Dodging train fare

Author
Discussion

NH1

Original Poster:

1,333 posts

128 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2605025/It...

And thats how easy it is. I think I would rather have the criminal record for dodging the one fair that pay all that money back, how could they prove it happened every day since 2008, I thought it was what they could prove in court, not what they know.

greygoose

8,225 posts

194 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
Sad that someone hiding in the toilets is seen as a "James Bond hero" presumably benefit cheats, fraudsters and shoplifters are heroes too?

Steffan

10,362 posts

227 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
NH1 said:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2605025/It...

And thats how easy it is. I think I would rather have the criminal record for dodging the one fair that pay all that money back, how could they prove it happened every day since 2008, I thought it was what they could prove in court, not what they know.

An interesting if challenging interpretation of the law. I suspect the consequences of a possible prosecution on the financial responsibilities of that individual was too great to risk. He may regard his income as worth a great deal more than the fine. Hence he decided not to risk it.

mat13

1,977 posts

180 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
It is surprisingly easy to do as well, as part of a charity event for uni a month or so back i had to get from london to telford as quickly as possible with no money, once i had blagged my way through the first set of ticket barriers i got all the way there, changing trains 4 times without being challenged once.

Shaoxter

4,048 posts

123 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
Not quite smart enough, he really needed to get a new oyster card every month or so...

NH1

Original Poster:

1,333 posts

128 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
What I don't get though, when he touched out he was charged £7.20, surely this completed the transaction and he was under no obligation to stop and talk to anyone or be detained, why are people all too ready to volunteer their personal details to anyone that asks, it was even worth a night in the cells to punch the guard and run away.

NH1

Original Poster:

1,333 posts

128 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
Shaoxter said:
Not quite smart enough, he really needed to get a new oyster card every month or so...
This, surely you can buy an annonymous one at a newsagents or similar. Its like being a drugs lord using your orange contract phone, madness.

rohrl

8,712 posts

144 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
What a hero.

Just like all the heroes who shoplift from Tesco or drive off without paying for their petrol. Worse in fact since as a hedge fund manager this guy doesn't even have the moral defence that he was making a choice between paying for his ticket or feeding his children.

Shaoxter

4,048 posts

123 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
NH1 said:
What I don't get though, when he touched out he was charged £7.20, surely this completed the transaction and he was under no obligation to stop and talk to anyone or be detained, why are people all too ready to volunteer their personal details to anyone that asks, it was even worth a night in the cells to punch the guard and run away.
Because when you don't touch in/out on one end of the journey you get charged the maximum cash fare which in this case is £7.20. Had he touched in/out correctly the amount charged would have been the lower oyster fare hence why the officer was suspicious.

But yes, he should have just said he forgot to touch in and walked away rather than give away his personal details!

Foppo

2,344 posts

123 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
He should have been in court one law for one and one for another.

Newc

1,846 posts

181 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
NH1 said:
And thats how easy it is. I think I would rather have the criminal record for dodging the one fair that pay all that money back, how could they prove it happened every day since 2008, I thought it was what they could prove in court, not what they know.
If convicted and in a senior regulated job (which from the reports he could be) he would be in for a meeting without biscuits at the FCA, discussing him losing his licence under the 'fit and proper' criteria.


Should have had the book thrown at him.


Muncher

12,219 posts

248 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
Newc said:
If convicted and in a senior regulated job (which from the reports he could be) he would be in for a meeting without biscuits at the FCA, discussing him losing his licence under the 'fit and proper' criteria.


Should have had the book thrown at him.
If it is anything like the legal profession he would be out on his ear regardless.

Newc

1,846 posts

181 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
Muncher said:
Newc said:
If convicted and in a senior regulated job (which from the reports he could be) he would be in for a meeting without biscuits at the FCA, discussing him losing his licence under the 'fit and proper' criteria.


Should have had the book thrown at him.
If it is anything like the legal profession he would be out on his ear regardless.
There are a range of circumstances where it is possible to be surprisingly senior in fund management, looking after surprisingly large funds, without needing to be FCA licensed.


