Dart Fine- CCTV Appeal

[fined50e]

Hi guys,

Bought a ticket at Pearse for a single journey to Salthill at about half four, or a little after, today. The train was going to Greystones.

Got off at Salthill and was met by ticket inspectors. Reached for my ticket, realised it wasnt there and gave all correct details etc for the 50e fine.

I have one question. Can I prove to them by CCTV that I bought a ticket in Pearse? Im pretty distinguishable and bought from the man-operated booth as the others were busy. Will common sense prevail? Or am I urinating against the proverbial wind?! Im a long time DART user and am a little peeved at the mo!

Thanks

[Mark Gleeson]

You could produce no ticket when challenged => valid fine

The I bought a ticket but lost it is a classic line heard over and over again so the zero tolerance approach was followed

Under the data protection act you can request a copy of any CCTV upon which you appear. The request must be made in writing to the data controller, in this case Irish Rail. This assumes of course that the CCTV is of sufficient quality to show you purchasing a ticket

The fact you can show CCTV that you bought a ticket does not prove that you travelled on that ticket and therein lies the problem. All Irish Rail have to prove is that you had no ticket when challenged which they have done.

All you can do is seek the CCTV and see what you get back, you stand nothing to lose by appealing, but if that fails you end up in court which may cost a lot more than €50 or it may not - seek legal advice at this point.

[fined50e]

Thanks Mark,

I see. Ya I'm sure it is heard over and over again. Ill pay the fine no problem tomorrow I think. Just wondering will I be allowed ask for the CCTV at the given address on pearse st or do I have to do it in writing? If this happens regulary (people asking for CCTV) and IE never relent, Ill happily pay the fine. I suppose I just want to know do I have any *realistic* chance of success with the CCTV if it can be proved its me?

I have no wish to take this any further than outside of me and IE if that helps......if it cant be sorted in the office tomorrow or with writing I wont pursue it.

Im in the wrong (technically) but nonetheless peeved .

Thanks

[Colm Moore]

At the moment, for all they know, you could have passed the ticket to someone else who didn't buy a ticket.

Showing with CCTV that you bought a ticket doesn't prove you retained the ticket.

There may be a fee for retrieving the CCTV, although I understand this is capped at a relatively low level. It just might show what you did with the ticket. There may be CCTV on the concourse, platforms and trains.

[Mark Gleeson]

Regardless file an appeal stating your story and the fact its on CCTV, do this independently of a request for the CCTV which must be in writing, there may be a charge for the CCTV as outlined in the data protection act. To get the CCTV you need to be specific as to time and location and if you don't have the number of the DART coach it could be a significant challenge to isolate the CCTV hard drive to pull

You have nothing to lose, if that fails then pay before the deadline preferably in person at Connolly station and get a receipt.

You just don't know how a judge might view it - if anyone ends up in court get legal advice before, problem is legal advice is going to cost more than the fine to start with so you are always stuck