Hello Honeybee, No I am not in the transport industry. However, I have had a total of seven penalty fares issued to me over the past two years and successfully appealed all of them. Please don’t get the idea that I am some sort of serial fare dodger. All of my appeals were based on the same thing - the fact that my station was woefully understaffed and ticket machines were not working resulting in passengers having to wait an unreasonable amount of time to get a ticket . I was not the only passenger either and ended up acting on behalf of 22 other unfortunate victims, all of whom had been ripped off by their friendly train company. Therefore the advice I have given is based on my own hands on experience and research. Thanks, Chris

Hi Bayke, First the bad news, it is an offence to give a false name and address to a revenue protection officer so if this ever happens again, always, always give your real name and your real address. The good news is that a penalty fare is not a criminal offence and therefore does not go on your record. For future reference if you ever get caught out like this again it’s useful to know what your rights are. You do not have to pay the penalty fare there and then so NEVER, NEVER ever pay it on the spot. No matter what the revenue inspector says or threatens you with all you are obliged to do is give your correct name and address and pay the peak fare from the station where you got on to the one where you are have got off or intend to get off. If they want to charge you a penalty fare, make them write to you for it. There are plenty of ways you can argue your case afterwards. Hope that helps. Chris