Just my two-bits worth regarding Penalty Fares and possible prosecutions...
A few years ago - I can't remember exactly when, but it involved an SWT 442 working during the Farnborough Airshow, just after the Avantix PDA machines had been issued - I got issued a PF by SWT because I'd arrived at Waterloo to find that my train to Farnborough was departing about 30-45 seconds later...So I made a direct bolt for the train, told the Guard that I wanted to buy a ticket on board, and obtained his permission to travel. When the Guard actually tried to sell me my YPR ticket however, his machine wouldn't process it - So he advised me to purchase this at the Farnborough gateline insted.
When I got to Farnborough, there was an RPO desk set-up on the platform that I approached so that I could buy my ticket. I explained the situation in full to the guys there (Suggesting they confirmed this with the Guard, but he'd already dinged the train out and this wasn't possible) but they wern't happy with it and issued me an on-the-spot PF notice.
Although I didn't have the cash to hand to pay off the notice in full, I did manage to pay half of it (The cost of a standard open single WAT-FNB - The PF being a 2x single fare job) on the spot. I wrote to both SWT and the PF Appeals service that afternoon outlining the situation again, requesting cancellation of the PFN and a part refund to drop the fee paid down to the YPR CDS that I'd initially tried to purchase.
They got back to me stating that - Although the PFN had
thankfully been cancelled/considered resolved - My case was being regarded as if I'd not had my Railcard to hand at the time, so I'd be charged for the standard single fare that I'd already paid.
In retrospect, I think this was a far better outcome than being chinged full-whack and getting a PF strike against my name - And it didn't seem to affect my (Albeit unsuccessful) application to join SWT a few years later - But it does suggest to me that once a decision to do <something> has been made in relation to a PF, it's pretty hard to convince the issuer of the PF to do otherwise.
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Cessna: I've not been able to read the thread in detail, but by the sounds of things from my standpoint, it's possible that FCC might well try and drag ye through the court mill over this one. Ye say that ye will/already have sent payment for the full £85 due and have made it clear to FCC that ye intend to do this though, so at least ye seem to have reacted well to the consequences of thy mistake that night.
Bear in mind that if ye can't get FCC to accept payment of the PF in advance (They do have the right to refuse if court action has been decided on, I think...But it should go against them if they turned down any attempt to pay before court goes to session) ye'll probabally have to go through the mill, alas. Remembering SWT's PF posters, here's what ye might be looking at in the worst case scenario:
- Penalty Charge (Maybe)
- Full 1ST SGL fare due for thy journey,
- Court and solicitor fees due for both parties,
- Other fees clocked up by FCC in pursuing their claim against ye (Under the Civil Recovery Scheme)
- Plus possible other charges relating to the case
So it might well be worth putting aside any spare cash ye have
now to make life a little less stressful just in case ye find thyself being overchinged and having to pay the whole lot!
hock:
Side-note: Depending on thy circumstances, most Courts will allow fines and charges to be paid in installments at thy local court office and/or (Maybe) Police station.
Obviously: Keep a written record of all correspondance between ye and FCC that ye can present to the court if need be, and make sure that ye send any further communications connected to this via Recorded Delivery. If ye have sent payment already, keep a close eye on the status of that payment and - If they cash the cheque/charge thy card -
Make sure ye obtain documentary evidence of this fact as if they've accepted payment of the PF due, then they
might not have a valid reason to summon ye to court on top. It really depends on the court itself of course...But if FCC have already taken the PF from ye
and still decide to take court action (Which they might do) the judge
might hopefully throw this out as FCC wasting the courts time, and order FCC to pay the court costs!
Of course, there is one clear question to be asked here:
Why on Earth - When seeing that ye'd boarded in the 1st class section - Didn't ye simply move into standard class right away? Would've saved ye a lot of trouble!
Note: The above is advice given from an unskilled, personal perspective. It does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied upon as accurate. If in doubt, please speak to thy Solicitor.