Penalty for honest no railcard mistake

[despley12]

I take the train to London every week for past 3 years and always purchase a full fare without railcard as I don’t have one. I made the honest mistake of purchasing a ticket with railcard added as I simply did not see it was added in the trainline app. The guard flagged this and said he would have to report. SWT sent me letter asking for the reason which I replied and said it was honest mistake and I have full fare ticket evidence going back 3 years so it was clearly an honest mistake. They wrote back saying they have decided to fine me £290 or a court summons. I want to go to court as surely this would be seen as unfair, I purchased a ticket so had the right to travel, it was just the wrong type that I never have done before. I’m not trying to evade buying a ticket or acting deceptively. Any advice would be welcome
Thanks

 

[jfollows]

You would lose in court, please don’t think otherwise.
You travelled without a valid ticket, whether by mistake or deliberately it won’t make a difference, just like exceeding the speed limit when driving doesn’t matter whether you meant to or not.
If you lose in court you will also have a criminal record, albeit a minor one.
Presumably you have received an out of court settlement offer, which isn’t therefore a fine, for an amount of money which includes their administration costs.
If so, it’s likely to be the best alternative open to you.

I also wonder why you didn’t notice that the ticket was significantly cheaper than the normal cost.

 

[AlterEgo]

If you bought a ticket with a railcard discount and had no railcard, you had no valid ticket, and no right to travel. Hence, you committed a criminal offence by boarding the train without a valid ticket and will be found guilty of that offence at court, be fined and end up with a criminal record. So you need to prevent that.

Please show us the letter you got from SWR with your name and address removed and we can advise how best to go forward. Where were you travelling from and to when you were stopped?

 

[despley12]

I have attached the letter, sorry the charge is £202 not £290

 

[jfollows]

£202.60 appears to be the full single fare of £82.60 plus £120 for their administration costs.

It will not be any consolation, but some railway companies ask for a greater amount towards their costs.

 

[Titfield]

My advice would be to pay it thus you prevent any harsher action against you.

However as you feel strongly about it then contact SWR and ask them to justify why (a) they didn’t take into account the fare already paid (b) the administration charge which to you seems excessive.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I want to go to court as surely this would be seen as unfair, I purchased a ticket so had the right to travel...

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately, you've no "right to travel" when using an inappropriately discounted, and so invalid, ticket. Presume we're talking about travel from Dorchester to London? Not unreasonable for SWR to investigate your ticket purchasing history, as they weren't to know if the incident was just a 'one-off'.

 

[Swedenorer]

Pay up then argue.

Have you ever added a railcard in the past for any research like looking at specimen fares?

If not you need to complain to the retailer as clearly there is a problem somewhere..

 

[duffield]

Your ticket was invalid, so you had no "right to travel". This is a strict liability criminal offence - it being an honest mistake is no defence, the same as offences like speeding. This out of court offer is not at all out of line with expectations. If you go to court you will lose, end up paying more and have a (minor) criminal record. Sorry, but that's how it is.

 

[despley12]

Ok thanks all, sounds like I’ll have pay the fine, will close this post

 

[Ailsa_Craig]

Ok thanks all, sounds like I’ll have pay the fine, will close this post

Pay up and chalk it down to experience. Similar payout to one I recently had to make when some xxxx forced me to drive over a pothole

 

[swt_passenger]

My advice would be to pay it thus you prevent any harsher action against you.

However as you feel strongly about it then contact SWR and ask them to justify why (a) they didn’t take into account the fare already paid (b) the administration charge which to you seems excessive.

(A) the penalty fare is defined in law as the £100/£50 and the full single fare applicable. There’s no discount for what you have incorrectly paid, I don’t believe there ever was.

 

[jfollows]

(A) the penalty fare is defined in law as the £100/£50 and the full single fare applicable. There’s no discount for what you have incorrectly paid, I don’t believe there ever was.

This isn't a Penalty Fare, it's an offer to settle out of court.

£202.60 appears to be the full single fare of £82.60 plus £120 for their administration costs.

 

[swt_passenger]

This isn't a Penalty Fare, it's an offer to settle out of court.

My mistake. Either way, there’s no reason to assume they’ll discount the fare.

 

[Titfield]

My mistake. Either way, there’s no reason to assume they’ll discount the fare.

I have not assumed they will discount the fare. I was just suggesting to the op that because they feel aggrieved to ask SWR to explain how they have arrived at the charges.