Penalty notice issued but is unreadable

[Lou78]

My 17 year old daughter was travelling from Stratford to Chelmsford for college, but forgot to purchase the ticket before boarding and was doing it at Stratford (whilst sat on the train) when a ticket inspector got on. She completed the transaction as he asked her to show the ticket. He said that he had to issue the PN, but she could appeal it.

He said that he could see that she travelled regularly and could see her ticket purchases and railcard.

We can’t see the details of the PN as the text is so faint and where she had it folded in her pocket, it has rubbed off. How do I find out what the PN reference is? Is there any point in appealing it (from what I’ve read, the train was already on it’s journey).

 

[WesternLancer]

My 17 year old daughter was travelling from Stratford to Chelmsford for college, but forgot to purchase the ticket before boarding and was doing it at Stratford (whilst sat on the train) when a ticket inspector got on. She completed the transaction as he asked her to show the ticket. He said that he had to issue the PN, but she could appeal it.

He said that he could see that she travelled regularly and could see her ticket purchases and railcard.

We can’t see the details of the PN as the text is so faint and where she had it folded in her pocket, it has rubbed off. How do I find out what the PN reference is? Is there any point in appealing it (from what I’ve read, the train was already on its journey).

Welcome to the forum.

What a nuisance problem.

Do you know what train company this is?
Could it be greater Anglia?
You need to be sure.

Someone on here will know who operates the penalty fare system for that train operator. I suspect you need to ring that operator of the PF system to try and get the vital ref number.

You need it to pay iirc, and if that isn’t done (or an appeal
Lodged) you will miss the 50% prompt payment discount let alone be unable to make an appeal I suspect.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 Mar 2026 ==

Do you know the date it was issued? Can your daughter work that out.

This will escalate if not attended to. As I suspect you know…

 

[Haywain]

Do you know the date it was issued?

The issue date on the PFN is 26/03/26.

 

[WesternLancer]

The issue date on the PFN is 26/03/26.

Thanks. Didn’t spot that. So 21 days from that date to appeal or pay at reduced rate (or both potentially).

 

[Haywain]

Do you know what train company this is?
Could it be greater Anglia?

On a train from Stratford to Chelmsford it will have been issued by Greater Anglia. I think in the first instance it might be worth contacting GA's customer relations to ask if it would be possible to obtain a reprint. I realise this is highly unusual, and have no idea whether it would be possible - if it isn't then it will be necessary to obtain the details of how/where to make a payment or to lodge an appeal and they should be able to help with that if nothing else.

 

[Hadders]

I think Greater Anglia use IRCAS to administer their Penalty Fares, if so you can contact them via this link on their website:

Contact Us | IRCAS

Customer focused collections.

www.ircas.co.uk

Explain what has happened and they should be able to assist. The form askes for a Penalty Fare number but you should be able to put 'not known' in that field.

 

[z444z]

The goal needs to be a reprint or some other copy of the information on the original penalty fare notice. Without this finding grounds for appeal would be quite difficult.

He said that he had to issue the PN, but she could appeal it.

He said that he could see that she travelled regularly and could see her ticket purchases and railcard.

An appeal on these grounds is very unlikely to be successful.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

What time train on Thursday 26th March 2026 was the PF issued on? Does anything rest on the next booked calling point after departing Stratford (London) not necessarily being Chelmsford (Essex) if indeed it can be established that was actually the case?

 

[WesternLancer]

Penalty Fares

Don't pay a Penalty Fare. Buy the correct ticket before you travel.Please make sure you buy a valid ticket for your entire journey before you travel. Otherwise, you could be charged extra.

www.greateranglia.co.uk

Info on there on making an Appeal takes you to Appeaks Service website. Address on that at the bottom is ITAL in Portsmouth (which is IRCAS) so as per @Hadders post above that may be a good contact point.

Have a recollection people on here before have said it might be a premium rate call charge….
Seem to recall occasional case if where a passenger has lost or thrown away their Penalty Fare paper slip and then realised it was important to have the information on it.

One of the FAQ here might be slightly helpful too

The one on ‘How do I appeal when I did not receive any paperwork’ towards the end of the answer.

Appeal Service

appealservice.co.uk

 

[SuspectUsual]

@Lou78 - as others have said you have 21 days to pay the PF at the reduced rate of £50 + ticket price. If you do decide to pay it, but the difficulties in getting the reference number mean you're coming up against the 21 day limit and still don't have the ability to pay because of the missing reference, one option at that stage would be to submit an appeal as this stops the 21 day clock until the appeal has been determined. So even what might be seen as a spurious appeal would buy you a bit more time to track down the reference number

 

[WesternLancer]

@Lou78 - as others have said you have 21 days to pay the PF at the reduced rate of £50 + ticket price. If you do decide to pay it, but the difficulties in getting the reference number mean you're coming up against the 21 day limit and still don't have the ability to pay because of the missing reference, one option at that stage would be to submit an appeal as this stops the 21 day clock until the appeal has been determined. So even what might be seen as a spurious appeal would buy you a bit more time to track down the reference number

Good advice I think. But how easy is it to do an appeal without the ref number?

