A BRIT commuter has been left with a whopping £470 fine and a criminal record – after underpaying a measly £4.50 for a train ticket.
The unnamed woman was pursued by Northern Rail in a case heard at Manchester Magistrates’ Court after her journey from Manchester Picadilly to Grindleford, Derbyshire.
The woman had purchased an off-peak return ticket with the intent of using her rail discount card – which had expired.
Now, the company’s decision to pursue her over such a meagre sum has been slammed by Brits who branded it a “gross misuse of power”.
The woman’s story was shared to social media yesterday, detailing that when it was discovered that her discount card was expired, her details were taken by Northern Rail.
The woman’s ticket – with a discount applied – ended up being £4.57 cheaper than the ticket she should have had.
From there, the rail company sent a letter to the woman advising her that she would be pursued legally over the matter, but this was allegedly ignored.
The rail company then sent the woman a fixed penalty notice, pursuing her relentlessly over the minor fare difference.
When this was also ignored, Northern Rail took the matter to court, but the accused woman did not attend, and a verdict was reached in her absence.
Northern Rail are now due a total of £471 from the woman to cover the fare difference, but it remains unclear if this has been enforced or paid for yet, with the accused being absent from the proceedings.
An image of the court’s verdict was shared to social media yesterday detailing the proceedings.
The caption read: “A person has been given a criminal record and a £471 fine in her absence at Manchester Magistrates.
“The ticket she had was £4.57 cheaper than the ticket she should have had, as her railcard expired four months before. Great use of court time Northern Rail.”
The post received over 7,000 likes and more than 190 comments from infuriated users who slammed Northern Rail for wasting the court’s time.
One user said: “Ridiculous – especially as some of the apps boot you through to a ticket that you don’t actually want/is more inflexible without jetting you know what you’re buying.”
Another added: “That’s one of those false prosecutions that should never have got so far.”
A third wrote: “Gross abuse of power. The entire UK rail network love stinging people for [thousands] in fines when they can.
“Has to be said though, she probably could have argued this and definitely would have been okay in court if it was an honest mistake – so why didn’t she?”
Another replied: “What? Aren’t they meant to just charge you the difference if your railcard is out of time? This is madness.”
