I would be most grateful for the views of forum members on the penalty fares that my wife and I were issued with by Greater Anglia. I have set out a narrative below, along with copied and pasted e-mail correspondence with Greater Anglia. I could not copy and paste the dialogue with IAS as this was done online or by letter.
Chronology
My wife and I were each issued with a penalty fare notice of £35.40 each on 10 December 2014 and we appealed it online to IAS within 21 days. On 9 January 2015 the IAS declined the appeal and there was seemingly no further route of appeal with IAS; it stated this case is now closed. On 9 January 2015, my wife contacted Greater Anglias customer services and was given a IAS number to call, but there was no answer. As such, my wife e-mailed Greater Anglia customer services to continue appealing the penalty fare notices, particularly as IAS had not dealt with all of the points raised.
Greater Anglias customer services department took the matter on and my wife corresponded with her. On 22 January 2015 my wife stated by e-mail Please let me know how I can arrange payment of the penalty fare and the procedure for continuing to dispute it, since we had understood that we could pay this, avoid the risk of prosecution and continue to challenge the appeal. However, Estelles response on 26 January 2015 did not answer this and simply directed us to Passenger Focus (who are now taking up the matter).
We are now told by IAS that a further sum has been added to our balance, of £35 each. This is despite the fact that there was no further route of dialogue with IAS after its letter on 9 January 2015, and despite the fact that there was ongoing dialogue with Greater Anglia directly.
I have set out below a narrative of the relevant events on the day that the penalty fare notices were issued.
Narrative of Events, IAS Response and Greater Anglia Response
On 10 December 2014 my wife and I travelled with Greater Anglia Trains from Sawbridgeworth to London Liverpool Street on the 8.14am train. We had, in advance, purchased standard class tickets for the journey.
We boarded the train, along with a number of other passengers, at our usual spot. However, on boarding the train, we realised we were in a first class carriage. This had not been apparent to us before boarding the train (particularly given the number of people in front of us queuing to get on the train). We get this train regularly and are friendly with a number of the other passengers who use the service. We were all surprised to find ourselves in the first class carriage, and tried to move down the train into a standard class carriage. However, the train was overcrowded, and the adjacent standard class carriage was so full there was not even any standing room. This train is always very overcrowded, and often passengers boarding at Stansted take up the aisles with suitcases.
Accordingly, both we and a number of our fellow passengers had to remain in the first class carriage. We stayed close to the door, hoping that as people began to move down the train, we would be able to move into the adjacent standard class carriage. We also hoped to be able to seek permission to remain in the first class carriage, if necessary, until the congestion began to clear, from a member of Greater Anglia staff. However, none were available on the train that morning.
A number of our fellow passengers took seats, momentarily, either on seats or in the luggage racks, waiting for the congestion to ease. My wife and I sat down temporarily to help ease congestion. A few minutes later, two ticket inspectors entered the carriage and issued my wife and I with penalty fare notices. None of the other passengers occupying first class that morning with standard class tickets were issued with penalty fare notices. My wife and I were discriminated against for reasons unknown to us.
As stated above, we raised a complaint with the Independent Appeals Service ("IAS") . They rejected our appeal on the following grounds:
- They say that if we "wished" to travel in first class with standard class tickets, we had to pay an additional fare. They ignore our complaint that we did not 'wish' to occupy first class, but were forced to do so by the overcrowded conditions.
- They say we should have sought permission from a member of staff to travel in first class. They ignore our complaint that there were no members of staff available to request permission from.
- They say that we ought not to have boarded the first class carriage in the first place. They ignore the fact that we did so by accident, along with a number of our fellow passengers, and also the fact that our mistake was caused by the unusual train configuration that morning.
- They have failed to explain why only my wife and I were issued with penalty fare notices and not the other passengers with standard class tickets occupying the first class carriage that morning.
