Underpayment of ticket - "80p mistake" - results in escalating penalties

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the Belfast Telegraph

A 78-year-old Northern Ireland peer has vowed to go to jail rather than be "browbeaten by bureaucrats" over a train fare.

Former Ulster Unionist Lord Maginnis - currently waiting to go into hospital for surgery - is to be summoned before Dungannon Magistrates Court over an incident two years ago concerning a train ticket.

He has been accused of not paying a train fare at Gatwick Airport in London on March 5, 2014.

However, Lord Maginnis has counter-claimed that he mistakenly bought a one-day ticket instead of a three-day ticket while his granddaughter was with him, and so when he was returning to Gatwick his ticket was out of date.

He claimed he had been hounded for two years over 80p, after buying a £22.25 ticket instead of a £23.05 ticket. The peer is now being asked to pay more than £1,400, including a fine and court costs.

The case initially appeared before South London Magistrates Court, where Lord Maginnis was ordered to pay a total of £1,478.90, which consisted of a fine of £220, along with compensation of £19.90 and costs of £1,239.

However, with nothing paid by November 23 last year, the case was ordered to be transferred to Dungannon Magistrates Court.

Lord Maginnis was not present at a hearing in Dungannon yesterday, nor was any legal representative on his behalf.

A court clerk advised the summons had been served by post, leading District Judge John Meehan to rule it must now be served on Lord Maginnis in person.

This will order him to attend court, or have a lawyer deal with the matter in his absence.

Failure to address unpaid fines can now be dealt with by committal warrant.

In the case against Lord Maginnis, and depending on the discretion of the judge, this could be up to 45 days' imprisonment.

The peer told the Belfast Telegraph last night he will go to jail rather than pay the fine.

He said he had written to the Public Prosecutions Service (PPS) over the handling of the matter.

"I printed out my bank account for three years and every week by week by week I have paid the right fare, just on that occasion I was travelling with my wee granddaughter - and that's maybe where I made the mistake - I bought a single ticket for her and a ticket for myself that was 80p short," he said.

"I said to the judge in the court: 'Look, this is ridiculous, I am not paying this'. So I have now got a fine of about £1,400. Overall, the whole thing will cost me £5,000 for a mistake."

[grahame]

From the Belfast Telegraph

Goods belonging to Lord Maginnis of Drumglass are to be seized and sold to cover the amount owed in an outstanding fine which he continues to refuse to pay, a judge has ruled.

Representing himself Lord Maginnis took up position in the benches usually reserved for the prosecution team.

According to court papers, the seventy-eight year old peer of Park Lane, Dungannon was convicted of boarding a train without a valid ticket in London on 5 March 2014.

The case initially appeared before South London Magistrates' Court where Lord Maginnis was ordered to pay a total of £1,478.90, which consisted of a fine of £220, along with compensation of £19.90 and costs of £1,239.

... [snip]

[LiskeardRich]

He reportedly had a day return, when in fact he needed a period return so used the return portion 3 days after expiry.
I've heard elsewhere a couple of days back he was making a stand against the unfair treatment by the railway of people who make genuine errors.

[ChrisB]

And if he had been flying with the incorrectly-bought return? He would have had to buy again (no making up the odd 80p!)

So he really should have paid up at the first opportunity when some would have allowed an upgrade. No sympathy

[Chris from Nailsea]

Posting somewhat 'tongue in cheek' here 

I rather think that a 78-year-old Northern Ireland peer, currently waiting to go into hospital for surgery, and who has vowed to go to jail rather than be "browbeaten by bureaucrats" over a train fare, is simply making his point. 

He could indeed have paid up on previous occasions, but he's apparently seeing just how far this one will go.

[Tim]

And if he had been flying with the incorrectly-bought return? He would have had to buy again (no making up the odd 80p!)

So he really should have paid up at the first opportunity when some would have allowed an upgrade. No sympathy

Really, I managed to purchase an incorrect fare with Lufthansa once.  It was during a time where there was a "Kids travel free" promotion for German domestic flights only.  Due to my spending hours on the website trying to find a bargain, I managed somehow to purchase the wrong ticket for 2 out of 4 of my party (partly my fault but compounded by a confusing website, overuse of the back button on the browser, having multiple browser windows open at once and browser boxes that were partly filled in).  Somehow I managed to purchase Heathrow-Munich-Heathrow for the adults and a domestic flight departing at the same time for the kids.  Lufthansa's website was perhaps slightly to blame as it had allowed me to purchase tickets for an infant on a flight with no accompanying adult but I ended up with an invalid and moderately cheap ticket being issued which I failed to spot until the day of the flight. 

I was unable to check the kids in online so we turned up at Heathrow with plenty of time to spare.  After being directed to the ticketing desk it was pointed out that I didn't have a valid ticket for the kids.  My look of genuine surprise must have convinced them that it was an honest mistake and there followed some nervous waiting whilst various things were typed on a computer, people in a back room consulted and a phone call made.  Five minutes later I was handed a print out (I remember it well it was on a yellowing scrappy piece of paper torn off an old fashioned tractor feed printer) which was new tickets for the whole party.  No extra money was taken. 

Grateful for Lufthansa's flexibility and the kindness of their staff, I have since favoured Lufthansa over BA^» (British Airways - about) for my fairly regular business trips to Munich and spread good things about the airline around my office so I am sure Lufthansa's flexibility was good for their business.   I always check my tickets carefully these days. 

[TaplowGreen]

From the Belfast Telegraph

Goods belonging to Lord Maginnis of Drumglass are to be seized and sold to cover the amount owed in an outstanding fine which he continues to refuse to pay, a judge has ruled.

Representing himself Lord Maginnis took up position in the benches usually reserved for the prosecution team.

According to court papers, the seventy-eight year old peer of Park Lane, Dungannon was convicted of boarding a train without a valid ticket in London on 5 March 2014.

The case initially appeared before South London Magistrates' Court where Lord Maginnis was ordered to pay a total of £1,478.90, which consisted of a fine of £220, along with compensation of £19.90 and costs of £1,239.

... [snip]

................I wonder if the action to be taken would have been the same were the accused to be Martin McGuinness?

[ChrisB]

Why on earth not these days? Although he isn't as stupid as Maginnis, I'll bet.

[Tim]

You don't have to be stupid to make a mistake.  I think that the problem here is that perhaps the railway is not distinguishing between an honest mistake (the repercussions of which should be to be made to put it right - ie either pay the missing 80p or, if upgrade is not allowed by the original ticket conditions, buy a new ticket at £20 or whatever) and criminal defrauding of the railway (the repercussions of which should be something punitive like a huge fine)

We shouldn't be fining anyone £1,239 for an honest mistake. 

[John R]

I recently messed up the purchase of advance tickets to London for myself (from SWI^» (Swindon - next trains)) and my son (from NLS) such that we were booked on different trains, 30 mins apart.  Duh! So I sought out the TM^‡(resolve) prior to SWindon, explained what I had done and asked to buy a new ticket for myself.

I'm glad to say that she waived the offer to sell me a new ticket with "mistakes happen". I'd like to think that the fact that I went to find her made it clear that I was not trying it on, and it was a genuine mistake which didn't warrant the purchase of a new ticket.  Sufficed to say, if she had sold me a new one, I would have had no complaint, as my ticket wasn't valid, period.

[ChrisB]

Tim - agree about making a mistake - the stupidity was not paying up at first opprtunity, whether the 80p or a penalty fare.

The fine wasn't £1,239. That was the final cost of his stupidity, for ignoring rather than paying up at first opportunity. Hence zero sympathy from me