Hi all,
Today I received an £80 fixed penalty plus the £2.30 fare for the part of the journey I did not have a valid ticket for. Basically, I had a valid weekly traincard (still have it), fell asleep on the train, missed my stop, and ended up 2 stops down the line, in my village, but my car was parked at the station where I had the ticket from (as it's cheaper to get a weekly train ticket from here).
I was stopped by the revenue protection officers at the station on leaving the train (no guard came around to check tickets on board) and was given no option to purchase an additional ticket for the part of the journey I didn't have a valid ticket for as they didn't have the facilities to issue tickets and the ticket office was closed. (I didn't mention the falling asleep and missing my stop, as was in a bit of a daze and felt quite embarrassed to be honest! After thinking back, maybe if I had, they might have been more lenient?!)
They obviosuly didn't mention I would be facing a fine, they just said that because I had a valid ticket, I would only need to pay the difference by cheque in the post, so I thought fair enough!
The penalty notice states that I travelled 'without paying the fare and with the intent of avoiding that fare' which I clearly didn't, and even offered to pay for my honest mistake there and then!
With the letter saying about court proceedings, additional fees and possible criminal records involved if I don't pay the £80, I'm contemplating just paying it, but believe it too be a tad harsh?!
The fixed penalty notice doesn't give any detail about appealing against it, just states 'Whilst we hope that you will satisfactory conclude this matter, failure to respond to this reasonable request within 14 days will result in legal action being taken...'
I regularly use the train to commute to work and I'm definitely not a fare dodger!
Any advice on this matter would be truly appreciated! Thanks!
Today I received an £80 fixed penalty plus the £2.30 fare for the part of the journey I did not have a valid ticket for. Basically, I had a valid weekly traincard (still have it), fell asleep on the train, missed my stop, and ended up 2 stops down the line, in my village, but my car was parked at the station where I had the ticket from (as it's cheaper to get a weekly train ticket from here).
I was stopped by the revenue protection officers at the station on leaving the train (no guard came around to check tickets on board) and was given no option to purchase an additional ticket for the part of the journey I didn't have a valid ticket for as they didn't have the facilities to issue tickets and the ticket office was closed. (I didn't mention the falling asleep and missing my stop, as was in a bit of a daze and felt quite embarrassed to be honest! After thinking back, maybe if I had, they might have been more lenient?!)
They obviosuly didn't mention I would be facing a fine, they just said that because I had a valid ticket, I would only need to pay the difference by cheque in the post, so I thought fair enough!
The penalty notice states that I travelled 'without paying the fare and with the intent of avoiding that fare' which I clearly didn't, and even offered to pay for my honest mistake there and then!
With the letter saying about court proceedings, additional fees and possible criminal records involved if I don't pay the £80, I'm contemplating just paying it, but believe it too be a tad harsh?!
The fixed penalty notice doesn't give any detail about appealing against it, just states 'Whilst we hope that you will satisfactory conclude this matter, failure to respond to this reasonable request within 14 days will result in legal action being taken...'
I regularly use the train to commute to work and I'm definitely not a fare dodger!
Any advice on this matter would be truly appreciated! Thanks!