agressive ticket inspector

[gianna]

help !!!,

my daughter bought a travel card to travel to earls court from Welywn covering zone 1-6 on a saturday,

 

she returned on sunday and bought a ticket from earls court to welwyn at 10.15am

 

The ticket booth lady said it would be cheaper to buy a travel card which covered zones 1-6 so thats what she did,

and as the journey on saturday had covered zone 1-6 my daughter didn't question it.

 

she was stopped by 2 ticket inspectors on the train .

she showed them her ticket and the male inspector said it was not valid as the ticket was bought from an underground station,

she argued that she had bought the ticket in good faith on the recommendation from the lady in the ticket booth,

 

the inspector was aggressive and rude, and demanded she pay a fine.

 

she tried in vain to explain but he wouldn't listen she felt very intimidated and agreed to pay the fine,

 

the female ticket inspector could see what had happened and told her male colleague to 'leave it' ,

he then asked for my daughters name and address, my daughter was frightened now

and his unreasonableness coupled with the other inspector asking her colleague to 'leave it' made her panic ,

as she felt she had done nothing wrong and did not want to be associated with a crime she felt she had not committed,

 

feeling scared and vulnerable at his unreasonably aggressive attitude,

she gave a false name and address.

 

he asked to see her student travel card before taking payment for the fine,

which she shouldn't have been paying anyway as she had bought a ticket,

 

he checked her name and address, and saw that she had given him the wrong one,

 

he then said she would be prosecuted and get a criminal record for giving him the wrong address.

 

despite her protestations he took her ticket which was her proof and said he would staple it to his statement.

 

The female ticket inspector three times tapped her male colleague on the shoulder and asked him to leave the girl alone,

he did not and whilst his colleague walked away in disapproval he told my daughter she would be going to court and to await a postal summons

 

she is a good girl and is now overcome with anxiety and grief about what might come of this,

 

I am shocked and angry at the ticket inspectors aggressive attitude intimidating my daughter in this way.

 

especially as she had bought a ticket . Please advise on what course of action she can take

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG. I expect the forum guys will be along later with advice for you.

 

The ticket inspector's attitude does sound unfortunate from what you say but it's a shame your daughter gave the wrong details. If there is something you can do about this, the guys will know the answer.

 

In case it's relevant, how old is your daughter please?

 

My best, HB

[renegadeimp]

The best thing you can do is wait until you get teh summons ( if it even comes). From your info, this ticket inspector was a total idiot. Even his colleague didnt agree with him.

 

IF this summons comes, you can put forward the evidence there. This could force the train company to get these inspectors to produce evidence in court. Especially if theres mention of harassment and intimidation.

[gianna]

thanks for your reply, she is over 18 ,

[renegadeimp]

As HB said, the main problem you will have is that your daughter gave the wrong details. This might have an effect on the outcome, providing a summons was actually applied for and his colleague didnt stop it.

[gianna]

does that mean she will get a criminal record /

[honeybee13]

does that mean she will get a criminal record /

 

Hello again.

 

I think we're a way from that at the moment. We have some rail industry guys here who will hopefully get here soon, although it might be tomorrow. Try not to worry for now, they will be here when they can.

 

HB

[dx100uk]

no. she wont

 

and i doubt it will go ANYWHRE near a court

 

thats a way off yet IF at all.

 

you need to await a letter first

from the prosecution unit

asking for her input.

 

IF you get one

 

comeback here

 

if not

 

its over with.

 

could be a couple of weeks yet.

 

dx

[gianna]

Thank you all , you are being very helpful, we may even be able to sleep tonight now!! after such a horrible day.

[Old-CodJA]

Firstly, I will say that we can only comment, or give suggestions based on a poster's perception of any incident. I don't want you to immediately think that I'm saying that I don't believe the story, but when the rail company prosecution office staff come to review the inspector's report, they will have the 'other side' of the story as it were.

 

It would be a good idea for your daughter to see if she can identify the ticket clerk at Earl's Court, who you say told her the ticket would be valid and no matter how unlikely that it is she will succeed, see if she can get a note on LUL notepaper from that clerk confirming her mistake.

 

What will happen, if they follow this up, will be that they will write to your daughter at the address she has given and will declare the position as they see it. Their letter will bear the unique reference number allocated to her case and they will give your daughter an opportunity to put her version of events in writing for assessment before they decide whether or not to proceed further. The likelihood of receipt of a Summons is some way off just yet.

 

Because your daughter is over 18 she is considered a responsible adult and it is she who will need to reply to the letter unless she decides to seek qualified legal advice. The rail company is not obliged to respond to comment from an uninvolved third party.

 

There is no excuse for rudeness and aggression from either staff or public when ticket irregularities are identified. If the inspector was as aggressive as you suggest, your daughter should put her complaint in writing, but this is a seperate complaint to the issue of her presenting an invalid ticket and giving false details when asked for her name and address.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Old-CodJA

[firstclassx]

I would not recommend writing a complaint, until you receive correspondence from the Train Operating Company first.

 

I'm not sure exactly how you can call her "vulnerable".

 

Technically she has absolutely no defence, should they decide to prosecute under the Railway Byelaws. You do not give false details "by accident" or "under pressure".

 

You must remember that your daughter's version of events is likely to be extremely biased. I suspect the Inspector will state that your daughter was abusive, failed to cooperate and generally obstructive. I also suspect that his colleague will support that view.

 

The attitude of the staff is often reflected in how the passenger acts towards them. You need to remember that it sounds as though your daughter did have an invalid ticket, (regardless of reason), and subsequently gave a false name and address.

[renegadeimp]

You do not give false details "by accident" or "under pressure".

 

If you afraid though or confused then yes you can. However, the terms you use, you are correct.

[firstclassx]

If you afraid though or confused then yes you can. However, the terms you use, you are correct.

 

Judging by the other forum she is posting on, she is 100% responsible for her own fate.

[renegadeimp]

Judging by the other forum she is posting on, she is 100% responsible for her own fate.

 

[RPI]

Judging by the other forum she is posting on, she is 100% responsible for her own fate.

Yes i've been following the story on the other forum too and it does seem that there may be more to this.

[Old-CodJA]

That does appear to be the case I agree