Two days ago when I purchased a ticket at the ticket office, I was asked if I planned on returning between 16:00 and 18:30. As I expected that I wouldn't return until after 19:00, I said no to this and was sold an off-peak ticket.

As things turned out, I was ready to return at 16:45 but, due to my earlier conversation at the ticket office I assumed that I would have to wait until 18:30 for a train.

I waited around for an hour and three quarters before catching a train, only to meet a revenue protection officer on the train, who demanded that I buy another ticket because my ticket was not valid on the train.

I thought that the problem was with the train leaving at 18:30 precisely, but he told me that I had to wait until 19:00 to return.

I went to the station again yesterday to purchase the same ticket but this time, when they asked if I planned on returning between 16:00 and 18:30, I asked them why. I was told that 16:00 and 18:30 are peak hours and it would be more expensive to return during these times.

Why am I being given conflicting information by two separate employees of the same company? Who is correct?

If I was told 19:00 in the ticket office, I would have waited an extra half an hour for a train, especially after having already waited for almost two hours. Furthermore, there were empty seats on the train, so it is not as though I have deprived another passenger of a seat.

As I refused to buy an extra ticket, they told me that they will be taking me to court over the matter. I suppose that I will receive a letter in the post at some point? How should I respond to this?

At some stations, you cannot board a certain service using an off peak ticket during what is considered peak hours. If you go to the Trainline website and enter your journey details for say tomorrow, it will show you which train services you can use an off peak ticket on. The Trainline site has accurate information, so it should show that the 6.30 service cannot be used using off peak tickets.

I had this a very long time ago at London Paddington. I got on a train that i thought was ok for a certain off peak ticket and when the guard came he said the ticket was invalid for the service, so i had to pay the extra.

Suggest that you contact the train company to explain that you were confused by what you were told and to pay the extra train fare required.