Received another refusal citing parts of the National Rail Conditions of Travel. Wondered if anyone had any knowledge of whether these should be applied here or if that's a mistake?
I've copied the relevant parts below:
Condition 6.1 of the National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT) sets out the circumstances under which it
is acceptable to board the train without a valid ticket.
Whilst I take on board your comments that you purchased a ticket which you believe to be classified as a
valid ticket for your journey, I must point out that for the ticket to be classified as a valid ticket, it must be
purchased prior to boarding the train.
With reference to your comments relating to the Penalty Fare Regulations. If I can draw your attention to
the National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCOT) which outlines your requirement to have a valid ticket to
travel:-
6.0 - In order to be valid, some tickets must be activated or endorsed with a date of travel before you board
a train. This is made clear in the terms & conditions of those Tickets.
6.1 - You must hold a valid Ticket or authority to travel before you board a train where there was the
opportunity to buy one unless one of the following circumstances applies:
6.1.1 - At the station where you start your journey, there is no means of purchasing a Ticket, either because
there is no Ticket office open or a self-service Ticket machine is not in working order, or will not accept your
only available method of payment (card or cash); and where notices indicate that Penalty Fares may apply
from that station, you purchase a Permit to Travel if there is a working Permit to Travel issuing machine at
the station where you start your journey – see Condition 10 for more information about Penalty Fares.
This is notified to all in the Penalty fare warning posters that are on display at every penalty fares station
(as required under Regulation 8) advising customers of the consequences for boarding a penalty fares train
without a valid ticket or other authority to travel in their possession.
The National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT) advise that where the facility to buy a ticket exists prior to
boarding, passengers should pay the correct fare for their entire journey before they travel and produce for
inspection a valid ticket as evidence of their right to make a journey on the relevant train, otherwise they
may be liable to pay a Penalty Fare Notice
I can confirm that the train company provided the opportunity to purchase a ticket prior to boarding via the
means of a staffed ticket office. This was available for ticket purchases, ticket printing and also any
customer enquiries. There not being any barriers or gates at X can not be used as mitigation for not having purchased a ticket, it is the passengers responsibility to arrive with enough time to purchase a ticket for travel prior to boarding the train using the facilities provided.
As you did not purchase a valid ticket prior to boarding the train, it has been concluded by Penalty Services
that the Penalty Fare should still stand.
It's often only the third stage of appeal where your appeal grounds are properly looked into, rather than receiving a regurgitated and inaccurate response.
For starters, what they refer to as "condition 6.0" of the NRCoT is actually the contents of an "INFORMATION" panel. At the very start of the NRCoT we are told that:
Please note that these panels and footnotes are for explanations only and do not form part of a Train Company’s contract with you.
So by definition, being non-contractual, they cannot cite them as evidence that your appeal should be denied.
Aside from that, the panel indicates that this restriction only applies to "some" tickets and that it would be made clear if this applied to your ticket. There is no evidence to suggest that it applied to your ticket, or that this was made clear when buying it. An e-ticket such as the one you presumably bought doesn't require activating, nor can it be endorsed with the date of travel. It is already issued for a specific date.
Condition "6.0" therefore cannot be a basis for arguing that your ticket was invalid.
Furthermore, nor does condition 6.1 give them grounds for issuing a Penalty Fare. It merely states the potential consequences of boarding without a ticket, i.e. it serves as a summary of the law.
Penalty Fares are issued under the Penalty Fares Regulations. It is these Regulations, not the NRCoT, that determine out the circumstances under which PFs can be issued. The NRCoT is only relevant in determining what counts as a "valid ticket" or creating additional exceptions to the PF Regulations (such as if your preferred payment method isn't accepted).
Overall the rejection wording you've received is clearly canned and takes little to no account of your actual appeal or circumstances. You'll want to submit something that takes into account the grounds I've mentioned above for your third (final) stage appeal.
Bear in mind that even a failed third stage appeal does not force you to pay: only a County Court judgement would do that. As you have brought a first stage appeal without the PF subsequently having been withdrawn, this is now purely a civil matter and if SWR wished to pursue it further, they would have to take it bring a civil claim against you in the County Court.
In our experience, train companies don't do this. We have never heard of a single case of it. Whilst it is always a possibility, I would regard it as very remote and if a third stage appeal were to be unreasonably refused, refusing to pay is a course of action I would give thought to - having considered the potential pros and cons of each approach.
What we have heard of, is train companies unlawfully bringing prosecutions after a first stage PF appeal has been decided. As previously mentioned, this is not legally allowed. However, there is nothing external to prevent this from happening and so if the train company doesn't care about complying with the law, it is a risk you would need to take into account. You might then have to defend that prosecution on the basis that SWR were barred from bringing it.
