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Found 14 results

  1. Hi all. A few days ago I was travelling on a train and caught without a ticket. it was not by a normal inspector and instead an enforcer of some kind who took matters more seriously. I had come from a small station where the ticket machine often does not work and so I said that was the reason i didn't have a ticket and was not intending to complete the journey without paying. He said that I had ample time at the station where I changed to go and buy a ticket. He also said that because the station i got on at and the one i would leave at did not have barriers that i could have intended to do the journey without paying. I apologised and said that i had planned on paying on the train, but after research its clear this isnt good enough. The whole conversation was recorded and he asked my details etc and i think he said i would be receiving a letter with an admin fee. I have done some research my question is will the letter offer an admin fee because i'm quite scared of the prospect of a court hearing and potential criminal record? Is there a way they could find out the ticket machine was in fact working (i'm not sure it was) and prosecute further or will they just want a quick penalty fee? Thanks in advance for you help.
  2. Hi, I today was caught travelling in first class carriage on south west trains from waterloo by one of the revenue inspection officers. I had a valid season ticket oyster card ticket for the train but was not valid to be in first class frustrating as only reason i was in there was due to the overcrowding in standard class. in my annoyance at the ticket officer i gave a fake name and address which was pretty stupid as think he will have my oyster card number down so will be able to track me down irregardless. I would much appreciate any of your help on any of the three questions below. 1) Does anyone know about how to go about changing their information on a fine? e.g how to contact them? 2) I am concerned that in my frustration has putting the wrong name down has might lead them to prosecute has anyone else been in the same situation? 3) Does anyone know what the fine will be for being in a first class zone without a first class ticker even if you have a valid standard class ticket?
  3. I arrived to gatwick yesterday and bought a train ticket in a rush, and instead of grabbing my ticket i picked up someone else's payment confirmation slip (which annoyingly enough looks like a ticket). I made a rush for the platforms and the guard saw me running so he opened the gate to let me through. I got on the train, the inspector came along and found me the wrong bit of oblong paper. I refused to pay but gave a friend's address where the bill could be sent. I don't live in england however and don't feel morally obliged to pay because even though i made a mistake i did actually pay for a ticket. He even forgot to give me a copy of the sheet that i signed. As I don't live in the UK can i get away with this?
  4. It all happen when i got on a c2c train from barking to upminster I touched in at the gates at barking got on the train to Upminster during the journey rail inspector asked for my ticket which I handed for checking but it wasn’t reading I opened up the sleeve to remove all the cards to find my oyster missing it had slipped into an inner pocket it took several minutes to actually locate the oyster card. I buy each week zones 3 to 6, which expires on Sunday I had sufficient funds on my oyster to pay for my single journey fare to Upminster i had about £13 with the intention of purchasing my weekly 3 to 6 zones later on that morning, which I offered to do but was declined and told I didn’t have the cash at hand to do so. i was given any caution of what act i had committed before my 'rights' where read and i was then asked questions upon questions because i didnt understand what was happening my oyster was taken away, there were a couple of whispers among the inspectors in which i felt very intimidated i was not issued a penalty fare but a prosecution notice. i have never been caught fare evading, cctv footage will clearly show me tapping in. i was made to feel like a criminal i dont earn much so i have to budget, it had never crossed my mind to evade a fare when i clearly had the means to pay and i think the inspectors were quite upset they had to get off the train with me cos one of them was mubberling they could have sorted this all out on the train before reachin upminster which is like a 6 minute journey. sorry for the long story but i feel so helpless and need advice asap. thank you
  5. Yesterday I received a £20 penalty fare at Waterloo. Later that day I discovered that the ticket inspectors are supposed to offer you the chance to pay the penalty fare upfront- this one didn't, he insisted upon me giving my details of address so that SWT could bill me the fare which is a real inconvenience as I'm at University and don't live at home much these days. When I asked him if I could pay it upfront he said that I couldn't because he'd already started filling out the form- but this is not in line with SWT policy on penalty fares. I've heard that the penalty fare can be paid online but I'm still irritated that SWT now have me on record and can use this case against me in the future. Have I been mistreated here? Is there such a thing as appealing against the unfair retention of my personal information? Would I be likely to succeed in such an appeal? Thanks.
