Unfair Merseyrail charges for incomplete journeys have exceeded £1m since the launch of Tap&Go in August last year. Treating customers fairly is not a priority for Merseyrail and furthermore they contradict statements in their FAQ's and terms and conditions. The two biggest issues are charging maximum priced adult fares to young persons, and charging maximum priced peak fares for off-peak travel.

When a passenger fails to tap out at the end of a journey it is always a genuine mistake, also as most Merseyrail stations are not barrier controlled it's an easy mistake to make. These journeys are classed as incomplete journeys. The picture attached shows how discreet the terminals are. 

Merseyrail need to urgently rethink its strategy on incomplete journey pricing to give fairer outcomes for passengers. They need to end the indiscriminate £10.55 disguised penalty charge every time a tap out is missed, and at non-peak times off-peak charges should apply.

In regards to Merseyrail breaching section 2.4 of their own terms and conditions by charging adult maximum fares to young persons, this needs correcting and historic overcharges should be reimbursed.

How big is the issue? Merseyrail know exactly how many incomplete journeys they have charged for but they won't share this information as they're not obliged to do so. Based on Merseyrail's average of 30 million journeys per year if 0.5% of these were classed as incomplete that's an annual revenue of £1.5m.

6th Oct 2026 update, Merseyrail were challenged about adult charges made to a young person on the basis that these contradict section 2.4 of the contractual agreement, legally Merseyrail had 14 days to respond to this formal challenge and on the 14th day issued a refund without contest.

By signing this petition, you are advocating for Merseyrail to adopt a fair pricing strategy, ensuring public transportation remains accessible and sustainable for everyone. Join us in this fight for fairness and help us make our voices heard. Sign and share this petition today.