TPExpress Expired Railcard

[anon_724]

Hi all, another idiot posting here for the first time. I forgot my railcard travelling York to Manchester airport on transpennine Express. The inspector recorded our interaction and said I would need to provide proof of the railcard.

I've checked my railcard and it is 12 months expired. Have since bought another but now it appears I need to inform them of this and deal with the consequences to avoid more serious escalation? Willing to pay a fine, need to avoid a prosecution.

Really concerned about the ~50 journeys on other other operators and ~10 on the same operator bought mostly through trainline on the same card in the past year. Will these be uncovered? First time taking this specific route if that changes anything.

 

[John R]

Welcome to the forum! It’s most likely that all the other journeys will be identified regardless of operator, and you’ll be required to pay fares for those without any discount for the fare you paid.

Depending on the nature of those journeys that could add up to a sizeable sum unfortunately, as it will probably be based on anytime single fares, which tend to be a lot higher than off peak fares on “inter-city” type routes.

If you can identify all these journeys it might be worth getting an indication of the likely cost you’ll be looking at to settle, as any offer you receive will be predicated on a fast settlement, typically within 14 days, so you’ll need to have the funds available. There will also be an administrative cost, typically around £150.

Brfares.com can help with calculating individual journey fares. As I said, each return journey will likely result in two anytime single fares in the worst scenario.

 

[30907]

Come back to us when you get The Letter - but meanwhile, claiming that you "forgot" your railcard a year after it had expired and you had used it 50-odd times is unlikely to convince anyone, certainly not TPE, sorry

Oops! They've had The Letter!

 

[skyhigh]

Come back to us when you get The Letter

The letter is attached.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

We see lots of cases like this on here at the moment. Transpennine are normally one of the more pragmatic companies when it comes to this sort of thing so you should be able to avoid it escalating to court, as long as you co-operate with them.

I suggest writing a short, concise letter explaining that you have discovered that your railcard is out of date. In addition I suggest mentioning that:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

I expect you to be offered an out of court settlement which normally cost around £150 pus the outstanding fare. An out of court settlement might appear to be a fine, but it isn't and you won't have a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

A complication with this case is whether to mention the other instances of using tickets when the railcard was out of date. As long as the letter from Transpennine only refers to the specific incident where you were caught then I would confine your reply to that incident only. You are not required to incriminate yourself and furthermore, they don't know that your railcard was expired or by how long.

Feel free to post a copy of your draft reply in this thread and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

 

[anon_724]

Is something like this decent?

To whom it may concern,

My sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused.

I was en route to travel abroad and forgot to pack my railcard. Regrettably, when I got home I discovered I had not checked the expiry date on my railcard, and it is out of date.

Since the incident, I have bought a new replacement railcard. To avoid a similar situation in the future, I have also set up a replacement reminder and a digital copy.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter amicably and without court action. Therefore, I am willing to pay a penalty fare covering the full price of the ticket, along with any associated administrative costs.

I appreciate your understanding in this matter, and look forward to a swift resolution.

Yours sincerely,
my_full_name

 

[antharro]

I re-wrote some of it. I have never liked the phrase "I am willing to...". It seems presumptuous. To me it seems that what you're willing to do is irrelevant - the ball is very much in their court and you have to do what THEY tell you to do to resolve it, or you go to court. So the approach should be more of expressing your open-ended willingness to cooperate with them.


Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your letter of <date>.

On the day of the incident, I was en-route to travel abroad and had forgotten to pack my railcard. When I got home, I discovered that the railcard was out of date. I purchased a replacement card and to avoid this happening again, have set up a reminder to renew it when it is close to expiry.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter amicably and without court action. I offer my full co-operation and I am prepared to cover whatever costs TransPennine Express have incurred.

Yours faithfully,

Your_Full_Name

 

[Hadders]

Is something like this decent?

To whom it may concern,

My sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused.

I was en route to travel abroad and forgot to pack my railcard. Regrettably, when I got home I discovered I had not checked the expiry date on my railcard, and it is out of date.

Since the incident, I have bought a new replacement railcard. To avoid a similar situation in the future, I have also set up a replacement reminder and a digital copy.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter amicably and without court action. Therefore, I am willing to pay a penalty fare covering the full price of the ticket, along with any associated administrative costs.

I appreciate your understanding in this matter, and look forward to a swift resolution.

Yours sincerely,
my_full_name

I re-wrote some of it. I have never liked the phrase "I am willing to...". It seems presumptuous. To me it seems that what you're willing to do is irrelevant - the ball is very much in their court and you have to do what THEY tell you to do to resolve it, or you go to court. So the approach should be more of expressing your open-ended willingness to cooperate with them.


Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your letter of <date>.

On the day of the incident, I was en-route to travel abroad and had forgotten to pack my railcard. When I got home, I discovered that the railcard was out of date. I purchased a replacement card and to avoid this happening again, have set up a reminder to renew it when it is close to expiry.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter amicably and without court action. I offer my full co-operation and I am prepared to cover whatever costs TransPennine Express have incurred.

Yours faithfully,

Your_Full_Name

I suggest getting 'sorry' or 'apologise' into the letter. 'I wondered if it would be possible to settle this matter without court action....' might read slightly better.

 

[John R]

Starting the last paragraph with “I sincerely apologise for not having a valid railcard whilst travelling and wondered if …” might suffice?

 

[antharro]

Good call, Hadders and Brissle Girl. I had meant to put an apology in there but apparently forgot!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would remove the "digital copy" bit as a photo of a Railcard on your phone is no more valid than nothing at all, and may even be interpreted, if it's one that doesn't require a photo, as an attempt to share the card.

 

[lll2266]

how much did you pay? what happened next?

 

[Fermiboson]

how much did you pay? what happened next?

Please start a new thread if you are in need of help. Every case is unique and the advice offered will differ on an individual basis.

 

[Sultan]

how much did you pay? what happened next?

Yes. If you are in a similar situation to the 2 threads you have asked a similar question to, please start your own thread including as much detail as you can. No 2 cases are the same and often the person raising it doesn't return to update us with the outcome once advice has been offered.