Prosecution after Penalty Fare payment

[oliveyoutwo]

I received a Penalty Fare Notice this week for travelling without a ticket. The ticket machine at the station was not working and I wrongly assumed that I would be able to purchase a ticket at the destination station. The inspector (who issued the Penalty Fare) claimed that there was another working ticket machine on the other side of the railway and I should have used the footbridge to cross to the other side and buy a ticket before boarding. I will of course do that in the future.

I became aware that it is actually a criminal offence to board a train at a railway station without a valid ticket when the station has ticket-selling facilities. So I have paid the Penalty Fare Notice and learned my lesson.

Now I paid the Penalty Fare Notice in full, could I be prosecuted for committing the criminal offence of travelling without a ticket? (I did not have enough funds to make the payment when it was issued, but I paid online 3 days after it was issued).

The other question I have is rather hypothetical. I did check the signage at the departure station, it is exactly like the one in this post: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/stansted-airport-fines.253779/post-6451904, so I could in theory appeal to get the Penalty Fare refunded. If I do so to and the appeal is successful, would Greater Anglia have an option to start a criminal prosecution against me (in retaliation)?

 

[Watershed]

Welcome to the forum.

That sounds like an unfortunate set of circumstances and I have to say, it seems highly unreasonable to issue a PF on the basis they expect passengers to go scouting around the station to see if there are any other working tickets machines they haven't seen yet. It's not like there is normally a map or sign telling you where to look!

As mentioned in the other Greater Anglia thread which I responded to today, PFs aren't routinely withdrawn to prosecute merely because they have been appealed. This would only happen under exceptional circumstances, for example if the appeal wording disclosed the fact that fraud had occurred (e.g. the passenger lied about their journey or details).

Once a first-stage appeal has been decided (or a decision was due - if the appeals body takes more than 21 days, the appeal is deemed to succeed regardless) the option of prosecuting is no longer lawfully available to the train company.

Certainly once an appeal has succeeded, I am not aware of any train company that has taken someone to Court in retaliation. Such a prosecution would be liable to be effectively 'thrown out' as an abuse of process, and if the malicious intent could be proven, the passenger could bring a civil claim (or indeed private prosecution) for malicious prosecution.

I would not worry about bringing an appeal. Doing so on the basis of non-compliant signage, as well as 'compelling reasons' given the circumstances of your journey, may well result in the PF being withdrawn.

Even if your first appeal is not successful, there are two further stages of appeal and I would encourage you not to give up. As you will note from the thread you linked to, it's often not until the second or third appeal that arguments are properly considered. Obviously valid appeals should be allowed in the first instance, but it is worth persisting.

 

[MotCO]

Don't forget that if you wish to appeal, you only have 21 days in which to do this from the date the PF was issued.

 

[JN114]

Are appeals not irrelevant if the OP has paid the penalty fare already?

 

[skyhigh]

Are appeals not irrelevant if the OP has paid the penalty fare already?

No, you can pay in full and still appeal it.

 

[JN114]

No, you can pay in full and still appeal it.

Thank you for the clarification

 

[oliveyoutwo]

Welcome to the forum.

That sounds like an unfortunate set of circumstances and I have to say, it seems highly unreasonable to issue a PF on the basis they expect passengers to go scouting around the station to see if there are any other working tickets machines they haven't seen yet. It's not like there is normally a map or sign telling you where to look!

As mentioned in the other Greater Anglia thread which I responded to today, PFs aren't routinely withdrawn to prosecute merely because they have been appealed. This would only happen under exceptional circumstances, for example if the appeal wording disclosed the fact that fraud had occurred (e.g. the passenger lied about their journey or details).

Once a first-stage appeal has been decided (or a decision was due - if the appeals body takes more than 21 days, the appeal is deemed to succeed regardless) the option of prosecuting is no longer lawfully available to the train company.

Certainly once an appeal has succeeded, I am not aware of any train company that has taken someone to Court in retaliation. Such a prosecution would be liable to be effectively 'thrown out' as an abuse of process, and if the malicious intent could be proven, the passenger could bring a civil claim (or indeed private prosecution) for malicious prosecution.

I would not worry about bringing an appeal. Doing so on the basis of non-compliant signage, as well as 'compelling reasons' given the circumstances of your journey, may well result in the PF being withdrawn.

Even if your first appeal is not successful, there are two further stages of appeal and I would encourage you not to give up. As you will note from the thread you linked to, it's often not until the second or third appeal that arguments are properly considered. Obviously valid appeals should be allowed in the first instance, but it is worth persisting.

Thank you for your reply @Watershed, I do not intend to appeal, I just want this to go away (I have alot going on currenly in my life at the moment).

As I understand it, the only way to prevent them from prosecuting me for the criminal offence of travelling without a ticket is to appeal the Penalty Fare Notice and hope that Greater Anglia does not cancel it before the appeal is resolved or 21 days have elapsed since the appeal was submitted (source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/366/regulation/11).

 

[Haywain]

As I understand it, the only way to prevent them from prosecuting me for the criminal offence of travelling without a ticket is to appeal the Penalty Fare Notice and hope that Greater Anglia does not cancel it before the appeal is resolved

An alternative approach is to pay the Penalty Fare.

 

[island]

An alternative approach is to pay the Penalty Fare.

As stated in post #1, the OP has done this.