In subsequent dialogue with Greater Anglia, it is acknowledged by it that the train was overcrowded and that this caused us an issue when attempting to move down the train, and that they cannot explain why we were discriminated against, but that it would be referred to their senior management team (although no response has been received).
Correspondence with Greater Anglia
11 January 2015 - my wife
Further to our conversation on Friday 9 January 2014, I have tried to contact IAS on the number you kindly provided but nobody was available to answer my call.
I enclose copies of the following documents in the attached Pdf:
Document 1 the Penalty fare notices
Document 2 the receipt for our tickets
Document 3 - The letters received from IAS rejecting our appeal
Document 4 the email exchange between IAS and myself, confirming that the fare notices had been suspended, pending investigation.
Document 5 summary of our appeal to IAS
In summary, my husband and I were issued with penalty fare notices on 10 December 2014. On the back of the notices, it stated that we should either pay the amount due, or appeal against the notices, within 21 days. Accodingly, we submitted appeals against the notices on 18 December 2014. This morning we received the responses at document 3, rejecting our appeals.
We do not consider that IAS has properly dealt with the points we raised in our appeals. As we submitted the appeals via their online service, I am no longer able to retrieve an exact copy of them. However, I have set out a brief summary of the events leading to the fare notices being issued to us at document 5.
IAS has not responded to the following points which were raised in our appeal:
1. Why were my husband and I the only passengers in the first class carriage that morning who were charged? It seems we were discriminated against, for a reason unknown to us.
2. Mr Stanhope suggests that we wish(ed) to travel in the first class carriage, which we did not. As stated in our appeal, we had tried to move out of the carriage, but were prevented from doing so due to the number of passgeners on the overcrowded train.
3. Mr Stanhope suggests we ought to have sought permission to occupy the first class carriage. However, as stated in our appeal, there were no Greater Anglia staff available from whom we could seek such permission.
Please can you review our complaint, and address the issues raised at points 1-3 above.
My husband and I are regular customers of Greater Anglia and really do feel that we have been treated unfairly in the circumstances.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
19 January 2015 - Greater Anglia
Thank you for your recent email following on from our recent phone call with your attachments of the penalty fare you and your Husband were issued when you travelled with us from Whittlesford Parkway to Liverpool Street on the 10th December 2014.
Firstly, I was sorry to read that you have been unable to get in contact with a member of IRCAS on the helpline number 08454 348292. I would advise to keep persevering with this and eventually you will get through to somebody- they are open from 09:30 until 16:00 Monday to Friday.
As per the Penalty Fare terms and conditions the penalty is the greater of £20 or twice the full single fare from the station where the passenger goes on the train to the next station at which the train stops. If the passenger wants to travel beyond the next station they must also pay the relevant fare from that station to their final destination.
Nevertheless, as promised and stated on the telephone, I have looked further into your case with my Supervisor and I do regret having read your correspondence of the circumstances which led you being issued a Penalty Fare on the above date. Furthermore, I do appreciate the obvious discomfort caused given the overcrowding you both experienced and how this caused an issue when you attempted to move down the train.
Unfortunately, although I do understand that you and your Husband are both regular travellers on our services, as you both held standard class tickets and were sitting in the First Class compartment, you did not have a valid ticket for travel so the conductor in this instance was correct in issuing a Penalty Fare and I cannot issue any recompense towards this; I am sorry if this disappoints you.
Lastly, I am unable to comment as to why the other passengers you saw in the First Class area who you believed did not have a valid first class ticket for travel were not fined. Nevertheless, I have logged your comments on our database for the attention of my senior management team for their review.
Once again I am sorry for any disappointment caused and thank you for contacting us.
Yours sincerely
19 January 2015 - my wife
Thank you for your e-mail dated 19 January 2015, and I am grateful to you for expressing your regret and recognising the obvious discomfort of the journey which you acknowledge was overcrowded. You also recognise that this caused us an issue when we attempted to move down the train (and out of First Class). You also note the difficulty of getting hold of IRCAS, which is supposed to be available to help passengers facing Penalty Fares.
