? The OP states that the station staff opened the barriers to allow the passengers access (presumably because of the queues?) Surely that is an invitation to travel and pay en-route or at your destination?

The fact that that the OP's Brother didn't pay at his destination and he jumped the barrier is the issue.

Wywth

DCodd wrote: »

Sorry but I have to ask.... Why are people discussing whether the OP's Brother should have bought a tickert prior to travel? The OP states that the station staff opened the barriers to allow the passengers access (presumably because of the queues?) Surely that is an invitation to travel and pay en-route or at your destination?

Or perhaps even an invitation to travel without paying :cool:

yorkie2

Unfortunately anyone reading this, and following the advice of geordie_taxi, is liable to be prosecuted.

If you board a train without a ticket, then you may be sold the appropriate fare (Grand Central, Hull Trains, unmanned stations etc) or the full Anytime fare (most Train Companies) or you may be charged a Penalty Fare or even prosecuted (on some Train Companies in certain circumstances).

If you ignore the guard when he/she comes round for tickets, and/or attempt to avoid payment at the destination station, then you certainly can end up being prosecuted and may get a criminal record.

If there was no facilities to buy a ticket at your origin, and the guard did not get to you (e.g. broken machine, driver only operation, busy train) and there were no facilities to buy at the destination station, then, and only then, are you OK to leave the destination station without paying.

I have seen people be prosecuted when the guard didn't get to them, even when boarding at unmanned stations, because they were alleged to have avoided payment at the destination station. It has happened. It can happen. It will happen again.

I would urge anyone reading this to listen to people such as Stigy, and not listen to geordie taxi.

Posts written in the style of geordie taxi would not be permitted on a certain forum dedicated to railway ticketing matters.

rev_henry

yorkie2 wrote: »

Unfortunately anyone reading this, and following the advice of geordie_taxi, is liable to be prosecuted.

If you board a train without a ticket, then you may be sold the appropriate fare (Grand Central, Hull Trains, unmanned stations etc) or the full Anytime fare (most Train Companies) or you may be charged a Penalty Fare or even prosecuted (on some Train Companies in certain circumstances).

If you ignore the guard when he/she comes round for tickets, and/or attempt to avoid payment at the destination station, then you certainly can end up being prosecuted and may get a criminal record.

If there was no facilities to buy a ticket at your origin, and the guard did not get to you (e.g. broken machine, driver only operation, busy train) and there were no facilities to buy at the destination station, then, and only then, are you OK to leave the destination station without paying.

I have seen people be prosecuted when the guard didn't get to them, even when boarding at unmanned stations, because they were alleged to have avoided payment at the destination station. It has happened. It can happen. It will happen again.

I would urge anyone reading this to listen to people such as Stigy, and not listen to geordie taxi.

Posts written in the style of geordie taxi would not be permitted on a certain forum dedicated to railway ticketing matters.

Interesting to note the Open Access TOCs don't penalise boarding before buying a ticket.

System

yorkie2 wrote: »

Unfortunately anyone reading this, and following the advice of geordie_taxi, is liable to be prosecuted.

If you board a train without a ticket, then you may be sold the appropriate fare (Grand Central, Hull Trains, unmanned stations etc) or the full Anytime fare (most Train Companies) or you may be charged a Penalty Fare or even prosecuted (on some Train Companies in certain circumstances).

If you ignore the guard when he/she comes round for tickets, and/or attempt to avoid payment at the destination station, then you certainly can end up being prosecuted and may get a criminal record.

If there was no facilities to buy a ticket at your origin, and the guard did not get to you (e.g. broken machine, driver only operation, busy train) and there were no facilities to buy at the destination station, then, and only then, are you OK to leave the destination station without paying.

I have seen people be prosecuted when the guard didn't get to them, even when boarding at unmanned stations, because they were alleged to have avoided payment at the destination station. It has happened. It can happen. It will happen again.

I would urge anyone reading this to listen to people such as Stigy, and not listen to geordie taxi.

Posts written in the style of geordie taxi would not be permitted on a certain forum dedicated to railway ticketing matters.

This is absolute rubbish

Jeff_Bridges_hair

goater78 wrote: »

This is absolute rubbish

Prove it then.

Stigy

goater78 wrote: »

This is absolute rubbish

I can see such thought went in to that reply. It's not rubbish and is how it is I'm afraid.

Geordie wrote:

its a bit naive to think that the NRCoC cant be use in a court of law they are on the whole the train companies operating policy and also any evidence presented to a magistrate has to be considered even in a strict liability offence

I'm not saying a defendant can't present them as their evidence, but you'll find that the Byelaw being charged, or the more serious Regulation of Railways Act 1889 will over rule them. If you've been sent a summons for an offence on the railway, then the TOC believes you to be in breach of either a Byelaw or the RoRA 1889. For Byelaws specifically, there's very little deffence. Either you had a ticket or you didn't, as long as the facilities etc were available to buy one. Everything else is mitigation i'm afraid.

michael243

Well, I once went on a Train for 15 mins only a few stops, the Ticket station was closed where I got on the train and had been for a while as I waited 30 mins for the train to arrive and there was no conductor on the trains so I couldn't get a ticket on the train either, when I got to my designation I was stopped by a inspector, asking where my ticket was I told him about it was impossible to get a ticket due to there was nobody to get one from he basically told me I was lying, refused to help and fined me £20 which I appealed against which failed, that really annoyed me on my second to last day at college, I pay every time that is available and get caught once, some people I knew never paid once and never got caught in the two years.....