  6. I am currently dealing with IRCAS/IAS, regarding an Unpaid Fare Notice. Anyone who has had dealings with them will be aware that they choose to hide behind a PO Box number, rather than have us know their actual address. Why they choose to be so cowardly, I do not know. Also, sending out mail with a return address in Buckinghamshire is a little suspicious. A little research on the Net reveals that IRCAS and IAS are trading names for Independent Transport Associates Limited or ITAL. Under this name, they have a website that lists their actual address as the following: Unit 2-3, First Floor, Petersfield Office Park Bedford Road Petersfield Hampshire GU32 3QF In my last letter to them, I have sent it to this address, pointing out to them that I am aware of the details, in spite of their cowardliness. Another great resource on the Net is the SayNoTo0870 site, which will provide the actual telephone numbers for ITAL/IRCAS/IAS. Just a search for "IRCAS" will bear fruit. For your information, this is what I put in my last letter to them: Please be aware that this Notice has been addressed to your actual address, and not the PO Box number that you like to hide behind. I will be sharing these details with the many “Consumer Action” forums that are kind enough to devote much time and effort in dealing with troublesome companies such as yourself. This shall also include the disclosure of your various telephone numbers beginning with 01730. Do bear in mind that the information I have obtained about your company is readily available on the Internet. It is not exactly hidden from public view, and will therefore be of great benefit to those who find themselves troubled and/or distressed by your practices. The practice of sending mail to a company's real address, as opposed to their preferred PO Box address is a great way of repaying the fear-factor that these companies tend to dish out. It has certainly helped me in dealing with debt collection agencies, that's for certain! When they know that you know of their true whereabouts, they are not so sure of themselves, and will tend to back off a little sooner!
  7. A few months back I was caught at Hitchin station without a ticket. I wasn't on a train, I was connecting to another to get home. It is true that I evaded the fare deliberately, but it is also true that I hadn't had a square meal in two days and needed to get to my parents to eat something and scrub up. The guy who stopped me looked through all my old tickets and scanned my Oyster and told me I was being cautioned (which bizarrely started with me being read my rights - by a guy in a First Capital Connect uniform). I thought this would be followed by a request for the £20 fine, instead FCC sent a notice of intention to prosecute to my parents' home and required me to write a statement of what happened. I wrote that I had no money and deliberately went through the barrier without a ticket. Apparently honesty is not advised these days because they seem to view this as a sure-fire win and seemed more willing to prosecute having received my admission of guilt. The fare evaded by me was £3.70 which is being claimed back plus £110 in court costs. I am self-employed and frequently poor and live in Berlin, Germany so I will have to plead guilty unless I want to fly back to attend magistrate's court. I have to inform them of my financial situation (frequently awful, sometimes great) but I have seen from other posters on here that the magistrates will not take that info into account when passing judgement. I only hope I can pay when I get the fine. Whatever happened to the £20 penalty fare? Does anyone have experience of dealing directly with FCC's Prosecutions Department?
  8. On the 9th June I had to attend an interview for a job in Colchester. I made my journey from Grays and decided to buy a travelcard as I thought this would cover my journey. I was wrong, as I boarded the train an inspector informed me that the ticket I had was not valid for the journey, instead of making me pay the excess he gave me a penalty fare. As I was not able to get home from Colchester (the inspector informed me I had the wrong ticket so there was no chance of getting home) I was forced to cancel the interview and went home from Harold Wood (and NOT Colchester as the penalty fare suggests). According to the Penalty Fare Rules “If a passenger travels on a train on which their ticket is not valid, it is more likely that the restrictions were not properly explained to them than that they are deliberately trying to avoid paying the right fare. We believe that it is up to the train operators to make sure that each passenger understands the restrictions which apply to the ticket which they are sold. Under rule 7, a passenger may not be charged a penalty fare if he or she has a ticket for the journey which they are making that is not valid on that train only because of a ticket restriction. In these cases, the passenger only needs to pay the excess fare, in line with the National Rail Conditions of Carriage.” Wouldnt this mean that i only have to pay the excess and not recieve an actual penalty fare? I have appealed twice and IAS have ignored the fact that I had didn't even realise that my ticket was not valid for that particular train. They have also ignored the fact that I didn't go to Colchester (I have proof- Had to phone the NHS, explain and cancel the interview). I would really appreciate any advice anyone could give me on the matter.
