SWT Penalty Fare Rant

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

ComedyPilot

Secret Lemonade Drinker
DO NOT PAY THE FINE.

In law your Mrs made a reasonable attempt at paying for the ticket, and did not try to evade paying. Let the Magistrates decide.

Get legal advice.

Also, were the police BTP?

What did they say?
 

Bigtwin

New Member
ComedyPilot said:
DO NOT PAY THE FINE.

In law your Mrs made a reasonable attempt at paying for the ticket, and did not try to evade paying. Let the Magistrates decide.

Get legal advice.

Nice try, but the offence here isn't theft for which you need the intention to permanently deprive and dishonestly, but that of travelling without a valid permit to travel, which is a strict liability offence.

Still don't pay though.
 

redjedi

Über Member
Location
Brentford
I recently saw a lady at Mortlake Station (SW London) get fined because she didn't have the correct ticket. I think she came from Waterloo and had gone an extra couple of stops. She then when upto the ticket office and asked to pay the extra, but they demanded she pay the fine, and then claim it back.

I thought this was very un-reasonable especially as she could have just walked out of the station (no ticket barriers). If it had been me who was being fined, I probably would have told him where to stick his claim forms and walked out.
 

redjedi

Über Member
Location
Brentford
On the other side of that, I got on a train to go from Syon Lane to Wokingham, with a change at Virginia Water. I was running late and didn't have time to get a ticket from the machine (un-manned station) so I just jumped on the train. I asked the gaurd, who wasn't checking tickets, if I could buy a ticket, but they don't sell ticket on board anymore.

When I got to V.Waters I had 5 mins between trains, went to the ticket office explained what happened and the lady happily sold me a return ticket for the entire journey.

As it turned out, no-one checked my ticket in either direction and there are no barriers at the stations, so I could have got away without paying.
 

bonj2

Guest
I wonder what the legal position would be if you decided not to pay the penalty fare. Would they have a legal right to enforce it?
 

Mr P

New Member
Bonj...

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/legislation/pf/annexapenaltyfaresrules2002?page=5#a1007

2. The authorised collector may require that person to make a minimum payment that is equal to the full single fare which they would have had to pay for their journey if penalty fares had not applied. The person must be given 21 days to pay the rest of the penalty fare, starting on the day that penalty fare is charged. If the penalty fare is not paid in full immediately, it must be paid in any way that is set out in the notice referred to in rule 8.3.
 

swee'pea99

Squire
What an peanut. Really, these people need weeding out and sacking. Simple as that. Anyone who treats people that way - bullying - has no place in a customer-facing role. Write to the Chairman.
 
It's not just SWT. Many times I see it at Cambridge now they've got barriers in. My station has no ticket machine, train crew are meant to sell tickets but if it's busy they have no chance of getting round everyone. No ticket machines on the platforms - all at the other side of the barriers. I was told by a member of NXEA train crew that they had requested machines to be put in on the platforms, but First couldn't be ar*ed.

Now this would be fine if the people on the barriers (a) spoke English and (:angry: didn't treat everyone with no ticket like a first class serial-killer standard criminal. They have two or three stock phrases that they repeat like robots, and anything you say to them is ignored (I suspect because their English is so poor they don't understand any response other than you handing over money).

It's a scam - I'm sure a lot of tourists/occasional train users just hand over the penalty fare. They've made no effort to ensure you can buy a ticket from every stop. And they have are signs up everywhere saying you can text them if you see anyone fare dodging - I don't think so.
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Terrible behaviour by SWT.
I would like to add that South Eastern more often then not are the complete opposite to SWT. SE employees seem to be very helpful, even when a good few amount of bikes descends on a train and/or if you need to buy an excess ticket.
 
Top Bottom