£20 fine unfairly given, advice appreciated!

[Nystagmite]

you are NOT Expected to make time to buy your ticket at an interchange if it's going to delay your journey.

 

You should do, imo. It doesn't take that long to by a ticket.

[watchinginvestigation2011]

There are booking offices, ticket machines, online purchase facilities.

No excuse to not have ticket to cover full destination I am afraid prior to boarding. OP, It is travellers responsibility, so better to just learn by it so it does not happen to you again.

[Old-CodJA]

Exactly so. What happened at the interchange is entirely irrelevant, although I agree that in genuine cases, where facilities were not available at the starting station, an attempt ought to be made to pay if time permits.

 

The key thing here is that ticket facilities WERE available at the starting point of the journey.

There is no contravention of Penalty Fares Rules by the TOC.

 

If the ATM system within the machine declined a card, for whatever reason, that is not the rail company's fault. The company will probably be able to show from computerised records that that the machine was functioning normally, issuing tickets to other card holders before and after the attempted use.

 

Knowing that s/he did not have acceptable means to pay, it was up to the traveller to obtain funds and purchase a ticket before attempting to travel.

Edited November 9, 2011 by Old-CodJA