Stansted Express

[fredx45]

Last month I was using the Stansted Express between Tottenham Hale and Stansted Airport.
It was an early start and I bought my ticket at about 05:30am, I used the Trainline app and accidentally selected the 16-17 railcard instead of the 16-25 railcard.

This was a genuine and honest mistake that occurred. I have a long history of railway usage always using the correct ticket and railcard (digital proof of all of these journeys). I was made to feel like a criminal with my rights read out to me and all my details taken off me etc.

Today in the post I received the standard out-of-court settlement letter for £111.50. From my very limited legal understanding, I'm in the wrong and don't have any legal defense as far as I can see - the easiest option is probably to pay up and chalk it to experience.

My question is - in light of the media today about SJPs and the tiny sum I have accidentally evaded, would they prosecute me?
Over maybe £3 of unpaid fares. Surely they should catch the serial offenders not the small fry decent people who make a genuine mistake.

 

[Haywain]

My question is - in light of the media today about SJPs and the tiny sum I have accidentally evaded, would they prosecute me?

Yes, but not under the Single Justice Procedure. You don’t have a get out clause, I’m afraid.

 

[fredx45]

Yes, but not under the Single Justice Procedure. You don’t have a get out clause, I’m afraid.

Unfortunate!
Railway penalties seem very inconsistent.

I have seen many people travel without tickets or with the wrong railcard being made to buy new ones on the spot with no issue. I've seen people be issued penalty notices, Instead I have been sent an out-of-court settlement with a threat of prosecution.

Why were these options not available to me?

 

[AlterEgo]

My question is - in light of the media today about SJPs and the tiny sum I have accidentally evaded, would they prosecute me?
Over maybe £3 of unpaid fares.

Yes. They just might choose not to use the SJPN procedure and summons you instead.

In any case they would probably prosecute under the Bylaws, for which the SJPN remains an acceptable way to lay information before the court.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Aug 2024 ==

Unfortunate!
Railway penalties seem very inconsistent.

I have seen many people travel without tickets or with the wrong railcard being made to buy new ones on the spot with no issue. I've seen people be issued penalty notices, Instead I have been sent an out-of-court settlement with a threat of prosecution.

Why were these options not available to me?

There is no entitlement to a Penalty Fare. What is happening more often now, is, if someone has claimed a railcard discount they aren’t entitled to, they don’t dispose of the single offence by way of a Penalty Fare, but rather report the person for prosecution. This is so any historic purchases can be audited.

 

[signed]

Why were these options not available to me?

They have wide discretion in what penalty they can do to you

- Warning
- For Penalty Fare TOCs, Penalty Fares
- Pick your details and either offer OOC or drag you to court

For a railcard offense (either invalid, wrong or failure to present it), a PF will rarely be imposed nowadays, for the simple reason that they want to squash railcard fraud.

Your journey history will get reviewed to see if you've used wrongly discounted tickets in the past and get you on those too.