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| Stick to your rights. 18/11/2010 at 22:19 #2023 | |
BarryM
2158 posts |
Item courtesy of Tony Bailey RailNewsInternational@yahoogroups.com Let's say that you try to pay for a train journey but there are long queues at the ticket booths and you can't fathom the ticket machines. Signs say you can pay on the train, which is about to depart, so on you jump. That's what Alex Jardine did when he flew from Scotland to Gatwick Airport to see relatives in Brighton. But a "revenue protection" officer, who's on commission, decided that because Alex didn't have a ticket he should pay a penalty fare. Alex refused, citing how difficult it was to buy one at Gatwick and the signs saying that he could buy one on the train. He was prosecuted, the case went to court and was thrown out. Alex wanted his costs paid, understandably, since he'd returned to Brighton from Scotland to defend himself, had taken time off work and is on beta-blockers to cope with the stress of the situation. "Stone me," says Alex, "I then got a letter telling me that my costs would be paid out of central funds. "What? A private company takes you to court, loses, and the taxpayer pays the bill?" He's received £482. No wonder the misguided prosecution went ahead. Southern Railway, as it has confirmed to us, can prosecute as many people as it likes, knowing it might not pay the defenant's costs when it loses. *Southern Railway has contacted us to say that it would never bring a frivolous prosecution and, on the matter of costs, it is up to the court to decide if they should be paid and by whom. So, in retrospect, perhaps some of our ire (and that of Mr Jardine) should have been directed at the court - though let's not overlook that fact that the public would never had ended up paying for this case if Southern Railway had not brought it in the first place. Barry Barry, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Log in to reply |
| Stick to your rights. 18/11/2010 at 22:19 #12555 | |
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BarryM
2158 posts |
Item courtesy of Tony Bailey RailNewsInternational@yahoogroups.com Let's say that you try to pay for a train journey but there are long queues at the ticket booths and you can't fathom the ticket machines. Signs say you can pay on the train, which is about to depart, so on you jump. That's what Alex Jardine did when he flew from Scotland to Gatwick Airport to see relatives in Brighton. But a "revenue protection" officer, who's on commission, decided that because Alex didn't have a ticket he should pay a penalty fare. Alex refused, citing how difficult it was to buy one at Gatwick and the signs saying that he could buy one on the train. He was prosecuted, the case went to court and was thrown out. Alex wanted his costs paid, understandably, since he'd returned to Brighton from Scotland to defend himself, had taken time off work and is on beta-blockers to cope with the stress of the situation. "Stone me," says Alex, "I then got a letter telling me that my costs would be paid out of central funds. "What? A private company takes you to court, loses, and the taxpayer pays the bill?" He's received £482. No wonder the misguided prosecution went ahead. Southern Railway, as it has confirmed to us, can prosecute as many people as it likes, knowing it might not pay the defenant's costs when it loses. *Southern Railway has contacted us to say that it would never bring a frivolous prosecution and, on the matter of costs, it is up to the court to decide if they should be paid and by whom. So, in retrospect, perhaps some of our ire (and that of Mr Jardine) should have been directed at the court - though let's not overlook that fact that the public would never had ended up paying for this case if Southern Railway had not brought it in the first place. Barry Barry, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Log in to reply |
| Stick to your rights. 18/11/2010 at 22:46 #12556 | |
Zoe
252 posts |
Gatwick Airport station is a penalty fares station. You are only allowed to buy a ticket on board a train if it is the Gatwick Express to London Victoria.
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| Stick to your rights. 18/11/2010 at 23:17 #12557 | |
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Lordmwa
148 posts |
Zoe said:Gatwick Airport station is a penalty fares station. You are only allowed to buy a ticket on board a train if it is the Gatwick Express to London Victoria.Correct IIRC - The only bit of southerns network allowing it. And i have seen the signs at gatwick and you could easily believe that was for any trains Log in to reply |