Fare Fines - Please help

[toma1223]

Please help, I brought me and my boyfriend tickets from Walsall to Birmingham New Street (no train changes) on the 14th of February at around 5:40pm for a the train that would come at 5:50pm and take us to Birmingham New Street for 6:12pm, for his ticket I completely forgot to remove the rail card that's in my name (16-25 railcard), we got stopped by some inspectors, they were fine with my ticket but could see the shock in my eyes when they decided to write my boyfriend a fine, I tried my best to explain the situation but I assume due to the fact its a big station they weren’t hearing it and they issued him a fine.

I went to appeal this fine the next day, explained the situation and that it was a complete accident and I didn't mean to do something like that, my boyfriend has never gotten a fine before so the inspector said there was a high chance of him getting the appeal approved but he recently received an email saying the appeal was refused and he should try again or pay £50 plus the original ticket price. I think it’s called a Penalty Fare.

We would like for our appeal to get approved so we can just pay the price of the original ticket rather then pay that plus the £50.

We have 2 more appeals, so please help.

Please me and him aren't in the best financial situation so if there is any tips or tricks you have let me know.

 

[jfollows]

Welcome to the forum, but please read and act on https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/please-read-before-posting-in-disputes-prosecutions.77759/ because we need more information from you.

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

Be aware that if your boyfriend was issued a Penalty Fare, then this may well be the best outcome for him. But we need more information from you.

 

[toma1223]

Welcome to the forum, but please read and act on https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/please-read-before-posting-in-disputes-prosecutions.77759/ because we need more information from you.

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

Be aware that if your boyfriend was issued a Penalty Fare, then this may well be the best outcome for him. But we need more information from you.

Hello, I have edited the post, hope this helps.

 

[6Gman]

I went to appeal this fine the next day, explained the situation and that it was a complete accident and I didn't mean to do something like that, my boyfriend has never gotten a fine before so the inspector said there was a high chance of him getting the appeal approved but he recently received an email saying the appeal was refused and he should try again or pay £50 plus the original ticket price. I think it’s called a Penalty Fare.

That is the point of a Penalty Fare. It is for mistakes and errors rather than deliberate fare evasion.

So it would appear to have been correctly issued.

I think your only chance is that there is some error in the signage or the paperwork issued - there will be experts on here who can explain that better than I can.

 

[jfollows]

Thanks, so it’s a Penalty Fare and if you can post it here (obscure any names and personal details) we can look to see if there’s an error with it. But it may well be the best option to pay so keep the reduced rate date in mind. Much better than a potential prosecution, for example, which is unlikely but not impossible.

 

[WesternLancer]

Please help, I brought me and my boyfriend tickets from Walsall to Birmingham New Street (no train changes) on the 14th of February at around 5:40pm for a the train that would come at 5:50pm and take us to Birmingham New Street for 6:12pm, for his ticket I completely forgot to remove the rail card that's in my name (16-25 railcard), we got stopped by some inspectors, they were fine with my ticket but could see the shock in my eyes when they decided to write my boyfriend a fine, I tried my best to explain the situation but I assume due to the fact its a big station they weren’t hearing it and they issued him a fine.

I went to appeal this fine the next day, explained the situation and that it was a complete accident and I didn't mean to do something like that, my boyfriend has never gotten a fine before so the inspector said there was a high chance of him getting the appeal approved but he recently received an email saying the appeal was refused and he should try again or pay £50 plus the original ticket price. I think it’s called a Penalty Fare.

We would like for our appeal to get approved so we can just pay the price of the original ticket rather then pay that plus the £50.

We have 2 more appeals, so please help.

Please me and him aren't in the best financial situation so if there is any tips or tricks you have let me know.

Unfortunately you can’t appeal a Penalty Fare on the basis that it was unfair to give you one as you made an honest mistake etc

The appeal needs to be based on the fact that the Penalty Fare was incorrectly issued as I understand it.

Be aware of the prompt payment discount deadline and don’t miss that.