Fats25

6,260 posts

228 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
The guy is an idiot.

1) As above use a new oyster card.
2) There are machines at London Bridge - he could have tapped in on the London Bridge platform, and then tapped out at Cannon Street saving more money

I don't like people cheating the system - but I struggle to have much sympathy for the train companies. Two examples spring to mind for me as to why I have this attitude.

1) I was 20 and just about to buy my first house, and my season ticket ran out on the Friday. Way before electronic touch in and out on trains/buses. I had my cheque from work payable to South Eastern for £2500 to be renewed before Monday morning. Got smashed on the Friday night, ended up crashing at some birds house, and left in the morning. Got on a bus from Surrey Quays back towards Victoria, flashed my ticket and sat down.

The guards came round, and random checked tickets. I flashed my ticket, and it had obviously expired the day before, I'd forgotten. I apologised, and offered to pay the fare. They wouldn't take that, and said it needed to be dealt with by the courts. I explained the situation, and pulled the crumpled cheque from my pocket to show them. No good - needs to go to court. I never attended (perhaps naively) and was fined £300. That was a months mortgage at the time. A hell of a lot of money.

2) Wife got on train at Mottingham into London with me. I was heading towards Croydon, and she was going to walk from London Bridge. As she got off the train she could not remember if she tapped in at Mottingham or not, she didn't think she had. We discussed it, and I suggested she just tailgate someone at the barrier. However she did the decent thing - she walked up to a guard on the platform and asked him to check her card, so she could pay the appropriate fare. He got on his high horse, and fined her double the fare.

We discussed it later and I explained about tapping in at London Bridge and out at Cannot Street if she forgets again. I know once or twice she has had to do this, as there is no reasoning with the guards and doing the correct thing.

So not a lot of sympathy for train company, but no sympathy for the fare dodger either.

UPDATE - just had a conversation with the wife, I have not been on a train for a long time, apparently the platform Oyster card machines are now disabled, so this does not work any more.

If you forget in future, you have to tailgate instead. Ensure you practice your indignant face as the barriers crash into your chest, and you power through looking with disgust at the guard ! wink

Edited by Fats25 on Tuesday 15th April 16:58

NPI

1,310 posts

123 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
Shaoxter said:
Because when you don't touch in/out on one end of the journey you get charged the maximum cash fare which in this case is £7.20. Had he touched in/out correctly the amount charged would have been the lower oyster fare hence why the officer was suspicious.
Does this mean that for the inspector to be suspicious, what the perp was doing must be quite common?

tomw2000

2,508 posts

194 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
My commute costs me twelvety billion squids a month. (Well, £900.00)

I have platform barriers at both ends. And usually tickets are checked on the train too.

If anyone can suggest things I should definitely not do (due to being illegal) to make my commute cheaper then I am (not) all ears smile

Also, I think he should have gone to prison.

KFC

3,687 posts

129 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
NH1 said:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2605025/It...

And thats how easy it is. I think I would rather have the criminal record for dodging the one fair that pay all that money back, how could they prove it happened every day since 2008, I thought it was what they could prove in court, not what they know.
If he worked in Burger King, then fair enough. But there is no way a hedge fund manager is getting his face and name plastered all over the papers in relation to this rather than pay 40 grand. I'm sure as soon as he realised anonymity was on the table, he was snapping their hand off to take the deal!

fido

16,752 posts

254 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
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He would have just considered it arbitrage .. cheapest route from A to B etc.!

Mattt

16,661 posts

217 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
I know someone who travels to London fairly regularly with two open returns, if they ever get asked by a Inspector then they have a valid ticket, they then use the tube like normal by tapping in/out.

Not right, but it works.

As above, I have little sympathy for train operators when the OH pays £1k per month for train and parking.

Negative Creep

24,942 posts

226 months

Tuesday 15th April 2014
quotequote all
greygoose said:
Sad that someone hiding in the toilets is seen as a "James Bond hero" presumably benefit cheats, fraudsters and shoplifters are heroes too?
I assume those fellow passengers hailing him as such haven't twigged that they were paying for his journies the whole time?