If you've ever been hounded by "revenue protection" monkeys, stung for £20 because there was a queue at the station ticket office and had to hop on the train without paying or you'd miss the train, have been bullied into paying unfair penalties by empty threats of prosecution and a criminal record... read this.
You may never have to pay another railway penalty fare again.
For example, says the piece by Andrew Gilligan in the Evening Standard, if you have to jump on a train with no ticket...
'This is where the most useful part of the Penalty Fares Rules comes in - Rule 7 (4), which states that a penalty fare must not be charged "if ... there were no facilities available for selling the appropriate ticket or other authority for the journey the person wanted to make".
The Rules themselves do not define what "no facilities available" means. But in separate guidance on penalty fares ("Penalty Fares Policy") issued by the Department for Transport, it is made quite clear, in clauses 4.2 and 4.11, that passengers must be given "sufficent opportunity" to buy a ticket and that regular queues over three minutes (off-peak) and five minutes (peak) breach the definition of what is "sufficient".
It is not clear whether this definition has any legal force - but if you quote it in your letter back to the train company, you are unlikely to be bothered again.'
Or you're threatened with a criminal record...
'Train companies often scare people into paying up by threatening prosecution and a criminal record. However, the legislation establishing penalty fares, the Railways Act 1993, section 130, states that apart from failing to give your right name and address, "nothing in this section creates, or authorises the creation of any [criminal] offence". The Penalty Fares Regulations 1994 state that "the recovery of a penalty fare is a civil debt". So even if after reading your letter the company still decides it wants the money, it has to sue you - probably not worthwhile for such a small sum.'
Related
>> How to cut your family rail fares
Comments