Hello, I am unable to purchase a ticket at the railway station as the ticket machines are card only and the ticket office is permanently closed. I approached the guard before boarding the train and asked him if I could buy a ticket. He said yes and told me to board. When he came through the train, he told me that the battery on his machine had died, so I would have to buy one when I changed at the next station. When I went to buy a ticket, I was confronted by a member of staff who told me that I would have to pay a penalty fare for travelling without a ticket. I explained how it was not my fault because there were no facilities to buy a ticket at the station and the guard's machine wasn't working, but I was told that it wasn't relevant because it is an offence to travel without a ticket. They took my details and told me that, if I wanted to continue my journey, I would have to pay a penalty fare on top of a full price ticket for my journey, with no railcards allowed. I was told that I could appeal against this. Can somebody help? Am I likely to get my money back? Will I be able to get the extra money I had to pay for the ticket back as well, or will it just be the penalty fare?

Hi guys, I'm having an issue over my student oystercard usage. I received an email on the 8th of November stating that i would need to interview at a southwest trains station with regard to "several incomplete journeys" with relation to my oystercard. Admittedly there does appear to be instances, based on my oystercard transcript showing me tapping my oystercard in at one station and not tapping out. I have never been approached by a ticket inspector etc without a valid ticket, and i have never intentionally travelled without a valid ticket. My question is can i be prosecuted based on my oyster card transcript alone, I remember a couple of occasions were i have tapped in and not gone through because I instead decided to return home. It is also possible someone else may have used my oystercard without my knowledge. I have spoken to a lawyer who has spoken to the swt prosecutor and he has said there were gaps with no recorded oyster card validation or ticket purchase, he also said if i did not attend the interview that he (the prosecutor) would apply for a consideration for prosecution under bye law 18.1. thanks for your thoughts in advance. First time posting so if this is the wrong place etc let me know and sorry!

Hi guys, Firstly I know I've done a ridiculous thing, but here's my story, hopefully you can help: When I was travelling from a station the ticket office was shut and the ticket machine was 'out of order' So I boarded the train. The train conductor went to sell me a ticket, when I opened my wallet i realised I had left my card and cash at home. He said I could get off at the next stop without a fine, however I stayed on as I had a really important meeting. He proceeded to give me £20 increased fare, however, out of pure desperation and panic I gave him my old address and a false name. He did not say the details wernt validated so shall I proceed to pay the fine at the station and not mention the details were false or should I confess in an attempt to settle with no criminal conviction? As I said before, I know this was stupid but we all do crazy things when we panic. Hope someone can help, Adam

My daughter has received a pre-court action letter from First Great Western. It states that she is in breach of the Regulations of Railways Act 1889 and requires a payment of £84.70 within 21 days. £80 of this is a charge towards costs incurred. I am rather upset at this as she did try to pay at the station she departed from and was unable to as no staff were manning the ticket office - they had put up a sign - and no one came through the train during her journey to enable her to buy a ticket. Also just to confirm – she waited in the queue with 4 others until the train arrived into the station, and then there was a run for the platform. When my daughter arrived at her destination station – she was stopped and did not have a ticket. My daughter explained she did not have a ticket and the reason. She was not given an option to purchase a ticket, but instead the ‘Inspector’ took her name and address and this letter entitled Pre-Court Action is this next communication we have received. I am happy to pay the fare, and do not understand why this option was not offered to her when she explained about the unmanned station which has no ticket machine. I do have an issue with paying £80 for a template letter. I have a photo of the sign that was displayed at St. Erth station (where she got on), and records should show that a conductor had not gone through the train in the 3 stops she was on the train Do I have any hope of fighting the admin charge – I feel it is not representative of the time/effort of sending a template letter? Thanks in advance.

