Just got fined on the tram

[heath123]

I got on the tram at East Croydon after swiping my oyster card on the reader. The inspector came round and told me that I hadn’t tapped in and that he would have to fine me. He said that if you swipe it sometimes doesn’t register and you need to hold the card down. I’m really frustrated by this and am hoping to appeal the fine but am wondering if there’s any point in doing this. Do I have a leg to stand on seeing as I have no evidence that I tapped my card?

 

[jfollows]

Hello and welcome!
Is it a Penalty Fare?

Penalty fares and how to pay them

Penalty fares and how to pay them if you don't touch in or out correctly with contactless or an Oyster card, or don't have a valid ticket

tfl.gov.uk

If so, technically it’s not a fine.
Essentially it’s a payment for not tapping in which will be resolved if you pay.
Probably your best course of action, but please provide more information and others may provide more input to help you.

 

[heath123]

Hello and welcome!
Is it a Penalty Fare?

Penalty fares and how to pay them

Penalty fares and how to pay them if you don't touch in or out correctly with contactless or an Oyster card, or don't have a valid ticket

tfl.gov.uk

If so, technically it’s not a fine.
Essentially it’s a payment for not tapping in which will be resolved if you pay.
Probably your best course of action, but please provide more information and others may provide more input to help you.

Hi thanks for getting back to me! It is a penalty fare yes. I’ve attached what they handed me. Okay so if I pay it won’t be taken any further? I was hoping to appeal it just because it doesn’t feel fair but if it’s likely to be rejected I won’t bother!

 

[jfollows]

It’s not a fine and there’s no criminal record, it’s just a payment to acknowledge your mistake, generally the advice here is to pay at the discounted rate and ensure it doesn’t happen again. There’s no implication of bad intent, it’s just unfortunate for you.
It definitely won’t be taken further if you pay, yes.
Others might spot a technicality as a basis for an appeal.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Have you got an online Oyster account? If so log into it and download your journey history and see if it shows whether you touched in. If it shows you did touch in then I would expect an appeal to succeed.

if you don't have an oline Oyster account then I think you can get a journey history from a ticket machine at an Underground station.