Promise to pay

[Lewis lamb62)]

Hi, can some clear this up, if you depart from a station with a ticket office and a ticket machine which dispenses promise to pay tickets, is the PRMS To pay valid on the train? Thanks

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hi, can some clear this up, if you depart from a station with a ticket office and a ticket machine which dispenses promise to pay tickets, is the PRMS To pay valid on the train? Thanks

I'm assuming (a) an open ticket office and (b) Northern (because Promise to Pay is a Northern thing). In which case, no.

In Northern's penalty fare FAQs ( https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/legal/penalty-fares) they tell us

What is a Promise to Pay notice?

A Promise to Pay notice is a ticket that must be obtained from our ticket vending machines if customers do not have the facility to pay by credit/debit card. The Promise to Pay notice allows customers to board the train with the intention of exchanging the notice at the first opportunity with a revenue officer, or at the next available booking office.

It seems to me that if there's an open ticket office, there's a 'facility to pay' other than with plastic. So you don't need a promise to pay notice as you can buy a ticket before getting on the train.

 

[Intermodal]

What if there is an unreasonably large queue? Does a promise to pay then become valid as there was no 'reasonable' facility to pay? I am well aware there is no answer to this question but it is an interesting one to ponder.