Hi all, Can anyone help or has anyone been in this situation? On the 10th April I was in Redruth, Cornwall and needed to travel to Bristol. On arriving at Redruth I found that the ticket office was closed (it was around 5:30pm) and found that there was not a ticket machine at that station. I did not believe this was a problem, as I knew that I should be able to purchase a ticket from the guard, and so I boarded the 18:11 service to Bristol Temple Meads. When the guard came into my carriage, I promptly asked for a ticket from Redruth to Bristol Temple Meads, with a 16-25 railcard discount. The price for this was around £30-35. When I attempted to pay with my Santander visa debit card, it was twice declined by the guards card machine. As a result, the guard told me that I could either get off the train at the next stop, or be questioned under caution and pay the fare at a later date. I took the latter option as I was fully prepared to pay the cost of the fare at a later date (I had been expecting to anyway), and he provided me with a zero fare excess ticket. However, the amount detailed in the letter I mentioned above is £168 - which is obviously far more than I am prepared to pay for the journey. I found the guard very helpful but he did not explain to me that I would have had to pay this extortionate price; for the same money I could have easily found somewhere to stay and travelled back the next day. I understand that there may be some doubt as to whether the card I tried to pay with was working, or had money available on it. As a result I obtained a mini-statement from my bank showing that there was available balance on that day, and showing that I used the card in the days following the incident. I have also checked with my bank who say that there was no attempt to access my account on that day. I firmly believe that there was in fact a problem with the card machine. This is why I believe that I should be given the chance to pay the original off-peak fare (the same train today would be £30.45). It is plainly unfair that I should have to pay a far higher fare through no fault of my own. Does anyone know if it is worth taking this to court? I am being asked for the £168 fee by the 27th May, so I am running out of time. Any help would be much appreciated. Regards

Hello there, I hope you lovely people can help and offer some advice... I received an 'unpaid fare notice' from First Great Western exactly 7 months ago because I didn't have my young persons rail card with me (it was stolen on the train). They treated me badly and the experience was very distressing (lady made me cry), I disputed the notice within the 10 days given, and sent a long letter as well as all my original documents to their address (tickets, notice, etc.), asking to be pardoned from the fine due to the bad treatment and the fact that the fine was too large and unreasonable for the situation (there was theft involved, and the treatment was bad). The problem that I have is that they have not been in touch, I have not received any letters, and they have not even informed me that they received my letter (it was sent via recorded delivery). Unfortunately (stupidly) I didn't scan anything and I have lost the letter I wrote as it was so long ago. I only have proof of ticket purchase on email. What should I do? Can they prosecute me later, even though I had no warning or letters? Is they haven't done anything within 6 months, doesn't that legally mean that time has expired for them to prosecute? It was all sent to a Reading address that was on the notice. I wish that they would have at least sent a letter in response, saying something to put my mind at ease. Thank you very much

I took a train from Paddington to Castle Cary back in June, and realised upon arriving that I had forgotten to bring my Young Person's rail card. This was a genuine mistake, and I hold a valid rail card. I was asked to pay for a brand new fare on the spot, which was £100. As I couldn't afford to pay at the time, I was later sent a letter asking me to pay a penalty of £152. My original ticket cost about £23 as it was both an advance fare and reduced further by the rail card. I have sent two letters admitting my mistake and providing evidence of my valid in date rail card, but they've rebuffed my attempts to reason. I understand that it is my responsibility to be able to present it at the time and this was a fault on my part. However, what I don't understand is how not showing my rail card invalidates the 'Advance' part of my ticket. I feel that the penalty is grossly unfair and I am genuinely unable to afford it. I'm being put into the same category as somebody who never purchased a ticket in the first place, which seems absurd. What, if anything, can I do next?

Can some one give me a bit of advice please, i have just taken over a public house and the previous tenants were using the property as a cannabis farm and were abstracting electricity, the police requested wpd to cut the power for safety reasons, the property had the power cut off from the under ground cable. my question is, will wpd charge me for re-connection and if so how much am i looking at:?:

I have a debt from 1990 being collected by Robinson Way & Co. the Loan amount was £5735.00 which included £735.00 of PPI. APR was 29.84%. I paid almost £7600.00 off and got into difficulties, moved house and prayed for the best. Robinson Way tracked me down, scaling the Rear fence, knocking on doors etc and ringing my workplace. I have been paying Robinson way £32.00 per Month now for as long as I can remember. I have a letter from them saying they have purchased and are wholly repsonsible for the administration of the account / debt in 2006. I requested a copy of the agreement which was sent back and therefore believe that I have to continue paying this. I still Owe £3400.00 on the account. their letters now state that the account is due to Hoist group (ex western trust) and I have never had any record on my Credit scrore indicating the account. Any advice on this one, they send me 2 duplicate letters each month stating the account is overdue. many thanks if anyone can help

Hi, this is my first post. I was stopped today by a FGW enforcement team as I got off the train at Windsor. The issue is I had used my wife's monthly ticket for the journey from Slough. I had actually driven from Uxbridge where I work to Slough to meet my wife who was on the train from Paddington; she had a patient to see in Burnham (she's a physio) so there seemed little point in her completing her usual journey to Windsor to then drive back so we did a swap; she took the car, I took her ticket (with photo ID). We didn't think it would be an issue, the ticket had been paid for and only one person was doing the journey. the enforcement officers didn't agree; they confiscated her ticket (so now she'll have to either buy a new one or dailys until it is returned, if it is returned) we are losing money there and i may be faced with prosecution. They didn't mention a fine so i feel i'm completely in no man's land. The journey to Windsor from Slough costs £2.30, the idea of a hefty fine and possible criminal record over such a stupid mistake is really scary. There was no intent to fair dodge, we felt as a couple we'd paid and had a valid ticket. Also one of the enforcement officers said when asked that if i'd had no ticket at all I'd have just been fined… so to FGW it seems it's worse to have your wife's valid ticket than no ticket at all. Any advice on what I should do would be very much appreciated.

