Prosecution for using the wrong railcard

[chowderSong31]

Hi,

I have been issued with an MG11 from southwestern rail a few months ago by an officer who discovered I was travelling without the correct railcard. Upon questioning I produced an expired 16-25 railcard but had been using the 16-17 discount on the ticket.

They have responded to me last week asking me to attach all previous 16-25 railcards as I had legitimately purchased one since 2020 until 2023. Upon sending swr the railcards attached they have responded by saying it was attached to my file, with no further context asked or anything.

The question is, does this sort of thing immediately escalate to court? Or do they send you a letter threatening you with court if you do not pay the out of court settlement? I also got the former reply by email.

 

[AlterEgo]

Hi,

I have been issued with an MG11 from southwestern rail a few months ago by an officer who discovered I was travelling without the correct railcard. Upon questioning I produced an expired 16-25 railcard but had been using the 16-17 discount on the ticket.

They have responded to me last week asking me to attach all previous 16-25 railcards as I had legitimately purchased one since 2020 until 2023. Upon sending swr the railcards attached they have responded by saying it was attached to my file, with no further context asked or anything.

The question is, does this sort of thing immediately escalate to court? Or do they send you a letter threatening you with court if you do not pay the out of court settlement? I also got the former reply by email.

Have you been offered a settlement? it's not entirely clear from your post.

 

[chowderSong31]

Have you been offered a settlement? it's not entirely clear from your post.

I have not, I’m awaiting a response after sending swr all of my previous railcards.

 

[LocalInspector]

Please upload any correspondence with personal details redacted so we can best advise

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Welcome to the forum. Please expect to have to pay the full, undiscounted, Anytime Day Single fare for each and every journey made using 16-25 railcard discounted tickets where you didn't hold a valid, in date, railcard, i.e. it had expired, or you inappropriately claimed a 16-17 Saver railcard discount and didn't have such railcard. One return journey = two singles. No allowance made for what you've previously underpaid.

Easy enough for the train company to check your ticket purchase history if you've bought your tickets online using the likes of Trainline. In addition, SWR will likely add on a three figure admin + investigation fee as well.

P.S. If 'AdamHassler' is your real name, you may wish to ask the forum's moderators to change/amend your UserID. You can contact them by pressing the 'Report' button next to your original post. Good luck in sorting this, but I reckon it could prove to be a tad expensive for you.

 

[WesternLancer]

The question is, does this sort of thing immediately escalate to court? Or do they send you a letter threatening you with court if you do not pay the out of court settlement? I also got the former reply by email.

To answer your key original question, usual practice would be for them to ask you more about what has happened before immediately escalating it to court - so I'd not expect the next thing you receive is a court summons, if that is what you are asking (although it could in theory happen) - they are likely to say they have now investigated past ticket history and

However, to prevent it escalating to court you will need to engage with SWR, responding truthfully to what they ask you about all this etc.

I can see that others are advising on the info needed on how you can best do that so you will get good advice here on what to do as things progress.

 

[chowderSong31]

Please upload any correspondence with personal details redacted so we can best advise

Cheers will do

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Sep 2024 ==

@adamhassler. Welcome to the forum. Please expect to have to pay the full, undiscounted, Anytime Day Single fare for each and every journey made using 16-25 railcard discounted tickets where you didn't hold a valid, in date, railcard, i.e. it had expired, or you inappropriately claimed a 16-17 Saver railcard discount and didn't have such railcard. One return journey = two singles. No allowance made for what you've previously underpaid.

Easy enough for the train company to check your ticket purchase history if you've bought your tickets online using the likes of Trainline. In addition, SWR will likely add on a three figure admin + investigation fee as well.

P.S. If 'AdamHassler' is your real name, you may wish to ask the forum's moderators to change/amend your UserID. You can contact them by pressing the 'Report' button next to your original post. Good luck in sorting this, but I reckon it could prove to be a tad expensive for you.

That would be the best outcome however high a sum. The thing is I’ve gone through quite a few posts and it seems they grill you first then offer you the settlement if you cooperate.

I suppose I’m now just waiting for this letter but want to make absolutely sure the next step is them asking for my version of event, after which I’ll offer my sincerest condolences and beseech them to give me the settlement in lieu of court.

 

[30907]

Upon sending swr the railcards attached they have responded by saying it was attached to my file, with no further context asked or anything.

That reads to me like an acknowledgement of receipt of your cards. They will now be reviewing your travel history and looking for occasions when you claimed a discount you were not entitled to.