Hi everyone, I'm a new member and hope someone can help.
(I've copied and pasted some parts from another forum which I initially asked for advice from before some members referred me to here, so tenses may not be 100% )
I ordered advance tickets on the 26th January to depart from Bristol Parkway to Norwich which departed on the 7th February for a University Interview.
The first stretch of the journey, the First Great Western service from Bristol Parkway to London Paddington which left at 10:31 and was due to arrive at 12:00. Unfortunately however, the train was delayed just outside of Royal Wootton Bassett for almost two hours due to a "signal failure" which apparently "wiped out almost all signals west of Swindon".
I asked the train manager what I should do due to me having a ticket for a train from Liverpool Street to Norwich specifically for 13:00. The train manager told me to just board as normal, explain the situation and should be fine because it wasn't a fault of my own why I was late, and added that I'm eligable for a refund because the delay was over 60 minutes. I eventually got into Paddington approximately 13:30.
I then got the Underground from Paddington to Liverpool Street which went fine.
I then waited for and boarded the 15:00 Greater Anglia train to Norwich. The conductor came past at around 15:40 to check the tickets. I tried to explain my situation to her, but she was quite unsympathetic, rude and was making me out to be a flat out fare dodger! I asked if she would be able to cotact Bristol Parkway station or First Great Western to confirm there was a signal failure but she said that she wasn't prepared to do that and then told me I had to pay for another ticket and then claim it back at a later date. I didn't have much cash on me so she said she would invoice me in the form of an Unpaid Fare Notice for £58.70 and that I had 21 days from issue to pay or I would be "prosecuted".
I went on the website and some of the information on the notice has been filled in very badly, some of my details have been filled in wrong (postcode) despite her having my driving licence to copy from. Also, the Unpaid Fare Notice has a 'GU' number which is five numbers long but on the appeals website it was saying at the time that it needed to be seven numbers long, and the "Authorised User No" entry at the bottom was filled in completely illegibly.
The IRCAS sent me a letter on the 1st March 2012 to say I now owed £88.70 (£58.70 for the ticket itself; £30.00 'administration' fee). I tried to appeal at this stage, due to the Fare Notice Number being readable. I sent my apeal no problems and the dispute was temporarily suspended, pending enquiries.
Now, I've had a letter through from the IRCAS, saying I still owe £88.70 and demanding I pay within 14 days of the date of the letter (19th March), which I received just today of all days. My appeal has not been considered due to being outside the deadline.
I'm now thinking what to do?
Also, I have a letter from First Great Western from when I retrieved a full refund from them which states the date, time and the nature of the incident.
(I've copied and pasted some parts from another forum which I initially asked for advice from before some members referred me to here, so tenses may not be 100% )
I ordered advance tickets on the 26th January to depart from Bristol Parkway to Norwich which departed on the 7th February for a University Interview.
The first stretch of the journey, the First Great Western service from Bristol Parkway to London Paddington which left at 10:31 and was due to arrive at 12:00. Unfortunately however, the train was delayed just outside of Royal Wootton Bassett for almost two hours due to a "signal failure" which apparently "wiped out almost all signals west of Swindon".
I asked the train manager what I should do due to me having a ticket for a train from Liverpool Street to Norwich specifically for 13:00. The train manager told me to just board as normal, explain the situation and should be fine because it wasn't a fault of my own why I was late, and added that I'm eligable for a refund because the delay was over 60 minutes. I eventually got into Paddington approximately 13:30.
I then got the Underground from Paddington to Liverpool Street which went fine.
I then waited for and boarded the 15:00 Greater Anglia train to Norwich. The conductor came past at around 15:40 to check the tickets. I tried to explain my situation to her, but she was quite unsympathetic, rude and was making me out to be a flat out fare dodger! I asked if she would be able to cotact Bristol Parkway station or First Great Western to confirm there was a signal failure but she said that she wasn't prepared to do that and then told me I had to pay for another ticket and then claim it back at a later date. I didn't have much cash on me so she said she would invoice me in the form of an Unpaid Fare Notice for £58.70 and that I had 21 days from issue to pay or I would be "prosecuted".
I went on the website and some of the information on the notice has been filled in very badly, some of my details have been filled in wrong (postcode) despite her having my driving licence to copy from. Also, the Unpaid Fare Notice has a 'GU' number which is five numbers long but on the appeals website it was saying at the time that it needed to be seven numbers long, and the "Authorised User No" entry at the bottom was filled in completely illegibly.
The IRCAS sent me a letter on the 1st March 2012 to say I now owed £88.70 (£58.70 for the ticket itself; £30.00 'administration' fee). I tried to appeal at this stage, due to the Fare Notice Number being readable. I sent my apeal no problems and the dispute was temporarily suspended, pending enquiries.
Now, I've had a letter through from the IRCAS, saying I still owe £88.70 and demanding I pay within 14 days of the date of the letter (19th March), which I received just today of all days. My appeal has not been considered due to being outside the deadline.
I'm now thinking what to do?
Also, I have a letter from First Great Western from when I retrieved a full refund from them which states the date, time and the nature of the incident.