Mitigating circumstances - I boarded the wrong train on platform leaving me stranded

[saintadamson]

I was at Newcastle, going to London, with a 17:58 train on Platform 3. I was then going to take a train from London to Coventry.

I boarded the train from Newcastle on the platform at 17:55 ish without realised it was going to Edinburgh.

I got off at Morpeth, the next stop, being stranded there as the next train was cancelled. I was stuck at Morpeth until the 19:24 train to Birmingham New Street (BHM).

This meant I was essentially stranded, as I would miss the train to London and my train back to Coventry. So the only way I could get to Coventry was by going the 3 hour journey to BHM and another train from BHM to Coventry.

As this was a setback I hadn’t anticipated, I couldn’t pay the then-£90 ticket. I did immediately look for the ticket inspector when boarding the train to explain my circumstances and I was fined.

I’ve communicated through email the incident and the sequence of events, including proof of my tickets, yet my circumstances aren’t being considered as mitigating - is there anything I can do?

 

[AlterEgo]

So I was Newcastle going to London to then take the train back to Coventry from London with a 17:58 train on Platform 3, I boarded the train on the platform at 17:55 ish without realised it was going to Edinburgh. I got off at Morpeth, the next stop being stranded there as the next train was cancelled I was stuck there until the 19:24 train to Birmingham New Street. This meant I was essentially stranded, as I would miss the train to London and my train back to Coventry. So the only way I could get to Coventry was by going the 3 hour journey to BNS and another train. As this was a setback I hadn’t anticipated, I couldn’t pay the then-£90 ticket. I did immediately look for the ticket inspector when boarding the train to explain my circumstances and I was fined. I’ve communicated through email the incident and the sequence of events, including proof of my tickets, yet my circumstances aren’t being considered as mitigating - is there anything I can do?

Which company are you dealing with? Is it CrossCountry?

What happened on the train? Were your details taken and a zero fare issued to you so you can complete the trip?

Please upload any correspondence with your details blanked out so people can see exactly what has happened.

 

[saintadamson]

Goodness me, that’s a predicament! If you were wishing to go to Coventry you would have boarded a service from Euston, but presumably to go to Morpeth you got on an LNER train from Kings Cross? I gather this is why they’re not considering it, it’s such a wildly different journey to what you paid for that they probably have doubts as to the claim’s legitimacy.

Yeah my plan was to go from King’s Cross to Euston due to the short distance. The inspector on the train was questioning why I chosen to take that route but it was the route that when I had planned my journey seemed the most convenient.

Which company are you dealing with? Is it CrossCountry?

What happened on the train? Were your details taken and a zero fare issued to you so you can complete the trip?

Please upload any correspondence with your details blanked out so people can see exactly what has happened.

It is CrossCountry. I boarded the train and went straight to the inspector to inform of my situation, I was quite flustered as for me I was in the middle of nowhere and my phone was dead. He initially thought I was just going back to Newcastle, but due to the time, I would have been essentially stranded in London as the next and last train from Newcastle was at 8:30-ish. When he came round to scan my ticket, I reiterated what had happened to me and he was incredibly dismissive and didn’t believe my route before fining me. It had been an incredibly long day and i added up getting back home at 00:30

AIUI, they were at Newcastle and boarded a train to Edinburgh by mistake

Yes

 

[Haywain]

What ticket (or tickets) did you hold?

 

[saintadamson]

What ticket (or tickets) did you hold?

Cov to London, London to Newcastle, Newcastle to London, London to Cov

Another important context I think is that there was a train cancellation at Morpeth which essentially reduced the possibility of my intended route to zero. Which is why I'm confused by the refusal to take my evidence as mitigating.

"(a) Insufficiency of evidence
(b) Where it appears that there has been a genuine mistake by the alleged offender
Note: It is not an acceptable mistake to believe erroneously that your card contains a valid ticket, or a failure/omission to validate a smart card, when on any Crosscountry services.
(c) Age of the offender
(d) Where there may be issues concerning the mental health of the alleged offender
(e) Where, owing to circumstances beyond the offender's control, commission of the offence was unavoidable"

 

[Hadders]

Your post is a little confusing. I'm trying to understand exactly what happened. Is this correct:

- You were intending to travel from Newcastle to Kings Cross, ealk to Euston and then travel from Euston to Coventry
- At Newcastle you got on the wrong train, and ebded up at Morpeth
- You boarded a train at Morpeth that was going to Birmingham New Street
- You sought out the guard and told them what had happened. They said you would have to buy a new ticket to travel to Birmingham but you couldn't pay the £90 this cost
- Your phone was out of charge (were the tickets on your phone or did you have paper tickets?)
- The guard took your details and CrossCountry have now sent you a letter

If this is correct then what tickets did you hold? It is possible (but unlikely) that it allowed you to travel via Birmingham.
Assuming there were no staff at Morpeth did you use the help point to ask what you should do?

Can you upload a copy of the letter you have been sent by CrossCOuntry (with personal details redacted)

This is an unfortunate incident but I doubt there's much you can do other than pay up. The mistake was yours.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I think that the OP may have an uphill battle on their hands here.

Newcastle to Coventry via London does not intuitively feel like the best route. I'm no routing expert so can't say if it has virtues like being the quickest (entirely on fast trains), simplest (one or two changes, depending on whether you walk or take the underground between Kings Cross and Euston) or most comfortable (long distance trains against local ones). But I am pretty sure that it's not the cheapest route.

