Penalty Fare - Notification of alleged Fare Evasion

[markl1987]

As said by RPI the only real option you have is to pay up or go to court, Not sure of the exact costs but it will be a lot more expensive at court.

 

Doesn't sound like my company (ex-company) as I know that our RPO's don't start work before 7am unless on particular jobs, it would seem too that you have misunderstood what the RPO has said, if he has taken a part payment of the penalty fare then it is down to you to pay the rest within the allotted time, and where he has said deal with the rest on appeal, this would mean pay up and send your appeal at the same time, not appeal the difference.

 

In relation to what are your chances of it being chucked out of court . . . probably none. Regardless of whether you meant to or not, you only covered yourself up to boundary zone 6 and not all the way to Gatwick, therefore you are liable for the penalty fare. Whatever reasons/excuses you can give it will still come down to the fact you were in an area without a valid ticket for that station, there can be the argument that you didnt intend to fare evade etc but you were still there without a ticket that covered you for the journey, you will have admitted and signed for this too on your penalty fare slip.

 

I'll look around for a post that has the rough estimates of possible court costs/fine and link it in after this but in all honesty I would pay up what you can now and avoid court.

 

Here is a link to a guide to railway law created by Firstclassx who has tonnes of experience and as you will see is a very seasoned member on here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?364265-The-First-Class-Guide-to-Railway-Law

 

And also a section I found in another post relating to prosecution under section 5.3 . . .

 

"The Law

 

Various legislation exists to combat fare evasion.

 

For deliberate fare evasion, such as the actions which you describe, it is often appropriate to use Section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889. In your case, the offence would be Section 5(3a).

 

A conviction will earn you a full criminal record, (which could cause problems with visas), a fine of up to £1000, (usually £400-£500), and costs of around £100-£150."

 

So as I said before, best bet is to pay up now while its still not too expensive

Edited October 2, 2012 by markl1987