PLEASE HELP

[asawako20]

I have recieved a Penalty Fare in the Thameslink.

What happened was, I bought a ticket going to the London from Peterborough with a return ticket.
However, I did not notice that I bought the wrong date on the return.

My question, the officer handed me a Penalty Fare costs 123 pounds but If I have to pay before 21 days, it will be 99 pounds.

Why is too much?

I managed to show to the offcicer that it is a mistake. And the scan code let me in to the station with a wrong date.

What to do now please?

I think 123 pounds is too much.

( I have paid the return ticket with only 30 pounds,my fault is I did not check the right date)

I hope you could help me.

Thank you.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@asawako20. Welcome to the forum. For starters, could you upload a photo of the Penalty Fare paperwork? Please be sure to cover up any name and address and ID number that may be showing. The fare amounts you mention don't seem quite right.

For more tailored advice, it may also be helpful to provide some additional background information, as per the following...

Please read before posting in Disputes & Prosecutions

Guidance for those asking for advice: Please bear in mind the following, when asking for advice in this section: We need to know all relevant facts in order to assist you, including, for example: The stations* where you actually started & finished your journey The stations* where you changed...

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[John R]

Penalty Fares are for instances where people have made a genuine mistake, so in your situation it was issued in line with the intention.

Please upload a copy of the PF, with any identifying details obscured to protect your privacy. The basis of the fare is £100 + the fare payable, reduced to £50 + the fare payable if paid within 21 days, so I'm not sure why the reduction is only £24. That's why it will be helpful to see the notice.

 

[asawako20]

Penalty Fares are for instances where people have made a genuine mistake, so in your situation it was issued in line with the intention.

Please upload a copy of the PF, with any identifying details obscured to protect your privacy. The basis of the fare is £100 + the fare payable, reduced to £50 + the fare payable if paid within 21 days, so I'm not sure why the reduction is only £24. That's why it will be helpful to see the notice.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Oct 2025 ==

Penalty Fares are for instances where people have made a genuine mistake, so in your situation it was issued in line with the intention.

Please upload a copy of the PF, with any identifying details obscured to protect your privacy. The basis of the fare is £100 + the fare payable, reduced to £50 + the fare payable if paid within 21 days, so I'm not sure why the reduction is only £24. That's why it will be helpful to see the notice.

Thank you for the reply
It is 143.


If you see the first picture it says 143.
The second one, I paid the whole journey ticket from Peterborough to London and vice versa for only 25.

I hope you could help me please

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Fare quoted of £43.10 in the PF looks to be that of an Anytime Day Single from Peterborough to London Terminals (Route "GTNRTHRN&THMLINK")

 

[asawako20]

Fare quoted of £43.10 in the PF looks to be that of an Anytime Day Single from Peterborough to London Terminals (Route "GTNRTHRN&THMLINK")

Yes. Is there anyway I can ask for an appeal for this one please?

I really need your help. Thank you.

 

[jfollows]

£143.10 reduced by £50 to £93.10 for early payment.

You did not hold a valid ticket, and could have been reported for prosecution, but a Penalty Fare is meant to cover errors like yours. There may be a technicality making it invalid but, if not, our best advice is to pay the reduced rate.

Basically you made a mistake and the Penalty Fare recognises this, it was not deliberate, but you got it wrong.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Yes. Is there anyway I can ask for an appeal for this one please?

On what basis? That the PF amount requested is too high?

 

[SuspectUsual]

It looks like you’ve made a mistake and bought a ticket for the wrong date. Penalty fares - like the one you’ve been given - are designed for mistakes. If they thought it was deliberate they’d have reported you for prosecution.

It looks like the paperwork is correct and the fare is right so unless someone can spot something else I think your best option is to pay it before 29/10/25 when it will “only” cost £93.10 rather than £143.10

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Fare quoted of £43.10 in the PF looks to be that of an Anytime Day Single from Peterborough to London Terminals (Route "GTNRTHRN&THMLINK")

Just to clarify, it's still the same £43.10 if travelling in the opposite direction, i.e. from London Terminals to Peterborough with GTR.

 

[John R]

Depending on what ticket you bought with the wrong date, you may be able to get a refund for it, and recover some of the PF cost.

 

[asawako20]

Depending on what ticket you bought with the wrong date, you may be able to get a refund for it, and recover some of the PF cost.

It is the same ticket.
I bought a return ticket.

The mistake I did not notice was the date of travel.
It supposedly October 8. But somehow,the return ticket in October 17.

But the outband is correct. And one thing, the bar code, it scanned and let me enter the gate which I did not noticed and I though it was the right date.

 

[WesternLancer]

It is the same ticket.
I bought a return ticket.

The mistake I did not notice was the date of travel.
It supposedly October 8. But somehow,the return ticket in October 17.

But the outband is correct. And one thing, the bar code, it scanned and let me enter the gate which I did not noticed and I though it was the right date.

That isn’t a return ticket.

It is two single tickets that allow a return Journey. Only valid on the dates stated.

Advance singles from what I can see in your up loads.

A return ticket is a different type of ticket.

Whilst you have my sympathy You made an error when booking your tickets. You should have taken more care unfortunately.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@asawako20. Might be for the best to chalk this one up to experience and pay the £93.10 whilst the amount due is just that amount. Unless anyone else has any further advice for you.

 

[John R]

One minor cost saving measure going forward is to not use Trainline. Other accredited booking engines (including this forum's) don't charge a fee, so you would have saved 99p! Any of the train operator's booking engines don't charge fees.

 

[furlong]

Please tell us the full details:
Please upload the complete PF notice and complete ticket/journey details (covering up personal information, barcodes/ref nos. etc.)
Exactly which service did you travel upon? Where exactly on the journey did this happen?

We've seen a previous report of a similar invalid ticket opening a ticket gate. I think this may be worth raising and investigating.

 

[fandroid]

There are cheaper single tickets for that route. It's worth finding out exactly what train the OP was on. The regulations do require the fare element applied to take account of the time of travel.

There's also the technicality of whether the OP was offered a ticket to the next stop, or asked where they wanted a ticket for, rather than just automatically given one to Peterborough.