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Transport for London today apologised to a Mayfair businessman hit with a £750 court bill over a £1.50 bus fare - after accepting that the driver had allowed him to board for free.

Robert Rowland, 50, described how he was caught in a “Kafka-esque nightmare” after forgetting his wallet on his way to work.

He offered to pay cash when he boarded the number 9 Routemaster in Hammersmith but the driver and conductor let him travel for free because they recognised him and knew he was not a fare dodger.

But as he was about to disembark at Green Park, he was stopped by an “officious and uncooperative” ticket inspector who ignored his explanation and accused him of intentionally trying to evade payment.

The married father-of-four vowed to “fight to the Supreme Court” to clear his name after ending up with a bill more than 500 times the original £1.50 bus fare.

But today TfL said it would be dropping the case and ensuring Mr Rowland “would not be left out of pocket”.

Steve Burton, director of enforcement and on-street operations, apologised “unreservedly” for what had happened.

He said: “We have undertaken a rapid review of this case and it is now clear that Mr Rowland was given permission to make his journey by the bus driver.

“We apologise unreservedly to Mr Rowland and will not be taking the matter any further. We will also ensure that Mr Rowland is not left out of pocket.”

Mr Rowlands told how he gave the ticket inspector his name and address after the incident in May and subsequently received a summons through the post and an order to pay a fine of £225.

Despite reaching “stratospheric apoplexia”, Mr Rowland said he decided to plead guilty to “make it go away”, explaining what had happened in two pages of mitigation.

He was then asked to give details of his income, his investments, the value of his home and his outgoings before receiving a letter from Lavender Hill magistrates in September telling him his case had been heard and ordering him to pay a grand total of £756.50.

The sum was made up of a £500 fine, the original ticket price, costs of £225 and a “victim support surcharge” of £30.

Failure to pay within 14 days would result in a warrant being issued for his arrest and the fine increasing by a further 50 per cent, the court said.

Mr Rowland, a former hedge fund manager who now runs his own financial consultancy, said: “I was in shock. The whole thing is a Kafka-esque nightmare.

“The ticket inspector was the most officious, uncooperative, most unreasonable guy. He did not even want to begin to listen or show any sympathy - it was simply a case of following orders.

“He said ‘You will be hearing from us’ - it was so Big Brotherish, and three weeks later I got the first summons.

“I did not want to go to court and I thought pleading guilty and showing honesty was the thing to do and that would be it, so I wrote two pages of mitigation and sent it off.

“I then got a letter back ordering me to pay £756.50. I had no idea they could just up the fine. All this for a £1.50 ticket. It is just ludicrous.”

Mr Rowland decided to appeal the conviction, with a date at Kingston Crown Court set for later this month.

A spokeswoman for TfL said the situation escalated because of “an error”, and said they would not be contesting Mr Rowland’s appeal.

She said: “An error was made during a review of the case papers. Meanwhile Mr Rowland separately pleaded guilty direct to court which resulted in the prosecution process taking place with neither party present.

“Transport for London will not contest Mr Rowland’s appeal which should automatically mean the original ruling is overturned. Mr Rowland will also be reimbursed any fine and court costs he has already paid.”