Received settlement letter from GA

[Sjk]

Hi everyone,

On the 14th of October, I forgot my purse whilst travelling between Witham and braintree. I was due to pick my children up at a certain time so couldn't afford to go back to get my purse!
I was stopped by a ticket inspector who took my details and she proceeded to make the call to report it. She, i assume, lost signal as she couldn't complete the call. She never gave me any paperwork but informed me I would get a letter through the post.
5 weeks later, i receive the letter but it states they want a settlement fee of £80 plus the cost of the journey which was £4.60.

Am i right in thinking that a normal penalty fare should have been issued?

 

[furlong]

Pay the 4.60 immediately and if you think £80 exceeds their actual costs in dealing with this, talk to them, ask them to justify it, and try to negotiate. Are they actually using the word "fee"? If so, you could involve your MP or the DfT, as I doubt the franchise agreement provides any basis to charge such a fee. If the letter talks about prosecution, then what they can do is recover from you their direct costs in dealing with the matter e.g. staff time and letter at cost. Or pay the whole amount first then try to challenge the excessive level of it afterwards.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

There is no automatic right to a Penalty Fare. It is an out of Court disposal of a ticketing irregularity which can be issued at the operator's discretion.

Equally, they are under no obligation to offer a more general out of Court settlement such as you have received. The alternative is that they prosecute for failing to produce a ticket upon inspection - an offence under Byelaw 18 of the Railway Byelaws 2005.

I would pay up what they are asking and then contest it afterwards (unless you are willing to undergo the risk, stress etc. associated with a prosecution). Once they have taken your payment, they are barred from prosecuting and cannot go back on the settlement agreement.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Agreed, don't ignore it and hope it will go away. Pay up now and then decide whether or not you wish to contest it.

Yes, £80 may sound unfair for a simple lapse in memory but it will cost you a lot more if GA decide to take you to court

 

[island]

As you chose to join a train without a ticket and had no means to purchase one, the correct course of action was to report for consideration of prosecution. A penalty fare is issued normally to a passenger who makes a mistake. You intentionally tried to skip paying your fare. I disagree with ForTheLoveOf to the extent he suggests this is a byelaw 18 matter; this seems to me like travelling without paying your fare and with intent to avoid payment thereof, contrary to section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889.

You now need to pay the sum requested promptly to avoid the matter escalating further and ending up with a criminal record.

If you do choose to complain about or contest the matter afterward that is of course your right, but I do not see any grounds for any such complaint.

 

[njr001]

Non payment leading to prosecution would cause you much more 'grief' than paying the amount requested.
A suggestion, I'm no expert though, might be to send two cheques one for the fare due. and the other for the settlement fee, explaining that you had forgotten your purse and had to pick up your children and see if they cash one or both of the cheques.