Unfortunately, I must say at the outset that I am disappointed that you have not properly addressed the three main points my email raised, in particular:
1. Why my husband and I were the only passengers in the first class carriage that morning who were charged;
2. The fact that we did not wish to travel in the first class carriage, but were forced to do so due to the overcrowded conditions; and
3. The fact that no Greater Anglia staff were available from whom we could seek permission to occupy the first class carriage.
I do not understand how on the one hand you can maintain that it was correct to issue the Penalty Fare but on the other hand not expressly refute the points I have raised.
Most importantly, there remains no explanation as to why my husband and I were discriminated against by suffering a Penalty Fare when all others in the First Class carriage who did not have First Class tickets were simply allowed to leave. I still cannot understand why we were treated in a more prejudicial and embarrassing manner than those other passengers. If you have a positive reason why we were treated this way, please state this. If you cannot explain why, please confirm.
I note in any event that you are treating this sufficiently seriously to warrant a review by your senior management team and I await a proper response.
I also cannot understand the basis on which my husband and I were each issued with a Penalty Fare of £35. Your e-mail refers in error to us travelling from Whittlesford Parkway to Liverpool Street. You were given a scanned copy of our tickets which shows the journey as Sawbridgeworth to London Liverpool Street.
You state that As per the Penalty Fare terms and conditions the penalty is the greater of £20 or twice the full single fare from the station where the passenger goes on the train to the next station at which the train stops. If the passenger wants to travel beyond the next station they must also pay the relevant fare from that station to their final destination.
As our tickets demonstrate, we got onto the train at Sawbridgeworth. If you require proof that we live in Sawbridgeworth, please let me know and I will provide evidence of this, exhibited to a witness statement backed up by a Statement of Truth.
The next station at which the train stops is Harlow Town, a journey of less than 5 miles, which takes approximately 5 minutes. Accordingly, based on what you say above the sum to be considered is either £20 or twice the full single fare from Sawbridgeworth to Harlow Town, whichever is the greater.
According to your website today (and based on the 2015 prices, which presumably have increased since 2014), the single fare travelling on the 8.14am from Sawbridgeworth to Harlow Town is £4. Twice this sum is £8.
You will appreciate that we already had valid standard class tickets for the entire journey to London Liverpool Street so should not have been required to re-purchase these.
Can you please explain how the Penalty Fare can be valid if it is calculated at £35 each?
If you accept that it is not valid, please confirm that it is cancelled. If you accept that it is not valid but you believe that it should be recalculated at a lower amount, please confirm the statutory basis on which a Penalty Fare issued for an improper amount can be amended after the event.
Finally, please note that I reserve the right to disclose this and our previous correspondence, including the photographs of the overcrowded carriage that I took, to third parties. I am not stating an intention to do so.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
22 January 2015 - Greater Anglia
Thank you for your further email.
I am sorry that you are unhappy with my response. I have looked into this case further for you as requested and below I have answered your points below:
Point 1: I can confirm that as stated previously, I am unable to comment on the actions of our revenue protection staff towards any other customers. We treat each case individually, and in your case I can confirm that you were correctly issued a Penalty Fare.
Point 2: I do appreciate that the train was very busy and overcrowded. However, with consideration to the fact that the penalty fare was still issued at the time, this factor would not be considered sufficient mitigating circumstances for your fine to be overturned.
Point 3: I can confirm that if you have not been given or obtained permission to sit in First Class by any member of staff, then you are not permitted to sit in the First Class area with a Standard Class ticket under any circumstances.
With regards to your comments about the £35.40 you were fined; as you have noted, the Penalty Fare terms and conditions state that the penalty is the greater of £20 or twice the full single fare from the station where the passenger boards a train to the next station at which the train stops. If the passenger wants to travel beyond the next station they must also pay the relevant fare from that station to their final destination.
