I read with interest the article regarding Jessie Barnard being fined by Southern Railway this week (The Argus, February 7), because my son of 16 experienced a similar incident in December.

We were away for the weekend and my son, who had just started working in Brighton, was staying with relatives in Hove.

On the Saturday, he took the train from Aldrington Station, which has no ticket-purchasing facilities but only a permit to travel machine. This was out of order.

When he got to Brighton Station, he purchased a return ticket with his Young Person's Railcard at the barrier with no problems.

On Sunday morning, he got to the barrier and asked for a return ticket from Aldrington back to Shoreham as we were returning home that evening.

The guard at the barrier did not believe he had caught the train from Aldrington and said he must have caught the train from Shoreham and neglected to get a ticket.

My son denied this and was promptly issued with a penalty fine. The guard took £2 from him, adding that the rest of the fine would be collected from his parents. He did not ask if he had any additional monies for his return journey.

My son was then told to sign the penalty fare notice and give our details. All very humilating for a young person with a queue of people behind him.

We have disputed this fine with the Independent Penalty Fares Appeal Service (IPFAS), which has dismissed the appeal on the basis that he was not in possession of a valid ticket and pointed out my son had signed the notice and therefore should pay the fine.

Additionally, they have added that on the fine, the station of departure (Shoreham) is noted and this should have been disputed at the time of issue.

I ask, much like Jessie Barnard's mother: does Southern Railway use any discretion at all when dealing with children and young people?

The answer is clearly no. In a world where you try very hard to bring your children up to respect adults and tell the truth, Southern Railway clearly does not adhere to any code of customer care with this section of the community.

We have now been in touch with the local Passenger Focus group to see if it can help us.

Tracey Dawe
College Road, Upper Beeding