'I'm facing court over £1.90 rail ticket error'

A man who paid £1.90 less than he should have for a train ticket faces being taken to court by a rail firm despite admitting his error and offering to pay a fine or a new fare.

Sam Williamson, 22, from Glossop, has been threatened with prosecution by Northern after he mistakenly bought an invalid £3.65 ticket from Broadbottom to Manchester using his 16-25 railcard last Thursday.

He said the “tiny infraction” was an “innocent mistake” due to him not knowing the railcard could not be used until after 10:00 and he feared he could be landed with a huge fine and a criminal record.

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A spokesman for Northern said everyone had “a duty to buy a valid ticket” before they board the train, and added that 96 per cent of customers “do just that”.

Mr Williamson, a university graduate, was travelling to London via Manchester to take his driving theory test when the conductor told him his ticket was not valid because of the railcard’s terms and conditions.

They stipulate the card cannot be used for fares below £12 between 04:00 and 10:00, Monday to Friday.

The rule does not apply in July and August, when Mr Williamson used his railcard on several similar journeys without falling foul of the rules.

“I said, ‘I am really sorry, this is my mistake, can I buy a new ticket?’,” Mr Williamson said.

He was told he could not buy one or pay a penalty and a travel incident report was filed by the Northern conductor.

Mr Williamson said this was “quite stressful”, and he felt prosecution was an “unreasonable” response to “fundamentally, a difference of £1.90”.

Northern has asked him to explain what happened in writing within two weeks and warned that legal proceedings could follow.

The letter, seen by the BBC transport team sets out the alleged transgression and gives Mr Williamson the opportunity to explain the circumstances of his journey.

Train operating companies, who have powers to take out private prosecutions, would typically review any response and decide whether to proceed with a criminal prosecution, offer an out of court settlement or to take no further action.

‘Confusing rule’
Mr Williamson bought the cheapest anytime single ticket he could find using his 16-25 railcard which was for the 10:29 BST service on Thursday, but believed he could board an earlier train because the ticket was an “anytime” single and therefore didn’t need to be used at a specific time.

He admitted it was his mistake, but said it was not made clear when he bought the ticket on the Northern app.

Mr Williamson said he could not believe an “innocent mistake over a confusing and opaque rule that only saved me £1.90, will lead to a punishment of hundreds of pounds and a criminal record”.

In a post on X seen by millions of users, Mr Williamson called on Northern to make it clearer that “an anytime ticket is not any time with a railcard”.

He said “ambiguous” railcard restrictions should be more clearly publicised, and said he should have been given the chance to resolve the issue with the conductor.
“Why would anyone get the train if this is how they will treat you.”

A Northern spokesman said: “As with all train operators across the UK, everyone has a duty to buy a valid ticket or obtain a ‘promise to pay’ voucher before they board the train and be able to present it to the conductor or revenue protection officer during a ticket inspection.
“The overwhelming majority of our customers – upwards of 96% – do just that.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Ticketing has become far too complicated, which is why we have committed to simplifying it for customers, as part of the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation.”

They added that they expected Northern “to ensure their policy on ticketing is clear and fair for passengers at all times and have instructed the operator to review the details of these cases urgently”.

National Rail, which operates the railcard system, has been contacted for comment.