Northern Rail faredodging letter recieved

[34D]

Surely having an invalid railcard is the same as having none

Arguably an invalid railcard shows intention to deceive.

 

[scipiiouse]

Arguably an invalid railcard shows intention to deceive.

Hmm... So do you reckon if I can produce the original documents for the new railcard (which was received three months before this incident and is still valid to this day), plus my explaination of events will be suitable to avoid them coming down hard on this matter?

Also, how long does it take for them to respond to the letter I sent them explaining what went down? Is there any way to know that they got my letter?

 

[bb21]

Hmm... So do you reckon if I can produce the original documents for the new railcard (which was received three months before this incident and is still valid to this day), plus my explaination of events will be suitable to avoid them coming down hard on this matter?

It might help, however the terms of the Railcard are quite clear that you need to carry them with you when using discounted tickets, so they also have the option not to take that into account.

Also, how long does it take for them to respond to the letter I sent them explaining what went down? Is there any way to know that they got my letter?

Did you send it using Recorded Delivery? This is always the recommended method as this can be used as proof if needed in the future.

 

[scipiiouse]

It might help, however the terms of the Railcard are quite clear that you need to carry them with you when using discounted tickets, so they also have the option not to take that into account.



Did you send it using Recorded Delivery? This is always the recommended method as this can be used as proof if needed in the future.

Nope, I used the standard freepost. I'll send them an email tomorrow? I guess it could take up to six weeks for them to get back to me. That's how long they took to respond to the issue.

My main hope for what's going to happen is they see that
- This is a first time offence
- The journey was a very short one
- The difference in cost was 50p and at an off peak time
- I was fully complient
- I've provided evidence to them that I did indeed have a railcard
- I was willing to pay for my error on the spot with a new ticket
- It was possible to buy a new ticket
- I'm willing to settle this out of court

and won't drop the hammer too hard. Hopefully they won't bother with court.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Right. I've done more research.

The station I travelled from was, according to the National Rail Enquiries website:

"Penalty Fares do not apply when travelling from Mauldeth Road station"

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/mau/details.html

Would that work in my favour/dissuade them from taking it to court?

 

[bb21]

"Penalty Fares do not apply when travelling from Mauldeth Road station"

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/mau/details.html

Would that work in my favour/dissuade them from taking it to court?

You were not / will not be charged a Penalty Fare, as Northern do not operate such a scheme.

Your matter is being investigated by Northern, who will decide at the end whether they have enough evidence to pursue a charge under the Railway Byelaws or the Regulation of Railways Act (or other government legislation). This has nothing to do with Penalty Fares.

Penalty Fare has a very specific meaning in the railway context. It is governed by The Railways (Penalty Fares) Regulations 1994 and only some companies operate such a scheme, and some only on selected routes.

 

[Tomonthetrain]

No, I mean teaching all passengers how to read a timetable and destination screen, listen to announcements, what size bag they can pack and where it needs to be stored, where they need to go to buy a ticket, why a random number on a post-it will not substitute for a ticket, why it is not the railways fault they turned up too late to buy a ticket, and a special module (for extra credits) in recognising diffrent types of staff, so they know who to ask what question to.

Make it a GCSE! 2 Year course in railway travel

 

[scipiiouse]

Right. I was a bit fed up of waiting for a response, so I rang up their prosecutions team today. After asking a few questions, they dug up my file and told me that, after reading it, they'd decided to close the case with no action other than a verbal warning about checking my railcard was valid in the future, so that's chilled.

Cheers for all the advice and commentary, folks!

 

[snail]

Common sense rules! Good result.

 

[bb21]

Yes, congratulations on the result. Common sense prevails for once.

I trust that you will be more careful in the future.