Thanks for the advice. Coniff - I'm not someone who can't be bothered to make a fuss. In the last 18 months I've gone into battle with a company that writes wills and provides probate services who conned my mother into naming them as executors. I've also just won a successful 12 month battle with my prolonged disability insurance provider which eventually involved the financial services ombudsman. So I'm no stranger to fighting for my rights and am perfectly prepared to challenge this, if there is some chance of getting somewhere. It's just with this one, technically my son was in the wrong, so I don't want to end up with an even bigger bill and possible criminal proceedings against him. Has anyone actually challenged these penalty fares and admin charges and won?

Hi, I found this site when I googled the revenue protection support service, so this is my first post. Having read all the other train threads, I think this one is a little different. My son bought a ticket at Kings Cross using his debit card. When he arrived at Huntingdon, he couldn't find the ticket anywhere and assumed he must have dropped it in his rush to get off the train. At the ticket barrier he was given a £40 penalty notice, which we all felt was a bit excessive for a £23.00 fare. He only had £20 on him so paid that amount and the inspector recommended he write to appeal sending a copy of his bank statement which showed he had bought a ticket. We appealed immediately but received a curt letter from the Independent penalty fares service saying he had to pay the full penalty. Unfortunately, my son was in London at college and we were away, so the letter wasn't opened until after the deadline had passed. I wrote again enclosing a cheque for the remaining £20.00. I apologised and explained the delay in responding, but also expressed my disappointment at their lack of flexibility; after all he could prove he had bought a ticket so there was never any intention to avoid payment. This letter crossed in the post with their final notice which other members of this site have already reproduced. So now we owe yet another £20 in admin charges. So a £23 train journey will eventually cost us £83 if we pay the extra admin charge. We telephoned the RPSS yesterday and were told that if we wanted to query things further we needed to go back to the train company. I phoned them this morning and was referred back to the RPSS. I even telephoned the Independent penalty fares appeal service but again was told to call the RPSS. I'm now at the point where I feel like giving up and paying the admin charges, so would be very grateful for any advice.