Fines issued for wrong journeys by newbies

[DrT001]

Writing on behalf of someone else:

My husband and I got a train from London to Northampton a few days ago. We are both new to this country, arriving as students a few weeks ago. We had valid Oyster cards, but apparently these are not valid for the journey we made. Three conductors gathered around us and pestered us for our details, which we gave, even though we could not understand what they were saying. They then issued fines to us both.

Please advise.

Thanks

 

[JonathanH]

Unfortunately, Oyster is essentially a product for travelling around London, and not for longer distance journeys, and it is the responsibility of passengers to check that their intended journey is within the area covered by its validity. There are often signs at major stations which indicate where it is valid to, and announcements made on board at the last station in the area.

The best course of action is to pay the fine, and familiarise yourselves with where Oyster can be used for future reference.

The TfL single fare finder website https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/tube-and-rail-fares/single-fare-finder can be used to check fares on Oyster and Contactless. Any stations not listed are outside the system, and a ticket will need to be bought from a ticket machine or online before travelling.

 

[furlong]

Which train were you on? For example, what time did it leave London or arrive at Northampton?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Dec 2023 ==

An appeals panel might accept lack of familiarity when you are new to the country or limited English language comprehension such that signage was ineffective as valid grounds for an appeal but it's not obliged to do so. (It was envisaged originally that no Penalty Fare would be issued in such circumstances.) You need to think carefully about how to explain what happened and why to try to persuade them. You get 3 chances to appeal. A technical appeal on the basis that the signs don't comply with the regulations may also be possible, but you need to think carefully how different grounds you give interact with each other.

 

[JBuchananGB]

It is hard enough for people who have lived in Britain all their lives to understand the train fares, but one law that has been around for over 100 years is that you must always have a ticket for the whole of your journey BEFORE you get on a train. The passenger(s) in this case did not have such a ticket. They have not been issued with a fine but asked to pay a "penalty fare". This comprises the unpaid fare of £41.70 plus a surcharge of £100. The surcharge is reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days. The absolutely best thing for each passenger to do is pay £91.70 straightaway, and learn the lesson. Anything else will be long, complex and difficult to understand.

 

[WesternLancer]

It is hard enough for people who have lived in Britain all their lives to understand the train fares, but one law that has been around for over 100 years is that you must always have a ticket for the whole of your journey BEFORE you get on a train. The passenger(s) in this case did not have such a ticket. They have not been issued with a fine but asked to pay a "penalty fare". This comprises the unpaid fare of £41.70 plus a surcharge of £100. The surcharge is reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days. The absolutely best thing for each passenger to do is pay £91.70 straightaway, and learn the lesson. Anything else will be long, complex and difficult to understand.

I agree with this advice given the circumstances detailed in the first post.

It is unfortunate but I think it best to pay the penalty promptly so as to benefit from the £50 reduction in the penalty amount.

 

[Titfield]

I agree with this advice given the circumstances detailed in the first post.

It is unfortunate but I think it best to pay the penalty promptly so as to benefit from the £50 reduction in the penalty amount.

Yes I agree with this but then worth sending a suitably worded email to the Customer Relations Team at the Train Operating Company who may just be persuaded to provide some form of gesture of goodwill given the circumstances.

 

[AlterEgo]

Northampton is a long way out of London and not even close to being valid on Oyster. I’m afraid this is an expensive lesson.