To think she's in big trouble

[skatermom]

My 14 year old daughter went out into town with her friend yesterday afternoon being bank holiday Monday. We live in a small village and she walks everywhere mostly. This time, they decided to get on the train and thought she would buy a ticket on the train. Her friend has a season ticket due to taking a train for school.
Well, the train conductor gave her a penalty notice for £50 and that a letter will be sent to her address as to what to do.

The problem is that she said she was not about to give her name and address to a stranger so she gave them a false name AND address!
So we will never receive said letter!
I've been so worried because I know it's an offence to not have a ticket but a worse one to give false details. I'm sure it's a criminal offence!
I'm so worried that she'll be on a CCTV somewhere or a 'wanted' ad placed out for her. I haven't slept all night thinking about this.

What would you do? Will they come find her?
Am I unreasonable to think she will be in big trouble with this?

she was wrong to give a false name and address
she has the fine so go pay it, no need to let on she gave a false name and address

I don’t think anything serious will happen. How many ‘wanted’ posters do you ever see? People leap over tube barriers daily in London without censure.

I can’t believe some people here are congratulating her on being clever and independent. You know these kinds of posters will be bringing up kids who will ‘stick it to the man’ and be general irritants to society.

I hope your daughter is contrite and reflecting now. That would be my immediate goal.

@Layinwait woah! What is going on with you? Very wild imagination you have there! My daughter isn't 'comfortable' with lies, she made up something on the spur of the moment when she thought of no other way out of a scary situation. She told me because I'm her mother and she would tell me if something bad happened to her! My reference to tiktok and Nickelodeon was their naive way of going about life as though it's on TV and all will be fine - always happy endings imagined. Like when something happens on a teen comedy and all is laughs and happy endings. My daughter doesn't act the way you've described 'lairy'. It sounds like perhaps you describe yourself or your own child there. Lots of projection. You've made a lot up and I'm truly amazed. I know there's no point explaining it because you are likely to just twist my words again. I'll let you enjoy it.

@ELOU1111 She had no problems with train fare. She has money on her bank card and a bus pass for the same journey.

Yep ok. Still reckon I’m right 😉

Wtf? Where the hell do you live? I live in the southeast I have 7 stations within 10 miles of me and only 2 in the nearest town have barriers the others don't even have ticket office and 1 the newest only opened in July doesn't even have a ticket machine you are expected to buy online.
I bought the wrong ticket a single instead of return and just paid the difference on board and have loads of times bought tickets on the train when running behind and no time to get one on a station.
So this was either an overzealous ticket collector or and OP be prepared to except this, she tried to claim she got on at the last station rather than the one she did get on at.. they do watch.

Smart cookie
thought the police would be in contact
So was getting in there first

How about telling her to donate the actual fare to a charity so she can do some good? The train companies really are not going to miss the amount. Then she has not benefitted financially from this situation.

The inspector sounds light a right arsehole for not letting her buy a ticket on the train. If they do not have ticket machines they should have to accept people buying them from the inspectors.

Do police actually turn up for unpaid fares? If that is true I guess then they must have solved all the open abuse and assault cases.

@Layinwait I'm thinking the only way you could say the things you did is that you haven't read the full thread.
There wasn't any police there either. She is usually very well behaved, usually noticed by adults for being polite in her dealings with people.
But I'll leave it here.

To everyone, I've spoken to her about it at length today. She was pretty shaken up about it when she got home and still today. She has always had her passes so never had an experience such as this.

That poster has jumped the shark. Don't give them what they want. Just ignore and focus on the intelligent posts.

I travel by train frequently albeit not at village stations. Given how officious they are at the stations I go through I was surprised they don’t have barriers at almost all stations.

Added to the fact we have a teenager who has lied to an official, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility they would lie about something else.

Within 2 posts I then said fair enough. But no, you decided to ignore that, think it’s ok to swear and be professionally offended so yes when I read “LOL” and stupid comments like yours I do despair at the idiots on this site.

@Schmokin where I live in Scotland there's not a barrier until you get to Edinburgh. You buy your ticket on the train. And sometimes no ticket person is on the train so you don't!

@PlipPlopChoo the fare was £2.80; it will make very little difference to her. She wasn't trying to dodge the fare. She already volunteers with 2 different charities in her spare time, especially during the 6 weeks holiday. She gets no payment, lunch nothing from there. She'll be going back to just one from next week when school opens.

@DrSbaitso I took the bait. Thank you.

That's OK, I did too at first. There are people on here who make shit up and present it as fact for real, so it was plausible at first. These kids need to work out when to stop.

On some routes, including the one I travel on daily, you are now required to have a ticket or a "promise to pay slip" before you travel.
You used to be able to buy on board but that's no longer allowed. They often have revenue protection officers on board and at stations to check and give out fines.

i imagine she was an easy target being a teenager, i think the inspectors get fed up with teenagers.
i was stopped twice, when a teenager
once when i hadnt even got off the train but was meeting my bf off the train, but i had traveled in earlier.

however i both occasions my season ticket had run out.
i then got a visit from british transport police where i pleaded my case.
honesty is the best policy imo

Ignore the ridiculous comments about "marching her down to the station and making her pay". i wouldn't pay it. £50 over a £2.80 fare? Fuck that. Move on. They don't know who she is.

That's what I thought.

OP she’s a teen who panicked, I doubt anything will come of £2.80. As long as she knows not to do it again, what more can you do 🤷‍♀️

None where I live either and I live in a city

No, she’ll be fine.

Seriously? How many mistakes have you made growing up? It’s easy to be judgemental at someone else’s expense. Where we live the ticket booth is always out of order. This happened to my daughter who started taking a picture to show the conductor when she couldn’t buy a ticket. Can’t tell you how many times she ended up with a slip of paper because they didn’t care. Not advocating lying but she’s a child and they often panic in situations where authorities are involved. She’ll learn.

There is no point as you won’t be receiving a fine but if your daughter had given your real address I would consider complaining about the inspector. It’s very normal to buy a ticket from the inspector if you don’t have one. Sometimes the ticket machines aren’t working or other problems like that. Some people (definitely not me as a teenager!) just don’t buy one unless they’re getting off at a station with barriers or an inspector comes. To think you would have got a £50 fine for a £2.80 journey that your daughter was willing to pay for is just ridiculous and unless your daughter was being rude or refusing to pay he’s been a bit power mad imo

You daughter got fined multiple times for not having a ticket? @BaconChops