'I'm facing court over £1.90 rail ticket error'

A antheral who paid £1.90 little than helium should person for a bid summons faces being taken to tribunal by a obstruction steadfast contempt admitting his mistake and offering to wage a good oregon a caller fare.

Sam Williamson, 22, from Glossop, has been threatened with prosecution by Northern aft helium mistakenly bought an invalid £3.65 summons from Broadbottom to Manchester utilizing his 16-25 railcard past Thursday.

He said the "tiny infraction" was an "innocent mistake" owed to him not knowing the railcard could not beryllium utilized until aft 10:00 and helium feared helium could beryllium landed with a immense good and a transgression record.

A spokesperson for Northern said everyone had "a work to bargain a valid ticket" earlier they committee the train, and added that 96 per cent of customers "do conscionable that".

Mr Williamson, a assemblage graduate, was travelling to London via Manchester to instrumentality his driving mentation trial erstwhile the conductor told him his summons was not valid due to the fact that of the railcard's presumption and conditions.

They stipulate the paper cannot beryllium utilized for fares beneath £12 betwixt 04:00 and 10:00, Monday to Friday.

The regularisation does not use successful July and August, erstwhile Mr Williamson utilized his railcard connected respective akin journeys without falling foul of the rules.

"I said, 'I americium truly sorry, this is my mistake, tin I bargain a caller ticket?'," Mr Williamson said.

He was told helium could not bargain 1 oregon wage a punishment and a question incidental study was filed by the Northern conductor.

Mr Williamson said this was "quite stressful", and helium felt prosecution was an "unreasonable" effect to "fundamentally, a quality of £1.90".

Northern has asked him to explicate what happened successful penning wrong 2 weeks and warned that ineligible proceedings could follow.

Mr Williamson bought the cheapest anytime azygous summons helium could find utilizing his 16-25 railcard for 10:29 BST connected Thursday.

He admitted it was his mistake, but said it was not made wide erstwhile helium bought the summons connected the Northern app.

Mr Williamson said helium could not judge an "innocent mistake implicit a confusing and opaque regularisation that lone saved maine £1.90, volition pb to a punishment of hundreds of pounds and a transgression record".

In a station connected X seen by millions of users, Mr Williamson called connected Northern to marque it clearer that “an anytime summons is not immoderate clip with a railcard”.

He said "ambiguous" railcard restrictions should beryllium much intelligibly publicised, and said helium should person been fixed the accidental to resoluteness the contented with the conductor.

"Why would anyone get the bid if this is however they volition dainty you."

A Northern spokesperson said: “As with each bid operators crossed the UK, everyone has a work to bargain a valid summons oregon get a ‘promise to pay’ voucher earlier they committee the bid and beryllium capable to contiguous it to the conductor oregon gross extortion serviceman during a summons inspection.

“The overwhelming bulk of our customers – upwards of 96% - bash conscionable that.”

National Rail, which operates the railcard system, has been contacted for comment.