Advice requested for Unpaid Fare Notice

[CrazyGuy256]

Events:

I have been given an unpaid fare notice for a journey from Exeter St. Davids to London Waterloo. I originally had a ticket for the journey, via honiton and basingstoke, with an unreserved seat departing around 8pm, and costing £7.90 (+£1 booking fee)

 

Having arrived at the station early, and noticing that my seat was unreserved and that there was an earlier train with available unreserved seats, I took that instead. (departing around 4pm, same day)

 

I was given an unpaid fare notice for about £50 for the journey, since apparantly my ticket wasn't yet valid.

 

My Claims:

1. The unpaid fare notice is filled in unclearly. Both the date and time are scribbled out as if the inspector make a mistake and wrote over again the corect date and time.

 

2. The notice is marked as "No ticket", when in fact I did have a ticket for the journey, just not the seat reservation for the correct train.

 

3. The ticket inspector has doodled some other information about my home address on the bottom of the form - is this ok?

 

4. The ticket inspector took my original tickets from me, and refused to allow me to even take a photograph of them. (I still have the collection receipt and online booking confirmation email from thetrainline)

 

5. The ticket inspector insisted I pay a fare to my original destination, even though I said I wanted to get off the train immediately to reduce the amount due, and if possible re-join the train I did have a ticket for 4 hours later.

 

6. The website selling the tickets said the ticket was unreserved, and therefore I could use any unreserved seat, on any permitted route, on any operator, on the date shown on the ticket. After purchase however it now says "STD ADV SINGLE", and the help screen says this is only a specific train.

 

7. The ticket inspector wasn't treating all customers equally. A gentleman sitting behind me, clearly an acquaintance of the inspector, didn't have a ticket and she simply said he should get one for next time. "In case it's someone else on here next week"

 

8. The IRCAS website listed doesn't allow appeals to be filed online. I have tried twice, both while on the train and as soon as I got home. The website shows a generic error message after entering my postcode and "Q" number.

 

9. The due amount is unreasonable. The original fare cost £7.90, and for the offence of travelling the exact same route the same day (still the same off peak rate), the unpaid fare notice is made out for £48.50, making the total amount I have paid 7x the original ticket price, and I didn't even miss that train - I was early!

 

10. The amount is, for me, unaffordable. As an unemployed student living off a low income student grant in shared London accommodation, this amount represents 2.5 weeks of food money (and I can provide food receipts to show this), and requiring me to pay it could make me homeless or damage my health.

 

The question

Are any of the above claims likley to be worth including in my appeal, and would you guys suggest including just one, or including a long list of claims and asking for them all to be considered?

 

Thanks in advance...

[SRPO]

Deleted.

Edited September 23, 2009 by SRPO

[Stigy]

I think the Staff member was quite lenient...

[buzby]

Like the others, I'd love to say you were hard done to, but you would have been royally hacked off if you paid £88 for the ticket and discovered the guy opposit only paid £7.95 for his ticket. We all know that these special tickets come with huge caveats, especially your ticket is completely invalid until the time of your train is due to leave - not the one that left 3 hours earlier. I'm sure you'd find the earlier train didn't have any seats at the price you paid. I'd supply the original ticket as mitigation and ask for mercy.

[RPI]

I agree with the others here, you don't get a ticket for that price and expect no strings! Had there been an inspector on the train you could have been cautioned, interviewed and reported for summons for travelling without a valid ticket and not having the means to purchase one.

 

Although you were in possession of "a" ticket, it wasn't a "valid" ticket for that train therefore you would be treated as having no ticket.

 

Probably not what you wanted to hear but thats how it is unfortunately.

 

If you signed the notice then you have agreed to pay the amount due.

[samsmoot]

Hello, CrazyGuy256.

 

It does seem a little unfair that you are expected to pay for the entire journey, rather than the stop you wanted and volunteered to get off at. You could ask for the amount to be reduced, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The only other relevant point may be your poverty - you could ask for time to pay and offer them a couple of quid a week.

 

As you are appealing, you could start saving this amount whilst your appeal is pending, then at least you can offer a lump sum to start with, then maybe they will let you pay by instalments.

 

Discussing this with a friend it was mentioned that they once ran into the problem of being on the wrong train without a valid ticket. A penalty notice was issued and successfully appealed on the grounds that the ticket office told my friend that that was the train she needed. This obviously does not apply to your situation.

[Old-CodJA]

Like the others, I don't think you have been hard done by.

 

It might be worth noting what the definition of a VALID ticket is;

 

To be accepted as valid for travel a ticket must be valid for; the day, date, time of train, class of travel and place of journey made. (Gillingham 1881.)

 

Your ticket was not valid. The general conditions relating to 'special offer' type tickets make clear that if they are not used in line with the advertised conditions, then that traveller will be treated as if no ticket is held.

 

In such situations the traveller will be asked to pay the fare due and the only fare avaliable to the traveller who is on train without a valid ticket is the unrestricted walk-up single fare for the journey being made.

 

It isn't as though a penalty is being applied. You are being asked for the single fare.