Charges dropped for commuter's £450 railcard fine

A commuter who was fined £450 for not being able to show her railcard on a train has had all charges against her dropped.

Molly McGregor, from London, was prosecuted and fined in her absence at court for not showing a railcard for her journey in May from St Albans to Luton Airport Parkway.

She claimed she had not uploaded her railcard to the app, but did prove she had bought one by showing a ticket inspector her receipt.

The rail company, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), had sent the court letters to the wrong address and she never received them.

GTR also said it had asked Ms McGregor to send in her valid railcard to prevent further action "which she did not do".

The 29-year-old only found out about the £450 fine after she was threatened with prosecution on another occasion.

She made a mistake and selected a 16-25 discounted train ticket instead of a 26-30 one from London Bridge to her home in St Albans. They both give the same discount.

Ms McGregor had sent in proof of her railcard after it wouldn't load on her phone and she couldn’t show it to staff. It was then the company noticed her fare mistake.

Last week she appeared in court and told magistrates she had not been informed of the charges against her or the fine as GTR had sent all correspondence to the wrong address.

She was told later that the company had dropped all charges.

Passenger watchdog Transport Focus has pleaded for train companies to treat passengers more fairly when they make mistakes.

"We know from talking to passengers how confusing the current system is – no-one thinks you should have to spend ages checking detailed rules and restrictions before getting on a train," said Alex Robertson, chief executive of Transport Focus recently.

The Department for Transport has promised "the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation, including simplifying fares".

Among the options under consideration are pay-as-you-go and digital season tickets that can be used across the rail network.

Ms McGregor told BBC London: "I am pleased with the outcome of this case, and relieved to hear that an independent review of rail fare enforcement is going ahead - it feels long overdue.

"I agree with the Transport Secretary's statement that 'people who’ve made genuine mistakes shouldn’t be prosecuted' and I hope that more people affected begin to take action against the unjust prosecutions they are facing.

"The process can be very daunting, time-consuming and difficult to navigate."

A GTR spokesperson said: "If someone uses a railcard for discounted travel then they need to be able to show it to our ticket inspectors on their journey.

"That’s only fair and is also part of The National Rail Conditions of Travel, which apply to all passengers who purchase a train ticket.

"We are genuinely sorry Molly’s address was recorded incorrectly for her first journey but we did ask her to send in her valid railcard to prevent any action being taken, which she did not do."