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Apologise for the length of this.

I had a "fare evasion" client. Got on at somewhere near Stockport going to Liverpool. Machine didn't work, and guard waved client through and said "pay at Manchester Piccadilly". Client duly did, and ticket was bought saying "Manchester Stations to Liverpool Stations". Inspector noticed that client had not entered the station afresh but had got off another train and asked client where he boarded. Client told him, and inspector decided it was the wrong fare as it said Manchester and not the place he boarded.

Client told inspector that ticket office gave him that ticket as it is the same price. Inspector couldn't give a **** and took client's details.

Northern Rail then wrote a serious of increasingly threatening letters (including one advising the client he could go to prison for breach of some sort of Victorian Bills of Exchange act or something). But they kindly advised they'll drop the case if you pay us a "penalty" of £100. Except it isn't a penalty at all, as it simply goes to the rail operator in profits, to be divvied up between the various private companies including the security guards (who presumably get paid on commission).

Northern rail issued a summons. Then Arriva trains (a separate company, who had since won the franchise, but which gave them no legal authority to take over a prosecution started by a different private prosecutor) continued to prosecute our client for breach of a non-existent byelaw. But they'll drop it if the client pays £150. (Which I always thought was more properly referred to as "blackmail", but hey ho). If they win, they say, they'll get their £150 "costs" and client will pay a fine, victim surcharge and compensation order for the lost revenue.

We gets to court and I run an abuse of process argument (including the byelaw which didn't exist, and the change of prosecutor, and the blackmail), which the DJ at Bolton Mags refused. The prosecuting barrister (who appeared without an instructing solicitor despite not having direct access rights) then offered no evidence as it wasn't in the public interest. Because guess what - the cost of a ticket from Manchester IS the same as the cost of the ticket from Bredbury (or wherever it was).

Outcome = neck end of £1,000 in costs from central funds to us, and no cost payable by Arriva. A very cheap way for them to undertake debt collection!

And for the other poor mugs, who either pay up on the blackmail letter, or attend court unrepresented and get brow-beaten into pleading guilty - well there's £150 a piece in ready cash, collected by the Magistrates Court to line the coffers of Arriva (which is actually Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway company).

So no, I do not think the courts should be doing anything to make scams like this easier for railway companies.

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