 

[Chrius56000]

. . .I can make out "GA1130. . ." but the rest is unreadable!

 

[jumble]

My 17 year old daughter was travelling from Stratford to Chelmsford for college, but forgot to purchase the ticket before boarding and was doing it at Stratford (whilst sat on the train) when a ticket inspector got on. She completed the transaction as he asked her to show the ticket. He said that he had to issue the PN, but she could appeal it.

He said that he could see that she travelled regularly and could see her ticket purchases and railcard.

We can’t see the details of the PN as the text is so faint and where she had it folded in her pocket, it has rubbed off. How do I find out what the PN reference is? Is there any point in appealing it (from what I’ve read, the train was already on it’s journey).

I would proactivly do as much as possible
Write to GA and ITAL and ask for the PF number
Send GA or ITAL a cheque for the 50%+ Fare and state all details postcode journey etc
Put in an appeal and if it does not accept it take screenshot

 

[fandroid]

I would proactivly do as much as possible
Write to GA and ITAL and ask for the PF number
Send GA or ITAL a cheque for the 50%+ Fare and state all details postcode journey etc
Put in an appeal and if it does not accept it take screenshot

To avoid any possibility of confusion here, the cheque should be for £50 + fare.

 

[Haywain]

To avoid any possibility of confusion here, the cheque should be for £50 + fare.

Or, to avoid any confusion, £65.60 - the figures are clearly visible on the PFN posted at the top of the thread.

 

[eoff]

Maybe I'm missing something here but is it not a requirement of the regulations that a person being charged a penalty fare must receive specific informatin in writing at the time the fare is charged?

 

[WesternLancer]

Maybe I'm missing something here but is it not a requirement of the regulations that a person being charged a penalty fare must receive specific informatin in writing at the time the fare is charged?

I think they were. Op said text faded and was rubbed off in daughters pocked over subsequent period since issue iirc.

 

[eoff]

I think they were. Op said text faded and was rubbed off in daughters pocked over subsequent period since issue iirc.

Ah, sorry, didn't notice that part.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hoping the op can get the ref number so that they can get help here with a potential appeal.

 

[Lou78]

Thanks all for your help and suggestions. I still haven’t managed to get any further as any appeal or even to pay, you need the reference number. I have tried GA customer services but it all automated. I’ve even tried citizens advice but have been holding for ages. I might just have to try a different way to get to speak to a member of staff at GA just not sure how.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks all for your help and suggestions. I still haven’t managed to get any further as any appeal or even to pay, you need the reference number. I have tried GA customer services but it all automated. I’ve even tried citizens advice but have been holding for ages. I might just have to try a different way to get to speak to a member of staff at GA just not sure how.

It's not GA customer services you need - it's their contractor for Penalty Fares / related enforcement of them - who are IRCAS/ ITAL (based in Portsmouth as i recall)

see above post #6 and post #9

have you tried completing the online forms linked in those posts above?

Try to contact them to get the ref number - then you can move on with other actions

also here is on old post (v old however) which has a number which might be worth trying to see if it still works - 0845 434 8272

Contact details IRCAS

Hi all, if anybody has ever used the IRCAS website you will find that the only telephone number that they give you is an automated service and gives you no option to speak to a human being and under certain situations you may need to speak to a human. I think its disgraceful that they give you...

www.railforums.co.uk

Hi all, if anybody has ever used the IRCAS website you will find that the only telephone number that they give you is an automated service and gives you no option to speak to a human being and under certain situations you may need to speak to a human. I think its disgraceful that they give you no option to speak to a human. However i now have the number for customer services. Please dont abuse this.
Customer service number: 0845 434 8272

and another old thread here states:

SW Trains Penalty Fare & IRCAS reminder notice

First of all, I'm glad I found this forum. There is a lot of useful information in here! Now, to the matter - My husband got a penalty fare of £20 in December from South West trains as he did not have a valid ticket for his journey. This was the result of a genuine mistake, and he paid the...

www.railforums.co.uk

Say No to 0870 gives the ITAL switchboard No. as 01730 235300. You may have difficulty getting transferred to somebody that can help you,

I suspect that if the PF remains unpaid after a time IRCAS will write a hard copy letter to the address your daughter gave demanding final payment before escalating to some sort of court prosecution - but at least you might then have a ref number... but by that time the £50 prompt payment ability will be lost as will have the rigth to appeal, and other costs might have escalated.

I would suggest you urgently fill in the forms on line linked in posts above, just to seek the ref number (not an attempt at an appeal on those forms yet) and also try ringing that number to get a ref number, if the phone number still works.

 

[Hadders]

I refer you to post #6

Penalty notice issued but is unreadable

My 17 year old daughter was travelling from Stratford to Chelmsford for college, but forgot to purchase the ticket before boarding and was doing it at Stratford (whilst sat on the train) when a ticket inspector got on. She completed the transaction as he asked her to show the ticket. He said...

www.railforums.co.uk