Appeal my fine?

[phoebe200801]

Hi all,

I’m wondering if anyone call tell me if my appeal will even be considered. I was on a train from Gatwick airport to St Pancras, the train was completely rammed full except for 1st class so I stood there with my 2 suitcases. I am pregnant and was tired after a 15 hour flight (I didnt have a physical ticket, I apple pay’d my way through the barriers) the ticket man came and I said I don’t have a ticket as I used Apple Pay and I’m happy to pay extra for first class, he said he needs to give me a penalty fine or get the BTP involved. He then got a commuter involved who was in 1st class who was rather agressive to me, saying ‘see he’s got a 1st class ticket, he knows how to follow rules’ and the commuter just kept saying if you want to stand in 1st class then you should buy 1 st class bla-bla-bla. Overall I felt rather uncomfortable in that situation of 2 men coming at me.
Do I have good enough grounds to appeal or am I wasting my time ?
Thank you

 

[AlterEgo]

You don't have grounds to appeal based on what you've said. You aren't allowed to stand in first class because you're tired or pregnant; you do need a first class ticket to be in there.

However, sometimes penalty fares can be improperly filled out, so if you upload the notice here, with your details removed, we can see if you have technical grounds of appeal that might be considered by the panel.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,

I’m wondering if anyone call tell me if my appeal will even be considered. I was on a train from Gatwick airport to St Pancras, the train was completely rammed full except for 1st class so I stood there with my 2 suitcases. I am pregnant and was tired after a 15 hour flight (I didnt have a physical ticket, I apple pay’d my way through the barriers) the ticket man came and I said I don’t have a ticket as I used Apple Pay and I’m happy to pay extra for first class, he said he needs to give me a penalty fine or get the BTP involved. He then got a commuter involved who was in 1st class who was rather agressive to me, saying ‘see he’s got a 1st class ticket, he knows how to follow rules’ and the commuter just kept saying if you want to stand in 1st class then you should buy 1 st class bla-bla-bla. Overall I felt rather uncomfortable in that situation of 2 men coming at me.
Do I have good enough grounds to appeal or am I wasting my time ?
Thank you

Hi - as said it will help Penalty Fare experts here check this out for you if you can upload the paperwork to check the full situation

Just so you know, I believe there are some 'hidden advantages' to making an Appeal in that it is said on here that an Appeal prevents the railway from escalating matters to a prosecution (which from reading these forums is in fact pretty rare but not impossible)

If you need to pay it then be sure not to miss the prompt payment deadline which reduces the sum to £50 - though any appeal does 'stop the clock' on that deadline.

Also it is worth noting that the Penalty Fare - apart from being let off - is pretty much the least worst sanction you can be offered - others involve basically being 'reported for investigation' which can escalate to magistrates court prosecution and even if it does not get to court costs more to resolve than a penalty Fare in most cases.

So I assume you know you have in fact been issued with a Penalty Fare? I only ask because there is often confusion with the other sanctions you can be given (for example in your own post as technically a Penalty fare is not a fine, even though of course this will be how it seemed to you).