Irish rail fine question

Gotnoname

Hi I tried to post this earlier but I don't believe that it went through properly. If it has I'm sorry for the double post.

What's happened is that I was meant to meet up with a friend a week ago but he cancelled on me just after I had bought the ticket due to his house being done up and had some organising to do. The way the ticket is worded would have anyone believe that it is valid for travel for a month. It was a return ticket I had gotten. So I looked at the ticket and genuinely believed that I would be able to travel on it the following week so I told him ok it's valid for a month so we could meet up next week. So I left the train station. The following week, which is this week I went to the train station and used the ticket to get through the gate which I had no problems with and boarded the train. When I got on the train a little while after the ticket inspector came along and I handed her my ticket along with my student travel card which is valid. She then told me that my ticket was not valid for travel and I then pointed out to her the way the ticket was worded and she then told me that it was not valid because I had to leave on the date it was issued. There is nowhere on the ticket that this is mentioned. She then took my details and slapped a fine on me about €111 roughly. I have written an email to Irish rail to appeal it since at the back of the fine there was an email address for people to appeal. I'm just wondering how long it takes them to reply to an appeal since there is a time limit on the fine and I would prefer to not go to court. I don't believe this is fair since this was caused by the way the ticket was worded and also the fact that it let me through the gate without any problems. Shouldn't a ticket that isn't valid prevent you from going through the gates in the first place?

Anyways sorry it's long but I feel that this really isn't fair on me since the ticket was worded in a way that led me to believe that it was valid and that I only found out after being given a fine. Also the fact that it let me through the gate...

If you have made it this far thank you for reading I really appreciate it.

Jamie2k9

You have no come back, the outbound journey must be used on date of travel and you are free to use the return within the date range on ticket.

It may not say on the ticket they are the rules but it does state you need to check terms and conditions etc.

Gotnoname

Do you know how long it takes for them to get back to you about an appeal on if it's approved or not? There is a time limit on the fine and I would rather not go to court..

tabbey

The only chance you have is that the automatic barrier allowed you enter the platform, thus accepting the ticket as valid for travel. If the system had worked properly, it should have prevented you from accessing the train.

Otherwise Jamie is correct, the one month validity only applies to the return journey, not outward.

Jamie2k9

tabbey wrote: »

The only chance you have is that the automatic barrier allowed you enter the platform, thus accepting the ticket as valid for travel. If the system had worked properly, it should have prevented you from accessing the train.

Otherwise Jamie is correct, the one month validity only applies to the return journey, not outward.

The ticket was still valid i.e return portion so barriers wouldn't have refused.

Do you know how long it takes for them to get back to you about an appeal on if it's approved or not? There is a time limit on the fine and I would rather not go to court..

Prob 7-10 days, if getting close to deadline to pay try ring them.

tabbey

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

The ticket was still valid i.e return portion so barriers wouldn't have refused.

Before automatic ticket barriers, a human ticket checker would have spotted that the outward journey was being made a week late and would tell the ticket holder that it was not valid for travel.

I do not know where the outward journey started or the destination, but if the op was starting at Heuston, heading for Waterford, for example, the Heuston barrier should surely recognise that it was too late for use of the ticket. If the system was any good, the op would then have gone to staff and been advised of the rules before boarding, and thus he would have avoided the fine.

Allowing the op to enter the platform was just an invitation to travel without a valid ticket,a form of entrapment really.

howiya

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Prob 7-10 days, if getting close to deadline to pay try ring them.

If it's as black and white as you say why should it take so long?

Isambard

your appeal will fail, for obvious reasons you have to use the outward portion on the day of issue.

Losty Dublin

OP, this is something you may need to look at.

http://www.irishrail.ie/fares-and-tickets/tickets-explained#type-singlereturn