Understanding Revenue Protection

• Each case is unique and must be considered on its individual facts and merit.
• Any decision to prosecute must be fair, independent and objective. They must not be based on any personal views about ethnic or national origin, disability, sex, religious beliefs, political views or sexual orientation of the offender, victim or witness.
• Any decision to prosecute must not be affected by improper or undue pressure from any source.
• Any decision to prosecute must be in the Public interest with a conviction a realistic outcome. However although there may be public interest factors involved in a particular case Merseyrail could proceed with the prosecution but put these factors before the court prior to sentencing.
• Merseyrail will make every effort to adhere to the Data Protection Principles set out within the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Merseyrail regards the following as aggravating factors.

• Previous conviction for similar offences.
• Substantial revenue loss or offences persisting over a prolonged period of time.
• Being previously warned for a similar offence.
• Using abusive or threatening behaviour towards any person on the railway.
• Any behaviour which is deemed to be anti-social and falls within the Railway bye-laws.

MERSEYRAIL DO NOT TOLERATE ANY FORM OF ABUSE TOWARDS ANY MEMBER OF STAFF AND RESERVE THE RIGHT TO WITHDRAW THE OFFER OF AN OUT OF COURT SETTLEMENT AT ANY STAGE

Merseyrail recognise that any court conviction is serious and may possibly be life changing, therefore the decision to prosecute will only be made after careful examination of all the evidence and mitigation Such a decision will be made subject to the satisfaction of the following criteria.

• The evidence shows that a conviction is a realistic outcome.
• Reliable evidence relating to the identification of an alleged offender.
• Relevance and admissibility of the evidence available.
• Reliable observational evidence of the alleged offender.
• Reliability of any confession and admission, verbal or recorded in the authorised persons notes or report of ticket irregularities and byelaws offences statement.
• Reliability of a Prosecution Witness.

• Merseyrail’s Prosecution team in the event of any court proceedings will comply with the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 and the associated Code of Practice in the disclosure of prosecution materials.
• Merseyrail’s Prosecution team will endeavour to preserve and retain all relevant evidence that may form part of the prosecution’s case.
• Merseyrail will disclose any evidential material requested by a Defendant or their legal representative.

If you were approached by a Byelaw Enforcement Officer/Ticket Inspector and cautioned under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1980 (cautioned means that you have been read your rights). The Byelaw Enforcement Officer/Ticket Inspector will use their handheld device, recording details obtained from you on the day in question. They will then submit a report to the Prosecutions Department at Merseyrail. Here it will be read and a decision will be made based on the facts reported. 

If you receive a letter from the Prosecution Department claiming that an offence has been committed, you may be offered an out of court settlement. The penalty is £60.00 for a breach of a byelaw, and £125.00 for a Byelaw 18.2 offence. The most common penalties are for byelaw 6(8), or feet on seats/seat structure as it is more commonly known, and Railway Regulation Act 5(3a), or travelling without a valid ticket or pass, or the means of payment, (fare evasion) as it more commonly known.  

Payment can be made on-line with a credit/debit card by visiting www.merseyrail.org/paymynotice, or with a credit/debit card by calling 0151 434 4535. We also accept postal orders sent to Merseyrail Electrics 2002 Ltd, P.O. Box 6576, Liverpool, L69 1XZ.

You have received a summons to attend court because you have either failed to pay the out of court settlement, or you have previous convictions for the same offence.

If you fail to pay the out of court settlement before the court date, your case will go through the prosecutions process. If found guilty of a Railway Regulation Act offence, you could face a fine of up to £1000, and additional court costs, or imprisonment of up to three months. If found guilty of a byelaw offence, you could face a fine of up to £220.00, plus additional court costs. You have the right to attend court on the day your case is heard and to plead your case to the magistrates. If you fail to attend court, or give the court notification of your plea, you may be found guilty in your absence.

If found guilty of a byelaw offence, it may appear on an enhanced CRB check. If found guilty of a Railway Regulation Act offence, then this will show up on any CRB check. If you accept the warning plus Administrative Penalty, then this will not appear on any CRB check.

If you feel that you did not commit an offence, then you may plead your case to the magistrates on the day that you are summonsed to court. If you have any further questions, or require any more information, please email us at [email protected]

A Penalty Fare notice has been issued because when asked by an Authorised Collector you were unable to show a valid ticket for your entire journey. You have travelled from a station operating within the penalty fare scheme where ticket-issuing facilities were available.

On Monday 15th June 2009 Merseyrail introduced a “Buy before you ride” policy, which means you must purchase your ticket before you board the train. Tickets can be purchased on the day of travel or you could save time and money by purchasing your tickets in advance or by investing in a weekly, monthly or annual rail pass. Please speak to any member of staff for details.

The cost of a Penalty Fare Notice is calculated as £100 plus the price of the full single fare applicable.

If the Penalty Fare Notice is paid before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the day following the day on which the Penalty Fare is charged, there is a discount of £50. In this case, the cost of the Penalty Fare Notice is £50 plus the price of the full single fare applicable.

Payment can be made on-line with a credit/debit card by visiting www.merseyrail.org/paymynotice, or with a credit/debit card by calling 0151 434 4535. We also accept postal orders sent to Merseyrail Electrics 2002 Ltd, P.O. Box 6576, Liverpool, L69 1XZ.

To appeal you need to contact the independent appeals body, Penalty Services Limited, you should visit www.penaltyservices.co.uk. Alternatively, you can appeal by post to:

Penalty Services
PO Box 1258
KING'S LYNN
PE30 9GJ

Appeals must be received within 21 days beginning with the day following the day on which the penalty fare is charged. Penalty Services will take up to 2 weeks but no longer than 3 weeks to investigate and respond to your appeal. When an appeal decision has been reached, they will let you know by your preferred method (email or post).

If you fail to pay or your appeal is unsuccessful this may result in legal action being taken against you. Please be aware that the penalty is likely to increase with administration charges being added.

To avoid receiving another penalty fare, please purchase a valid ticket prior to travelling and ensure that you keep it with until you have exited your destination station. Tickets can be purchased from any Merseyrail ticket office or a self-service ticket vending machine.