I do appreciate that you were travelling from Sawbridgeworth and not Whittlesford Parkway as I had written in my previous email to you; this was an error on my part and I do apologise.
As you boarded the train at Sawbridgeworth on the 08:14 service and you were issued your fine at 08:31, you had already travelled beyond Harlow Town by the time the penalty was issued. The next station stop was therefore Tottenham Hale. Two times the price of an Anytime First Class Single ticket from Sawbridgeworth to Tottenham Hale is £35.40 and this is why you were charged this amount.
I hope this answers all of your questions and clarifies why I cannot refund your penalty fare in this instance.
Once again, thank you for contacting us.
Yours sincerely,
22 January 2015 - my wife
Your response is disappointing and clearly shows the disdain Greater Anglia has for its paying customers. It is a shame that the company lacks the ability to empathise and acknowledge that we were in an impossible position. Instead it takes the opportunity to maximise profits by maintaining a grossly unfair penalty fare.
It is interesting that our penalty fare is arbitrarily based on when the ticket inspector boards the train and reaches our carriage. Had the inspector reached us before Harlow Town the penalty would have been almost half. We had no control over this.
You acknowledge the train was overcrowded and that you cannot explain why we, and no one else in first class without standard class tickets were fined. There is, I expect, a public interest in these issues and I have stated that this correspondence may be disclosed to third parties.
Please let me know how I can arrange payment of the penalty fare and the procedure for continuing to dispute it.
Yours sincerely
26 January 2015 - Greater Anglia
Thank you for your further email.
I have spoken to my Manager regarding this case and I can confirm that as you are unhappy with the way we have approached your issues, and the final response received, you can canvass the views of the railway watchdog Passenger Focus.
You can contact them in one of the following ways:
Telephone: 0300 123 2350 (Weekdays 0800 to 2200; Weekends 0800 to 1600)
Fax: 0845 850 1392
Email: info@passengerfocus.org.uk
Website: www.passengerfocus.org
Post: Passenger Focus
FREEPOST (RRRE-ETTC-LEET)
PO Box 4257
Manchester
M60 3AR
Once again, thank you for contacting us.
Chronology
My wife and I were each issued with a penalty fare notice of £35.40 each on 10 December 2014 and we appealed it online to IAS within 21 days. On 9 January 2015 the IAS declined the appeal and there was seemingly no further route of appeal with IAS; it stated this case is now closed. On 9 January 2015, my wife contacted Greater Anglias customer services and was given a IAS number to call, but there was no answer. As such, my wife e-mailed Greater Anglia customer services to continue appealing the penalty fare notices, particularly as IAS had not dealt with all of the points raised.
Greater Anglias customer services department took the matter on and my wife corresponded with her. On 22 January 2015 my wife stated by e-mail Please let me know how I can arrange payment of the penalty fare and the procedure for continuing to dispute it, since we had understood that we could pay this, avoid the risk of prosecution and continue to challenge the appeal. However, Estelles response on 26 January 2015 did not answer this and simply directed us to Passenger Focus (who are now taking up the matter).
We are now told by IAS that a further sum has been added to our balance, of £35 each. This is despite the fact that there was no further route of dialogue with IAS after its letter on 9 January 2015, and despite the fact that there was ongoing dialogue with Greater Anglia directly.
I have set out below a narrative of the relevant events on the day that the penalty fare notices were issued.
Narrative of Events, IAS Response and Greater Anglia Response
On 10 December 2014 my wife and I travelled with Greater Anglia Trains from Sawbridgeworth to London Liverpool Street on the 8.14am train. We had, in advance, purchased standard class tickets for the journey.
We boarded the train, along with a number of other passengers, at our usual spot. However, on boarding the train, we realised we were in a first class carriage. This had not been apparent to us before boarding the train (particularly given the number of people in front of us queuing to get on the train). We get this train regularly and are friendly with a number of the other passengers who use the service. We were all surprised to find ourselves in the first class carriage, and tried to move down the train into a standard class carriage. However, the train was overcrowded, and the adjacent standard class carriage was so full there was not even any standing room. This train is always very overcrowded, and often passengers boarding at Stansted take up the aisles with suitcases.
