Yesterday DS (19) was travelling home from visiting his girlfriend.
According to him: He arrived at the train station in good time but the guard at the barrier would not let him on the train as he said his ticket was not valid without a code. DS showed him the online booking screenshot that showed he was booked on the train, his ticket and railcard thinking this was the code he wanted. The guard said thats not good enough. DS then got really upset and started swearing as he had no money in his account to buy a different ticket and his train had left. Other staff confirmed that DS had the right ticket but didnt want to get invloved. And then the original guard said that it didnt matter anymore because DS behaviour was unreasonable and said leave or I'll get the police. DS said yes please get the police as he thought they would help him with the ticket issue. He waited for the police with the guard for 20minutes. When they arrived they said they couldn't get invloved with ticketing disputes but interviewed DS for his behaviour. He had to give a statement and may be charged under byelaw 6. Which apparently can be a level 3 fine. he wont find out whats is happening for weeks. He has never been in trouble with the police before.
When he got home (we had to transfer money) I checked all his tickets. I think what happened was that he showed the guard the ticket, his rail card but did not show him the seat reservation and this is the code the guard was on about. It says on the ticket that its not valid without the seat reservation. It was all there in his wallet. He has a mild SEN that impacts his processing so the fact that he needed to show this may not have been obvious to him. And its clear that the guard did not explain to DS that it was this he needed to show.
DH has written a complaint to the train operator saying that he should of been let on the train as he had correct ticket and the guard only got the police when he realised that DS did in fact have a valid ticket to divert from his mistake.
DS is extremely stressed by it and so am as I am worring about the implications of a criminal record would have on his life. DS wants to email the police officer to apologise as he doesn't want this hanging over his head. DH is saying no to this as he believes that the guard is in the wrong.
What should we do for the best? DS definitely swore but he also had a valid ticket for the train he was not allowed on. Do you think apologising for swearing would make any difference?