Northern Rail -Travel Incident Report

[rossytron84]

Hi,

Looking for some advice on my situation if possible.
Booked a ticket from Trainline for Leeds to Skipton departing 12:18 this afternoon. Got into the station, asked the staff which platform the Skipton 12:18 was leaving for and he pointed at 5b.

Train arrived at ~12:05, got on and train departed at 12:26, I thought it was running late but when the inspector came and checked my ticket, he said that I had the wrong ticket and should have got on the Leeds to Morecambe train on platform 3. I apologised for the mistake and offered buy the correct ticket but he flat out refused, said he had to report me for prosecution (wtf). Issued a ‘travel incident report’ and said I would get a letter within a few weeks.

Thing is, I triple checked my trainline ticket, it says nowhere that the train is the Leeds to Morecambe, nor does it say the platform number. It clearly says “Leeds to Skipton train” I scanned into Leeds station about 12:00~ so would have got on the Morecambe line if I had known!

Anyone have an idea of what to expect? Do I need to complain to Trainline or Northern about this as I bet I’m not the only one caught out by this?

Thanks,

 

[wilsontown]

Presumably you had an advance ticket for the 12:18 departure but got on the 12:26 instead. Advance tickets are ONLY valid for the specified train, so you didn't have a valid ticket for your journey. A bit harsh to issue a TIR here though, could have just sold you a ticket.

 

[rossytron84]

Yep, was an Advance ticket. I checked on trainline and the 12:26 I got on was actually cheaper than the 12:18 ticket I had bought ‍♂️‍♂️ so I paid more than I should have done.

Wasn’t trying to avoid a fare or anything, just a genuine mistake of getting on the train labelled Skipton as per my trainline ticket instead of the Morecambe one (why the hell trainline says to use the Leeds-Skipton train, instead of Leeds-Morecambe train is beyond me).

 

[WesternLancer]

You may be able to learn from this thread for info (not exactly the same but similar problem has arisen) - if you are lucky they may simply ask you for a new fare at the price required - which is what happened in this case - but the problem for them got worse as the person involved then tried to appeal this but it escalated to a £100 fee or threat of prosecution.

You will need to wait to hear from them officially I think and then immediately head back here for good advice on what to do / how to respond / what options are.

I'm not sure, but might be better to buy tickets in future from the rail operator (eg Northern) rather than a 3rd party (eg Trainline) - at least that results in fewer organisations to now argue with...

Northern Rail - Caught 30 mins earlier train

Hi there. Can anyone give me some advice regarding a dispute with Northern Rail? Me and my hubby travelled from Leeds to Hornbeam Park on Sunday 4th Feb. I bought our tickets on my app for the 12.06 train but when we got to the station the earlier 1136 train was still on the platform so we asked...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Booked a ticket from Trainline for Leeds to Skipton departing 12:18 this afternoon. Got into the station, asked the staff which platform the Skipton 12:18 was leaving for and he pointed at 5b.

Is this the nub of the problem (and maybe how the question was phrased)? At just after midday, the next train from Leeds with Skipton as its destination would have been the 1226 off Platform 5C. The 1218 for Morecambe (which calls at Skipton) was off Platform 3B.

 

[rossytron84]

Just to follow up. Received a debt recovery letter from Northern Trains this morning, asking for the price of the fare for the correct train to be paid £10.90.
All paid and problem settled. Thanks for help and advice

 

[AlterEgo]

Thanks for giving us an update. This looks to be a fair outcome although one does wonder what the point of reporting you in the first place was!

 

[30907]

This looks to be a fair outcome although one does wonder what the point of reporting you in the first place was!

It give Northern a chance to discover if the OP is a repeat offender. Presumably they have found nothing

 

[AlterEgo]

It give Northern a chance to discover if the OP is a repeat offender. Presumably they have found nothing

How would they know? There is no offence here; only an excess needed to be paid.

 

[Sheffcaster202]

How would they know? There is no offence here; only an excess needed to be paid.

I’ve previously seen you mention excessing advance tickets and have to disagree. There T&Cs even state this. Screenshots below from the National Rail website

 

[AlterEgo]

I’ve previously seen you mention excessing advance tickets and have to disagree. There T&Cs even state this. Screenshots below from the National Rail website

Apologies, I mistook this for a break of journey case. Anyway the correct resolution is to purchase a new ticket rather than an excess, as the terms state. Pointless to report for prosecution, as this has only served to increase Northern’s costs.