What are your rights if you are caught with the wrong train ticket? All the Railcard rules as Northern faces backlash for prosecuting 16-25 travelers

Rail cards are often considered a great way to save money on train tickets, offering passengers a third off most fares and ticket types on the national rail network.

But those who buy the wrong ticket to use with their Railcard could be fined – or worse, a criminal conviction on their record.

Some Railcards, such as 16-25 and 26-30, only offer a discount on Anytime tickets used before 10am on weekdays when the fare costs £12 or more.

And the railway company Northern was accused of exploiting the rules on peak-time train fares to take young passengers to court if they made a mistake in this regard.

After even the Department for Transport admitted that ticketing “has become too complicated”, MailOnline looks at the rules around using Railcards:

A 16-25 Railcard costs £30 for a one-year pass or £70 for a three-year option (file photo)

What is a railcard?

A Railcard is a pass that can be purchased for a third off most fares and ticket types on the national rail network.

What types of Railcards are available?

There are nine types of Railcards: 16-17 Saver; Railway card 16-25; Railway card 26-30; Railway Card for People with Disabilities; Railway card for family and friends; Network rail card; Senior Railway Card; Dois Juntos Railcard and Veterans Railcard.

How much does a Railcard cost?

The cost depends on the type of Railcard and its validity period. All one-year Railcards cost £30, except the Disabled Railcard which costs £20.

You can also purchase a three-year Railcard for 16 to 25, People with Disabilities, Family and Friends, Seniors and Veterans options. All of these cost £70, except for Disabled People, which costs £54.

When can you use a Railcard?

There are different restrictions on when someone can use their Railcard, and a minimum fare applies at certain times.

For example, the 16-25 Railway Card and Railway card 26-30 have a minimum fare of £12 from 4.30am to 10am, Monday to Friday.

This means that the discount cannot be applied to tickets below this cost during this period.

However, the minimum fare does not apply to advance tickets; travel on holidays; or trips during July and August.

As for the separate Network Rail Cardthe discount can only be used on services departing at 10:00 am, from Monday to Friday, excluding holidays. Can be used at any time on weekends.

Additionally, discounts only apply to services in the Network Railcard area – click here to view the map – and a minimum fare also applies to all journeys Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays, which is £13.

THE Senior Railway Card The conditions state that discounts on tickets for journeys on morning peak services are not available for journeys starting and ending in the London and South East area – defined by the same map in the link above – Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

Start times for off-peak services may vary depending on the season.

Sam Williamson, 22, used a 16-25 Railcard for a journey between Broadbottom and Manchester, only to be charged with fare evasion despite paying just £1.90 less than he should have.

What if you forget your Railcard?

If you are unable to present a Railcard, you may be forced to buy a new ticket or be liable for a fine, depending on the train company.

However, the Railcard website states that a rail company will “normally allow you to reclaim this extra expense on the first occasion of each year that this happens”.

It says you ‘will need to provide proof of your Railcard and the original and additional tickets you have purchased or, if you have not yet paid, details of the payment notice or penalty notice’.

The website adds: ‘If you have already paid for additional tickets, you should contact the customer services department of the relevant train company; In the case of a payment notice or penalty notice, you must follow the included instructions on how to dispute or appeal the charge.’

Can you buy a train ticket with a Railcard?

You will only be able to purchase a ticket with train staff on board if there is no ticket office at the station where you started your journey or if the ticket office is closed and there is no ticket machine available to purchase your discounted ticket.

Otherwise, if there were ticketing facilities available at the station, you could be charged the full price of the standard single fare – or be liable for a penalty fare.

Under what law can Railcard rules apply?

Rail companies have rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce the conditions of a Railcard.

Fare evasion is often prosecuted under Section 5(3) of the Railways Regulation Act 1889, relating to ‘intentionally traveling on the railway without having paid the fare’.

Another option is Railway Act 18(1) and 17(1), which covers ‘entering a train to travel without a valid ticket’.

