The train operator has been forced to make a U-turn on prosecutions accusing passengers of using their railcard at the wrong time of the day.
Several Northern passengers who had bought a discount ticket using a 16-25 Railcard and mistakenly used it at the wrong time of day risked being taken to court, a fine and a criminal record.
Sam Williamson paid £1.85 less for a train ticket to travel from Broadbottom to Manchester. About a month later, he received a letter from Northern saying he paid £1.90 less than he should have.
The 22-year-old consultant told Metro: ‘The company potentially trying to prosecute me feels like a wildly disproportionate response from Northern over an innocent mistake that could have been settled in minutes if they had allowed it.’
He had assumed the ticket was for ‘anytime’ travel.
However, the terms and conditions for the 16-25 Railcard say the discount does not apply on journeys costing less than £12 before 10am between Monday and Friday.
Now Northern Rail has announced it is withdrawing these types of prosecutions and reviewing previous cases, according to the Telegraph.
It comes after it emerged that the National Rail Conditions of travel state that passengers who accidentally board a train with a restricted ticket should be charged the difference between the fare they paid and the lowest available ticket price.
Sam welcomed the news of Northern’s U-turn, saying it is ‘a good start’ and calling for others who have already been ‘unreasonably convicted on similar offences have it overturned.’