Accordingly, both we and a number of our fellow passengers had to remain in the first class carriage. We stayed close to the door, hoping that as people began to move down the train, we would be able to move into the adjacent standard class carriage. We also hoped to be able to seek permission to remain in the first class carriage, if necessary, until the congestion began to clear, from a member of Greater Anglia staff. However, none were available on the train that morning.
A number of our fellow passengers took seats, momentarily, either on seats or in the luggage racks, waiting for the congestion to ease. My wife and I sat down temporarily to help ease congestion. A few minutes later, two ticket inspectors entered the carriage and issued my wife and I with penalty fare notices. None of the other passengers occupying first class that morning with standard class tickets were issued with penalty fare notices. My wife and I were discriminated against for reasons unknown to us.
As stated above, we raised a complaint with the Independent Appeals Service ("IAS") . They rejected our appeal on the following grounds:
- They say that if we "wished" to travel in first class with standard class tickets, we had to pay an additional fare. They ignore our complaint that we did not 'wish' to occupy first class, but were forced to do so by the overcrowded conditions.
- They say we should have sought permission from a member of staff to travel in first class. They ignore our complaint that there were no members of staff available to request permission from.
- They say that we ought not to have boarded the first class carriage in the first place. They ignore the fact that we did so by accident, along with a number of our fellow passengers, and also the fact that our mistake was caused by the unusual train configuration that morning.
- They have failed to explain why only my wife and I were issued with penalty fare notices and not the other passengers with standard class tickets occupying the first class carriage that morning.
In subsequent dialogue with Greater Anglia, it is acknowledged by it that the train was overcrowded and that this caused us an issue when attempting to move down the train, and that they cannot explain why we were discriminated against, but that it would be referred to their senior management team (although no response has been received).
Correspondence with Greater Anglia
11 January 2015 - my wife
Further to our conversation on Friday 9 January 2014, I have tried to contact IAS on the number you kindly provided but nobody was available to answer my call.
I enclose copies of the following documents in the attached Pdf:
Document 1 the Penalty fare notices
Document 2 the receipt for our tickets
Document 3 - The letters received from IAS rejecting our appeal
Document 4 the email exchange between IAS and myself, confirming that the fare notices had been suspended, pending investigation.
Document 5 summary of our appeal to IAS
In summary, my husband and I were issued with penalty fare notices on 10 December 2014. On the back of the notices, it stated that we should either pay the amount due, or appeal against the notices, within 21 days. Accodingly, we submitted appeals against the notices on 18 December 2014. This morning we received the responses at document 3, rejecting our appeals.
We do not consider that IAS has properly dealt with the points we raised in our appeals. As we submitted the appeals via their online service, I am no longer able to retrieve an exact copy of them. However, I have set out a brief summary of the events leading to the fare notices being issued to us at document 5.
IAS has not responded to the following points which were raised in our appeal:
1. Why were my husband and I the only passengers in the first class carriage that morning who were charged? It seems we were discriminated against, for a reason unknown to us.
2. Mr Stanhope suggests that we wish(ed) to travel in the first class carriage, which we did not. As stated in our appeal, we had tried to move out of the carriage, but were prevented from doing so due to the number of passgeners on the overcrowded train.
3. Mr Stanhope suggests we ought to have sought permission to occupy the first class carriage. However, as stated in our appeal, there were no Greater Anglia staff available from whom we could seek such permission.
Please can you review our complaint, and address the issues raised at points 1-3 above.
My husband and I are regular customers of Greater Anglia and really do feel that we have been treated unfairly in the circumstances.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
19 January 2015 - Greater Anglia
Thank you for your recent email following on from our recent phone call with your attachments of the penalty fare you and your Husband were issued when you travelled with us from Whittlesford Parkway to Liverpool Street on the 10th December 2014.
