Hi Nelson - this is my stab at what you could send to TIL - obv amend as you see fit and others may have views on amends to improve it. I've basically cut out all the poor service issues with XC staff and delays. I suggest Transport Focus simply because their website says here https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/advice-and-complaints/rail-complaints/
It may be that it needs to go to Rail Ombudsman and Transport Focus (TF) - note this is NOT a penalty fare scenario as I understand it (I'm referring back to that link re Penalty Fare)
STARTS
DRAFT
Date
Our Ref
Your Ref
TIL020501 24rd April 2020
PLK
Elaine Ashby
TIL
1 Station Approach
March
Cambridgeshire
PE15 8SJ
Dear Ms Ashby
Reference TIL020501
Journey: 11.24 Ashchurch to Birmingham New Street. Date: 22 November 2019
I write in response to your letter of the 17th April 2020. I am disappointed that you concluded there is no reason to change your view and I write again to press you on what I regard as the key matter.
This is not that I refused to pay my train fare, this is manifestly not true. I offered to pay the correct fare but that the member of staff on board the train refused to sell me the ticket discounted with my Senior Railcard, to which I am firmly of the view I was entitled to purchase.
As you accept, I boarded the train at Ashchurch where no ticket issuing facilities are provided therefore I always buy my tickets on board. The Railcard discount has always been accepted.
This seems to me to be fully in line with the National Rail Conditions of Travel, Part C Sections 6.1 / 6.1.1:
“At the station where you start your journey, there is no means of purchasing a Ticket, either because there is no Ticket office open or self-service Ticket machine…
“The price of the Ticket you purchase will be the same as if you had bought a Ticket at the station from which you first departed.”
When approached on the train, the Train Manager refused to accept my Railcard and insisted I should pay for a full price ticket. Since I believed this would be the wrong ticket I declined to purchase it.
The situation was not helped by the Train Manager making a further error in issuing me with a £0 fare ticket and Travel Irregularity Report from the wrong originating station (Cheltenham instead of Ashchurch) which I believe has aggravated the difficulties surrounding this case as I suspect TIL were given the wrong journey details by Cross Country Trains, when this matter was referred to you. Unfortunately I failed to notice this at the time I was handed the ticket. I will be taking that, and other related matters up separately with Cross Country Trains as the provider of the service concerned.
I am confident in my belief that I offered to pay the correct fare, and remain willing to pay that sum. At this stage I am fully prepared to present my case to a Court should you seek to pursue it. In the mean time I intend to also raise the matter with Transport Focus.
I am therefore enclosing a cheque in payment of £19.32 which I believe to be the correct fare between Ashchurch and Birmingham New Street subject to a Senior Railcard discount.
I would conclude by asking you to look again at this case, with a view to:
- appreciating that I joined the train at a station with no ticketing facilities,
- sought to buy a ticket on board at the correct Railcard discounted rate, in accordance with the relevant Conditions of Travel
- accepting my payment of the correct fare as enclosed
- removing your threat of court action.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
CC: Transport Focus
Enc: Payment
ENDS
PS If you want to avoid the Court (my option C) then you could amend the end of the letter and any relevant related bits to say eg
"I am putting on record that with extreme reluctance I am paying the sum you have requested so save the time and expense of court action. Since I believe the sum is unreasonable I shall seek refund of it from Cross Country Trains and enlist Transport Focus / Rail Ombudsman along with my MP in that"
Or maybe you could do that when they reply to you re the above but before it gets any closer to urt?
It may then occur to them that it will cost more than £70-£90 of their admin time to respond to those parties when they investigate and ask for each parties 'evidence' etc...