Advice on appealing a penalty fare

[Mik27]

Hi All,

I have received a penalty fare notice on June 21st because I was unable to tap out at the end of my journey. I was travelling from Kensal Rise to Ascot and tapped in via my Oyster card (changed trains at Clapham Junction to South West Trains). When I got to Ascot I was told this station was outside of the Oyster Zone which I was unaware of and was issued a £65 notice. I forgot about this charge and was written to again stating I now need to pay £111 and that my appeals are not being accepted because my first appeal was submitted after the 27 day window so it’s automatically being rejected. I wonder if anyone else has been told this and how they proceeded as I do not want to pay such a high fee for something that was a genuine mistake. It especially seems harsh as the original ticket for this journey is only £13. I was also charged a fee on my oyster card for not tapping out. They also highlighted that there are warning posters at stations advising about Oyster zones but I pointed out that on my day of travel both Royal Ascot and an England rugby match was happening at Twickenham so trains and stations were packed so seeing any posters was impossible and no audible warnings were given. Any advice would be good as I am being told I cannot appeal again but I would like to take this further. Thank you!

 

[furlong]

Please post a full copy of the Penalty Fare here (covering identifying details like names, reference numbers etc.)

If you do nothing, rightly (or wrongly in my view), they'll prosecute which will cost you a lot more to settle or try to defend.
Your best bet now is to pay this then write to them to try to persuade them to give you your money back.

You might be able to show that they didn't adhere to all the requirements - such as signs not high enough up still to be viewed through the crowds.

If they don't settle, you could try to kick up a fuss through Transport Focus or/and the media.

You could also - for an additional cost (throwing good money after bad, some might say) - attempt to get your money back through the civil courts - particularly if you can show they shouldn't have imposed the penalty or issued it incorrectly.

(TfL should correct the charge so you don't pay twice if you contact them and can show you did pay for the rest of the journey.)

 

[Hadders]

Unfortunately Ascot is outside the PAYG area and it sounds as though you were issued with a Penalty Fare, which is a higher than normal fare issued to people who have made an inncent mistake like this.

As you're aware you're out of time to appeal this now so my advice is to pay up to make the matter go away. If you don't then SWR are highly likely to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court where the cost would end up being much higher than what you are being asked to pay now.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi All,

I have received a penalty fare notice on June 21st because I was unable to tap out at the end of my journey. I was travelling from Kensal Rise to Ascot and tapped in via my Oyster card (changed trains at Clapham Junction to South West Trains). When I got to Ascot I was told this station was outside of the Oyster Zone which I was unaware of and was issued a £65 notice. I forgot about this charge and was written to again stating I now need to pay £111 and that my appeals are not being accepted because my first appeal was submitted after the 27 day window so it’s automatically being rejected. I wonder if anyone else has been told this and how they proceeded as I do not want to pay such a high fee for something that was a genuine mistake. It especially seems harsh as the original ticket for this journey is only £13. I was also charged a fee on my oyster card for not tapping out. They also highlighted that there are warning posters at stations advising about Oyster zones but I pointed out that on my day of travel both Royal Ascot and an England rugby match was happening at Twickenham so trains and stations were packed so seeing any posters was impossible and no audible warnings were given. Any advice would be good as I am being told I cannot appeal

I think you should pay this asap before it escalates further. You have already missed the prompt payment discount deadline and the appeal deadline through not acting promptly / forgetting about it, and the costs to you will escalate if you don’t pay this penalty fare.

If someone here can suggest a successful way to appeal any payment you make now will be refunded.

Obtain a refund on your Oyster card as suggested if this is permitted.

 

[AlterEgo]

You are out of time to appeal and must pay the penalty fare. That is the long and short of it as it stands.

 

[MikeWh]

Obtain a refund on your Oyster card as suggested if this is permitted.

Unfortunately you might be out of time here as well. Journey history is only kept for 8 weeks before being anonymised.

 

[MotCO]

You are out of time to appeal and must pay the penalty fare. That is the long and short of it as it stands.

Indeed - even if the PF was incorrectly filled out, you are out of time to appeal. I see no option but to pay up to stop it escalating.

 

[WesternLancer]

Unfortunately you might be out of time here as well. Journey history is only kept for 8 weeks before being anonymised.

Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Mik27]

Please post a full copy of the Penalty Fare here (covering identifying details like names, reference numbers etc.)

If you do nothing, rightly (or wrongly in my view), they'll prosecute which will cost you a lot more to settle or try to defend.
Your best bet now is to pay this then write to them to try to persuade them to give you your money back.

You might be able to show that they didn't adhere to all the requirements - such as signs not high enough up still to be viewed through the crowds.

If they don't settle, you could try to kick up a fuss through Transport Focus or/and the media.

You could also - for an additional cost (throwing good money after bad, some might say) - attempt to get your money back through the civil courts - particularly if you can show they shouldn't have imposed the penalty or issued it incorrectly.

(TfL should correct the charge so you don't pay twice if you contact them and can show you did pay for the rest of the journey.)

Thank you for the advice ! Writing to them sounds sensible as I think this is very harsh considering this was an accident. I’m

Please post a full copy of the Penalty Fare here (covering identifying details like names, reference numbers etc.)

If you do nothing, rightly (or wrongly in my view), they'll prosecute which will cost you a lot more to settle or try to defend.
Your best bet now is to pay this then write to them to try to persuade them to give you your money back.

You might be able to show that they didn't adhere to all the requirements - such as signs not high enough up still to be viewed through the crowds.

If they don't settle, you could try to kick up a fuss through Transport Focus or/and the media.

You could also - for an additional cost (throwing good money after bad, some might say) - attempt to get your money back through the civil courts - particularly if you can show they shouldn't have imposed the penalty or issued it incorrectly.

(TfL should correct the charge so you don't pay twice if you contact them and can show you did pay for the rest of the journey.)

Thank you for the response ! This is what I was sent via post. Do you happen to know if anyone has written to them before and been given their money back?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Aug 2025 ==

Unfortunately Ascot is outside the PAYG area and it sounds as though you were issued with a Penalty Fare, which is a higher than normal fare issued to people who have made an inncent mistake like this.

As you're aware you're out of time to appeal this now so my advice is to pay up to make the matter go away. If you don't then SWR are highly likely to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court where the cost would end up being much higher than what you are being asked to pay now.

Thank you for this! Do you happen to know how much the normal penalty fare would be for someone who has made a mistake like this ? As it feels like I’m being treated like I intentionally tried to avoid paying for a ticket.

 

[Hadders]

A Penalty Fare is £100 plus the appropriate fare but reduced to £50 plus the appropriate fare if paid within 21-days.

While I appreciate it feels harsh, think of it like getting a parking or speeding ticket. Penalty Fares are used for people who make ‘honest’ mistakes, if SWR thought you were intentionally evading your fare then the correct course of action would be to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court whete it would be much more expensive and have far more serious consequences.

You had the opportunity to appeal within 21-days of being issued with the Penalty Fares (which is explained on the PF notice you were given). There are actually three opportunities to appeal but unfortunately you chose not to do so and therefore I can’t really see any other viable option other than to pay the sum requested.

If you don’t pay SWR will prosecute you. However unfair you might feel that it, they would win because legally you did not have a valid ticket.