Hartlepool woman's £370 court bill after dodging £3.20p rail fare

A woman who dodged a £3.20p rail fare is now hundreds of pounds out of pocket.
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Lauren London, 28, of Inverness Road, Hartlepool, was sold a ticket by Northern Trains to travel between Heworth and Hartlepool.

She was then sent a letter requesting an additional £3.20p after continuing her October 17 journey to Seaton Carew.

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Both this and a subsequent fixed penalty remained unpaid and the case was taken to Teesside Magistrates’ Court.

Hartlepool Railway Station. Picture by FRANK REIDHartlepool Railway Station. Picture by FRANK REID
Hartlepool Railway Station. Picture by FRANK REID

London was ordered to pay the £3.20p fare, £150 costs, a £183 fine and a £34 victim surcharge.

The £370.20p total must be paid by the end of the month.

In two similar Northern Trains cases, William Smith, 31, of Hamilton Street, Horden, must pay £375 for dodging an £8.90p fare between Heworth and Horden on December 29.

Christopher Stevenson, 34, of Dodds Close, Wheatley Hill, must pay £398.8p after failing to pay a £22.80p fare between Carlisle and Horden on December 3.

All three cases were proved in the defendants’ absence.