Digital Fraud Team Investigation Advice

[asj91827]

Good morning everyone,

I received this email a couple of days ago and obviously I’m quite stressed out and I’m unsure of the best way to respond. Any advice would be much appreciated:



Dear Customer,

Travel Fraud Investigation

We have recently been handed a file relating to an incident on 6th June 2024 when staff were carrying out their revenue duties, you were asked to show your ticket, the ticket you offered had been purchased after departure contravening the conditions of carriage and possibly committing short journey fraud.
Further investigations into this matter have been carried out, including a review of the ticket records. It would appear, at this stage, that this may be a case of fraud. West Midlands Trains take travel fraud extremely seriously and is committed to prosecuting all cases of fare evasion to the full extent of the law. Travelling on the railway with the intent to avoid paying the full fare is an offence under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889. Such an offence carries a maximum fine of £1,000 and/or three months’ imprisonment and, in either case, a criminal record. It must also be considered whether this matter amounts to a much more serious offence under the Fraud Act 2006.

At this stage we would be grateful if you would provide any evidence to support the claim that none of the above legislation has been contravened to prevent further action being contemplated.

Kind regards,




I was travelling from hemel hempstead to watford junction, but bought a ticket after the train had departed. I live in berkhamsted (1 stop further away than hemel hempstead) but got a lift to hemel hempstead in the morning. so when the inspector asked for my address, it looked suspicious that it was not a hemel hempstead address and I had a ticket from Hemel hempstead to watford junction. I also regularly stay at house in kings langley, which is 1 stop away from watford junction, so if they are to look into my ticket history, there will be a lot of tickets between watford junction and kings langley, even though I have a berkhamsted address. I’m worried that this will look suspicious and as if i’m constantly purchasing cheap tickets and staying on the train past my destination.

Any advice would be much appreciated on this matter. I’m not sure what the best way to respond is. I also appealed the fare when i received it as i had a valid ticket for the journey and this was their response:

Thank you for your correspondence concerning the issue of the above referenced Penalty Fare.

To enable a full assessment, a copy of the ticket purchase confirmation is required. This must clearly show the date and time that the email was received.
Please respond to this request within 14 days of the date of this letter, clearly quoting the Notice Number on all communication. You may upload the required documentation online at www.appealservice.co.uk, send by fax to 0844 544 8454 or send by post to AS, Regus, Building 1000 Lakeside, Western Road, Portsmouth, PO6 3EZ.

Failure to respond within the given period will result in your appeal being considered without the requested evidence.

Finally, I look forward to hearing back from you.


The latter email was sent on 21/06 and the fraud investigation was sent on 25/06. Again any advice on the best course of action would be much appreciated as i’m very stressed about the outcome and fine and a potential criminal record

Thank you in advance

 

[asj91827]

Good morning,

Any advice would be much appreciated. I received this email from the digital fraud team on 25th june regarding a penalty, and obviously i’m very stressed out about the £1000 fine, criminal record, and potential court hearing/imprisonment, and i’m not sure of the best way to respond, so any help would be incredibly appreciated.



Dear Customer,

Travel Fraud Investigation

We have recently been handed a file relating to an incident on 6th June 2024 when staff were carrying out their revenue duties, you were asked to show your ticket, the ticket you offered had been purchased after departure contravening the conditions of carriage and possibly committing short journey fraud.

Further investigations into this matter have been carried out, including a review of the ticket records. It would appear, at this stage, that this may be a case of fraud. West Midlands Trains take travel fraud extremely seriously and is committed to prosecuting all cases of fare evasion to the full extent of the law. Travelling on the railway with the intent to avoid paying the full fare is an offence under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889. Such an offence carries a maximum fine of £1,000 and/or three months’ imprisonment and, in either case, a criminal record. It must also be considered whether this matter amounts to a much more serious offence under the Fraud Act 2006.

At this stage we would be grateful if you would provide any evidence to support the claim that none of the above legislation has been contravened to prevent further action being contemplated.

Kind regards,


context:
I purchased a ticket from hemel hempstead to watford junction once i was on the train and it had departed. I live in berkhamsted (1 stop further away than hemel hempstead) but I got a lift to hemel hempstead in the morning so purchased a ticket from there. When the ticket inspector was issuing my penalty fare for purchasing a ticket after departure and asked my address, it of course looked suspicious that i was on a train with a ticket from hemel hempstead to watford junction when my address is in berkhamsted, and i can appreciate it looks as though i had got on at berkhamsted and purchased a cheaper ticket.
I also regularly stay at a house in kings langley (1 stop away from watford junction) so I have a purchase history of tickets between kings langley and watford junction. i’m worried that an investigation into my purchase history would show a number of tickets from kings langley to watford junction and with my home address being in berkhamsted, it would look as though I have purchased a number of cheaper tickets between watford and kings langley but stayed on the train until berkhamsted, or got on at berkhamsted and bought a cheaper ticket from kings langley to watford junction to get through the barriers.

