I am new to the site and would appreciate it if someone could help me.
I received a 'Notice of intention to prosecute' from the Prosecutions Manager at First Capital Connect. The following is my response and I would appreciate any feedback/advise:
I received a 'Notice of intention to prosecute' from the Prosecutions Manager at First Capital Connect. The following is my response and I would appreciate any feedback/advise:
Dear Prosecutions Manager, First Capital Connect.
On 1st August 2013 the ticket I was travelling with was indeed invalid, although certainly not through any lack of effort on my part. I was travelling with an open return ticket, at a discounted Network Railcard rate, at a time that was not applicable for the use of this discount. The reason being that I was originally planning to travel back to Letchworth on 31st July in the evening, but my stay in London was extended for personal reasons. As I had an appointment I had to attend early the next day (1st August), this resulted in my having to leave during an earlier period than I had originally planned for. However, I had acknowledged the invalidity of my ticket before boarding the train and went through great lengths to attempt to pay the difference for a valid ticket, whilst adhering to the SRA rules stated below.
I had expressed on five different occasions, to five different staff (three of which were First Capital Connect staff), my willing to pay the difference (as underlined below). I was denied this possibility on all occasions (prior to, and after boarding) and was told that it was not possible to do this. It may be the case that there isn't an option within your ticketing system to accommodate for this particular situation, but as my request was reasonable according to the SRA and National Rail Conditions of Carriage, the fault lies with First Capital Connect, not myself.
I was also not offered the option of refunding my unused invalid ticket. This hadn't actually crossed my mind at the time but if I were aware of this option then I would have happily received a refund for the discounted Network Railcard return fare and, in turn, paid the full fare for a new ticket.
Below are the aforementioned rules:
"7.6 An authorised collector must not charge a penalty fare to a
person whose ticket is not valid only because of a published
restriction, as described in condition 12 of the National Rail
Conditions of Carriage."
Source: SRA Penalty Fares Rules
"12. Restrictions on when you can travel
Restrictions apply to the use of some tickets (including those bought with a Railcard) in addition to/other than those in Condition 10 above such as the dates, days, and times when you can use them, and the trains in which they can be used. These restrictions will be made clear to you by the seller when you buy your ticket. If a restriction applies and the ticket you are using is not valid for the train you are travelling in, then:
(a) you will be liable to pay an excess fare (the difference between the price paid for the ticket you hold and the price of the lowest priced ticket available for immediate travel that would have entitled you to travel in that train for the journey shown on the ticket)"
Source: National Rail Conditions of Carriage
Here I would like to state that I was expected to pay the full fare. Expecting me to pay for a whole new ticket on top of what I had already paid is not only unreasonable from a customer perspective, but it is also non-compliant with the rules as stated by the SRA, so I am therefore not liable to pay anything other than the excess fare. Which, despite the inconvenience this has caused, I am still willing to pay.
I was also given no such notice as indicated below on two occasions where the opportunity presented itself. I was initially approached whilst on the train by a First Capital Connect ticket inspector, who failed to issue a written notice (I also offered to the pay the difference and was declined). Then again when I reached my destination, which was when my details were taken by the Revenue Protection Inspector at Letchworth Station, who also failed to issue a written notice despite acknowledging the first failure to issue a notice (I offered to pay the difference here and was declined again). So regardless of all of the above, which would certainly support my appeal, I am still not liable to pay anything other than the excess fare due to further non-compliance by First Capital Connect (as stated below).
"If a person wants to appeal against the penalty fare, or does not
pay the penalty fare in full immediately, the authorised
collector must give them a written notice setting out:
a the identity of the authorised collector and the name of the
train operator that he or she is acting for;
b the amount of the penalty fare and why it has been charged;
c the address to which they must send payment;
d the ways in which they can pay;
e that they must pay within 21 days of receiving the notice;
f that they can ask for a copy of these rules and a summary of
the operators approved penalty fares scheme by writing or
sending an e-mail to a given address or calling a given
phone number; and
g that they are entitled to appeal against the penalty fare by
sending a written statement to a given address, within 21
days of the day on which the penalty fare is charged,
explaining why they should not have to pay the penalty
fare."
Source: SRA Penalty Fares Rules
I am concerned as to why I have been contacted by the Prosecutions Manager for any reason other than to apologise for non-compliance, as my expressed willing to pay the difference was noted in the comments section of the details form completed by the RPI at Letchworth Station. Surely the Prosecutions Manager should be aware that this means I am not liable to pay a penalty? I can only speculate that FCC is so quick to hand out prosecution notices as a desperate attempt to scare customers into paying illegal penalty fares in order to compensate for the late train payout bills you have incurred. So not only are loyal customers paying extortionate rates for an abysmal service, we're also being unreasonably and unlawfully threatened with prosecution, despite all efforts to adhere to the rules. This is gross misconduct! If this is not the case then at the very least what can be said is that FCC staff are extremely incompetent. I seem to know more than they do after just 30 minutes of research.
I would like to end by mentioning that I have searched the internet to see if there have been any other customers that have experienced similar issues with First Capital Connect and I have found several other examples in which First Capital Connect have failed to comply to the SRA Penalty Fares Rules and the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. So if you would like to "take this case to the Magistrates Court" I would be more than happy to oblige. Baring in mind that penalty fares are a civil, not a criminal matter.
Kind Regards... "