Penalty fare regs - GTR

[MikeWh]

I'm assisting a passenger who has probably been wrongly issued a penalty fare by GTR. They were told that they had to pay the full £20 at the time. Is this correct?

I know you used to only have to pay the fare for the journey being made, and the form issued still mentions that quite clearly. If this is no longer available, should new paperwork be being used, or the old system still be applied until the old paperwork is used up?

 

[furlong]

Once a PF has been issued, there is no requirement to pay anything on the spot - they have 21 days to pay. (Prior to issuing it, an inability to offer the amount of the normal fare they should have paid for the journey might be viewed as evidence suggesting they did not intend to pay their fare.)

Was this complied with?

5(2) Where a collector charges a penalty fare to a person under paragraph (1), the collector must
provide that person with the following information in writing at the time the penalty fare is
charged—
(h) a statement that the person must either pay, or appeal against, the penalty fare within 21
days beginning with the day following the day on which the penalty fare is charged;

 

[MikeWh]

Once a PF has been issued, there is no requirement to pay anything on the spot - they have 21 days to pay. (Prior to issuing it, an inability to offer the amount of the normal fare they should have paid for the journey might be viewed as evidence suggesting they did not intend to pay their fare.)

Was this complied with?

You've probably already guessed this is Oyster related. The passenger offered several remedies including paying the fare, so there is no question about an inability to pay. I'll check, but my reading of the situation is that the RPI was only prepared to accept full payment, which was made. And it's not clear whether they were told not to touch out at the end of their journey (several stations away). They did anyway, and the correct fare was charged.

 

[robbeech]

I've seen a couple of these recently, not all necessarily Oyster based but all based at London Terminals as a destination. One passenger arrived having been unable to purchase a ticket, so the PF was not due anyway but was told if they did not pay the PF in FULL immediately that they would prosecute. Which is what they have done. They are waiting for their letter, no doubt we will see a thread here in a few weeks.

 

[MikeWh]

Was this complied with?

No. The statement on the form said that the minimum of the fare due needed to be paid and the rest within 21 days regardless of whether an appeal was made. The inspector did not explain that no touch out was required at the end of the journey either, although the small print does state that it is authority to make the rest of the journey detailed.