Fined for No ticket

[user1497787065]

I will start this by saying we live in the south west and the majority of stations we use have no ticket machines and some are request stops so we wave our arm for the train to stop. I know from a recent thread some of you didn't think these existed but they do.

So, this morning my DD and a friend landed at Stansted and got on a train to I think Liverpool Street and when asked for their tickets said they needed to buy them. They were then fined for boarding without a ticket and the journey including fine cost them £71. Is this usual? Should they have had a ticket before boarding? Obviously not the case where we live and they both had the means to purchase a ticket so were not trying to avoid paying. Any hope of a refund if she disputes it?

Any help or opinion appreciated.

Yes, they should buy a ticket before boarding the train and it's really easy to do online once on the train, if you've forgotten.

There will have been signs on the trains telling them they need a ticket in advance and that there's a fine for not doing so too.

I used a rural unmanned station recently. There were still signs saying you need a ticket before boarding, either via the platform ticket machine or online on your phone.

Every young person I know has the Trainline app (with their 16-25 railcard on it) and I'm a convert too. So there is no excuse (sadly ) for fare dodging/forgetting/unable to purchase a ticket these days.

No chance if getting the penalty cancelled.

You do realise how ridiculous you sound?

Plenty seem to forget that their railcard has expired, or never check, and blame it on the Trainline app 'remembering' its existence when they bought a disputed ticket. The problem is that a ticket bought with a railcard that has expired is not a valid ticket, thus the offence of boarding a train without a ticket has been committed, or, if the inspector chooses, the young person must pay the full fare, not just the difference. Some kids seem to think they can buy a 16-25 railcard once, and it lasts until the day before their 26th birthday. They last a year or three years.

You can buy or renew a 1-year 16-25 Railcard up to and including the day before your 26th birthday and keep using it until its expiry date. With 3-year 16-25 Railcards you can buy them up until the day before your 24th birthday, which will make the expiry date the day before your 27th birthday.

There is so much blagging going on that train companies can, and sometimes do, adopt an unforgiving approach. It does seem in this case it was disposed of via a Penalty Fare, so the inspector was giving the girls the benefit of the doubt.

I live on a rural line with request stops, unmanned stations and few ticket machines but on the occasions I travel elsewhere in the country/Europe, I wouldn't dream of getting on the train without a ticket.

We usually buy our tickets on line now (once we know the train has set off and hasn't been cancelledyet again) but we sometimes buy from the guard on the train. If you reach the main town an the guard hasn't appeared then you can buy at the station before you get to the barriers - as it's a common problem here.

These days if travelling by train (when they're actually running in the part of England I currently live in) I normally just buy tickets on an app, was that not an option?

Why on earth would you even try to dispute this? Lesson learned, move on.

Yeah, they didn’t want to buy a ticket and thought they would get away with it….and they didn’t!

I really think this is the crux of it. It was a mistake but a costly one. I’m sure she won’t do it again.

What was your intention in starting this thread, that everyone would agree your DD was in the right to get on a train without a ticket, and show you ways to challenge the fine for travelling without one?

I'm not trying to be mean, but you are not your daughter. You've come up with lots of different reasons why you might struggle to buy a ticket (you live by a very rural station; the ticket machine is placed in such a way that the sun shines on it and you can't see the screen; you don't understand how to buy stuff online) but none of that applies at all since you weren't even there, and the journey didn't involve some rural and overly sunny station, it involved travelling on a very pricy special service (not a normal commuter or local train) between a major airport and London.

If you were the one who'd boarded without a ticket, I think there might be more understanding. How old is your DD and how frequently does she take trains to London?

Stansted Airport train station nearly always has someone on the barriers inspecting tickets. It is also an end of line buffers station and definitely doesn't operate along the lines of a request stop.

I am a fairly regular user of both the airport and its station. It is a large local transport hub.

There are about half a dozen automatic ticket machines (maybe more)and a similar number of manned ticket office windows too, along with ample notices up saying that you should buy a ticket before boarding.

No excuses really, I don't think. I see no grounds to appeal. Just pay the fine and let it be a lesson.

You can always use the Trainline app to get the ticket on your phone before going down to the trains. That usually works, though occasionally you still have to go to the machine to print it.

So, the rest of us operate by buying a ticket in advance of our journey, either via the Trainline app or at the machines/ticket desk but you and your DD don't operate that way??

How do you operate?

I am using Stansted Airport train station tomorrow to go and visit my mother for a few days. I already have my ticket on the Trainline app and can show it on my phone when required. What other way is there?