  9. Hi All, I'm a new member on your site and thus this is my first post (be gentle;-) ) I was unfortunate enough this morning to be handed a £20 Oyster penalty fare but considering the circumstances felt it rather unfair and thought I'd seek some advise on (a) if I should have not paid the fine (though this is a little late now) and (b) if I stand any chance of making a claim against the fine. I am a daily Petts Wood (Zone 5) to London Canon Street commuter but rather stupidly failed to swipe in on my card this morning - first time this has happened as my Oyster records would confirm. Realising my mistake midway through my journey I decided to inform the ticket barrier staff to the situation when I arrived at Canon Street. However when I told the staff member that I had accidentally not swiped in and if it would be possible to retrospectively (on a hand-held?) do so I was informed that I as I had travelled without paying that I would be fined £20. After explaining that I had travelled from Petts Wood and that I would happily pay the fare and was only trying to avoid paying the "unswiped" fare I was told that they could not prove where I had travelled from and thus will need to pay the fine. Annoyingly enough several people around me who were non Oyster users informed staff (other) that they had been unable to get tickets due to certain circumstances and they were told to go to the ticket desk and purchase the relevant ticket. I can understand that there need to be blanket rules inplace that cover most scenarios and that there are a large volume of people that "try it on" and thus these blanket rules are used as a catch all. However this experience has left me with some questions: 1. Should I have been charged a penalty fare or should I have been allowed to either register the actual journey or at least swipe through at the maximum fare (cheaper than £20 fine)? 2. The argument that they do not know where I have travelled from is true but surely if my Oyster travel record (?) was taken into consideration they could see a rather definitive pattern and thus work from this? 3. Why do there appear differing rules for Oyster and Non Oyster travellers regarding allocation of fines? 4. I can presume if this should ever happen again (heaven forbid!) that I should not actually inform gate staff but just swipe through and pay the max fare? 5. Is there any probability that I might be able to reclaim the fine? Sorry for such a long post and thanks in advance for any advice you could give.
  10. I went to Thorpe Park yesterday but on my journey to the train station I was late and as soon as I arrived at the station I literally had to jump on the train as it was about to leave. (I even lost my scarf which one of the staff on the platform kindly ran to the train and handed it over to the conductor for me.) On the train I approached the conductor and asked for a return ticket to Staines. After notifying me it was £15.90 for the fare I started to collect the correct amount from my purse. Halfway doing so he then tells me that a Travelcard is cheaper and would also take me to Staines as well. (We had a little chat about travelcards, offer wise, so he should actually remember me...) Surprised about this new knowledge I went ahead and bought a Day travelcard for the cost of £15.70 (Not much difference I'd say but to a student a little goes a long way.) Upon arriving at Staines, I wasn't able to get out of the barrier and the staff at the ticket barrier tells me that my ticket isn't valid here and just sends me to her colleague without explaining why. It was there and then I was issued a penalty fine for travelling beyond validity. Even when I explained the situation to the member of staff he just kept asking for details ignoring a word I was saying and wanted me to cough up £20 on the spot. I asked about appealing and got the answer, "what appeal?" I was so annoyed. Anyway, I ended up giving details and not paying. This was when I was told after being repeatedly asked the same questions that I was to pay the money at xxx location or appeal at the Ircas website. (So what was all the, "oh you can't appeal" from before?) I was also notified to buy a Single ticket from Staines to Feltham on the way home else I will be fined again. I'm writing here to ask the community on how I should write the appeal letter and actually be able to claim back my Single train ticket fare of £2.80 and also to not pay the penalty fare due to their staff misleading me that a travelcard covered the area to Staines. If I had knew it wasn't in the catchment area I would have paid the extra 20-30 pence for a return ticket (It was £16 when I checked online), instead of paying an absurd amount of £22.80 extra for a day out to Thorpe Park. I have taken photos of my train tickets and also the ends of the tickets where it shows the difference between one bought from a conductor (ripped edges) and another from a machine (straight clean cut). Thank You. Amy
