Strange situation with FGW.

dzug1

chemer wrote: »

Filton abbey wood. It was an early train 7 something. And I got to the station well upfront, I have spent an Hour or so waiting for the train. They phoned someone to ask if there was someone on the station. They said there was. But there wasn't anyone around when I got there. I did same thing lots of time and never had a problem with them. I never realised there could be any sort of troble I always paid for my fares on the train when I got to go to Bristol or from the staff on Bristol Temple Meads station right before barrier....

How do I appeal?

You write to them stating your case. Get a native English speaker to check it for you - my guess is there has been some misunderstanding both on your part and theirs due to language difficulties.

You should have sought out the conductor on the train and bought a ticket - just about every train on that journey stops at unstaffed stations so there should always be one.

wealdroam

Wait a minute...

Chemer, which station did you travel from?

First you said...

chemer wrote: »

Filton abbey wood.

Then you said...

chemer wrote: »

Well letter just saying that on <date> you sir travelled without a ticket from Yate to Bristol Temple Meads.

The ticket office at Yate is open from 7am to 11am Monday to Friday.

Which station did you tell the guy at Bristol TM you had travelled from?

chemer

From filton abbey wood! I was really in hurry, and they don't let me go before I tell them where I am travelled from...so I just lied to get rid of them...I neither of them was belleving me that I originaly travelled from Filton...

chemer

dzug1 wrote: »

You write to them stating your case. Get a native English speaker to check it for you - my guess is there has been some misunderstanding both on your part and theirs due to language difficulties.

You should have sought out the conductor on the train and bought a ticket - just about every train on that journey stops at unstaffed stations so there should always be one.

Well yeah, there should be a conductor. But sometimes they never show up. I don't know why. I these cases I always bought a ticket from a staff member at Bristol TM station. I have been doing this for years! Never had a problem...so I never bothered to search for a conductor on train...

wealdroam

chemer wrote: »

From filton abbey wood! I was really in hurry, and they don't let me go before I tell them where I am travelled from...so I just lied to get rid of them...I neither of them was belleving me that I originaly travelled from Filton...

Well if you told them you travelled from Yate, then I think you are stuck.
Simply because, as I said, the ticket office at Yate was open at the time you travelled.

WestonDave

Your story doesn't entirely stack up - you say you waited "an hour or so" for a train sometime after 7am, and yet there are trains at 06:27 and then every 10 or 20 minutes with 5 trains between 07:00 and 08:00. You've been doing this for years so wouldn't have turned up expecting a train before the 06:27, and even if that one was cancelled there would have been one at 07:01.

You appear to have told the staff at BTM that you started at Yate - to get rid of them. If that is the case you now have a problem in that trying to protest that you actually got on at Filton sounds like you are coming up with an excuse to wriggle out of it.

In terms of challenging this, you need to establish if you can (maybe by looking at calls or texts on your phone) what time train you caught - only around half of the trains via Abbey Wood come through and stop at Yate. If you were on the services from Cardiff then these don't stop at Yate which would enhance your argument. Secondly I'd look for any used tickets you still have which would demonstrate a pattern of catching the train at Abbey Wood - again like the above its not definitive but it goes some way to demonstrating a normal pattern of catching the train at FAW rather than Yate.

However in future you do need to find the guard/conductor if getting on an unmanned station rather than waiting for them to come to you, and you need to avoid giving misleading answers when dealing with the gate staff at BTM. If you've told them Yate, then I have some sympathy with them issuing a penalty on the strength of that - albeit you may have had language issues.

wealdroam

WestonDave wrote: »

If you've told them Yate, then I have some sympathy with them issuing a penalty on the strength of that - albeit you may have had language issues.

It also seems that the OP stated that they travelled from Filton Abbeywood but weren't believed...

chemer wrote: »

I was really in hurry, and they don't let me go before I tell them where I am travelled from...so I just lied to get rid of them...I neither of them was belleving me that I originaly travelled from Filton...

So the OP changed his story to state Yate as the departure station.

I imagine this would be seen as suspicious activity, at best.

redux

wealdroam wrote: »

It also seems that the OP stated that they travelled from Filton Abbeywood but weren't believed...

So the OP changed his story to state Yate as the departure station.

I imagine this would be seen as suspicious activity, at best.

It's a little confusing here, but perhaps it's the rail staff who are changing the story to Yate

dzug1

I'm confused too. But a possible scenario -

OP caught the 0647 from Yate (time from memory - I'm not looking it up again) arriving Temple Meads 0715. Ticket office at Yate opens at 0700 so probably no one there

Staff at TM unsure what time Yate opens - so ring Yate who say they are open - no one thinks to question more closely

OP panics and changes his story to Filton which he knows is unstaffed at that time. Understandably they don't believe him

FGW are having a blitz on ticketless travel so he's got caught up in that.

Stigy

chemer wrote: »

From filton abbey wood! I was really in hurry, and they don't let me go before I tell them where I am travelled from...so I just lied to get rid of them...I neither of them was belleving me that I originaly travelled from Filton...

Is Yate further away than Filton from Templemeads? If so, this is probably why they're looking at court action, because you lied and told them what you thought they wanted to hear, you've incriminated yourself as it looks clear to them that you intended to avoid some of your rail fare.

What you mustn't do is ignore the letter, even if they habe spelled your surname wrong.