Fined for buying a ticket late, because the train was late

[Julia1]

Hi all,

Yesterday I was on a tight schedule and barely made it to a train meant to leave at 19:06. The train was however late and left a few minutes later. I ran to my train (on ice and snow so I couldn't look at my phone and had no time to go to a ticket machine) and bought my ticket on my SBB app when I got on. However, a controller gave me a fine for CHF 90.- because I bought my ticket late.

Is this allowed? I take this train every single day and have dozens of transactions on my account proving this... Can this fine be revoked?

Thank you

[AferditaH]

Hello @Julia1 

Thank you for you query. 

According to the tariff, you must be in possession of a ticket before the original departure time of the train. A delay does not allow you to buy the ticket later. For inquiries regarding the fine, contact Service Center Revenue directly on 0848 00 11 33.

I wish you a nice day.

Kind regards, AferditaH

[Ex-Bähnler]

Hallo @AferditaH 

You write to @Julia1: "According to the tariff, you must be in possession of a ticket before the original departure time of the train.“

I do not agree with this.

T600, point 0.8.1

"The general rule is that tickets must be purchased before the start of the journey. Passengers must have valid tickets before starting their journey."

_____

Du schreibst: „Laut Tarif müssen Sie vor der ursprünglichen Abfahrtszeit des Zuges im Besitz einer Fahrkarte sein.“

Damit bin ich nicht einverstanden.

T600, Ziff. 0.8.1

„Es gilt generell die Fahrausweispflicht vor Reiseantritt. Reisende müssen vor Antritt der Reise gültige Fahrausweise besitzen.“

Gruss, Reto

PS. Vielleicht wissen @MadisonPierce oder @SBB-Kunde dazu noch genaueres? 

[MadisonPierce]

Ich bin mit @Ex-Bähnler einverstanden. Es hiess früher mal, das Billett müsse vor der fahrplanmässigen Abfahrt des Zuges gelöst werden. Im Tarif war aber soweit ich weiss immer die Rede von "vor der tatsächlichen Abfahrt".

Auf https://www.sbb.ch/de/hilfe-und-kontakt/produkte-services/apps/sbb-mobile-sbb-preview/sbb-mobile-app... steht zur Frage "Bis wann kann ich Billette mit SBB Mobile kaufen?" nur noch "Bis vor Antritt der Reise bzw. bis kurz vor Abfahrt des Zuges."

Das BAV hat sich dazu auch schon geäussert: https://www.bav.admin.ch/dam/bav/de/dokumente/aufsichtsrechtlicheverfuegungen/allgemein/elektronisch... 

[Julia1]

Thank you all for the replies, this is all very helpful! 

Would I have to take this to a court of law or escalate it? The fine is pretty hefty for me because I'm 20 years old and freshly moved out with a small income but I think I would rather pay the (unjustified) fine rather than spend even more money on a claim only to have to pay a sum of the fine anyway. 😞

[MadisonPierce · Accepted solution]

This is a good question... If you pay, you lose the money and will have a bad feeling because you paid for something which is not right. But you can consider the matter to be done. If you don't pay, you'll keep your money, but you will have to invest time in arguing and in the worst case appear before court.

I would do as @Ex-Bähnler suggested and contact SBB and send them a link to the document I've linked or to this forum thread. If they cancel the fine, it's done. Otherwise, you would have to think about it again.

But generally, in Switzerland the one who wants something from someone must go to court to get it, not the one who doesn't want to pay. This means you would not have to sue the SBB. If they do not agree with you, and you do not want to pay, they will initiate a debt enforcement against you. You can then file an objection, and then they have to take you before court and prove that their claim is justified. This will be free for you if you win, but if you lose, it's not cheap. As you see, it's better if it can be handled without court.

[Julia1]

Thank you very much for taking the time to help me, I will use this forum to back up my case.

Have a nice day!

[Ex-Bähnler]

Hallo @Julia1 

Bitte wende dich an das Service Center Einnahmen unter 0848 00 11 33 oder per E-Mail an fahrausweiskontrolle@sbb.ch mit dem Hinweis auf das Dokument von @MadisonPierce 

Und berichte hier, wie die SBB argumentiert.

Gruss, Reto

[Ex-Bähnler]

Danke @MadisonPierce 

Genau dieses Dokument habe ich gesucht aber nicht gefunden. 

Die Appenzeller Bahnen sehen das etwas entspannter 😊 als die SBB.