Feel I was wrongly penalised - advice?

[Sketch]

Recently I topped up my Oyster, tapped in and boarded a overground train. When the inspector checked my card he told me I hadn't tapped in at all! At first I didn't believe him, but then I realised I was so distracted I don't know if I successfully tapped in or not. The reason I was distracted, as I explained to the inspector, was because I had been on the phone to my bank after I had found some fraudulent activity in my account (I was actually still on the phone when he tested my card). After he gave me the ticket he encouraged me to appeal since I had enough funds and I was exiting at a major city station.

So I appealed and at this point I have got nowhere. I've received two generic responses refusing my appeal, neither seemed personalised at all, it was if the person(s) sending the response never even bothered to read my appeal. I am extremely reluctant to pay the fare as both the inspector and the website said I have a right of appeal, but I don't think I've been given that opportunity. I can't find a phone number in order to speak to a human being about this and sick of trying to resolve it electronically. All this could have been avoided if the inspector had been able to use his discretion in the first place.

What more can I do now to resolve this?

 

[Urban Gateline]

A distraction is not grounds for forgetting to touch in or having a valid ticket, I'm afraid you don't have good chances of a sucessful appeal. If I were you, I would pay the Penalty Fare and just forget about it, otherwise you risk being taken to court which can lead to a much bigger "fine"!

 

[LexyBoy]

Agreed - unfortunate as it is, you'll be better off paying the £40 and being done with it. Oyster is so convenient that it is quite easy to make such mistakes - most of the time all that happens is you get a maximum fare on touching out and may not even notice.

Did you touch out to exit at your destination? I think you should be able to claim for the maximum fare you will have incurred there (since the Penalty Fare is your fare for the journey, you shoudn't pay twice).

The RPI was required to tell you of your right to appeal - it doesn't necessarily mean you're likely to succeed (though some RPIs will say that you're likely to win, if they feel it will make their life easier).

 

[yorkie]

What does your Oyster history say?

If you've registered with Oyster Online, you can press Print Screen and attach a screenshot here. If not, you'll need to visit a station.

You say in the opening sentence you tapped in. If you definitely did, and your statement shows that, you will win the appeal.

But you later admit you don't know if you tapped in or not. If you didn't, then you made a mistake. The correct course of action, if an authorised collector catches someone who made such a mistake, is for a Penalty Fare to be charged. This is a higher than normal fare levied for a mistake under these circumstances, where no criminal activity is suspected. There is no reason why an appeal would be successful as the charge is correct.

 

[maniacmartin]

The RPI has an obligation to inform you of the right to appeal. However, that does not necessarily mean an appeal will be successful.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Ultimately an appeal against the P is very unlikely to prove sucessful since even with CCTV of you attempting to tap in, I am sure that most people who dodge will make a show of waving their wallet near the reader and as has been mentioned, distraction is no defence.

 

[Sketch]

That's upsetting. It's an expensive mistake to make. I did touch in but clearly didn't notice when it didn't register. I was let through the barriers on the other end due to my fine by tfl staff, with one of them letting me know she felt the fine was excessive. Even the inspector who gave me the fine expressed his regret. It's a pretty ****ty way to treat passengers who already pay a fortune just to travel to work.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I really appreciate it. I was becoming so frustrated trying to deal with ircas.

 

[Via Bank]

It is your responsibility to touch in correctly, and check that you have done so, by looking for the green light and the word "ENTER," and listening for the single high-pitched beep. Being distracted is not considered a valid excuse.

Pay up and be more careful in future.

 

[najaB]

All this could have been avoided if the inspector had been able to use his discretion in the first place.

What more can I do now to resolve this?

Actually, this could've been avoided if you had tapped in correctly. In what way was a behind given a penalty fare, rather than a court summons, being hard done by?

 

[yorkie]

That's upsetting. It's an expensive mistake to make.

Indeed, but it is correct. Perhaps you and your friends & family could write to your MP asking for a campaign to lower the cost of Penalty Fares? (As it happens, Penalty Fares are rising in cost)

I did touch in but clearly didn't notice when it didn't register.

You did say earlier " I was so distracted I don't know if I successfully tapped in or not"?

I was let through the barriers on the other end due to my fine by tfl staff, with one of them letting me know she felt the fine was excessive. Even the inspector who gave me the fine expressed his regret. It's a pretty ****ty way to treat passengers who already pay a fortune just to travel to work.

The Penalty Fare is a higher than normal fare that isn't levied on people who have already paid to travel to work, but to people who have not paid. (Admittedly there are some circumstances where people may have paid, but not the correct amount or for the correct product, but that's not applicable in your case).

Thanks everyone for your advice, I really appreciate it. I was becoming so frustrated trying to deal with ircas.

I think you need to write the Penalty Fare off as a loss. It's not actually a fine, even though it may feel like one. A fine for deliberate non-payment would be for a far greater sum of money.

Sorry this isn't what you wanted to hear, but hopefully we can at least avoid you wasting any more time fighting something you're not going to win.