kropotkin2000@
Member
I'm looking to seek advice for my mother, who has been landed with a Fixed Penalty Notice for allegedly paying "incorrect fare" for her travel from Leeds to Bradford Forster Square a few weeks ago.
A bit of background: she's 72, English is her second language, and she has been retired for over a decade. She has been using a Metro pass (free for pensioners) for probably hundreds of half price tickets between Leeds and Bradford during this time. She had never had any bother or hassle, until last December, when at the gate to leave the station, an 'officer' of Northern Trains checked her ticket and demanded to see her "railcard". Mum had never used a Railcard, and had never been accosted by someone in this manner before, so was completely taken aback and confused, and so said she didn't have one. She was also feeling unwell at the time, and was just thinking about getting home.
No further enquires were made to ascertain whether she might have some other means of obtaining a concessionary ticket, and it escalated into an "incident report" with her giving all her details.
A few weeks passed, and a letter from the Northern Trains DRPU arrived, detailing that an authorised member of staff spoke to her in relation to alleged contravention of Railways Regulations, with an evidentiary report submitted to the DRPU. 14 days were given to submit a written reply by post or by email to "ascertain the full facts".
Since English isn't her primary language, and her defending herself in her own words would be difficult, I immediately wrote an email reply on her behalf (I was fuming at the time) which described what happened from her perspective and explained that she had in fact bought her ticket with a Metro card, which she has had for over a decade. I thought that should have been enough of an explanation.
No acknowledgement of the e-mail was ever received. No automated reply to say "we got it", or any reply whatsoever.
14 days passed, and the Fixed Penalty Notice arrived, reading that they have "evidence that indicates" that she was reported by an authorised member of staff alleging that she committed an offence under the Regulations of Railways Act 1889 and/or Railway Byelaws 2005. The exact allegation being that she travelled from Leeds to Bradford Forster Square without paying the correct fare.
Now, this is patent nonsense, and obviously she has no intention of paying the fine since the allegation is completely false and isn't based on any good evidence. The idea that a 72 year old woman would go out of her way to falsely obtain a concessionary ticket when pensioners can already get a free Metro pass (in West Yorkshire) to buy concessionary tickets, absolutely beggars belief. How do they imagine she obtained her half price ticket in the first place?
Presumably the only recourse is for this to go to the Magistrates Court, and here's the problem. We've no experience of Magistrates Courts. Would Northern Trains DRPU really go so far, even when it looks to me like it would be a vexatious prosecution? Is it worth writing to them again in a letter? Do I need a solicitor and who ends up paying for that in the end?
I imagine a lot of people just pay the fine to avoid hassle, even when they know they're innocent.
A bit of background: she's 72, English is her second language, and she has been retired for over a decade. She has been using a Metro pass (free for pensioners) for probably hundreds of half price tickets between Leeds and Bradford during this time. She had never had any bother or hassle, until last December, when at the gate to leave the station, an 'officer' of Northern Trains checked her ticket and demanded to see her "railcard". Mum had never used a Railcard, and had never been accosted by someone in this manner before, so was completely taken aback and confused, and so said she didn't have one. She was also feeling unwell at the time, and was just thinking about getting home.
No further enquires were made to ascertain whether she might have some other means of obtaining a concessionary ticket, and it escalated into an "incident report" with her giving all her details.
A few weeks passed, and a letter from the Northern Trains DRPU arrived, detailing that an authorised member of staff spoke to her in relation to alleged contravention of Railways Regulations, with an evidentiary report submitted to the DRPU. 14 days were given to submit a written reply by post or by email to "ascertain the full facts".
Since English isn't her primary language, and her defending herself in her own words would be difficult, I immediately wrote an email reply on her behalf (I was fuming at the time) which described what happened from her perspective and explained that she had in fact bought her ticket with a Metro card, which she has had for over a decade. I thought that should have been enough of an explanation.
No acknowledgement of the e-mail was ever received. No automated reply to say "we got it", or any reply whatsoever.
14 days passed, and the Fixed Penalty Notice arrived, reading that they have "evidence that indicates" that she was reported by an authorised member of staff alleging that she committed an offence under the Regulations of Railways Act 1889 and/or Railway Byelaws 2005. The exact allegation being that she travelled from Leeds to Bradford Forster Square without paying the correct fare.
Now, this is patent nonsense, and obviously she has no intention of paying the fine since the allegation is completely false and isn't based on any good evidence. The idea that a 72 year old woman would go out of her way to falsely obtain a concessionary ticket when pensioners can already get a free Metro pass (in West Yorkshire) to buy concessionary tickets, absolutely beggars belief. How do they imagine she obtained her half price ticket in the first place?
Presumably the only recourse is for this to go to the Magistrates Court, and here's the problem. We've no experience of Magistrates Courts. Would Northern Trains DRPU really go so far, even when it looks to me like it would be a vexatious prosecution? Is it worth writing to them again in a letter? Do I need a solicitor and who ends up paying for that in the end?
I imagine a lot of people just pay the fine to avoid hassle, even when they know they're innocent.