Passengers travelling to London Stansted Airport have been issued fines of up to £100 for mistakenly tapping contactless cards to pay for their journey.
Thousands of rail users used contactless payments at Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale stations before boarding trains to
But on arrival at the airport, unaware passengers were hit with penalties when they couldn't tap out with London Oyster cards or contactless bank cards.
Data from 2019 revealed that around 16,000 people were fined but fears are growing that the number of penalties has grown.
Passengers travelling to London Stansted Airport have been issued fines of up to £100 for mistakenly tapping contactless cards to pay for their journey
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The surge in fines has been criticised by London TravelWatch's boss Michael Roberts.
"It's plainly wrong that passengers continue to be unfairly penalised for not knowing that contactless payment isn't accepted at London Stansted Airport," he told The Telegraph.
"With 'London' in its name, people quite reasonably assume they'll be able to tap out using a contactless card, especially when they were allowed to tap in using one at the start of their journey".
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch is now threatening to intervene, with a spokesman adding: "[She] making enquiries directly to Greater Anglia and the Department for Transport regarding contactless card readers at Stansted Airport station".
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If handed a fine, the individual must pay £100 plus the cost of the ticket.
An anytime fare from Liverpool Street to Stansted is priced at £21.40.
As a result passengers mistakenly using a contactless card would have to pay £121.40 in total.
Keith Prince, London Conservatives' transport spokesman has slammed Greater Anglia for "profiting from the penalty fares".
Passengers travelling to London Stansted Airport have been issued fines of up to £100 for mistakenly tapping contactless cards to pay for their journey
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He said: "The train operator is making millions by imposing penalty fares on passengers arriving at Stansted without a valid ticket.
"While the train operator says it has signage warning passengers, clearly this signage isn't working. It's unfair."
A spokesman for Greater Anglia said: "We're keen to see the extension of contactless ticketing to Stansted Airport, as that would simplify the position and be more convenient for customers, but such a step is dependent on receipt of the necessary funding and approvals from the Department for Transport."
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "It is the responsibility of Greater Anglia to inform its customers how to pay its fares, and we advise passengers to always check before they travel."
