I lent out my railcard and got fined. Who should pay?

trukdiver

wealdroam wrote: »

I'm disappointed to see that the title of this thread specifies a railcard, yet the body of the original post mentions a rail pass.

I know what a railcard is, but what is a rail pass?

The conductors always ask for "tickets and passes, please" as they go through the train so it must mean the same as a season ticket...

Fujiko

brewerdave wrote: »

Not a direct answer to the original post.....but,travelling on a bus recently an old dear got on, and told the driver that she couldn't find her pass...he made her pay...and her language made even me blush:rotfl:
The general consensus was that the driver was right!!...she got on knowing she hadn't got her pass.

I had a similar thing happen to me. I had my pass and was struggling to find it in my handbag, but the driver just gave me a ticket without waiting to see the pass. Ah well, there are some advantages to being an old dear with grey hair!

jencat

In all honesty, the amount I pay per year for my travelcard now is so obscenely high that I don't feel particularly bad lending it to someone to save them money when I'm not using it. I see it as minor revenge for all the crappy travel delays, lack of seats and the fact the train company seem to delight on letting non-folding bikes take up all the standing space during rush hour (despite this being against their T&Cs).

But if someone doesn't put your pass back in your bag and you forget to check (as has happened to me a couple of times), you just buy a day ticket and ask them for at least some of the money back for that when you get home. Said cost is always going to be less than the fine, obviously. Just getting on a train with no ticket and absolving all responsibility is kind of bizarre though. Essentially you forgot the ticket, so whatever measures would usually be in place would still apply (if the train company let you reclaim the cost of the ticket and/or fine a couple of times a year, yep do that).

Realistically, the most you could ask the friend for would be the cost of what they saved by using the pass in the first place instead of the total of the fine. They haven't lost anything as such then and if you take the risk of travelling without a ticket then the fine is kind of inevitable (if there are no ticket machines at the departure station to get the day pass first, I guess that's another thing, but again, see if the train company will refund. The friend really isn't responsible for the total cost of the fine.)

happyinflorida

I am amazed at all these holier than thou replies.

This person has tried to do their "friend" a favour and lent them something so they get a cheaper ticket, that's nice of them to do that and I would do the same to be honest - the friend didn't say no, did they? Then the friend doesn't put it back as they should have done so the poor person asking the question has got lumbered with a £40 fine.

Now I would ask my "friend" to pay that back to me as it was their fault I got fined, they got their cheaper ticket and then didn't put my pass back in my bag as they were meant to do, they are the one at fault IMO.

happyinflorida

Not forgetting the fact also that our MP's, ministers, PM etc and all the banks, etc are getting away with thieving from us on a daily basis and no one does anything about that do they? So why should this person pay a fine - our lot in power don't.

We gave £3BILLION to the banks who aren't even paying us back and they were in fault in the first place.

Getting off soap box now!

Ebenezer_Screwj

Why on earth did you do such a stupid thing, unless you have natural criminal tendencies? YOU pay of course! Incidentally, what do you intend to do with the rest of your life?

Naforan

Totally understandable situation. If the ticket has been paid for, what does it matter who uses it?
Having said that; you both broke the contract, knowingly, so £20 each would seem fair.

richardvc

gloriouslyhappy wrote: »

My sentiments exactly! However, I also think it's worth taking a photo of your pass and emailing customer service to see if they'll refund you the fine less a day return ticket, you can't be the only one to mislay their pass, so they might have a 'one-off' leniency policy. Definitely worth an email!

But they didn't mislay their pass, they lent it to their friend to use it fraudulently.

Pay the fine !

callum9999

scotsbob wrote: »

You pay the fine.


Leaving aside the fact that you acted fraudulently, just being stupid enough to get on public transport without first checking you have your ticket with you, means you pay the fine.

That's incredibly harsh...

They acted fraudulently with their railcard so deserve a fine regardless, but forgetting something doesn't make you stupid. Everyone has forgotten something they needed at some point in their life.

happyinflorida wrote: »

I am amazed at all these holier than thou replies.

This person has tried to do their "friend" a favour and lent them something so they get a cheaper ticket, that's nice of them to do that and I would do the same to be honest - the friend didn't say no, did they? Then the friend doesn't put it back as they should have done so the poor person asking the question has got lumbered with a £40 fine.

Now I would ask my "friend" to pay that back to me as it was their fault I got fined, they got their cheaper ticket and then didn't put my pass back in my bag as they were meant to do, they are the one at fault IMO.

You're amazed that you aren't on a board with a bunch of criminals!? The pass isn't the posters pass to give out to anyone - it's the equivalent of stealing something from Tesco as a favour to a friend...

And it's not "holier than thou". I, and everyone else criticising, have done something wrong before. However, if I get caught breaking the law then I will accept the punishment and move on instead of bleating about how unfair life is. A more apt saying is "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime".

happyinflorida wrote: »

Not forgetting the fact also that our MP's, ministers, PM etc and all the banks, etc are getting away with thieving from us on a daily basis and no one does anything about that do they? So why should this person pay a fine - our lot in power don't.

We gave £3BILLION to the banks who aren't even paying us back and they were in fault in the first place.

Getting off soap box now!

You probably should forget that "fact" because it blatantly isn't true... What exactly did MPs, ministers, the Prime Minister and the banks steal from you today? I'm willing to bet a large sum of money that the answer is "nothing". Having an irrational, knee-jerk and ignorant hatred of a group of people doesn't give you permission to slander them.

What's especially funny is the fact (a real fact this time) that you are the one condoning and encouraging fraud, not those evil politicians.

Indie_Kid

happyinflorida wrote: »

I am amazed at all these holier than thou replies.

This person has tried to do their "friend" a favour and lent them something so they get a cheaper ticket, that's nice of them to do that and I would do the same to be honest - the friend didn't say no, did they? Then the friend doesn't put it back as they should have done so the poor person asking the question has got lumbered with a £40 fine.

Now I would ask my "friend" to pay that back to me as it was their fault I got fined, they got their cheaper ticket and then didn't put my pass back in my bag as they were meant to do, they are the one at fault IMO.

The T&Cs state the pass is non transferrable.

Surprised that not all railcards require photos.