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  • Arriva Trains Wales Revenue Enforcement Policy

    Arriva Trains Wales operates a Buy Before Board policy as set out in the National Conditions of Travel and Railway Byelaws.

    When ticket-buying facilities are in operation at a station, customers must buy a ticket before they board.  Details about the Buy Before You Board Policy can be found here.

    Travelling without a valid ticket could result in prosecution and a fine up to £1000.

     

    The ethos of Arriva Trains Wales is to collect the correct revenue that we are contractually due from all our passengers. We recognise however there is a small minority of passengers who will deliberately attempt to evade payment. This document sets out the process of how we will deal with these passengers and the steps we would put in place to help and protect passengers who are unaware of their responsibilities getting captured by the process.

    The underlying principal of this process is to protect passengers who make an innocent mistake from those who are deliberate ticketless passengers. In the first instance the customer will be asked for payment with a reasonable administration charge. The process is intended to identify those who are constant offenders or those that have carried out acts of fraud. For those passengers who have attempted to defraud we have no option but to carry out court proceedings.

    These processes will be in line with the ATOC Code of Practice ‘arrangements for travel ticket irregularities’ and the Passenger Focus publication ‘ticket to ride’.

    Unpaid Fares Notices

    The Unpaid Fares Notice process is an important complement to the enforcement process. There are genuine reasons why passengers are unable to pay for tickets but have every intention of doing so. Examples of this could be a passenger who has accidently left their wallet at home. The Unpaid Fares Notice process is not designed to be a cheap option but an option of last resort for passengers who have no means of paying for a ticket.

    Records of the Unpaid Fares Notices issued will need to be cross referenced against the prosecutions database. If a customer has unsettled unpaid fares or has used the Unpaid Fares process a number of times they should be interviewed by Revenue Protection staff and consideration given to prosecution as a repeat offender.

    Unpaid Fares Notices can be issued by Arriva Trains Wales employees or Revenue Protection Inspectors.

    Unpaid fares notices issued by Arriva Train Wales will be clearly shown on the notice. A 21-day time limit is allowed to dispute the Unpaid Fares Notice. Appeals should be made through 

    IRCAS,
    PO Box 212,
    Petersfield
    GU32 9BQ.

    Process Overview

    All Passengers must have the correct ticket for the journey they are taking and it is their responsibility to have one, they must how ever be given an opportunity to purchase tickets before entering this process. These are:

    Before boarding any Train

    • Booking office
    • Ticket Vending Machine (TVM)

    If no facilities were available before boarding

    • On train

    If there has not been an opportunity to purchase a ticket then the passenger should be sold the correct one.  In the event of a passenger choosing not to purchase a ticket they will be interviewed. After a passenger, has been interviewed for travelling without a valid ticket, before any further action is taken the customer will be written to and given 21days to confirm the details of the information provided at the time. They will be offered the opportunity to provide clarification or any mitigating circumstances.  

    If the customer has not responded within 21 days then further action will be taken.

    Once a full response has been received the case will be reviewed. All cases will be assessed on their own merit. There are three possible outcomes from any case

    • Ceasing of Proceedings
    • Administrative Settlement
    • Prosecution

    Customers can make genuine mistakes. If this is the first time a customer has been identified within this process they should not normally be taken to prosecution and may be offered an administrative settlement. The exception to this is if there is an attempted fraud or other aggravating circumstance.

    Prosecution will be the last course of action. There are some areas where prosecution is unavoidable.

    • Fraud
    • Giving false personal details
    • Knowingly claiming a short journey
    • Repeat offender e.g. Travelling without a ticket on more than one occasion

    If there has not been an opportunity to purchase a ticket then the passenger should be sold the correct one.  In the event of a passenger choosing not to purchase a ticket they will be interviewed. After a passenger has been interviewed for travelling without a valid ticket, before any further action is taken the customer will be written to and given 21 days to confirm the details of the information provided at the time. They will be offered the opportunity to provide clarification or any mitigating circumstances. If the customer has not responded within 21 days then further action will be taken.

    If using M-Ticket or other electronic ticket media

    To be accepted as valid for travel, M-tickets and any other tickets displayed on electronic hand held devices must be activated before boarding any train.

    Recording of Passengers Interviewed

    Detailed records of the customers that have been interviewed will be held in accordance with data protection laws.

    Customers Contact

    Transport Investigations Ltd will handle all correspondence with customers with regards to this policy.
    Contact details are below:

    Transport Investigation Ltd,
    1 Station Approach,
    March,
    Cambridgeshire,
    PE15 8SE,
    Telephone: 01354 656 655