my son purchased an annual train ticket for the duration of his work placement for his 3rd year of his degree - at a cost of c.£1,800. on one of the days covered by this annual ticket, whilst already travelling, he was asked to show his ticket - he had forgotten his wallet and therefore could not show the annual ticket. he did not have any cash, so could not purchase a ticket for that day's travel. the guard reported the incident and my son received a threat of summons - no mention of any other means of resolving the situation. we wrote a letter, explaining that he had an annual ticket covering the day in question and apologised unreservedly for not being able to show his ticket on the day in question. he received a further letter threatening summons, suggesting that he had travelled with the intention of not paying for the trip, despite the fact that he had explained that he had an annual (expensive) ticket, covering that day, therefore clearly paying upfront for the travel. they have now offered to forget the issue, if he pays £85, otherwise expect to be summoned to magistrates court!! he is a principled soul and does not see why he should pay £85 for 'intending to travel without paying' when he had already forked out £1,800. should he be prepared to go to court and argue his case and see whether a magistrate will see sense or should he pay up and put this down to experience, especially as he could do without another distraction in his final year of university? any advice would be gratefully received.