The only sort of proof I have is the train tickets I received when I handed over the Unpaid Fare Notice to a member of staff at a ticket desk, for the journey and price that's stated on these summons. I also have a bank statement of the charge coming out of my account, as a sort of receipt. I don't have any proof of the words he said, as I just took it as it was at the time, and didn't think it'd end up as serious as it's become. I'm thinking I should perhaps write to the ticket office and find out who was working at that time, and who I gave the notice to... and perhaps try get hold of cctv footage of me paying it off? When I think about that it sounds a little overkill. Ps. I forgot to add, I've no idea what to do from here. Other than to turn up on the date of the summons;

I was issued an Unpaid Fare Notice by the conductor, which stated that I was unable to pay for my ticket due to my card being declined. He told me that all I had to do was pay off the price of the ticket within 14 days, and that I should just visit a ticket office as soon as I can and pay this. He said that the notice was a valid train ticket for my journey as long as I went to pay it off. The penalty was recieved in the post a good month after I'd paid off the Unpaid Fare Notice. I refused to pay a penalty for apparently 'refusing to pay off my Unpaid Fare Notice' on the grounds that I'd actually paid for my ticket by handing over the notice and paying the price of the ticket on the day I received it. The court summons, I believe is only for 'Did travel on a Railway without having previously paid the fare with intent to avoid payment', and for the amount of £8.90, no mention of the £100 odd quid penalty they were trying to get from me to stop this going to court. I paid the £8.90, which I'm being taken to court over, but I'm scared somehow they're going to find a way to make it seem otherwise.. . and I'm going to end up in an even worse situation.. I need to make sure I have enough ground to prove I'm innocent (at least I honestly don't believe I've done anything wrong and wouldn't even dream of travelling without paying for a ticket.)

Due to suffering horrible social anxiety, I've come back to this forum for some advice on what to do. I received a Court summons in the post for 'failing' to pay off an Unpaid fare notice of £8.90 for a journey I made 6 months ago. Contrary to their records, I paid this off on the evening I received it, to a member of staff at the the station I was returning home from. Here's a summary of what happened:- I took a train to see a friend from an unstaffed station with no ticket machine, one that I had used regularly and was used to paying for my ticket to the conductor. On this date, my card decided it was going to pull a silly and my transaction was declined twice. I took the little blue notice stating I'd been unable to pay happily, understanding that I, from what I was told the being the best thing to do was to go to a ticket office as soon as possible to pay it off, would do such and pay for my transportation that way as I had no other means to pay on the train. When I arrived at my destination I decided I would make the most of the short time I had to spend with my friend, and hopefully pay off the notice at the station before I caught my train home. When it was time to head home, I visited the ticket office from the station I was departing from and the member of rail staff took away my Unpaid Fare Notice. I was charged a return ticket to my card to and from the destination of the journey I received the notice for, and issued me with the usual OUT and RTN rail tickets. Thinking this was all over, I didn't have the notice and I had paid for my ticket, I was shocked to have received two warnings in the post stating I hadn't paid, the first asking for the ticket price + £x, as to which I ignored as I believed my notice might not have been processed yet. The second I received with a surprisingly larger fine + the ticket price, I replied to with a letter stating the exact account of the events that had happened, along with times and photocopies of the tickets that I have in front of me now. I heard no reply from them, presuming this was sorted I was even more surprised to receive this in the post, a summons to court over a £8.90 train ticket I apparently have not paid. Soon as I got this, I had a friend ring the rail company and they said that the time on my ticket was after when I was issued the notice and it was invalid.. even thought she'd explained that I'd handed the fine to the ticket office and was given this in return. He then proceeded to tell me that so sort it would cost me the £100 fine as demanded in the 2nd letter. I believe I'm completely innocent, I paid off the price of my ticket to the rail company, and it seems the only way is going to court and pleading not guilty. I can't for the life of me afford the £100 fine. Now what I've come to ask is what sort of odds do I stand, wining this case? I have the tickets I was issued, a bank statement with the transaction details for the tickets on my card. My next move will be to request the name off staff working at the time I got my ticket, and perhaps some cctv footage of myself taking in the notice, and handing it to the staff. As of now I'm bricking it, knowing I'll end up suffering some sort of panic attack standing up in court, but I refuse to be bullied by Northern Rail into paying £108.90 they're demanding.. . or as the summons says; for the value of the £8.90 train ticket. WHICH I PAID! I'd appreciate any advice into what I should do next. If I end up in court I will be representing myself. Will the evidence I have be enough? What do I do now? Should I write out the details again in a letter to the court with my plee for not guilty? (excuse my panicing). How can I get out of this in good standing? Thank you very much if you read all this!

I hope this forum can help me as I came across it during a google search on what to do in this scenario. Let me explain what has happened: I caught a train from a station that had no ticket machine, that I have used many times before paying the conductor when he comes down the train. On this day, his machine decided it wanted to decline my card and I was given an Unpaid Fare Notice, and told to take this to the nearest ticket office to pay off the ticket within 14 days. Later the same day, when I was at my destination, I proceeded to the ticket office and handed over the notice in exchange for a return ticket for the same price from where I boarded the train to where I got off. I thought that was done with as he took away the paper notice I was given. About 2 weeks later I was sent a letter in the post saying they had not received my payment and wanted to charge me £40 on top of the current fee. [EDIT] I'd done exactly what the conductor said and paid the exact charge written on the notice to a member off rail staff, and ignored the letter. Now I've received a further letter, asking for £80 + the rail fair, and that I will be taken to a Magistrates Court and charged £150 in fees if they do not receive this. Being unemployed and in debt I cannot afford and quite frankly refuse to pay that much money for a ticket worth £8.90. I even have the train tickets I was given by me. I am unsure what to do as of now, whether I should contact a lawyer and defend myself in the court, or I should write to the rail company, although this has caused me undue stress and inconvenience with these 'threats' when I owe them no money. I don't understand why I should be fined for this or even taken to court, as I have followed exactly what the conductor said, and paid off my debt. Please help! Thank you, Sean.