A man who boarded a Merseyrail train with the wrong ticket has now been ordered to pay almost sixty times his fare.
The case of Patrick St John Murphy was heard at Sefton Magistrates' Court yesterday
The 28-year-old, of Knowsley Road, Aigburth, was travelling on the Wirral Line on September 29, 2019, when a train guard asked to see his ticket.
He produced a Day Saver pass which was invalid for the area he was travelling in, and when staff challenged him he was said to have become "verbally abusive".
The court heard that British Transport Police were called, however their assistance was not necessary.
Mr Murphy denied this, telling the court: "That's a joke. I was annoyed, yes, but not abusive."
Staff were initially going to give him a £60 penalty fare, but following the altercation he was given a £125 fixed penalty notice.
Mr Murphy told the court he had not received the letter instructing him how to pay his fine as it was sent to his next-door neighbour. He showed magistrates the letter with the incorrect address on it.
However, Michelle McLachlan, prosecuting, said Mr Murphy had broken Merseyrail byelaws before and that all correspondence had gone to this same address and he had received and acted on it.
She also said Merseyrail would only ever send letters to the address provided to train officers.
Magistrates ordered Mr Murphy to pay costs of £200, as well as compensation of £4.10 for the price of the journey.
They also handed him a £34 victim surcharge.
Mr Murphy said he has been out of work for some time due to the pandemic, and called the outcome a "shambles".
Magistrate Mrs Shepherd told him: "The court costs and victim surcharge are out of my hands. The outcome here could have been far worse."
Speaking to the ECHO outside court, Mr Murphy said he believes he should have been offered the chance to pay the original amount.
Some 26 others were due to appear in court for Merseyrail prosecutions yesterday. Many of whom did not attend.
Carl Spencer, of Capricorn Way, Bootle, failed to produce a valid ticket at Waterloo station on May 6, 2020.
He had been travelling from Bootle New Strand to Birkdale.
Mr Spencer told the court he had not wanted to stand in the queue for tickets as he was scared of standing close to people and catching Covid.
He was fined £240.10.
Helen Dawson, of Atherton Street, Wallasey, was accused of not having a valid ticket while travelling at Hamilton Square station on October 31, 2019.
The court heard she had produced an invalid Walrus card when approached by Merseyrail staff.
She pleaded not guilty, and told the court she would "never not buy a ticket" and does not own a Walrus card.
Ms Dawson said: "Someone must have given in my details, maybe they overheard when I have given them over the phone."
A trial date has been set for June 28.
One woman appeared to protest a fine she had received for not having a valid ticket on February 20, 2020.
She told the court she had been at work on the day and could therefore not have been on a train.
Merseyrail's prosecution confirmed there were "false details" and the case was withdrawn.
Suzanne Grant, commercial director at Merseyrail, told the ECHO : “One of the matters our passengers tell us is important to them is that everyone making a journey on Merseyrail has paid the correct fare or holds the correct travel pass.
"To ensure this happens we operate a penalty fare scheme, with regular ticket checks carried out across our network.
"Whilst we can’t comment on individual cases, we do have robust arrangements in place to check the identity of those stopped and mechanisms to prevent false details being provided.
"All of our stations have Covid-19 safe measures in place, including floor markings encouraging customers to stand at least 2m apart whilst waiting at platforms and booking offices”.