Firstly, I was sorry to read that you have been unable to get in contact with a member of IRCAS on the helpline number 08454 348292. I would advise to keep persevering with this and eventually you will get through to somebody- they are open from 09:30 until 16:00 Monday to Friday.
As per the Penalty Fare terms and conditions the penalty is the greater of £20 or twice the full single fare from the station where the passenger goes on the train to the next station at which the train stops. If the passenger wants to travel beyond the next station they must also pay the relevant fare from that station to their final destination.
Nevertheless, as promised and stated on the telephone, I have looked further into your case with my Supervisor and I do regret having read your correspondence of the circumstances which led you being issued a Penalty Fare on the above date. Furthermore, I do appreciate the obvious discomfort caused given the overcrowding you both experienced and how this caused an issue when you attempted to move down the train.
Unfortunately, although I do understand that you and your Husband are both regular travellers on our services, as you both held standard class tickets and were sitting in the First Class compartment, you did not have a valid ticket for travel so the conductor in this instance was correct in issuing a Penalty Fare and I cannot issue any recompense towards this; I am sorry if this disappoints you.
Lastly, I am unable to comment as to why the other passengers you saw in the First Class area who you believed did not have a valid first class ticket for travel were not fined. Nevertheless, I have logged your comments on our database for the attention of my senior management team for their review.
Once again I am sorry for any disappointment caused and thank you for contacting us.
Yours sincerely
19 January 2015 - my wife
Thank you for your e-mail dated 19 January 2015, and I am grateful to you for expressing your regret and recognising the obvious discomfort of the journey which you acknowledge was overcrowded. You also recognise that this caused us an issue when we attempted to move down the train (and out of First Class). You also note the difficulty of getting hold of IRCAS, which is supposed to be available to help passengers facing Penalty Fares.
Unfortunately, I must say at the outset that I am disappointed that you have not properly addressed the three main points my email raised, in particular:
1. Why my husband and I were the only passengers in the first class carriage that morning who were charged;
2. The fact that we did not wish to travel in the first class carriage, but were forced to do so due to the overcrowded conditions; and
3. The fact that no Greater Anglia staff were available from whom we could seek permission to occupy the first class carriage.
I do not understand how on the one hand you can maintain that it was correct to issue the Penalty Fare but on the other hand not expressly refute the points I have raised.
Most importantly, there remains no explanation as to why my husband and I were discriminated against by suffering a Penalty Fare when all others in the First Class carriage who did not have First Class tickets were simply allowed to leave. I still cannot understand why we were treated in a more prejudicial and embarrassing manner than those other passengers. If you have a positive reason why we were treated this way, please state this. If you cannot explain why, please confirm.
I note in any event that you are treating this sufficiently seriously to warrant a review by your senior management team and I await a proper response.
I also cannot understand the basis on which my husband and I were each issued with a Penalty Fare of £35. Your e-mail refers in error to us travelling from Whittlesford Parkway to Liverpool Street. You were given a scanned copy of our tickets which shows the journey as Sawbridgeworth to London Liverpool Street.
You state that As per the Penalty Fare terms and conditions the penalty is the greater of £20 or twice the full single fare from the station where the passenger goes on the train to the next station at which the train stops. If the passenger wants to travel beyond the next station they must also pay the relevant fare from that station to their final destination.
As our tickets demonstrate, we got onto the train at Sawbridgeworth. If you require proof that we live in Sawbridgeworth, please let me know and I will provide evidence of this, exhibited to a witness statement backed up by a Statement of Truth.
The next station at which the train stops is Harlow Town, a journey of less than 5 miles, which takes approximately 5 minutes. Accordingly, based on what you say above the sum to be considered is either £20 or twice the full single fare from Sawbridgeworth to Harlow Town, whichever is the greater.
