Northern Rail Fines and Penalties

[northwichcat]

With a lot of threads on here relating to unpaid fares and Northern Rail I thought the below information that's recently been added to their website might be of use:

http://www.northernrail.org/travel/fines-and-penalties

http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/Protection_Enforcement_&_Prosecutions_Policy.pdf

 

[thedbdiboy]

Thanks for flagging that up. Train companies should already have their revenue protection policies available on their website, and those that don't should be adding them soon.

It something that the industry has agreed to do as it isn't unreasonable that passengers should be able to find out what might happen to them on a specific company's services if they find themselves travelling without a ticket or with the wrong one.

 

[yorkie]

Interesting. I agree companies should be honest with passengers, though I am pleasantly surprised that they have agreed to do so, but I am not yet convinced they will be entirely honest and open.

For example, I can't wait to see Scotrail's. Will it say:-

"If you are caught using the service shown on your booking confirmation itinerary, and sat in your reserved seat as stated on the reservation coupon that was issued along with your ticket, our staff may be rude to you, make allegations against you, we may ask you to buy a completely new ticket, and/or report you for prosecution" ?

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Likewise with SouthEastern, will they say:-

"If you are caught using the service shown on your booking confirmation itinerary, and/or using the shortest route by rail for your journey and/or complying with instructions shown on the website you booked your ticket, our staff may evict you from the train and/or we may ask you to buy a completely new ticket. Also if you are travelling on a route-restricted ticket on a more expensive route, we will not adhere to the NRCoC and instead may illegally issue a Penalty Fare, contrary to Penalty Fare regulations" ?
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As if they are not honest, it's a meaningless exercise!

 

[northwichcat]

It something that the industry has agreed to do as it isn't unreasonable that passengers should be able to find out what might happen to them on a specific company's services if they find themselves travelling without a ticket or with the wrong one.

To add to that some people are finding they are getting letters from the company who caught them without a valid ticket opposed to the company they travelled with e.g. a letter from Northern after being caught at Manchester Oxford Rd despite having travelled on an EMT service is one story I seem to remember having seen.

 

[yorkie]

To add to that some people are finding they are getting letters from the company who caught them without a valid ticket opposed to the company they travelled with e.g. a letter from Northern after being caught at Manchester Oxford Rd despite having travelled on an EMT service is one story I seem to remember having seen.

Good point!

In which case can I suggest that TOCs are required to link to the policies of all other TOCs whose staff are authorised to inspect their tickets at any station they serve?

After all, if all TOCs have these policies on their website, a few hyperlinks should be no problem at all, especially as Britain's train companies are "working together" and "ticket terms and conditions are now the same across all train companies nationwide, so you know exactly where you stand". Right?