Achi news desk-
A West Island man is out hundreds of dollars after mistakenly buying an Exo train ticket – one worth more than the fare he was supposed to pay.
William Mattson says he would rush one day in October 2022. The then 19-year-old was on his way from the West Island to an Alouettes game in downtown Montreal.
“I made the mistake of buying [an unlimited evening] ticket, which is actually more expensive than just a one-way trip downtown,” Mattson, now 22, said.
He tried to explain to the inspector that he had mistakenly bought the $5.76 night pass, not the $3.50 day trip. The inspector initially told Mattson he would probably get a reduced fine, but that was not the case.
“A few days or weeks later, we get the card in the mail, and it’s a full $272 card,” he said.
Mattson mistakenly bought the $5.76 night pass, not the $3.50 daily price (Kelly Greig / CTV News)His mother, Andrea Laliberta, kept all the paperwork showing he paid for a ticket. She said it was a simple mistake that is now swelling.
“The machines are confusing. If you’re in a hurry at all, you have to keep scrolling over and over and over again to find [the right fare]. And you have zones A, zones B,” she said. “We bought the night ticket twice now instead of the day ticket. So it’s easy to do.”
Exo Train Service said its inspectors were correct, telling CTV News in a statement, “The person would have noticed that the ticket was not validated because a red light was flashing at the terminal.
“It is important to say that our trains work on the basis of payment and respect since there are no turnstiles on the train platforms,” ​​he said.
William Matson waits for the train (Kelly Greig / CTV News)Matson tried to fight the ticket but claims he was never notified of one of the court dates, meaning the ride that was supposed to cost $3.50 will now cost nearly $350.
“I just—I can’t even,” he told Liberta. “He paid another $2 for the ticket, and he is fined now, at the end of the day, $350.”
“I was angry,” Matson added, “even my mother was quite yelling and a bit freaked out…we were all quite shocked and upset.”
Matson wants to warn others about how easy it is to make this mistake.
“My hands are pretty much tied here. There’s nothing I can really do except pay the ticket,” he said.
