Hi honeybee Thanks for offering to post the URL - I have sent this in a private message. I need to appeal this fine quickly. However, I would like clarity on the following, if anyone knows, please: If I appeal the fine without mention of it possibly being invalid and they come back and insist the fine remains, do I then have an opportunity to raise the issue of the fine possibly being invalid or must all of my argument be included in the same single appeal?

Thank you everyone for your responses which I have read in great detail. As you know, someone suggested to me, as posted by me above, that I raised the fact about the incorrectly charged amount. From reading your replies it doesn't appear this would get my anywhere. I'm guessing this is a lot different from PCNs which councils issue as some years ago I had a PCN cancelled simply because the fine was made invalid due to there being incorrect information printed on the document itself. I'm guessing a similar law does not apply to these types of tickets? What do you all think of point 7 in the following article (I have to describe the URL as I can't post links until I have 10 or more posts - hope everyone is OK with me doing it this way): Address is thisislondon (with a .uk domain) and article number is 23731140

I have had the following information given by someone: Hi Thank you for sending in a copy of the Penalty Fare notice. The Penalty Fare scheme is not supposed to be used against people who do not understand the system, for example because they are not from the UK or do not speak English very well. I would send in an appeal, stating that you [the person who was issued the PF] are not from the UK and do not speak English very well. I would also put into the letter that you did not understand what the inspector was doing and also that they demanded the 45.60 without explaining why. Also enclose a copy of your passport/ID card photo page to prove you are not from England. Furthermore you were charged the incorrect fare, this therefore makes the Penalty Fare notice invalid. The correct fare should have been 22.90x2=45.80. What do you all think about the last part of this reply regarding the incorrect amount being charged / demanded ?

Apparently she did not understand what was going on and was threatened with police involvement if she did not comply.

Thanks for your replies. To be honest, I was the one who obtained the card for her when she first applied. She barely even knows what an Oyster card is. She was apparently ordered to pay the 'fine' on the spot (around £45) or faced a 'caution'. She has a receipt from the card payment, the penalty charge notice, her original train tickets and her 16 - 25 railcard.

Hi Firstly, please forgive me if I make any mistakes, as this is my first post. Today my partner received a penalty fare on board a train from London to Brighton. She received this for not producing a valid 16 - 25 railcard whilst traveling on a ticket which included this discount. She comes from Latvia, hasn't been in the UK long, and speaks very limited English. She did in fact have the railcard with her yet did not understand what the ticket inspector was referring to. The ticket inspector was apparently rude, impatient, somewhat aggressive and used terms my girlfriend did not understand. Together with my help we can obviously now prove she is the holder of a current railcard. What are our chances of appealing? Thanks