Penalty fare notice

[Henry26]

I was issued a penalty fare notice ,which i paid the same day and I gave my correct name and address but my date of birth was entered incorrectly. I later rang up and fixed my date of birth and I was just wondering if I could be in trouble for my date of birth being wrong when I was issued the penalty

 

[skyhigh]

No. If you've paid the Penalty Fare you'll almost certainly hear nothing further.

 

[Henry26]

So there be no issue with a wrong date of birth being entered

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I’ve just been worried that because of a issue with my date of birth I’d be prosecuted even when my address and name was entered correctly

 

[Titfield]

Extremely unlikely anything further will come of this because the matter at issue (the reason for the penalty fare) has been settled.

 

[spag23]

Did the RPI mis-record it, or did you give false details? Can we assume this date of birth didn't put you in the wrong age range for the ticket issued, or against any Railcard claimed ?

 

[Henry26]

so there’s no need to worry as I have paid the penalty and I can put it to the back of my mind

 

[skyhigh]

There is actually no legal requirement (as far as I am aware) under the Penalty Fare regulations, Byelaws or Regulation of Railways Act for someone to give their date of birth - the requirement is solely to provide your name and address on request.

It could possibly be used as evidence of an attempt to evade the fare due if a false DoB was given (i.e. person 16 or over holding a child ticket but giving a false DoB).

But if you've been offered and paid the Penalty Fare then there is very little chance you will hear anything further. Don't worry and just make sure you don't get into bother again as they will have a record of you being given a Penalty Fare.

 

[Henry26]

That’s what worries me that they might change their mind

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Nov 2023 ==

I have it currently under appeal but I’m worried that they might change their mind and refund me the money to the prosecute

 

[furlong]

There is actually no legal requirement (as far as I am aware) under the Penalty Fare regulations, Byelaws or Regulation of Railways Act for someone to give their date of birth - the requirement is solely to provide your name and address on request.

Incorrect - date of birth required by law under the last revision to the Penalty Fare regulations on pain of criminal penalty.

The question for the OP is, did the incorrect date of birth make any *material* difference to what happened? For example, was the Penalty Fare issued at child rate when it should have been adult rate?

 

[Henry26]

The date of birth was a year out so said I’m 21 when I’m 22

 

[skyhigh]

Incorrect - date of birth required by law under the last revision to the Penalty Fare regulations on pain of criminal penalty.

Thank you.

 

[furlong]

Next question is *WHY* was the date of birth wrong?
Did you give it correctly but they entered it wrongly?
Was there any confusion about the date you gave?

In other words, was the error your fault or their fault or is it unclear whose fault it was?

Was the interaction between you recorded on a body-worn video?

 

[Henry26]

He made me type it in on the device I thought I pressed 2001 but it went through as 2002

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Nov 2023 ==

I did recently ring up rhe RPDU department and they told me that the date of birth has caused no issue but I’m worried they might change their minds

 

[furlong]

OK, so that would count as your error.

But nothing more should come of it if it made no difference to the amount charged and for that reason I don't think it would give them sufficient grounds to withdraw the notice particularly as you have already paid it.

The people they focus on pursuing are the ones who don't pay at all.

If you lose your first appeal, read some of the threads here about common deficiencies in the station signage if you fancy trying a second/third appeal.

 

[Henry26]

I’m just worried I might be prosecuted due to that small error even when I paid the penalty

 

[furlong]

so I should be all good as I paid the penalty fare

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Nov 2023 ==

is it true that once I get my appeal result or 21 days pass they can’t prosecute me

The general rules is that - regardless of the number of appeals or the amount of time - technically they can only prosecute if they discover new information not known to the company at the time the Penalty Fare was issued which, if they had known it, means that that precise Penalty Fare would not have been issued. The example I normally use is if you had lied about the station where you started your journey and they later discovered this lie,. The correction to the date of birth would count as new information, but as long as it wouldn't have changed the action they took it's hard to see how they could use that on its own to unwind the Penalty Fare.

 

[Henry26]

I did ring up the prosecution department and they said there is no issue with the date of birth being changed

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I might give another ring in the morning and ask for a clear explanation

 

[WesternLancer]

I did ring up the prosecution department and they said there is no issue with the date of birth being changed

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Nov 2023 ==

I might give another ring in the morning and ask for a clear explanation

Just keep all your paperwork related to this (copies of anything sent to you or form you) , and proof of payment of the Penalty Fare in a safe place in case you ever need it. I suspect no need to ring them again, but if it gives you peace of mind that I guess you can do that, but I don't think I would.

If you do speak to someone, note the time and date of your call, what they said to you, and ask for their name and the team they work in. Write that down and keep all that info too.

 

[Haywain]

I did ring up the prosecution department and they said there is no issue with the date of birth being changed

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Nov 2023 ==

I might give another ring in the morning and ask for a clear explanation

I think you are overdoing the worrying.

 

[furlong]

I might give another ring in the morning and ask for a clear explanation

Are you hiding anything else? Was this the first time or have you done whatever it was before and got away with it?
Either way, stop worrying. If there's more to discover, either they will or they won't, but getting in touch can only encourage them to make extra checks. And if there's nothing more than an immaterial 1-year error, they really won't be interested now as you have paid!

 

[MikeWh]

I did ring up the prosecution department and they said there is no issue with the date of birth being changed

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Nov 2023 ==

I might give another ring in the morning and ask for a clear explanation

I really think you are worrying over nothing. Being 21 instead of 22 doesn't change anything. Had it been 17 rather than 18, or even 15 rather than 16 then it would be a different matter. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.

 

[furlong]

(And while you must provide your date of birth if asked, I don't believe that an incorrect one invalidates the Penalty Fare Notice so long as the amount it was issued for is unaffected - I think it would remain enforceable.)

 

[Hadders]

If you've paid the Penalty Fare that is the end of the matter. ALthough it's often mentioned on here that a train company can refund a Penalty Fare and instigate a prosecution I'm not sure we've actually seen it happen.

 

[fandroid]

You stated that you've both paid the Penalty Fare and appealed. The system only works if you do one or the other, not both!

I'm not sure how the appeals body would deal with that situation, or even if it would be aware of the payment. Can anyone else help here?

(edited later to include the words "the penalty fare")

 

[skyhigh]

You stated that you've both paid the Penalty Fare and appealed. The system only works if you do one or the other, not both!

I'm not sure how the appeals body would deal with that situation, or even if it would be aware of the payment. Can anyone else help here?

There is nothing at all wrong with paying and then appealing. If the appeal is successful then the payment will be refunded (minus the amount due for the fare under the new 2022 regulations).