Fined after falling asleep

[tbtc]

Some years ago my sprightly 94 year old great uncle who lived in the Manchester area decided to have a day out by train to North Wales. Unfortunately he managed to board a train which didn't stop at Crewe and got whisked all the way to London Euston. The train crew were very kind to him but I get the impression the logic of some posters here would have had him ker-chinged for the full fare or worse!

I've made mistakes like this in the past, like many passengers will have - e.g. assuming that the stopping pattern of the next train will be the same as the one I've just missed.

I think that the difference is that, if you seek the assistance/help of staff as soon as you realise what you've done then you probably won't have any problem...

...but if (in your great uncle's example) you get to Euston without having sought any member of staff and just board the next service to Crewe then you are going to have a hard time explaining yourself and justifying your decision making.

It looks like the OP falls into the second category - I'd like to think that if I woke up at Guilford and explained the situation to staff there/ spoke to the Guard before boarding the next Surbiton service then I'd not suffer any penalty - can't guarantee this of course, but usually if you are honest with rail staff then they treat you fairly.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Sometimes, it can be very hard to make a post on here which provides the right focus to make a complex matter simple to understand when none of us have any prior knowledge of each other. tbtc has done just that:-

I've made mistakes like this in the past, like many passengers will have . . .

. . .

It looks like the OP falls into the second category - I'd like to think that if I woke up at Guilford and explained the situation to staff there/ spoke to the Guard before boarding the next Surbiton service then I'd not suffer any penalty - can't guarantee this of course, but usually if you are honest with rail staff then they treat you fairly.

That is a perfect summary of how staff working on the railways actually interact with passengers travelling on the railway. (and by implication, why so many people find themselves in difficulty, generally following a moment of opportunistic enthusiasm for an alternative to paying the due fare).

 

[Tom B]

I was once travelling back from a long weekend away and, when my ticket was inspected, the inspector found my railcard had expired yesterday. I only realised this when he pointed it out. He could have charged me for a fresh ticket and the like. However, I politely and apologetically explained that I'd been away at the weekend and hadn't realised - he asked to see the out portion of the ticket, dated three days previously, then said he'd let it go seeing as it was a genuine mistake, and that I was entitled to the discount I'd just forgotten to renew it. The railcard in question was of course surrendered and disposed of.
Of course he could have stuck to the rules and sold me a fresh ticket at full fare, which I'd have had to accept.

Likewise, a child waiting at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere gets on the bus, and tenders a child fare, but doesn't have the required pass. They are wearing a school uniform. Officially, the bus driver must charge them the adult rate, but he can see that the child is obviously young enough to be entitled to the fare. He could charge them the full adult fare, or he could let them off with the child fare but tell them they'd be paying full rate tomorrow if they didn't bring their pass.

A little common sense, intuition and courtesy works wonders!

 

[dcsprior]

I've slept past my stop once on a train- waking up just in time to get off at Beckenham Junction, when I'd intended to get off at Kent House. I headed out of the station and got a taxi from the rank outside as I I couldn't be bothered with the 10-15 mins wait for a train back, then a 10-15 mins walk at the other end

I was travelling on oyster, so there was no ticketing issue - but I expect that if I'd been using a paper ticket, I'd have headed straight for the exit without considering the need to speak to a member of staff, or thinking that I could possibly be doing anything wrong... The OP therefore has my sympathies here.