London Banter - View Single Post

[email protected] · November 23rd 04, 11:56 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In article ,
(pcuz) wrote:

A friend recently travelled on an underground ticket that was zone 2
and 3 only, she travelled from brent cross through to kennington on
the northern line.

They just moved to the area so did not realise that you had to get a
zone 123 if you are travelling through zone 1, we thought you only
needed this if you got off the train at any station in zone 1.

Anyway she got stopped at the station at Oval and they took her
details and gave her a degrading telling off in front of the other
customers and were very rude in dealing with her, which is now what I
have come to expect of LU staff.

They read her rights to her and we recived a letter in the post from
LU saying that she has 10 days to write back and give her side of
story, so they can prepare a case to take to court. This seems a
little bit harsh when the entire tube system is littered with warnings
a £10 fine for travelling without a ticket and here she is travelling
with a ticket but not realise that she needed a different ticket.

But lots of people do this because it's a lot cheaper than getting a
ticket for all the relevant zones. They take a chance that they don't get
caught in the same way as those that don't bother buying a ticket take
that chance, as do those in the past that travelled from zone 5 to zone 1
with just a season ticket coving zone 1 and zone 5.

Revenue protection probably get the same story hundreds of times, they've
got to decide if the person is telling the truth or not - like the "well i
had the ticket when I got on the train!" "I am only 15", "I didn't know I
needed a child photocard" (just about every adult masquerading as a child
on the busses use that excuse" etc. etc. I'm sure they're pretty good at
sizing the person up. In the end, whatever the excuse, a valid ticket is
needed - no valid ticket then a fine or taken to court and let the court
decide. Personally, I would never believe any excuse, I'm not that
trusting any more!

Roger

She is now worried that she will go to court get a fine and a criminal
record.

Has anybody else come across and delt with this??? and have any advice
on what we should do or what could happen? do they treat LU fines like
a car fine or do you get a criminal record which seems a little over
the top???