What can a train company do if you have the wrong ticket?

A train operator can take one of three measures if someone is traveling without a valid ticket.

These areas must 1) charge the single fare at any time, without discount, to a station served directly by the train you are on; 2) charge a Penalty Fare on certain trains and stations; or 3) report you for prosecution.

Northern Rail has been accused of heavy-handed tactics for minor errors made by passengers

Do you need to provide your name and address?

If you are unable to present a valid ticket or pay the fare when requested, you will be asked to provide your name and address so that the matter can be followed up.

National Rail’s conditions say it is an offense under the Railway Charter to fail to provide your name and address when asked.

What are your appeal rights if you receive a fine?

If you feel you should not have received a penalty, you can appeal to an appeals body that is independent and separate from the transport provider.

Passengers in England, Wales and Scotland must contact Penalty Services Ltd to appeal within 21 days of the day after the warning is issued.

Some transport operators issue warnings of unpaid fares in lieu of penalty schemes, which is the standard single fare available at the time of travel without a Railcard discount.

You may appeal in writing within a period specified in the notice, which is usually ten days.

London TravelWatch advises people to pay the notice of unpaid fares as quickly as possible to avoid any administrative charges and then deal with the appeal separately.

The group adds that when a railway company believes that you have deliberately avoided paying for your ticket, refused to accept the penalized fare or do not have the means to pay the flat fare, they may decide to begin prosecution proceedings.

What if you miss a train with an advance ticket?

If you have an advance ticket but miss a service because a previous connecting train service was delayed, National Rail conditions state that ‘you may travel on the next train service provided by the railway company you were booked with without penalty’.

What about Off Peak or Super Off Peak tickets?

National Rail’s conditions have a section for anyone using a time-restricted Off Peak or Super Off Peak, correctly dated but invalid for the service they are traveling on; or use a route for which your ticket is not valid; or interrupt the trip when they are not permitted to do so.

They state that those falling under this section ‘will be charged the difference between the fare you paid and the lowest priced ticket valid for the train you are using’.

Digital Railcards can be downloaded via an app available for Apple or Android devices (archive)

Will you get a criminal record for fare evasion?

If you plead guilty to tax evasion in court or are found guilty after a trial, this will be a criminal conviction and will therefore be on your criminal record.

A conviction would also appear in any checks carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) when applying for a job or voluntary role.

The conviction may also have to be disclosed on some visa or immigration applications.

What about convictions for fare evasion declared invalid?

In August, it was revealed that tens of thousands of passengers who were prosecuted and fined for fare evasion will be refunded after a judge ruled that their convictions were null and void.

Seven rail companies, including Northern Rail and Greater Anglia, could face paying millions of pounds to people they sued privately for traveling without a ticket under the controversial single justice procedure (SJP), despite not having permission to do so. .

In an August 15 ruling at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said six “test cases” should be declared “null”, adding that the cases of thousands of other cases would be treated in the same way in the coming months. .

The judge said the Courts Service, Department for Transport and train operating companies would work to identify those affected, and that ‘a team will be set up to begin work to recover the money paid and refund the money to the individuals’ through of November.

Why have Railcards been in the news recently?

A huge row broke out last week after an engineering graduate was threatened with legal action after mistakenly using an invalid train ticket to travel on a Northern train.

Sam Williamson, 22, used his 16-25 Railcard for a journey between Broadbottom and Manchester, only to be charged with fare evasion.

This was because he used an ‘Anytime’ ticket at the wrong time – namely before 10am, when Railcard rules state that tickets must cost at least £12 to qualify for the third-party discount.

The team refused to let him make up the £1.90 difference and insisted on filling out a penalty report. But Northern has now confirmed it will not face any further action.

A spokesperson for the North said: “Tens of millions of passengers travel with us every year to destinations across the North of England and we are committed to providing them with the right tickets at the right prices.

‘We will work with industry and the Department for Transport with the aim of simplifying ticketing for customers.’