  11. Today I got back home and had the joy of finding some correspondence from the South West Trains Prosecution Department. The letter, I think relates to a time when I found out that I did not have the cash on me to buy a ticket but needed to get to work. I intended to buy a ticket and had the money to do so but I just didn't have it on me at the time, hence I could not pay any of the penalty fare either. (Now with the sob story over I will continue with my question.) Anyway in the letter there is an issue, firstly the date referred to as the "incident date" is not correct, not by a long shot and so the letter effectively refers to an incident that did not occur. Furthermore there is no reference to me having not payed a fare, it simply states to someone who gave my name and address having been questioned by a member of rail staff about an incident that occurred on their property. Had the letter that came through had the correct details I would have no option but to answer honestly and directly, however the details that they have provided means that the honest response is that I was not even close to their property on the date of the incident stated in the letter. So my Question is:: Do I have any obligation to correct the mistakes they have made on their correspondance? If am not obliged to do so, should I answer honestly that I was not involved in any incidents on the date that they mention? Do I risk a higher fine/ legal ramifications should they correct their mistake at a later date? Am i better of not responding at all and letting this incorrect date go to caught where the case would be invalid? Any replies will be greatly appreciated as I only have 2 weeks to respond.
  12. okay so my 16+ oyster just expired and i still havent received my new one. So i got on one of the bendy buses and didnt pay, because i am eligible for free travel on buses anyway, and what do you know, an inspector came on! Even after explaining to him that i havent received my new one, and i wouldnt have had to pay, he gave me a fine. I've just moved house, so i gave him my old address because i found it unfair to get a £25/50 fine for a journey i wouldnt usually have to pay for. Can they trace me? I gave them my real name, but wrong address. HELP please.
  13. I left my season ticket behind one day and was stopped and issued with a penalty fare ticket. I was told if I produce my ticket I wouldn't have to pay the fine. He didn't mention I had 21 days to do so and I sent it in late. Revenue Protection then refused my appeal and fined me £60. I wrote saying it was unfair and now they've sent me a summons to court! Given that I had paid the fare so am not avoiding paying for my travel it seems grossly unfair. Less like revenue protection and more like extortion. Any ideas? Should I go to court? Or is that madness?
  14. Hello all, i received a summons today and would greatly appreciate the advice of someone who knows what they are talking about. (Point three is my main concern/hope) Here is a brief summary: I have just recieved a magistrates summons, stating that on 10th January 2010 i was questioned between Surbiton and Wimbledon, having contravened railway byelaw 18(1) made under section 219 of the Transport Act, in that i did, in an area not designated as a compulsory ticket area, enter a train for the purpose of travelling on the railway without valid ticket entitling me to do so. A witness statement from a PCSO is also included in the envelope, including plea entering etc. No information is included as to how i can appeal. Just to state, fair enough; i was travelling with a Child Travelcard and i am 19 but at the time i literally had about £10 to my name. I would not do it out of choice but my journey was essential. So my queries/problems: 1. I have now moved up north and am absolutely unable to attend court on the 24th August. Can i tell them that i will not be able to attend, without just copping out and paying them the fine/costs? Perhaps to appeal? 2. In the witness statement provided by the female PCSO (she was writing in a notepad at the time of offence) It states: "At approximately 19.44 hours i cautioned him" "I explained he was not under arrest and was free to leave at any time" But im pretty much 100% sure that she did NOT state that i was "free to leave at any time", otherwise i obviously would have done so thereby avoiding this situation. Does it hold any bearing if she did not state this? Would i even be able to prove it? 3. The offence took place on 10th January 2010, but i have only received the summons today (12th August 2010). Now, it has been forwarded from my previous address, so we can assume perhaps 2 weeks delay at most from when it was supposed to be recieved. This still leaves a gap of more than six months between the offence and the issue of the summons. Is it not correct that there is a legal time limit which must be respected, between the time of the offence and the issue of the summons? Any help would be greatly appreciated as it was a real shock to find a summons on my doorstep when i am trying to start a new life for myself! Thanks in advance for any help Dom
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