I originally appealed the penalty as i had a valid ticket for the service, but purchased the ticket once i was already on the train and received this email on the 21st of June (4 days before the fraud investigation).



Thank you for your correspondence concerning the issue of the above referenced Penalty Fare.

To enable a full assessment, a copy of the ticket purchase confirmation is required. This must clearly show the date and time that the email was received.

Please respond to this request within 14 days of the date of this letter, clearly quoting the Notice Number on all communication.

Failure to respond within the given period will result in your appeal being considered without the requested evidence.

Finally, I look forward to hearing back from you.



i’m not sure what my best course of action is, and i’m very stressed of the £1000 fine, potentially going to court and getting a criminal record, and even imprisonment - even though i know this is unlikely.

Any advice would be much appreciated as I’m unsure what to do and how to respond.

Thank you in advance.

 

[AlterEgo]

Did you buy your ticket on the train when you saw the inspector? I wonder if your plan was to buy from Kings Langley instead?

i can appreciate it looks as though i had got on at berkhamsted and purchased a cheaper ticket.

But that is what you actually did.

I also regularly stay at a house in kings langley (1 stop away from watford junction) so I have a purchase history of tickets between kings langley and watford junction.

Yes isn’t that convenient?

i’m worried that an investigation into my purchase history would show a number of tickets from kings langley to watford junction and with my home address being in berkhamsted, it would look as though I have purchased a number of cheaper tickets between watford and kings langley but stayed on the train until berkhamsted, or got on at berkhamsted and bought a cheaper ticket from kings langley to watford junction to get through the barriers.

They’ve already investigated this and come to the same conclusion I expect. Can’t say I blame them; your excuse doesn’t pass the smell test, I have to say. This has all the hallmarks of someone just buying a ticket to exit the barriers and I think you know that yourself. I would expect the train company to be quite sceptical about your explanation.

I originally appealed the penalty as i had a valid ticket for the service, but purchased the ticket once i was already on the train and received this email on the 21st of June (4 days before the fraud investigation).



Thank you for your correspondence concerning the issue of the above referenced Penalty Fare.

To enable a full assessment, a copy of the ticket purchase confirmation is required. This must clearly show the date and time that the email was received.

Please respond to this request within 14 days of the date of this letter, clearly quoting the Notice Number on all communication.

Failure to respond within the given period will result in your appeal being considered without the requested evidence.

Finally, I look forward to hearing back from you.

Notwithstanding that the Penalty Fare was likely improperly issued, that’s not your concern now. The problem is the evidence which seems like it shows you are likely a habitual short farer. Did you submit the purchase confirmation as they asked?

i’m not sure what my best course of action is, and i’m very stressed of the £1000 fine, potentially going to court and getting a criminal record, and even imprisonment - even though i know this is unlikely.

Any advice would be much appreciated as I’m unsure what to do and how to respond.

Have you been habitually short faring by buying tickets from Kings Langley, yes or no? It’s important we clear that question first, because if you’re dishonest about this or are unable to substantiate your excuse you may find the advice here is inappropriate to your circumstances.

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi.

I know that line well.

Do you have any way to prove that you often stay in Kings Langley to show WMT?

 

[asj91827]

Did you buy your ticket on the train when you saw the inspector? I wonder if your plan was to buy from Kings Langley instead?


But that is what you actually did.


Yes isn’t that convenient?

They’ve already investigated this and come to the same conclusion I expect. Can’t say I blame them; your excuse doesn’t pass the smell test, I have to say. This has all the hallmarks of someone just buying a ticket to exit the barriers and I think you know that yourself. I would expect the train company to be quite sceptical about your explanation.

Notwithstanding that the Penalty Fare was likely improperly issued, that’s not your concern now. The problem is the evidence which seems like it shows you are likely a habitual short farer. Did you submit the purchase confirmation as they asked?



Have you been habitually short faring by buying tickets from Kings Langley, yes or no? It’s important we clear that question first, because if you’re dishonest about this or are unable to substantiate your excuse

In all honesty, I have short fared habitually. There is some truth to what I said in that I do sometimes stay in Kings Langley, which is why I thought it may be a plausible explanation.

In the case of the hemel hempstead ticket, I was short faring and bought the ticket just after the train left hemel hempstead, and then the ticket inspector checked my ticket somewhere between there and watford junction. I bought the ticket once I realised there was an inspector on board, but I do occasionally get a lift to hemel hempstead in the mornings and buy tickets from there, just not on this occasion.

So my ticket purchase history will have a number of tickets to and from berkhamsted, hemel hempstead, kings langley, and watford junction. Not all are short fares but some are.

So I am unsure how all of this will look in my purchase history.

What would you suggest is the best course of action moving forward?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Jun 2024 ==

Hi.

I know that line well.

Do you have any way to prove that you often stay in Kings Langley to show WMT?

What kind of proof would be satisfactory? Would I need the person who’s I stay at to notify WMT?