That being the case, I can further understand why the railway don't accept that the OP was unable to buy a ticket at Morpeth. Surely (they might argue) someone who has chosen to take a more expensive route will have access to a credit card or a well-funded debit card?

I think the OP needs to consider how much the railway wants from them, and whether it's best to cut their losses and pay rather than continuing the fight.

 

[James Wake]

The train the OP boarded to Morpeth was a Lumo service whilst they were waiting for an LNER service, so not sure how that mistake happened, but unfortunate.

I can’t find any proof of a cancellation at Morpeth at around that time? Which train was it that was cancelled?

There were two trains to Newcastle before that CrossCountry, the 1856 Northern, and 1901 TPE, which might’ve been better to get to then get advice from staff at Newcastle.

Unfortunately here I think the best thing to do would be to pay up I’m afraid, but in future do look at possibly split ticketing your journeys, as it can work out cheaper, especially when doing a long journey on CrossCountry.

 

[Haywain]

Cov to London, London to Newcastle, Newcastle to London, London to Cov

What type of tickets - Advance? And were they eTickets?

 

[saintadamson]

The train the OP boarded to Morpeth was a Lumo service whilst they were waiting for an LNER service, so not sure how that mistake happened, but unfortunate.

I can’t find any proof of a cancellation at Morpeth at around that time? Which train was it that was cancelled?

There were two trains to Newcastle before that CrossCountry, the 1856 Northern, and 1901 TPE, which might’ve been better to get to then get advice from staff at Newcastle.

Unfortunately here I think the best thing to do would be to pay up I’m afraid, but in future do look at possibly split ticketing your journeys, as it can work out cheaper, especially when doing a long journey on CrossCountry.

It was on the 24th of May

I think that the OP may have an uphill battle on their hands here.

Newcastle to Coventry via London does not intuitively feel like the best route. I'm no routing expert so can't say if it has virtues like being the quickest (entirely on fast trains), simplest (one or two changes, depending on whether you walk or take the underground between Kings Cross and Euston) or most comfortable (long distance trains against local ones). But I am pretty sure that it's not the cheapest route.

That being the case, I can further understand why the railway don't accept that the OP was unable to buy a ticket at Morpeth. Surely (they might argue) someone who has chosen to take a more expensive route will have access to a credit card or a well-funded debit card?

I think the OP needs to consider how much the railway wants from them, and whether it's best to cut their losses and pay rather than continuing the fight.

It’s actually not the cheaper journey. London to Newcastle was £50-ish whereas Cov to Newcastle was telling me £90. I’ve just had another look on Trainline

 

[Fawkes Cat]

It was on the 24th of May


It’s actually not the cheaper journey. London to Newcastle was £50-ish whereas Cov to Newcastle was telling me £90. I’ve just had another look on Trainline

You of course also need to take the Coventry to London leg into account, but I take your point.

I also note that looking for travel just now, Newcastle to Coventry via Birmingham can take just over four hours, while going via London can take just under five hours. So not as big a time difference as I expected!

None the less, I still go with the consensus: you are on weak ground relying on ending up in Morpeth by accident and without resources as mitigating your position. If anything like this happens again, do everything you can at the time to find railway staff to see if they can help you out. That way, it will be clear that you're accidentally in a mess, and not someone who is trying to fare-dodge.

 

[Haywain]

There were two trains to Newcastle before that CrossCountry, the 1856 Northern, and 1901 TPE, which might’ve been better to get to then get advice from staff at Newcastle.

It looks like the TPE service was cancelled, but that doesn't explain why the Northern service wasn't boarded.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Or a taxi or bus

 

[AlterEgo]

I don’t see any compelling reason the OP can claim mitigating circumstances here. They boarded the wrong train going the wrong way - their own error. They then had no recourse under the NRCoT to take CrossCountry all the way to Birmingham/Coventry without payment, essentially hitching a lift for free. Unfortunately I recommend paying the outstanding fare.

 

[Haywain]

I don’t see any compelling reason the OP can claim mitigating circumstances here. They boarded the wrong train going the wrong way - their own error. They then had no recourse under the NRCoT to take CrossCountry all the way to Birmingham/Coventry without payment, essentially hitching a lift for free. Unfortunately I recommend paying the outstanding fare.

I agree. However, it isn't clear what CrossCountry are looking for - is it the outstanding fare or is there a threat of prosecution? Whichever it is, I can't see a better alternative than paying whatever CrossCountry are asking for. The only potential mitigation would be under the 'stranded passenger' part of the NRCoT, but this looks very much like a case of self-stranding.

 

[AlterEgo]

It would be helpful if we could get sight of the correspondence between the OP and XC here.

 

[fandroid]

If the actual tickets held were not Advance tickets (they still haven't told us!) the the OP should have claimed for refunds for the unused bits. It's too late now as the incident was on 24 May

It's a bit of a complicated circumstance but possibly worthy of another discussion here.

Would the OP have been best advised to have claimed refunds on the unused tickets, before the deadline for such claims and while the email discussion with CrossCountry was ongoing?

A moral here too. If relying on etickets, especially expensive ones, always be sure to carry a fully charged battery pack to ensure that your phone cannot go "dead" at tricky moments. It has happened to me only once, and I was lucky with the guy on the ticket gate at Waterloo, who believed my story.