'I saved £1.90 on a train ticket in an innocent mistake - now I'm being prosecuted'

A train passenger said he fears getting a criminal record after he made a £1.90 underpayment for rail travel in an 'innocent mistake'.

Sam Williamson said he is being prosecuted by Government-owned operator Northern because he used a railcard at the wrong time. He said the ticket he bought - from Broadbottom to central Manchester - only saved him £1.90.

Writing on X, Mr Williamson said he used the Northern app to buy the ticket last month. But at 'nowhere did it made explicit' that his railcard would not be valid.

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The ticket is named Anytime – meaning there are no restrictions on when the holder can travel – but he bought it using a railcard discount for passengers aged 16-25. Mr Williamson wrote: "Once on the train, the conductor tells me my ticket is invalid due to Railcard restrictions.

"I immediately offer to pay for a new ticket, or even take a fixed penalty fare if needs be. He says I can’t do either; he must report it and Northern may prosecute me."

Before 10am on weekdays outside public holidays or in July or August, his type of railcard can only be used when the minimum fare is £12. Mr Williamson claimed that this was 'not made explicit' on the Northern app.

On Tuesday he received 'a lovely letter from Northern Trains telling me about how they wanted to prosecute me', he wrote. He added: "I’ve emailed the revenue protection team with all the info I can, so I hope this will work out OK.

"However, I’m understandably worried that an innocent mistake over a confusing and opaque rule – that only saved me £1.90! – will lead to a punishment of £100s and a criminal record."

A Northern spokesman said it would not be appropriate to publicly comment on the case. The spokesperson said: "As with all train operators across the UK, everyone has a duty to buy a valid ticket or obtain a promise to pay voucher before they board the train and be able to present it to the conductor or revenue protection officer during a ticket inspection.

"The overwhelming majority of our customers – upwards of 96 per cent– do just that.” A number of recent cases of Northern passengers being prosecuted for invalid use of a railcard have been highlighted on X by The Bolton News senior reporter Jack Fifield.

These include a 26-year-old man who was fined £462.30 over a £4.30 underpayment for a journey from Prescot, Merseyside, to Liverpool Lime Street.

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