 

[JBuchananGB]

West Midland Trains already have access to your ticket purchasing history if you used any online ticket retailer to buy them. The correct course of action is to use your own history to draw up a spreadsheet listing all dates on which you have travelled, what journey(s) you made and identifying which ticket(s) you used on each occasion.
You will then know what you can expect to discuss with them.
You should then respond to them apologising for the individual incident when you were stopped, but also indicating that you are aware that since whatever date there have been several occasions when you have travelled without the correct ticket.
You should ensure you tell them that you regret you actions and from now on you will always have valid tickets for your journeys before boarding any train.
You should not be thinking about any other stories you might spin to try to deceive them.
Ask them whether they could engage with you in order to reach an agreement to reimburse them for unpaid fares and
their expenses in dealing with the matter.
You may post your draft response in the forum for assistance in getting the right tone.

 

[Titfield]

It may take some work to "convince" WMT to offer an out of court settlement rather than proceed to court.

(1) Draft a letter covering the points that @Hadders suggests in the advice he posts in cases such as this.
(2) Consider getting a letter from the person you stay with to confirm the dates you stayed there. I think you have to be prepared for WMT to dismiss this as not being proof they are prepared to accept.
(3) Is the person you get a lift from the same person you stay with? If not then get a second letter of confirmation of lifts being given but as above WMT may dismiss this.
(4) It may be that to fess up to all the dates of "short tickets" (including the dates you stayed overnight) may actually convince WMT more than a hybrid yes to some, no to other dates approach.

 

[AlterEgo]

So my ticket purchase history will have a number of tickets to and from berkhamsted, hemel hempstead, kings langley, and watford junction. Not all are short fares but some are.

Do you have any tickets from Kings Langley to Berkhamsted?

 

[SuspectUsual]

(2) Consider getting a letter from the person you stay with to confirm the dates you stayed there. I think you have to be prepared for WMT to dismiss this as not being proof they are prepared to accept.

I think this is in principle a good idea, but the OP has got to be realistic. If the OP gave this person a list of the dates you bought tickets from Kings Langley and they then write a letter for WMT saying "my friend stayed at mine on these dates...." and then list the exact same dates, I think WMT will think it (as someone upthread said) "fails the smell test". Especially if it's a lot of dates over an extended period - how would they realistically remember?

Now, if there was evidence to corroborate it (eg bank / credit card statements showing the OP was in Kings Langley on those evenings) that would be a different matter

 

[guilbert]

So you were issued with a penalty fare for the time you were stopped? If so I would be inclined to pay the PF and not attempt to appeal it but not engage with them regarding the other journeys. And obviously purchase the correct ticket in future.

 

[AlterEgo]

So you were issued with a penalty fare for the time you were stopped? If so I would be inclined to pay the PF and not attempt to appeal it but not engage with them regarding the other journeys. And obviously purchase the correct ticket in future.

It's a bit late for that - they have already appealed the Penalty Fare, and in doing so have triggered this investigation.

The Penalty Fare may even have been issued improperly but it's academic now, as by appealing, they have triggered someone in the process going "oh did ye aye?" and opening the Pandora's box of all the dodgy looking fares they've been buying.

Now, a prosecution for any of those historic offences under the Bylaws or RoRA might be difficult to pull off, as the company essentially has to prove the OP travelled beyond reasonable doubt, but now they have a cast iron specimen offence of paying when challenged I think this muddies the waters a bit. "I get lifts here, I stay in a house here, but oh yeah I paid when challenged that one time I saw an inspector" - a big Swiss Cheese of aligning holes which undermine the OP's credibility.

 

[jacksonbang]

I don't really understand why the advice is to reply to the letter and incriminate yourself with these explanations. You can't be sued for spending time in Kings Langley. Why would you engage ?

 

[AlterEgo]

I don't really understand why the advice is to reply to the letter and incriminate yourself with these explanations. You can't be sued for spending time in Kings Langley. Why would you engage ?

Nobody is talking about being sued here. Suing is a civil matter. This is a criminal investigation.

There's an argument for the OP not to respond - and indeed I myself often advise this - but the fact they were caught red handed on one occasion and have an outstanding and undecided appeal makes this problematic.

Regulation 11 of the Penalty Fares Regulations (my bold):

(3) Where a person falling within paragraph (1)(a) has appealed against the penalty fare under regulation 16, proceedings for any of the offences specified in paragraph (4) may only be brought against that person for the same failure to produce a platform ticket or a valid travel ticket if the operator, on whose behalf the penalty fare was charged, notifies the relevant Appeal Panel that the penalty fare is cancelled before—

(a)the relevant Appeal Panel has decided the outcome of the appeal under regulation 16; or

(b)the time period mentioned in paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 expires,

The appeal panel has not decided the outcome, because the OP unwisely chose to dispute it and the panel have now asked for supplementary evidence, while also having a very suspicious purchase history.

WMT still have the right to cancel the penalty fare and prosecute for the single specimen offence.

Hence, I think on balance, the OP should engage.