-:Undertaker:-
12-07-2010, 10:05 PM
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23731140-fare-dodgers.do
http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/ticket-men-415.jpg
The horror stories are many. The pensioner physically dragged, crying, off a crowded train by two "revenue protection" goons because she had forgotten her senior citizens railcard. The passengers stung for £20 because there was a queue at the ticket office and they had to hop on without paying or miss the train. The people bullied into paying unfair penalties by empty threats of prosecution and a criminal record. Today, however, the Standard tells you how you may never have to pay another railway penalty fare again.
Penalty fares - 20 years old this month - began life under British Rail as a reasonable deterrent to fare-dodging. But for some of the privatised rail companies, these £20 fines for not having a ticket have become nice little earners in their own right. One operator made £32 million from them last year alone. Another, Stagecoach's South West Trains, sparked outrage when it started judging its guards' job performance by the number of penalty fare warnings they issued.
Many passengers complain of a "take-no-prisoners" attitude, even where travellers have good reasons for not buying a ticket and every intention of paying. They say they are being penalised for train companies' failure to provide adequate station ticket offices, with staff and opening hours cut even as passenger numbers have risen. But what most people do not know - and what the train companies are understandably reluctant for us to find out - is that more than a few demands for penalty fares are arguably illegal. The railways' new, hard-line approach is essentially a gigantic bluff, relying on our ignorance of our rights and our unwillingness to make a fuss when collared.I have never been fined but I am ready. I use the Merseyrail train services and they are apparently the most harsh and strict rail company in the United Kingdom regarding this issue (they rake in millions each year with this). I always get a child ticket, because I am just that; a child. I will buy an adult ticket when I can legally go down the pub with the railway staff for a pint, until then I will not pay it.
I am unsure what other lines are like where you all live, but many of my friends and people in my school have been fined and I do think it is important that people know their legal rights in the face of bullying by these companies.
4 Even if they pass these tests, politely refuse to pay the penalty and simply pay the full single fare.
On the train or at the station, you have the absolute right to make only "a minimum payment that is equal to the full single fare which [you] would have had to pay for [your] journey if penalty fares had not applied." This is section 8 (2) of the Penalty Fares Rules 2002 - quote it if anyone tries to tell you different. (The full single fare means the fare without any railcard discounts, cheap offers etc.) Ignore any threats that may be made at this point if you refuse to pay the full sum - these are phoney and have no legal basis.Have any of you been fined before/what is your rail service like?
Thread moved by Cosmic (Forum Super Moderator) from 'Discuss Anything'.
http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/ticket-men-415.jpg
The horror stories are many. The pensioner physically dragged, crying, off a crowded train by two "revenue protection" goons because she had forgotten her senior citizens railcard. The passengers stung for £20 because there was a queue at the ticket office and they had to hop on without paying or miss the train. The people bullied into paying unfair penalties by empty threats of prosecution and a criminal record. Today, however, the Standard tells you how you may never have to pay another railway penalty fare again.
Penalty fares - 20 years old this month - began life under British Rail as a reasonable deterrent to fare-dodging. But for some of the privatised rail companies, these £20 fines for not having a ticket have become nice little earners in their own right. One operator made £32 million from them last year alone. Another, Stagecoach's South West Trains, sparked outrage when it started judging its guards' job performance by the number of penalty fare warnings they issued.
Many passengers complain of a "take-no-prisoners" attitude, even where travellers have good reasons for not buying a ticket and every intention of paying. They say they are being penalised for train companies' failure to provide adequate station ticket offices, with staff and opening hours cut even as passenger numbers have risen. But what most people do not know - and what the train companies are understandably reluctant for us to find out - is that more than a few demands for penalty fares are arguably illegal. The railways' new, hard-line approach is essentially a gigantic bluff, relying on our ignorance of our rights and our unwillingness to make a fuss when collared.I have never been fined but I am ready. I use the Merseyrail train services and they are apparently the most harsh and strict rail company in the United Kingdom regarding this issue (they rake in millions each year with this). I always get a child ticket, because I am just that; a child. I will buy an adult ticket when I can legally go down the pub with the railway staff for a pint, until then I will not pay it.
I am unsure what other lines are like where you all live, but many of my friends and people in my school have been fined and I do think it is important that people know their legal rights in the face of bullying by these companies.
4 Even if they pass these tests, politely refuse to pay the penalty and simply pay the full single fare.
On the train or at the station, you have the absolute right to make only "a minimum payment that is equal to the full single fare which [you] would have had to pay for [your] journey if penalty fares had not applied." This is section 8 (2) of the Penalty Fares Rules 2002 - quote it if anyone tries to tell you different. (The full single fare means the fare without any railcard discounts, cheap offers etc.) Ignore any threats that may be made at this point if you refuse to pay the full sum - these are phoney and have no legal basis.Have any of you been fined before/what is your rail service like?
Thread moved by Cosmic (Forum Super Moderator) from 'Discuss Anything'.