Got fined 45 euro on luas - pretty annoyed. Should i appeal?

Dapos · 18-02-2007 11:38PM #1

Well here is my story. Was on luas monday morning 5th of February on green line. ticket inspector came on and asked for tickets and i showed him my monthly ticket as usual. He informed me that it was not valid. it was 2 days out of date. See i had unfortunately thought it was valid till 7th of February when in fact it was 3rd. inspector gave me a 45 euro fine. I'm pretty p***ed off about this really. Sure was it not obvious i am a regular customer. He could of just told me get off and get a ticket. I don't know how many times i have seen guys get caught on the red line and they are told to get off. I have never seen anyone fined before. this almost put me off using the luas. So i paid my fine yesterday and complained to customer care. They just told me i can appeal it. Should i? I know i was in the wrong for not having a valid ticket but in all fairness it was an honest mistake. Surely i didn't deserve a 45 euro fine. What do ye think?

Creamy Goodness · 18-02-2007 11:42PM

no you shouldn't appeal. you weren't in pocession of a valid ticket whilst travelling.

no court in the universe will find you not guilty.

Time Magazine · 18-02-2007 11:42PM

I know how much of a pain it is when you get nailed like that. It's particularly crap when you've seen lads having a blind eye turned to as well.

However, in fairness, you didn't have a valid ticket. Did your inspector let anyone else off? If not, I don't think you should appeal. Maybe write a letter to let it be known that some lads aren't prosecuted and just thrown off, but not appeal.

copacetic · 18-02-2007 11:44PM

appeal saying what? I've seen loads of people pulled up for no ticket and everyone of them has a similar excuse. You didn't have a ticket and they fined you. job done and you probably will make sure you actually have a ticket in future.

Dapos · 18-02-2007 11:52PM

Well my case really is that i had a monthly ticket and was only 2 days out of date. Like i said i know i was in the wrong but the inspector could of left me off. How is a person with a monthly ticket less than 48 hours out of date trying to "dodge the fare"

copacetic · 19-02-2007 12:00AM

well for all they know every month you take a weeks travel for free, not saying that you are lying, just that they hear the same story from everyone.

MarkR · 19-02-2007 12:04AM

Ok, but if he let off the person 2 days out, would it be fair to fine the guy with a three day expired one. He was after all on the way to see his poor sick mum.

You have no grounds to appeal. He was perfectly right in issuing you a fine.

TheNog · 19-02-2007 12:08AM

You have no grounds for appeal as you do not have any evidence of other people getting off the fine. Just suck it up and learn from it.

Flukey · 19-02-2007 12:17AM

Unfortunately Dapos, whether it was 2 days out of date or two months out of date, it was out of date. I've no doubt that it was a genuine mistake, but in this case you don't really have grounds for appeal. I'd leave it. You won't make the same mistake again.

Dapos · 19-02-2007 12:18AM

Ok i get wat ye are saying:

I was in the wrong
Guy had right to issue a fine.
how was he supposed to know i genuinely made a mistake
Bla bla bla

I still think it is unfair and a bit harsh. Enough said.

Wonder wat they will reply back with to the email i sent them complaining.

cast_iron · 19-02-2007 12:25AM

Rest assured they won't be entertaining your claim.

I'm shocked you think you have grounds for appeal. If they started entertaining excuses, everyone would be at it. It wouldn't be fair on all those who do actually make sure their tickets are valid.

DubTony · 19-02-2007 01:15AM

Dapos wrote:

I don't know how many times i have seen guys get caught on the red line and they are told to get off. I have never seen anyone fined before.

The reason for this is that if he tried to fine people on the red line he'd have the sh!t kicked out of him.

Zhane · 19-02-2007 03:11AM

Dapos wrote:

Ok i get wat ye are saying:

I was in the wrong
Guy had right to issue a fine.
how was he supposed to know i genuinely made a mistake
Bla bla bla

I still think it is unfair and a bit harsh. Enough said.

Wonder wat they will reply back with to the email i sent them complaining.

Dude, you were in the wrong. Just pay the fine and move on.

John R · 19-02-2007 03:50AM

Dapos, you hav no grounds for appeal, you were fare-evading. Intentional or not it really doesn't matter. It was your responsibility to make sure you had a valid ticket before boarding, the fine is deserved.

However I can understand your anger from seeing other people being let-off or just kicked off the tram in similar circumstances.

The rules should be enforced evenly but they aren't.

The fact is that trouble-making scum get away with it because the staff know full well how much difficulty there is in dealing with them never mind actually getting correct details to post a fine that will undoubtedly never get paid.

If instead of showing an expired monthly ticket the OP had told the inspector to "fukk off before i slash your bleedin' face wi me knife" he would most likely have gotten away with it. That is just the way things "work" in Dublin.

seamus · 19-02-2007 09:22AM

"I know I was doing 200km/h Garda, but I was obeying the speed limit for the rest of the day. A fine is a bit bloody harsh"

FlutterinBantam · 19-02-2007 10:12AM

You have learned one of the harshish lessons of Dublin life my man.

If you are generally law abiding,compliant,respectable and good mannered everybody will p1ss on you.

RATM · 19-02-2007 12:31PM

If you are appealing direct to LUAS I wouldnt bother wasting time.The corporation that fined you will not be entertaing any refunds of fines - possibly waht you should have done is refused to pay it, let them summons you and then take your chance in front of a judge,representing yourself, in the hope of it being quashed.

Miguel_Sanchez · 19-02-2007 12:46PM

No you shouldn't appeal.

