A woman from Wales was left shocked when she received a court bill of £483, for putting her foot on a train seat.
Kim Brown was taken to court by Merseyside train operator, Merseyrail. She said the way her case was handled was “ridiculous”, reports Wales Online.
Merseyrail has been criticised in the past for its strict enforcement of a British railway rule that says: “No person shall bother or purposely disturb the comfort or convenience of any person on the railway.”
In just one week in December, 36 passengers – including five from Wales – were taken to court by Merseyrail for the offence.
Almost all of the 36 people had to pay court bills of £483. During that time, no other train company brought a similar case.
Ms Brown, a 40 year old mum from Sealand in Flintshire, was one of those fined. A Merseyrail officer noticed her with a foot on the empty seat opposite while she was travelling from Hooton to Liverpool Central.
When asked why, she responded: “Hungover, don’t use trains, unaware of the byelaws.”
Merseyrail’s initial fine for breaking a byelaw is £60. However, Ms Brown said she tried to call the operator a few times to pay the penalty but couldn’t get through.
She said that “within a couple of weeks”, she received a letter stating her case had gone to court.
This resulted in a £220 fine, an £88 victim services surcharge, and £175 for the operator’s prosecution costs. Merseyrail stated it gives people 21 days to pay the initial penalty before pressing charges.
Ms Brown expressed her shock, saying: “When I got a letter saying I owed £483 I was like, ‘Are you actually kidding?'”
She called the situation “ridiculous” and admitted she didn’t know about the rule as she hadn’t used a train in years.
She suggested a first warning would be more fair and questioned whether the operator’s approach was proportionate given the current cost of living crisis.
The mum, who writes bids for charities for a living, also pointed out that her shoes were clean.
