Crosscountry unexpected settlement demand

[WesternLancer]

You really should get in touch with the media. Radio 5, BBC website, Times Radio, local MP, your local paper…. The iron is hot at the moment with unfair penalties - strike now. You have been fined nearly £200 for the offence of “having bought tickets online before travelling”. Surely headline stuff.

It’s a bit like being stoped by a policeman whilst driving in a built up area, being asked how fast you were going, replying “45 km/h officer” and him issuing a fine “because you should have replied in imperial measurements”.

If you had had the appetite to have gone to a court, I wonder whether the magistrates would have laughed it out of court. To be guilty they would need to be convinced of both a guilty act and a guilty mind.

Sure, you did not have a little orange credit-card size ticket in you hand when the inspector came round, so there is a ‘guilty act’ under byelaw 18.

But a ‘guilty mind’? An intent to offend? How? Where? You paid for the tickets, you volunteered yourself to the inspector, your railcard was valid, you were polite to all parties and were given the impression that it was just a mistake and that it had been resolved on the spot. For goodness sake, you even followed the rules to the extent that you reserved spaces for the bikes!

If you had selected “e-ticket” rather than “collect before departure” from the app all would have been well. I cannot see how that error constitutes an offence.

To answer your request in practical terms you should write to cross country trains customer service to press your case. You should send a copy of that to your MP. Point out to the MP this is precisely the sort of case the sec of state seems to be talking about in the recent announcement of an inquiry into this and ask your MP to raise it with cross country with a view to them refunding you if they would be prepared to do that as goodwill and ask your MP to pass the case on to the inquiry team as an example for them to be aware of.

 

[John R]

But you clean yourself up, catch your connection and are then asked for your (stolen) ticket, which you cannot produce. The inspector hears your excuse, has 'heard it all before' and thus prosecution begins: strict liability is strict liability.

Any flexibility then?

(Thank you Alter Ego for the 'strict liability' correction above. I'm just keen to better understand its ramifications; I'm also happy to start a new thread.)

I suppose there would be some justice if the mugger was then caught falling foul of byelaw 21.2, using a ticket when he was not the person for whom it had been bought.

I agree that you should start a new thread if you want to discuss further as this discussion is in no way assisting the OP, which is the purpose of this board, to help those in need of advice. Alternatively, as I see you are a relative newcomer, you could maybe lurk for a bit and you'll soon find lots of useful information, even if not as hypothetical as the last one you pose.

 

[furlong]

And don't forget to make very clear that, despite your having paid the correct advance fare valid only on the train you caught, evidence of which they possessed, XC still demanded you pay for your journey a SECOND time in order to settle. So the railway demanded it be paid TWICE for the journey you made. I think there'd have been a good argument to make had this gone to court that the second fare was not due and no compensation was owed.