Hi all, I am writing to ask for advice on a letter I received recently regarding a train journey I made on 18th September 2013. On the date in question I was late arriving at Ashton-Under-Lyne train station, as I approached the station I saw the train (the 7:49am to Huddersfield) pulling in to the platform so I ran for the train and just managed to jump through the doors before they closed. I arrived at Stalybridge train station and exited the station by the side of the pub (as I have done on numerous occasions to have a cigarette on my way to catch my next train), however, as I approached the entrance to the station (where I usually sit on the wall and smoke) a lady approached me in a blue uniform, she asked me whether I had "just got off the train to Ashton" to which I replied yes. She then asked me whether I had a ticket, I replied, no I was going to buy one in a minute, as I have done on numerous occasions. She asked me to go inside the station with her and she would "get a ticket sorted out". I went into the station with her, she then pulled out a badge and told me she was working in conjunction with the police, this was all she said on the matter. She then said she would have to place me under caution so that our conversation would have to be recorded, she then proceeded to ask me questions such as my name, address, did I have means to pay for the ticket, did I intend on not paying for a ticket. I gave my details, she radioed through and asked for conformation of an address, and told her I had the means to pay for a ticket, and in response to the questioning of my intent, I replied "obviously not, I think a bit of common-sense wouldn't have gone amiss", this was due to the fact that I was boarding a train again from Stalybridge to Manchester Picadilly, I had previously told her it was my intent to travel to Wilmslow. She then got the station attendants to print off a single ticket between Ashton-Under-Lyne and Wilmslow with a voided fair. I have since received a letter of "PRE-COURT ACTION" informing me that I have committed an offence in law, being contrary to Section 5(3)a of the Regulation of Railways Acts of 1889 and or Railway Bylaws and they are now "preparing the case for court", if convicted of the offence, I could be ordered to pay a fine of up to £1000 and/or be sentenced to 3 months imprisonment. The Magistrates' Court also has the power to order me to pay their costs of bringing the prosecution together with compensation for any outstanding fare. The letter states "I have reviewed your case and I am, on this occasion, prepared to offer a settlement of this matter upon payment £72.10 which equates to the outstanding fare owed of £7.10, plus a contribution of £65.00 towards the costs incurred to date. This offer is made without prejudice." From what I can see the section they believe to be applicable here is the following: Section 5(3)a of the Regulation of the Railways Act 1889 states that If any person – (a) Travels or attempts to travel on a railway without having previously paid his fare, and with intent to avoid payment thereof; However, I think that it was obvious that my intent was not to avoid payment as I was travelling onward, produced a catalog of previous rail tickets, which I have since calculated to amount to £686.40 between 01/10/2013 and 08/06/2013. Needless to say I am disgusted that I have been treated this way by a company to which I provide regular custom. What I want to know is: - Do First Great Western even have the power to issue me a fine? - Has she conducted herself properly in the practice she has shown? - Is it in her jurisdiction to exit the train station and coach me inside to issue me a fine? - Did she in fact have the right to place me under caution, or was this "scare tactics"? - Is it correct that she has charged me from Ashton-Wilmslow without offering me opportunity to purchase a ticket from Stalybridge onwards Thank you for any help. Regards, Andy

Hi, I think I might have got myself into some kind of [problem] and an very concerned. I'll try and make describe my situation as simple as possible, please ask if you need any additional information. I am currently looking for work and was emailed by a company called tech innovations who found my CV an a jobsite offering me a job. I signed an online contract( don't know the validity of this). They asked me to receive money into my personal account and then transfer it via western union. They make many claims than this is all legal and just want to transfer money faster than a business can and said they would give me all the details of the person transfering the money into my account. I have been transfered 2401 pounds into my account from a person apparently with a name that I was given but im not really sure how vaild this is and if I can check. I am now suppose to transfer this money via western union to some other person in the Ukraine. I am scared I am being set up to commit fraud or [problem]med some other way. Can someone please give me advice on my position and what to do with this money in my account? Thankyou for your time Jason