A train passenger who bought an “anytime” rail ticket has been threatened with prosecution because his train journey started before 10am.
Sam Williamson, 22, from Glossop, told Yahoo News he has received a letter in the post from Northern Rail claiming he should have paid £1.90 more for a train journey he took from Broadbottom to London last month, and could be taken to court.
Williamson had purchased the “anytime single” using his 16-25 railcard on a train due to leave before 10am on 5 September. However, Williamson says he has fallen foul of little-known terms and conditions, which he says was not on the screen when he bought the ticket.
The 16-25 Railcard website states that passengers using the railcard “can travel anytime, but a minimum fare of £12 applies to all journeys made between 4:30am and 9:59am, Monday to Friday excluding Advance fares.”
It adds: “This minimum fare does not apply on public holidays or throughout July and August.”
So, this afternoon I got home to find a lovely letter from @northernassist telling me about how they wanted to prosecute me for using the below ticket to travel on the specified route at a peak time.
I paid £1.90 less than the fare they say I should have paid.
A thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/BhcxSvGtnQ— Sam W (@SamMarkWill) October 8, 2024
Williamson insists he made an innocent mistake as he had previously travelled the same journey in the summer (when the restrictions didn’t apply) and there had been no problem.
“I have done stuff before where I’ve had to do enhanced DBS checks, and if this goes on someone’s criminal record, I think that’s absolutely crazy. I think it’s completely disproportionate,” he told Yahoo News.
When the ticket inspector informed him his railcard was not valid, Williamson says he offered to pay the difference or a fixed penalty notice on the spot. However, the conductor said he had to report the incident to Northern Rail for them to investigate.
Williamson received a letter from Northern Rail on 8 October threatening him with a fine and a potential criminal record.
Williamson, who has a master’s in engineering from Oxford University, said he has an “opportunity” to explain his situation within 14 days – though once he received the letter, six days had already lapsed.
“I’ve emailed the revenue protection team with all the info I can, so I hope this will work out OK,” he tweeted after sharing his story. “However, I’m understandably worried that an innocent mistake over a confusing and opaque rule – that only saved me £1.90! – will lead to a punishment of £100s and a criminal record.”
Harry Gray, a campaigner from Manchester, told Yahoo News that this rule is “misleading and unfair.”
He said: “The ‘Anytime Single’ offered by Northern should be valid for travel at any time of the day. It’s appalling that Northern continue to use private prosecutions – leaving people with a criminal record for buying what they thought was a valid ticket. Have we learnt nothing from the unfair mistreatment of the post office scandal victims?”
Yahoo News has contact Northern Rail for comment.
