19 January 2024 , 14:33
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A man says he was arrested and treated like a "thief" after he hopped on a train in a hurry and forgot to print his £120 ticket.
Alex Lennon was stopped by police at Liverpool Central station following an "immensely difficult” confrontation with staff. It comes after he purchased a ticket for his return trip to London at Waterloo Merseyrail station through the Trainline app.
He was heading to the capital for a business meeting on Wednesday and assumed everything was in place for his journey. However, when he arrived at Liverpool Central Station, rail workers informed him he travelled without a requisite ticket.
Despite confirming that he wasn't trying to "fare dodge", Mr Lennon was approached by officers from the British Transport Police. He was told that confirmation of his payment wasn't enough proof for him to get on the train.
Alex Lennon described the situation as embarrassing (Liverpool Echo)
Alex said he was unable to print off his ticket once he had arrived (Liverpool Echo)Mr Lennon said the incident had an "embarassing" impact at work after he arrived late to the meeting. Merseyrail staff and police officers explained to him that a ticket was required for travel from Waterloo to Liverpool Central before boarding the train, reports Liverpool Echo.
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“I was in a bit of a rush and was concerned I’d miss my connection at Lime Street so I jumped on the train," he explained. "I’d paid for my ticket and figured common sense would prevail. When I tried to get through the barriers at Liverpool Central, I was told I needed to print the ticket before I travelled and that I’d broken the rules by not doing so. I don’t think that’s reasonable.”
Footage posted by Mr Lennon show him being stopped by Merseyrail staff. A later video shows Mr Lennon being told he is being arrested for the offence of not having a valid ticket for travel and that his reference number for the booking from Waterloo to Reading was not acceptable. When put to him he was in breach of railway byelaws, Mr Lennon said: "You could have a rule where everyone on the train has to stand on one leg."
Where a passenger is travelling using a booking reference number for a ticket purchased from a third party, Merseyrail urges passengers to ensure that they have a physical ticket in their possession before boarding services, and this is made clear at the point of purchase. The operator does not currently have the technology needed to validate electronic tickets and as a result, cannot accept them.
Police said he had a lack of valid ticket (Liverpool Echo)After being told in purchasing via the Trainline he would have accepted terms and conditions, Mr Lennon replied: "Yeah but nobody reads those, do they?" When asked if he could go through to print his ticket at the nearby machine in the station, a British Transport Police officer told Mr Lennon he had already passed the point whereby he should have had a valid ticket for travel.
Mr Lennon, who was travelling south for a meeting to secure business funding, said: “I refused to give my details and I don’t believe they had a leg to stand on because there was no intention on my part to defraud Merseyrail. They wouldn’t let me through to print my ticket off which meant I was late for my meeting, which was embarrassing.
“I wasn’t trying to fare dodge, I was trying to get from A to B. I object to the assertion I was some sort of thief. I know they don’t want cars coming into the centre of Liverpool but in future, I’ll have to drive in. I accept I should’ve printed the ticket but I was running because I was late.”
After refusing to comply with station staff, Mr Lennon - who compared the situation to a Monty Python sketch - was cautioned and interviewed at the station before being de-arrested and allowed to print his ticket and carry on the journey. He said the whole episode ended up taking around 90 minutes. He added: “It was quite a nice chat once we got over the nasties." The Mirror has contacted BTP for comment.