Thread: Penalty Fare Appeals Site

Hi

I have just signed up to this site to let people know I have found a new site, the site is obviously new as they dont seem to have a lot of content on it at the moment.

The site lets users submit there penalty fares and will assist in your appeal.
They have good information and advice on the site.

penaltyfareappeal.co.uk is the site address.

Is there any charge for using the site or it's materials Jason?

Having had another look at the site, it does charge £4 for looking at the appeal.

But there is an offer that they will deal with all penalty fare notices for free until the end of march.
The documents on the site seem to be free, (i.e. freely accessible).

I have sent an Email to the site asking what the £4 is for.

Free until the end of march, then £4 per ticket.

I'm afraid links aren't allowed to commercial sites on CAG as we ensure that everyone can deal with their problems free of charge on here.

Ah okay, thanks anyway.
Was thinking that it would be helpful to other members on here.

Thanks for the thought. If they fancy putting a link to CAG if we might be able to deal with other issues I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem, but might be worth checking if their admin are ok with that.

Good luck.

I do not want to pour cold water on this idea, because I am sure that the site suggested may well help some people.

However, I strongly suggest that people who have a genuine grievance with the issue of a penalty fare stop for just a moment and think about whether they have a strong case and how much they can do to help themselves. As I understand the founding ethic of this site (CF) it is to provide free advice (unqualified or otherwise) and to help people to save money wherever possible.

The penaltyfareappeal website requires you to make a payment of £4.00 to submit any notice to them, before you make any appeal. (I know there is a limited free offer on the description at present.)

There are a number of immediate drawbacks in my mind.

1. It will cost a great many people £4.00 each time to find that they do not have any chance of winning their appeal.
2. Those that do not have a strong chance of winning an appeal will still have to pay the penalty fare and it will have cost them £4.00 more than they needed to pay.
3. You only have 21 days from the date of issue of the notice and submitting a notice for scrutiny by an entirely unregulated third party will take time. The clock doesn't stop or take time out just because you are waiting for an unofficial body to get back to you with a prompt answer.

Now I have said before that I have 30 years railway experience and that is true, but although I am still involved in railway revenue protection matters, I do not deal with penalty fares appeals.

Over the past two months I have seen some good advice on this forum and some very bad advice too. There can sometimes be very good reasons for getting a penalty fare notice cancelled and I would encourage everyone who genuinely thinks that they have been badly treated to follow up an appeal process.

The main thing to remember is that you must be entirely truthful in making your appeal and you must submit it, in writing in good time in accordance with the rules.

Some of the advice given on that penaltyfareappeal website introduction is very good and should always be remembered.

So many people claim that 'the machine wasn't working' or, 'the booking office was closed' without thinking that someone else can actually check with little more effort than a couple of keystrokes these days.

I would always suggest that you make the appeal yourself, in writing, without exaggeration of the facts, and submit it as quickly as possible after the notice has been issued to the address provided on the notice.

If the rules have been broken by staff, the notice should be cancelled by the TOC and in my experience this is almost always the case.

If on the other hand the member of staff has been 'unpleasant', but the notice made out correctly, then a complaint to Customer Relations at the relevent TOC is the proper course of action. You should also send a copy of that complaint with your appeal to RPSS or IRCAS as appropriate and the relevent address will be printed on the notice that is handed to you.

If you are still not satisfied with the TOC response to your appeal, then you always have the option of referring the matter to the Independent Penalty Fares Appeals Service or the IRCAS appeal panel for review depending on where the notice was issued. It will usually tell you on the notice, which is the relevent address. These two bodies can immediately cancel the notice if it is appropriate to do so.

People have also mentioned Passenger Focus and other lobbying groups, who have no authority to overturn any penalty notice, but might be able to help with free advice and support.

Remember that you do not have to pay anyone for this opportunity.

I will not reveal what my role is these days nor where I work, but I will answer PMs freely, with as much helpful advice as quickly as I can.

Thanks for the helpful info Old-CodJA. Very informative and helpful.

My only concern is that CAG discourages advice by PM so that everyone can share their experiences and others may benefit from advice too. Not doubting your ability, but it also protects both parties in case of poor advice as others may be on hand to correct or add to it.

I look forward to seeing more from you around the forums.

Hey its FARE-COP from over at Money Saving Expert.

Posted exactly the same info word for word. Is this the same person?
I don't see much of your 'advice' on CAG, I see you spend more time on MSE.

As for the site they have changed some aspects of the site, maybe the E-Mail suggested by the site team here worked!!

They have added this bit.

If we decide that you have no chance in your appeal the advice that is supplied will be free of charge.

. Also I have noticed a links page has appeared with MSE/CAG/CF on it

CAG and MSE have similar aims, particularly with regard to bank charges. In fact I found this site when Martin Lewis allowed Dave, one of this sites founders, to write an article for MSE on bank charges 3 years ago. This site is however entirely independent, although we've worked together a great deal.

A good majority of Penalty Fares (PF) can be appealed and won due to incorrect details on the PF or Over Writing on the top copy (the one the revenue guy shows you), its as simple as that. You dont need to waste £4 quid. Oh and you dont need to give your date of birth either, so that is a get out clause for NOT going to court over a PF. You are supposed to be issued a Byelaw 18 if you have had 2 PF's in the last 12 months, but u cannot have a byelaw issued if there is no DOB (Date of birth) the TOC will not persue it. SIMPLE. Any more advice wanted please PM me, I will give it for FREE and not charge £4 on how to get your PF appeal won, a the successful appeal rate is about 52% according to one TOC's internal stats.