A 22 year old man was left stunned when he was slapped with a £100 fine after showing his train ticket to staff. Tom Hall, who had bought his ticket via the Trainline app in a rush, was shocked when he was told at the station that he had to cough up £100.
He said: “I got to the gate and showed my ticket – then I got this £100 fine. The inspector told me I could have got a much higher fine as well.”
Thameslink clarified that Tom should have bought a ticket before boarding the train. Despite the ticket offices being closed, there were machines available for use, he said.
Tom expressed his frustration over the hefty fine, and added: “When customers make minor mistakes like mine, and clearly have a record of paying full price for tickets, they are forced to pay a substantial fine,” reports MyLondon.
A representative from Thameslink explained to The Mirror: “The customer in this instance boarded a train without having a ticket. It was for this reason that they were issued with a Penalty Fare Notice (PFN), which is in line with the industry policy. If a customer believes they have been incorrectly issued a PFN, they have the right to appeal.”
