Bought tickets for 16-17 Saver instead of 16-25 Railcard

[Shazalam]

Hope someone can help:

- always use train line with a rail card of 16-25. Switched to TrainPal (through recommendation)
- accidentally bought two tickets (for me and my friend who also has same railcard) under 16-17
- on EMR, was both fined £100 + £38 for buying ticket under wrong railcard
- I have never been fined before and travel on train all the time because I am a student

I have appealed twice, both have been rejected, not sure what to do now, but these fines are so high and as a student I just cannot afford this mistake, as it was just a genuine mistake. I know it is my fault, but for a service I use all the time I’m just so disappointed and have since been put off using them.

Hope someone can help!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@Shazalam. Welcome to the forum. Not sure if you have any valid grounds for successfully appealing this. If you've (inappropriately) purchased tickets incorrectly claiming a 16-17 railcard discount, this is 50% off, not just a third. BTW, you've not been fined, only courts can impose fines. One to chalk up to experience, I would suggest, and the opportunity to settle out of court should be taken; since if you were taken to court, there's every chance you'd be found guilty (as you didn't have a valid ticket) and you'd end up with a court conviction and very likely a higher amount to stump up.

P.S. If you've been issued with a Penalty Fare, do you still have the opportunity to settle this at the reduced rate of £50 (+ the fare due)?

 

[alholmes]

Looks as though you’ve been issued with a penalty fare. If you pay within 21 days the £100 penalty is reduced to £50, and the clock is stopped while each appeal is considered. So if you haven’t left it too long then you may only have to pay £50+£38.

Important to add that if you don’t pay then the outcome is usually the legal route, and potential prosecution, which then becomes very costly.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hope someone can help:

- always use train line with a rail card of 16-25. Switched to TrainPal (through recommendation)
- accidentally bought two tickets (for me and my friend who also has same railcard) under 16-17
- on EMR, was both fined £100 + £38 for buying ticket under wrong railcard
- I have never been fined before and travel on train all the time because I am a student

I have appealed twice, both have been rejected, not sure what to do now, but these fines are so high and as a student I just cannot afford this mistake, as it was just a genuine mistake. I know it is my fault, but for a service I use all the time I’m just so disappointed and have since been put off using them.

Hope someone can help!

I think you are best off paying the Penalty Fare and sum asked. The appeal process is not about being sympathetic to a penalty that does not seem fair - it's about was the criteria to impose one correct or not. In your case it presumably was because you had a ticket with a greater discount that you were permitted to have - that meant your ticket was not valid.

You are not helped by the regular cases of deliberate fare dodgers on this forum who 'mistakenly' select the more egnerous 16-17 discount when they buy tickets...as the railway will see this very often and consider people who do it have done it deliberatly.

It's bad luck but don't think it's worth going to 3rd and final stage appeal (tho you could try as presumably nothing to lose). If you have been put off using them that's the price they will pay as you will take your custom elsewhere (coach or bus for example, or car) - but they don't care about that really.

Hope you can still get the prompt payment £50 rate as opposed to £100.

 

[RPI]

You were lucky to just be issued a Penalty Fare for this, certainly if I were in this situation I'd be paying the notice.

 

[Shazalam]

Okay, I’ve had no experience of penalty fare before so I didn’t know what was best, but thanks for your help everyone!

 

[WesternLancer]

Okay, I’ve had no experience of penalty fare before so I didn’t know what was best, but thanks for your help everyone!

Given your student budget maybe your university has a student hardship fund you can apply for help to.

Also - if you are ever on delayed trains see if you are legitimately entitled to make Delay-Repay compensation payment claims and make efforts to claim when you can do so.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Okay, I’ve had no experience of penalty fare before so I didn’t know what was best, but thanks for your help everyone!

Penalty fares tend only to be issued in circumstances where the railway reckons you've made an "honest mistake", unlike, say, someone who's been deliberately "doughnutting" (buying short distance tickets to work the gates at the start and end of their journeys, but nothing for the bulk inbetween).

Presume what happened with you, i.e. inadvertently claiming the wrong railcard discount, was a one-off (easy enough for the train company to inspect your ticket purchasing history if it's been done online with the likes of Trainline).

 

[spotify95]

You were lucky to just be issued a Penalty Fare for this, certainly if I were in this situation I'd be paying the notice.

Indeed. A penalty fare is a good outcome for 16-17 instead of 16-25, as a lot of operators tend to prosecute for this instead.

If the OP did want to take this to the 3rd stage then an appeal based on a technicality would probably be more successful. Given the TOC was EMR and the signage at Corby (an EMR station) is non-compliant, I doubt any of the EMR signage is.

Though as mentioned, take the option of £50 early payment and call it over.