Train revenue company response to my appeal was to double it

aghagain

Hello,

I received a "penalty fare" (update: they now said it's not a penalty) for not getting a ticket (I tried to get one on board but it was busy and a 2 minute ride, and went straight over to the ticket desk at the other end which was manned by revenue protection instead of a ticket seller eek...) and asked the company in advance if appealing would go against me in any way, e.g. would the offer be taken away and the penalty increased. That's all the email consisted of. They replied to go ahead and write to so and so, so I did. All within the 21 days.

The response was to reject it and double the amount I have to pay. Had I known this would be the case I would have just sucked up the original amount. I've never known appealing within a timeframe to incur further costs.

I accept I was stupid and now know I should have bought a ticket before boarding, irregardless of what the ticket staff have said for the rail company who have always been lax about buying one on board and always came down to sell tickets and didn't ever suggest it was a problem.

Anyway, it doesn't seem correct that appealing would result in this. I specifically asked them if this would happen. There is also no mention of it under the appeals process on their website.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I can't afford this, they won't accept installments and believe the original penalty should be honoured as it was within the 21 days and they themselves gave me the go ahead to appeal... I was prepared to pay the original amount.

It's TIL.

Thank you.

twhitehousescat

we are now finding those revenue protection companies are being used in private parking situations , how long ago did the incident happen ,

aghagain

Hello,

It was just over a month ago.

I've received a reply and apparently it's not a penalty, however our email exchange prior was this.

Me: If I respond to the penalty fare with my defence can it go against me e.g. Will the offer be taken away and a worse one be proposed instead, or is it fixed now?

Them: Yes you can appeal your letter by putting your version of events in writing and sign and date the letter and send to us to be reviewed.

(The only point in my email to them was to find out if writing to them would go against me!)

Me after receiving new costs: Further to your response to my appeal, I have received a letter not only rejecting it but doubling the amount that I have to pay! If me writing a defence would have incurred this then I should have been made aware. This is outrageous and I ask that the original amount of circa £80 be kept. I literally asked in my email if it would go against me in any way or if it the penalty would increase!

Them: We have previously advised that these matters cannot be resolved by simple email exchange.
It seems that you have misread the information on the web pages. This is not a Penalty Fare matter, there is no Penalty Fare scheme operating in the area.

Your messages of today's date have been referred to our Prosecutor's Office and you will receive a written reply shortly

twhitehousescat

ok , you appealed very quickly , there is a 6 month time limit to start court action

regarding parking , indigo/ital etc we suggest second class royal mail ping pong , each letter taking a month to be answered

you will be up agaist this mob https://www.ircas.co.uk/Home/UnpaidFares

note the difference between penalty and unpaid tickets

It is estimated that the UK rail network carries in excess of 750 million passengers each year. If only a small percentage of these rail users travel without paying the appropriate fare the loss of revenue is considerable.

The Transport Industry work in a number of different ways to combat ticketless travel. In addition to operating a penalty fares scheme, passengers can be issued with an Unpaid Fare Notice if they fail to pay the full appropriate fare or fail to produce a valid ticket when requested to do so by a representative. An Unpaid Fare Notice is not the same as a Penalty Fare Notice. Where the incident is considered to fall outside of the scope of the Railways (Penalty Fare) Regulations 2018. Unpaid Fare Notices are issued in accordance with the Transport Provider’s Policy & Procedures and/or the National Rail Conditions of Carriage.

An Unpaid Fare Notice must be paid or appealed against within the stated time in order to avoid further costs or action being taken by the Transport Provider to recover the debt.

now at the point you are at , everybody wants a bite of the cherry

pmduk

I suggest you look at the Disputes and prosecutions board on this site. They have several current employees and others with expertise in this area.

I suspect it's not that your fine has doubled, more that you have lost your discount for prompt payment, same result, however, I know!

NB The OP has already mentioned his case is being dealt with by TIL, not the original RailCo.

aghagain

Thank you so much!

twhitehousescat

appeals are dealt with by this company on behalf of TFL



https://ibb.co/t8trkR1