Expired Young Person's Railcard - Prosecution?

[tbtc]

I have since purchased a new YRPC (which I'm hoping will show that I am apologetic for my action) and also put a complaint in to the First Great Western due to the Inspector swearing, using a lighter on my YPRC and acting very aggressively

I really don't think there's any point in complaining that the member of staff damaged a pass which was out of date (since it clearly has no "value")

 

[Confused8]

The comments above are fair. I can see why anyone would not believe the story. I will say that it had fully faded - there was no ink left on the card. But whether people believe that or not is fair enough

However, I haven't used it much in the 12 months prior to this - possibly once or twice.

I am admitting that this was a genuine mistake and have a record to show that I have now purchased a new YPRC online.

In my complaint, I also wrote a genuine apology for the matter.

What I am worried about is how this will look in court. If I receive a prosecution letter, should I plead guilty? or try and settle out of court. How likely is it that they will accept?

Do FGW have a reputation for going to court or are most settled mutually between the two parties?

Very worried!

 

[bb21]

Note that I am not accusing you of lying, however the way I see it is that there are many things that don't add up, so that is possibly how FGW will view it too. There is no point in me telling you that everything will be fine when it certainly doesn't appear so to me.

No one will know how it will look in court. You are certainly guilty of a Byelaw offence. Whether you are guilty of a Regulation of Railways Act offence will depend on whether FGW can prove that you intentionally attempted to avoid paying the correct fare. Under which legislation they wish to proceed, or whether they intend to prosecute at all, is something you can only find out when you receive a letter from them.

As to whether you can settle out of court, there is always a possibility. You can try offering them that when you hear from them, but there is no guarantee that they will accept.

 

[Whopper]

The pass remains the property of the railway so the RPI did nothing wrong in heating the thermal ticket to produce a negative of the issue date.

 

[tony6499]

I wouldn't mention the fact that you had used the expired railcard in the previous year to buy any tickets as it may well complicate matters.

 

[thedbdiboy]

I wouldn't particularly rate a TOC's chances of conviction in court if the Railcard was completely faded. Nevertheless I am sure the OP will want to try and settle in advance of putting this to the test.

 

[Flamingo]

RPI's meet people day in day out who have ticketing issues. They don't usually lose their cool (unlike me). I really find the OP's whole story from beginning to end to be unbelievable.

If he came on here and said "I got caught, what can I do" it would be one thing, but expecting us to believe his cock and bull self-justification and then help him is something else.

 

[VauxhallandI]

I absolutely disagree.

To be honest I find it extraordinary that a stamped date fades completely. I have a bus pass from thirteen years ago that has still only barely faded. Also it is a little far-fetching that someone would "forget" that their Railcard is a whole year out-of-date. If you rarely use trains, did you not check prior to travel having not used it for a whole year?

Of course you could have been telling the absolute truth however I believe you would have a hard job convincing the train company that it is indeed a genuine error. No wonder the RPI did not believe you.

My season ticket fades in weeks and fades completely in the space of five months

 

[bb21]

My season ticket fades in weeks and fades completely in the space of five months

Your season ticket is not stamped in actual ink. (It would be quite extraordinary if it still is if purchased from a station.)

 

[VauxhallandI]

Your season ticket is not stamped in actual ink. (It would be quite extraordinary if it still is if purchased from a station.)

Ah I see, I'll get my coat.

 

[jon0844]

I wouldn't mention the fact that you had used the expired railcard in the previous year to buy any tickets as it may well complicate matters.

What if FGW asks, which they certainly might? It wouldn't be a good idea to lie, but it might not sound good to admit that it had been used a fair few times - and on much more expensive journeys.

A year is a very long time to be out of date! Sure, we've heard of stories of people being punished for just a few days, and it is your responsibility to check, but I'd see a higher chance of staff using some discretion for that than a year!

The only thing is that if the date had totally disappeared, it's possibly fair to assume that someone else would have noticed if it had been used before - and so that might support the claim that it hadn't been used for ages. But if you hadn't used a railcard for ages, you'd surely check it - and upon realising it was blank, you'd seek to get it changed and then realise it had expired and pay for a new one.

FWIW, I got my Network Railcard replaced earlier this year after it faded. It had been issued at Gatwick Airport (a FCC desk, not the ticket office) and was printed on normal ticket stock, with a thermal printer, and started to fade within weeks. My new one, touch wood, seems to be okay after many months.

 

[martybabes]

Logging a complaint against the RPI is not the best way to go when their only option to avoid court is to throw themselves on the mercy of the same department as they have just complained about, possibly the same manager dealing with both issues...

Definite conflict of interest there! One would like to think that situation wouldn't arise otherwise there is a clear procedural impropriety.