Hello! This is my first time on this forum, but I'm genuinely so distressed and at a loss of what to do, I'm hoping to get some advice here.
I took a train from Milton Keynes Central to Birmingham on 1st July. I'm 18 and have a valid 16-25 railcard with my name and face on it, but I had my older sister buy me a train ticket on my behalf. She booked me a ticket that includes a railcard discount using her Trainpal account, so the booking name was under my sister.
The ticket inspector scanned my ticket and railcard and said that the name on the ticket didn't match my railcard. I explained to her that the ticket was bought for me by my sister using her account, which is why it says her name, but that the railcard was mine. I use a digital wallet and I wasn't planning on buying anything that would require an ID check that day, so I didn't bring my physical ID with me, but I offered to show a picture of my ID that I had on my phone which would also have my face and name on it (but even without the ID, my railcard already has a picture of my literal face??) I started going through my photos to find it, but the inspector stopped me and said that she would only accept a physical ID and told me to "just admit I was lying" and if I was going to tell her the truth now. I explained to her that I wasn't carrying my physical ID but that the railcard had my face on it, she said she didn't care and insisted that I was lying???
I have anxiety and I'm terrible with speaking up or any kind of confrontation. The ticket inspector lady was being, quite frankly, really condescending, to the point where I started to doubt myself and thought maybe I was wrong and that surely she would know the rules better than me (I was told that the payor's name did not need to match the passenger, as long as the passenger holds the qualifying railcard). She said she's going to give me a penalty fare but that I could appeal if I wanted. She asked for my name, birthday and signature for the penalty, so I gave her my name, birthday and signature.
It wasn't until I made an appeal that I learnt she actually put down my sister's name and not my name that I gave her. I am incredibly appalled and distressed because how do I explain I was not made aware of this nor did I consent to this (picture attached below, the blurred out name is my sister's name). I'm told that I cannot speak to Appeal Service in person nor initiate a court case to challenge a penalty fare and that my only option is the online appeal. I feel like I'm not being heard at all, any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
