Prosecution Letter

[luccie]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.

Back in February, I travelled with by train and have just received a £31 prosecution letter—plus a £120 administrative fee The issue was that I accidentally used a 16–17 Railcard instead of a 16–25 Railcard when buying my ticket. I travel by train regularly with the correct railcard, and this was a genuine mistake—I didn’t realise until I was checked during the journey.

I contacted them via email, and they acknowledged that their system doesn’t currently verify railcards during the booking process. I also explained that I have a disability which affects how I process numbers, especially when they’re similar, but this was ignored in their response.

I completely understand having to pay the fare difference, but the £120 admin fee feels really excessive for what was an honest mistake. They’ve given me 21 days to pay or face court proceedings, with no alternative resolution offered, which feels quite harsh.

Has anyone had a similar experience and been able to challenge the admin charge or avoid going to court? Also, does anyone know how much court fees could be if it comes to that?

Thanks in advance

 

[alholmes]

£120 is at the low end of what we tend to see for admin fees.

if it goes to court, the train company will still pursue the same admin fee (or even more) and the court will also impose a fine and surcharge. so much more expensive, and a criminal conviction too.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.

Back in February, I travelled with by train and have just received a £31 prosecution letter—plus a £120 administrative fee The issue was that I accidentally used a 16–17 Railcard instead of a 16–25 Railcard when buying my ticket. I travel by train regularly with the correct railcard, and this was a genuine mistake—I didn’t realise until I was checked during the journey.

I contacted them via email, and they acknowledged that their system doesn’t currently verify railcards during the booking process. I also explained that I have a disability which affects how I process numbers, especially when they’re similar, but this was ignored in their response.

I completely understand having to pay the fare difference, but the £120 admin fee feels really excessive for what was an honest mistake. They’ve given me 21 days to pay or face court proceedings, with no alternative resolution offered, which feels quite harsh.

Has anyone had a similar experience and been able to challenge the admin charge or avoid going to court? Also, does anyone know how much court fees could be if it comes to that?

Thanks in advance

The forum is full of similar cases. You need to pay this or they will prosecute you in court and win.

Unfortunately miss use of 16-17 railcards as seen often here also is common by deliberate evaders. It’s hard for them to distinguish between genuine mistakes like your and deliberate evasion.

Pay this to prevent it escalating and take more care when selecting your railcard discount in future.

You have my sympathy but any other option will cost you more as it involves court.

 

[Egg Centric]

Note that while you must (in the sense of it being the only sensible choice) pay this for the reasons others have said, there is nothing in principle stopping you from subsequently highlighting your disability more clearly and complaining/asking for a goodwill gesture of at least the fees back. For this to get anywhere we'd need to know a lot more about the situation to advise and you should be under no illusion it probably won't get anywhere - but it's not completely hopeless - it depends on this disability, the fullness of circumstances, and also your tenacity and luck. So please pay the out of court settlement ASAP and then if you do want assistance with that approach to customer services feel free to come back.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.

Back in February, I travelled with by train and have just received a £31 prosecution letter—plus a £120 administrative fee The issue was that I accidentally used a 16–17 Railcard instead of a 16–25 Railcard when buying my ticket. I travel by train regularly with the correct railcard, and this was a genuine mistake—I didn’t realise until I was checked during the journey.

I contacted them via email, and they acknowledged that their system doesn’t currently verify railcards during the booking process. I also explained that I have a disability which affects how I process numbers, especially when they’re similar, but this was ignored in their response.

I completely understand having to pay the fare difference, but the £120 admin fee feels really excessive for what was an honest mistake. They’ve given me 21 days to pay or face court proceedings, with no alternative resolution offered, which feels quite harsh.

Has anyone had a similar experience and been able to challenge the admin charge or avoid going to court? Also, does anyone know how much court fees could be if it comes to that?

Thanks in advance

Ref your last question if it went to court you’d probably be looking at several hundred pounds and you would have a criminal record. Maybe £400 or so.

It’s a strict liability offence (you can’t debate in court if it’s fair or not, you had the wrong ticket and that means you are guilty ).

It is very much in your interest to avoid this going to court.

The only better option would have been had you been given a Penalty Fare at the time but that didn’t happen and they can’t be issued retrospectively.

 

[phoenix743]

Although this may have been an honest mistake by you, having worked in the industry for many years it is a common fare evasion method. I can honestly say I have never been in a situation where I have had an honest mistake resulting in a lesser discount being obtained ie a 16-17 saver card holder selecting 16-25.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Can you tell us which train company you're dealing with.

Ordinarily, we see lots of issues with 16-17 Railcard being 'accidentally' selected instead of 16-25 Railcard. The 16-17 Railcard also gives a larger discount. A settlement like this is one of the ways in which a train company will deal with an issue like this.

It is worth considering your disability here. Are you able to provide any evidence of your disability, and how it impacts your ability to select numbers correctly. The evidence would really need to come from a medical practicioner who is expert in this particular area. If you can provide this then I would pay the settlement to prevent the matter from escalating and then write to the train company, enclose the mitigation, and ask the trtain company is they will reconsider.