According to your website today (and based on the 2015 prices, which presumably have increased since 2014), the single fare travelling on the 8.14am from Sawbridgeworth to Harlow Town is £4. Twice this sum is £8.
You will appreciate that we already had valid standard class tickets for the entire journey to London Liverpool Street so should not have been required to re-purchase these.
Can you please explain how the Penalty Fare can be valid if it is calculated at £35 each?
If you accept that it is not valid, please confirm that it is cancelled. If you accept that it is not valid but you believe that it should be recalculated at a lower amount, please confirm the statutory basis on which a Penalty Fare issued for an improper amount can be amended after the event.
Finally, please note that I reserve the right to disclose this and our previous correspondence, including the photographs of the overcrowded carriage that I took, to third parties. I am not stating an intention to do so.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
22 January 2015 - Greater Anglia
Thank you for your further email.
I am sorry that you are unhappy with my response. I have looked into this case further for you as requested and below I have answered your points below:
Point 1: I can confirm that as stated previously, I am unable to comment on the actions of our revenue protection staff towards any other customers. We treat each case individually, and in your case I can confirm that you were correctly issued a Penalty Fare.
Point 2: I do appreciate that the train was very busy and overcrowded. However, with consideration to the fact that the penalty fare was still issued at the time, this factor would not be considered sufficient mitigating circumstances for your fine to be overturned.
Point 3: I can confirm that if you have not been given or obtained permission to sit in First Class by any member of staff, then you are not permitted to sit in the First Class area with a Standard Class ticket under any circumstances.
With regards to your comments about the £35.40 you were fined; as you have noted, the Penalty Fare terms and conditions state that the penalty is the greater of £20 or twice the full single fare from the station where the passenger boards a train to the next station at which the train stops. If the passenger wants to travel beyond the next station they must also pay the relevant fare from that station to their final destination.
I do appreciate that you were travelling from Sawbridgeworth and not Whittlesford Parkway as I had written in my previous email to you; this was an error on my part and I do apologise.
As you boarded the train at Sawbridgeworth on the 08:14 service and you were issued your fine at 08:31, you had already travelled beyond Harlow Town by the time the penalty was issued. The next station stop was therefore Tottenham Hale. Two times the price of an Anytime First Class Single ticket from Sawbridgeworth to Tottenham Hale is £35.40 and this is why you were charged this amount.
I hope this answers all of your questions and clarifies why I cannot refund your penalty fare in this instance.
Once again, thank you for contacting us.
Yours sincerely,
22 January 2015 - my wife
Your response is disappointing and clearly shows the disdain Greater Anglia has for its paying customers. It is a shame that the company lacks the ability to empathise and acknowledge that we were in an impossible position. Instead it takes the opportunity to maximise profits by maintaining a grossly unfair penalty fare.
It is interesting that our penalty fare is arbitrarily based on when the ticket inspector boards the train and reaches our carriage. Had the inspector reached us before Harlow Town the penalty would have been almost half. We had no control over this.
You acknowledge the train was overcrowded and that you cannot explain why we, and no one else in first class without standard class tickets were fined. There is, I expect, a public interest in these issues and I have stated that this correspondence may be disclosed to third parties.
Please let me know how I can arrange payment of the penalty fare and the procedure for continuing to dispute it.
Yours sincerely
26 January 2015 - Greater Anglia
Thank you for your further email.
I have spoken to my Manager regarding this case and I can confirm that as you are unhappy with the way we have approached your issues, and the final response received, you can canvass the views of the railway watchdog Passenger Focus.
You can contact them in one of the following ways:
Telephone: 0300 123 2350 (Weekdays 0800 to 2200; Weekends 0800 to 1600)
Fax: 0845 850 1392
Email: info@passengerfocus.org.uk
Website: www.passengerfocus.org
Post: Passenger Focus
FREEPOST (RRRE-ETTC-LEET)
PO Box 4257
Manchester
M60 3AR
Once again, thank you for contacting us.
