Passengers may win payouts after rail firm broke its own fare rules
Rail passengers may be in line for compensation after Northern Rail broke its own fare evasion rules to prosecute commuters.
Prosecutions of people accused of wrongfully using a 16-25 Railcard to obtain a discount at the wrong time of day are being withdrawn and previous cases are being reviewed, the company said on Monday.
The announcement comes after The Telegraph discovered that Northern appeared to be breaking a rule whereby passengers with a railcard travelling on the wrong train must be offered the chance to pay back the difference on the spot.
The withdrawal of all live cases comes after the state-owned operator, which serves the north of England, threatened to prosecute a 22-year-old over a £1.90 ticket underpayment but did not allow him to make up the difference first.
Railcards – introduced under British Rail half a century ago – give a discount of one third on the usual ticket price. Most of the 29 different types of railcard are only valid after 10am and are subject to a minimum fare of £12, meaning the discount does not apply to tickets costing less than that.
However, most fare websites and apps do not prevent passengers from buying tickets that contravene these rules.
All train tickets are subject to the National Rail Conditions of Travel, which say that if a passenger buys a time-restricted ticket and then accidentally boards a train on which it is not valid, “you will be charged the difference between the fare that you have paid and the lowest price ticket that is valid for the train you are using”.
Yet instead of being offered the chance to pay the difference, some passengers were immediately subjected to threats of prosecution.
Between April 1 last year and March 31 this year, Northern’s debt recovery and prosecution unit investigated 57,302 reports of attempted fare evasion. From those cases, 41,922 Penalty Fare Notices of £100 were issued.
After The Telegraph highlighted the discrepancy, Northern announced that it was halting all railcard fare evasion cases until further notice.
A Northern spokesman said: “With regard to recent reported cases involving use of the 16-25 Railcard with fares under £12 before 10am, we are withdrawing any live cases and will also look to review anyone who has been prosecuted previously on this specific issue.
“We are actively engaged with government and industry to simplify fares to help customers. We understand that fares and ticketing across the railway can, at times, be difficult to understand, and we are reviewing our processes for ensuring compliance with ticket and railcard terms and conditions.”
The Telegraph understands that Department for Transport (DfT) lawyers believe that passengers using railcards should be offered the chance to pay the difference if they make an honest mistake, as the rules state.
Sam Williamson, 22, from Glossop in Derbyshire, was threatened with prosecution by Northern over an alleged £1.90 underpayment. The Oxford engineering graduate received a threatening letter from Northern Rail after he took a train from Broadbottom to Manchester on Sept 5.
He had bought an Anytime Day Single but was challenged by a ticket inspector because he was on a train for which a railcard could not be used. The proceedings were dropped on Friday after Mr Williamson’s case was publicised in the media.
He told The Telegraph that Northern’s decision to end prosecutions was “very good news”, adding: “Further prosecutions would have clearly been disproportionate and unnecessary, and Northern has made the right decision to stop them.
“I hope other train companies will also now adopt this position. As for the review of previous prosecutions, we want to see Northern follow through on it with action that provides justice and fair compensation to all the ordinary people who have been targeted.”
Comparisons are likely to be drawn between the dozens of cases now under review and the 75,000 people who are set to have court fines repaid after train companies wrongfully prosecuted them using the controversial and secretive single justice procedure.
A senior rail insider said: “This whole area is a complete mess because it’s grown up over the years, a bit like the single justice procedure. It’s a bit unreasonable that we expect them [ordinary passengers] to know all this stuff.”
Lauren Bowkett, a senior associate from law firm JMW, called Northern’s decision to drop the cases “an unequivocal change of tack”.
She said: “Although each case turns on its own set of facts, the serious risk that many of Northern’s prosecutions could be unlawful has led to reservations regarding the punitive measures implemented by them, resulting in a blanket approach to withdrawing any live cases and reviewing anyone already prosecuted.
“The National Rail Conditions of Travel give two alternative methods of rectification: to charge you the full, undiscounted anytime single fare, or to charge a penalty fare on certain trains and stations.
“In the reported cases, these options have not been considered, therefore raising the question on each separate case whether the prosecutions are lawful.”
A DfT spokesman said: “We expect Northern and all operators to ensure their policy on ticketing is clear and fair for passengers at all times. Northern are reviewing the details of these cases, and will report back to the department.
“It is clear that ticketing is far too complicated, with a labyrinth of different fares and prices, which can be confusing for passengers. That’s why we have committed to the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation, including simplifying fares to make travelling by train easier.”