travel irreg report

[help required]

Hi
I received a travel irregularity report today at cardiff bay station.
I travelled from elsewhere on the network and changed at queen street. I know there are facilities to buy tickets at both departure station and queen street, but I was late for both trains and late for a meeting and i normally just buy my tickets on the train.

I think I have no enforceable in law excuse and i would have been happy to pay the fare (its only a few pounds and i also pay a significant amount each week c.£100 on the trains so I cam demonstrate i regularly pay fares on the network).

Is there a likelihood of a court appearance or criminal record for a very low value ticket which i would have been happy to pay if the ticket conductor had got to me or there was facility to do so at a ticket barrier when i got off?

It seems to me that this is designed to catch people who have no real intention of doing anything wrong but are just in a rush whilst commuting. Surely it would be more sensible to just give out a warning and give a facility to pay?

This has now got me very worried.

 

[yorkie]

Did you walk past an opportunity to pay at your destination station and attempt to exit?

Was there a revenue block at Cardiff Bay, and you tried to avoid it or walk around it?

If so, then you will probably be sent a letter asking you to explain your version of events, and depending on what evidence was gathered on the day, and how you answer the letter, you may be prosecuted under the Regulation of Railways Act. If that happens, it may be possible to avoid prosecution by settling the matter out of court, at ATW's discretion.

The fact that the ticket is of low value makes no real difference to the offence, but it may increase your prospects of reaching an agreement with ATW to settle the matter without going to Court.

 

[furlong]

i normally just buy my tickets on the train.

When you did this were you always warned to purchase your ticket prior to boarding the train in future, or was the train company, by their actions in selling you the ticket on board on multiple occasions without comment, implicitly authorising you routinely to board their services without a ticket and purchase it during your journey?

 

[Flamingo]

ATW are starting to play hardball on fare evasion. They have lots of notices up saying "Buy before you board". I'd be interested to know where the OP started from.

 

[Chew Chew]

That train goes every 12 minutes!

Could you not have waited?

 

[Fare-Cop]

ATW are starting to play hardball on fare evasion. They have lots of notices up saying "Buy before you board". I'd be interested to know where the OP started from.

This sign is commonplace all over ATW and has been for around 2 years now

They have got a part of the wording wrong, but their general message is clear,

Instead of 'can lead to a penalty of up to £1000 or prosecution' it should really read 'can lead to prosecution and could result in a fine of up to £1000'