A WOMBWELL woman who was accused of fare dodging has been at the heart of a trial which is set to see around 75,000 separate convictions thrown out.
Tens of thousands of rail passengers who were wrongly prosecuted and fined for alleged fare dodging are set to be refunded after a judge ruled that their convictions were void.
A number of rail firms, including Northern Rail, brought prosecutions against thousands of passengers using the single justice procedure (SJP) - which makes the legal process more efficient - despite not being permitted to do so.
Lawyers for rail companies told a hearing last month they were ‘in agreement’ the cases should be quashed.
In a ruling at the same court last week, Judge Paul Goldspring said six ‘test cases’ should be declared a ‘nullity’, so it was ‘as though the proceedings never existed’.
Sarah Cook, 42, was one of those six test cases which could help tens of thousands of people - having first been told to pay a fine in November 2022.
She told the Chronicle: “On November 17, 2022, I got on the train at Wombwell but the ticket machine at the station would not accept cards.
“I thought that I’d just get a ticket on the train but by the time I’d got to Barnsley the conductor hadn’t come down.
“I got off the train and was immediately stopped.
“Even though I explained what had happened I was told that I needed to pay a £20 fine - I appealed this.
“A year later I received a letter through the post and was told that I needed to pay a £465 fine.
“They told me that I’d already been told my appeal had been denied - which I hadn’t - and so I appealed that.
“I was sent a whole load of documents and told that if I was to plead guilty I would receive a criminal record and potentially even a jail sentence.”
In the end, Sarah was told to just pay a £4 fine - the price of the original train ticket - but the stress the ordeal caused her was tremendous.
“They ultimately told me that I only had to pay a £4 fine,” she added.
“The original fine came through just before Christmas when money is at its tightest.
“I own a small business so I’m definitely not a millionaire.
“They said I could go to jail or get a criminal record.
“The panic of it all was so stressful.”
Strangely, Sarah was unaware she had even been used as one of the six test cases - and she originally thought it was a prank.
“A few months ago I had a letter come through from London saying that I had a court date - I thought it was one of my friends playing a prank on me,” she said.
“I didn’t even know that this was a thing that was happening.
“They picked us six out of a lottery and if it would have gone the other way I’m sure people would probably have been holding us accountable even though we knew nothing about it.”
Sarah is happy that Northern Rail has finally apologised - but she said it should never have got to this stage.
She added: “Looking back at how crazy it was, it’s incredible to think that 74,999 other people were feeling the exact same way.
“Everyone feels they’re on their own when going through something like this but it’s clear now that’s not the case.
“It was such a scary thing to go through but it’s very ridiculous that it even got to this stage.
“It’s nice that they’ve said sorry but it doesn’t stop everyone’s stress.”
A spokesperson for Northern Rail said: “Our focus remains on ensuring that our customers are treated fairly, which means ensuring all passengers who board our trains have a valid ticket.
“Northern stopped bringing new cases under the Single Justice Procedure for offences uner the Regulation of Railway Act 1889 in January and are reviewing its previous use.”
