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A fare evasion infringement issued by a public-transport officer can feel alarming, especially if you know you paid or tagged on correctly. These notices are issued on the spot and often without the benefit of full information — reader failures, officer error, and genuine proof of payment are all grounds that can get a notice withdrawn. Refund reviews your notice, assesses your evidence, and submits a formal response to the issuing authority on your behalf. Act quickly: deadlines on fare evasion notices are strict.

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Common grounds to respond

You had tagged on or paid

If you tagged your card on a working reader or purchased a ticket and can show evidence, the notice should not stand. Refund documents the proof and puts it to the authority.

Reader failure prevented tagging

If a card reader was faulty or out of service and prevented you from tagging on, that’s a technical failure — not fare evasion. Refund can identify whether a reader fault is on record for the route that day.

Officer error

Infringements issued to the wrong person, based on a mistaken observation, or without following the correct procedure can be challenged on procedural grounds.
Deadlines on fare evasion notices are strict. You typically have a short window — often 28 days — to respond before the infringement is escalated. Start your case as soon as possible to preserve your options.

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How Refund handles your fare evasion response

1

Upload the infringement notice

Take a photo of your fare evasion notice and upload it at refund.co.nz/case/fare-evasion. The agent reads the notice details automatically.
2

Tell Refund whether you had paid

Explain what happened: had you tagged on, bought a ticket, or were you unable to tag because a reader failed? Your card transaction history is the most powerful supporting evidence.
3

Review the draft response

Refund identifies the strongest grounds — proof of payment, technical failure, or procedural error — and drafts a formal response to the issuing authority for your approval.
4

Refund sends and follows up

Once you approve, the agent submits the response, monitors the deadline, and follows up until the authority provides a decision.
Your card transaction history from your AT HOP, Snapper, Bee Card, or Metrocard app is usually the strongest evidence in a fare evasion dispute. It provides a timestamped record of your tag-on (and tag-off) that is difficult for the authority to dispute. Download it before starting your case.

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What you’ll need

The infringement notice

A clear photo or PDF of the fare evasion notice, showing the notice number, date, route, and amount.

Proof of tag-on or payment

Card transaction history from your transport card app, a paper ticket, or any other record that shows you paid for the journey.

Description of what happened

Your account of events: had you tagged on, why you were in the vehicle, and anything you observed about the card reader or the officer’s conduct.

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Prefer to hand it off entirely?

Go to refund.co.nz/case/fare-evasion, upload your notice and describe the situation. Refund drafts your response and sends it once you’ve approved it.

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Frequently asked questions

Missing the response deadline can result in the infringement being confirmed and referred for collection. If you’re close to the deadline, start your case immediately — Refund will prioritise getting a response out as quickly as possible.
Other evidence — such as a paper ticket, a bank statement showing a fare purchase, or witness information — can still support your case. Start a case and Refund will advise on the strongest available grounds with what you have.
Yes. If readers on the vehicle or at the stop were not functioning, that is a service failure — not an act of fare evasion on your part. Refund checks whether reader faults have been logged for that route and date, and uses that information in the response.
Nothing up front. Refund charges a 25% success fee only if it gets the fine reduced or withdrawn. If the response is unsuccessful, you pay nothing.