Yours is not a special case. Your ticket wasn't valid, it's your responsibility to make sure it is. Sure you pay your fare normally but they have no way of knowing that.

I guarantee that nobody will listen to you if you try and appeal it. Just pay the fine.

Calina · 19-02-2007 01:10PM

Dapos wrote:

Surely i didn't deserve a 45 euro fine. What do ye think?

Yes you do. You messed up, you take it on the chin, end of.

Incidentally why doesn't the Luas have calendar monthly tickets like the rest of Europe?

OTK · 19-02-2007 02:39PM

I was in the same situation several years ago on a bus in London. I was taken off the bus by the police, appeared in court and offered a fine of £200 or a week in prison. I always pay the correct fare in London now but I'm not so careful in Dublin.

kmick · 19-02-2007 02:52PM

It was your own fault. Leave it go - it was only 45 euro so it is hardly a stiff penalty. Next time you see one of those inspectors leaving off someone walk over to them take out a pen and paper and ask for his name and number. Then twll him/her that you are reporting them for being lenient on scumbags and freeloaders. The only way people in this country are going to lose the 'a shure Ill get away with it' mentality is if the bloody laws are enforced. My sister got two points for talking on her mobile while driving and was disgusted evene though it is a law. Why would you even expect to get away with it. You should expect to get heavily punished if you are caught.

cast_iron · 19-02-2007 02:55PM

Does anyone else find the OP's sig a touch ironic?

Enigma365 · 19-02-2007 03:53PM

Is it as easy as people say to give a fake name when caught without a valid ticket on the luas?

My friend used to get loads of luas fines through his letterbox in his old apartment. Apparently his address was commonly given by people caught without a ticket. He just threw them out.

I always buy a ticket for the luas(or tag on with my smartcard), but if I ever forgot and got caught without a ticket I wouldn't hesitate to give a fake name and address.

faceman · 19-02-2007 09:13PM

My other half has had 2 fines and had both of them scratched. She blatently did a freebie on the luas but is a regular and saw the inspector on a quiet day and gave him a sob story on both occasions. he scratched the tickets.

Back on topic, if you've paid it then you admitted you were in the wrong so you have less of a chance of success. But you've nothing to lose by appealing except your pride at this stage...

DerekP11 · 19-02-2007 09:38PM

Following the letter of the law the OP was in the wrong. But once again the inconsistancies surface. As a reasonably regular user of the Red line, I have seen many people caught fare evading, but never seen any of them issued with a fine. They were simply escorted to the door and put off at the next stop. Some were chancers and some were more genuine. Furthermore, the level of anti-social behaviour, I witnessed when the Junior cert results came out was pretty appalling. They got warnings via the intercom, but did not abate and were not thrown off or fined. (especially for the vomiting) This is a regular feature on public transport. Fare policy is enforced to some degree, while anti- social behaviour tends to go unchecked.

Im a big believer in rules, but unless you have sweeping consistency in the enforcement of all these rules, then I would always encourage a person to take their chances on appeal, if they trully believe they made a mistake. Neither is it a crime to feel you've been done an injustice.

dumbyearbook · 19-02-2007 09:53PM

I think it is harsh, there are days of grace with you car insurance which to be fair is bloody important yet not on a ticket for a tram? C'mon they could allow 2 days either side of a tickets validity !

It is harsh because as the op always pays their fare (as do i; and as an aside 6months of smart card tag on and off and ive only been checked only once!!) and the one time they slip up they get caught its just lousy - im a green line user mostly but ive been on the red line and ive seen the guys being escorted off and i felt really hard done by!

Anyone agree ?:D

Victor · 19-02-2007 11:37PM

dumbyearbook wrote:

It is harsh because as the op always pays their fare and the one time they slip up they get caught its just lousy

The OP was **two** days over.

Calina wrote:

Incidentally why doesn't the Luas have calendar monthly tickets like the rest of Europe?

I'm sure you can work it to be monthly, but I imagine that everyone buying a monthly ticket on the first of the month (as would happen in Ireland, none of this advance buying) means queing. You can avail of the 30 day or the rolling (fairer than a calendar month) one month type.

http://www.luas.ie/ticket-types.php

seamus · 20-02-2007 11:01AM

dumbyearbook wrote:

I think it is harsh, there are days of grace with you car insurance which to be fair is bloody important yet not on a ticket for a tram? C'mon they could allow 2 days either side of a tickets validity !

There's no grace on car insurance

dumbyearbook · 20-02-2007 03:38PM

seamus wrote:

There's no grace on car insurance

You sure on this? I think you do get a couple of days with car insurance?

Anyway does anyone agree that on a monthly ticket you should get 48 hours or maybe just 24 hrs to buy a new ticket? I think it would be a nice offering tbh and easily implemented too, in fairness.

Calina · 20-02-2007 04:00PM

According to my insurance renewal notices there is no grace period on car insurance.

Why are people looking for get out clauses, or leniency? It's a public transport ticket. How hard is it to ensure you have a valid one? When I didn't get to renew my monthly card in Belgium for whatever reason (closed ticket desk or whatever) I just bought a single journey ticket if I needed to take a bus or a trame somewhere.

Why are people doing the poor mouth over this?

seamus · 20-02-2007 04:31PM

dumbyearbook wrote:

You sure on this? I think you do get a couple of days with car insurance?

Fairly sure. You usually get grace on all types of insurance except car insurance, because of the mandatory nature of the insurance.
By law the insurer is obliged to issue you with a renewal notice at least ten days before your insurance expires in order to allow you to shop around.

Got fined 45 euro on luas - pretty annoyed. Should i appeal?

Comments