If you are travelling from a penalty fare station on a penalty fare train, and:

a)

You do not have a valid ticket and are approached by a revenue protection employee, who is an authorised penalty fare collector you may be liable to a penalty fare of £20 or twice the full single fare - whichever is the greater amount - to the next station at which your train stops.
 
If you wish to continue your journey beyond the next station stop you may be required to buy a full single or return fare for the remainder of your journey.
 
b)

You do not have a valid train ticket and are approached by a guard, who is NOT an authorised penalty fare collector you may be liable to pay the full single or return fare for the journey you have made or wish to make and you will not be entitled to any discounts (for example, Railcards) or special terms, which would otherwise apply. This is in accordance with the National Rail Conditions on Carriage.
 
When the guard issues you a ticket, a penalty fare warning will also be issued, so that you are aware of the penalty fare scheme should you be approached by an authorised penalty fare collector on your next journey.

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Our Penalty Fare scheme is administered by the Independent Revenue Collection and Support Limited (IRCAS).

You can pay the full amount to the authorised collector or if paying for only part of the Penalty Fare, you can pay the remaining amount in one of the following ways:

• Through the IRCAS website
• Call IRCAS on 0844  544  8458. 
• By sending a cheque/postal order to IRCAS, PO Box 212, Petersfield, GU32 9BQ

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If you wish to appeal against a penalty fare, you must do so within 21 days of the issue date. You can appeal online at ircas.co.uk, or by writing to:

Independent Appeals Service
PO BOX 212
Petersfield
GU32 9BQ

This appeals service is independent of South West Trains and your appeal will be considered based on the facts concerning the case. 

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Only those who have been specifically trained as authorized collectors can charge you a penalty fare. Authorised collectors carry an authorised collector's identification badge, which must be shown upon request. 

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You are still liable to a penalty fare if you travel from a penalty fare station on a penalty fare train, as it is your responsibility to leave enough time to buy your ticket. 

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Not if you are travelling from a penalty fare station on a penalty fare train. If you do you may be liable to a penalty fare. 

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The majority of our stations have a self-service ticket machine which takes cash and credit cards. In these cases the machine should be used. At a small number of stations a Permit to Travel machine is provided. Use the self-service ticket or permit to travel machine(s) which are available at all penalty fare stations. For a permit to travel machine insert the maximum number of coins you have with you, up to the value of your journey.

The permit must be exchanged for a valid ticket at the first opportunity and within two hours. The value of the permit will be refunded to you when you have exchanged it for a valid ticket. 

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If the self-service machines are out of order, or the ticket office is closed outside of the advertised hours, we have a system in place to ensure our authorised collectors are made aware of this. Regular checks are made on all our self service machines to ensure that they are in full working order and are monitored to ensure the time they are out of service is kept to a minimum. If you are unable to purchase a valid ticket for travel, you should approach the on-train staff at the earliest opportunity.

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Where a self service ticket machine is in operation, you should purchase a ticket from the machines. Where a self-service ticket machine is not provided, you should purchase a Permit to Travel and then exchange this for your ticket.  

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You should buy a ticket to cover your journey before joining your train. You may subsequently apply for a refund on this ticket at the ticket office where you purchased your Season Ticket. Only two refunds of this type will be considered in a 12 month period and an administration fee may be charged. 

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If you realise, before it is requested, that you have forgotten your Season Ticket and/or photocard, you need to approach the on train staff. If a non-authorised collector approaches you, buy a ticket and apply for a refund as detailed above. If an authorised collector approaches you, they will record details of your Season Ticket and issue you with an authority to travel.

You must send this authority to travel together with a clear photocopy of your Season Ticket and photocard to the address detailed on the authority to travel. Failure to return the authority to travel or making a false claim can lead to prosecution. 

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You may be liable to a penalty fare as the discounted ticket is only valid on production of the Railcard.

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It is your responsibility to buy any additional tickets you require to make your original ticket valid for your entire journey before you travel. Otherwise you may be liable to a penalty fare. 

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We have agreements with some other train operating companies; details of these are available from our Customer Service Centre. 

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