A woman was humiliated after being detained by police and fined for fare dodging despite paying for a valid train ticket.
Stephanie Mortimore, 28, said she was left 'feeling like a criminal' after she was surrounded by cops at a railway station last Wednesday.
The supermarket worker had been travelling to go shopping alone when she was confronted by ticket inspectors and several officers as she exited the train.
Despite loading up her banking app to prove a £6.70 return ticket had been paid to Trainline, she was told this was not considered a valid ticket. Stephanie had encountered technical issues with the Trainline app which meant she was unable to show a virtual ticket.
And even after explaining the conductor on the train had allowed her to travel by showing that proof of purchase, she was still slapped with a £20 fine for fare dodging.
Stephanie said she was 'crying and shaking' after she was held at Worcester Foregate Station for ten minutes by British Transport Police officers.
After being released, Stephanie said she also suffered a panic attack in the street and had to be helped by a passing officer from West Mercia Police.
Stephanie, of Malvern Link, Worcs., said she is now fearful about travelling on a train in future and plans to make a formal complaint to British Transport Police.
The Co-op team member said: "I arrived at Worcester Foregate and there were ten to 15 ticket inspectors and British Transport police officers.
“I thought to myself ‘this is going to be fine, I was told my ticket was all good on the train’.
"I explained what I had to the conductor on the train when they asked.
“I was told that in the absence of being able to present a ticket, they were going to issue me with a penalty.
“At this point I disagreed with them and said again I had proof of my ticket and said I was going to walk away respectfully as I hadn’t committed a crime.
"I had paid for my ticket and not done anything wrong.
“That is when I was stopped from going on with my day by the British Transport Police and they detained me at the station.
“I loaded my online banking app and showed him the pending transaction to Trainline for my rail fare.
"I explained that I would not be happy to accept the penalty fare notice as I had paid for my travel.
“I explained this was causing me distress but they didn’t change their demeanour towards me and kept saying my ticket wasn't valid.
“I thought I wasn’t listened to and my evidence wasn’t seen. I was presenting it to them in a very clear way just like I had on the train.
“I was in visible distress and crying.
“They have all got a duty of care and safeguarding responsibilities to every person and not once was I asked if I was okay.
"Instead I was forced to take the £20 penalty fare notice, despite having done nothing wrong."
Stephanie had bought a ticket on the Trainline app to travel the eight-minute journey travel from Malvern link into Worcester town earlier that day.
She was asked on the train by an inspector to show her ticket, but due to technical issues with the app, she wasn’t able to do so.
However, after showing proof of a pending Trainline transaction on her bank account, she was able to continue her journey without having to buy another ticket.
On exiting the train station at 8.55am, she was confronted by rail staff and police who detained her for ten minutes until she was fined.
"Outside the busy train station, I was sobbing, physically shaking, and felt too embarrassed to walk through town in the state I was in.
"I became incredibly light-headed and was unable to control my breathing, and a police officer walking through town helped me to the ground.
“I’ve never had a problem before and I always purchase a train ticket.
“I am the most boring person you’ll meet, I never even had a detention at school and will always try to do everything right."
British Transport Police said its teams are on service and at stations across in England, Scotland, and Wales every day to ensure passengers and staff are safe.
A spokesperson continued: "The high visibility presence of our officers on the network is not to intimidate anyone, but to provide reassurance to passengers that we are there to assist them and deter crime.
"If you’re travelling on the network and need assistance, don’t hesitate to speak to one of our friendly officers.”
A Great Western Rail (GWR) spokesperson said a pending transaction was not considered proof of purchase but admitted a 'level of discretion' could have been used
A spokesperson for GWR said: "While a pending transaction is not proof of purchase, we have on this occasion cancelled the penalty fare.
"Given the nature of the individual circumstances, a level of discretion could have been shown and we are sorry that this was not applied consistently in this instance."
