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Railcard fraud

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ferro

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29 Dec 2024
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leicester
Hi, i was travelling from derby to loughborough but didnt realise railcard had expired 3days ago. The operator said the fraud team will contact me however no details were taken. I also paid for a full fare ticket on the spot. Somebody let me know how they will be able to contact me without taking information. Also what fees am will l be looking at as i paid for a full fare on the spot.
 
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Titfield

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26 Jun 2013
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They will get your details from the railcard discounted ticket you presented. They will then check to see if you have made any other bookings claiming a railcard discount when there may not have been a valid railcard. They will write to you asking you to comment on the bookings they have found.

Apart from paying for the full fare on the spot did they make any other charge (for example a penalty fare) or issue you with any paperwork?
 

ferro

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29 Dec 2024
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Location
leicester
I was not given any paperwork. They only issued a paper ticket for the full fair. The only journey that was taken is the return journey between the two stations. The ticket wasn't linked to the railcard details as a family member got the ticket for me. So the ticket will not be linked on the railcard. So i dont know how they will link that particular journey. Also do they get the details from the ticket or from the railcard as the ticket was paid for on my family members account.
 
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Titfield

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3,241
I was not given any paperwork. They only issued a paper ticket for the full fair. The only journey that was taken is the return journey between the two station. The ticket wasnt linked to the railcard details as a family member got it for me. So it wouldnt be linked on the railcard. So i dont know how they will link that particular journey. Also do they get the details from the ticket or from the railcard as the ticket was paid for on my family members account.

Do you mean that the family member bought you the ticket OR the family member bought the railcard?

They will get the details of the account used to buy the original ticket.

However as you have also bought a full fare ticket they may decide to take no further action.
 

ferro

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29 Dec 2024
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Location
leicester
They may write to the family member but as stated above as you have purchased a full price ticket they may take no further action.
Thats where i need clarification - when the fine is issued, does it go against the account used to buy the original ticket or the account of railcard being used. As those are not linked in my situation.
 

Titfield

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3,241
Thats where i need clarification - when the fine is issued, does it go against the account used to buy the original ticket or the account of railcard being used. As those are not linked in my situation.

A train company can not issue a "fine" (that is for the courts only) nor can they issue a penalty fare after the event. The penalty fare has to be issued on the train at the time of the occurence. There is no such thing as a railcard account but I suppose they could track you down via the railcard but that would be unusual.

The options open to the TOC (Train operating company) are (a) do nothing (b) write to the ticket account holder asking for an explanation of the occurrence. The ticket account holder could reply saying the ticket was for a relative (and give no details) or give them your details. They could then write to you but as I said earlier as you purchased a full value ticket they would be very unlikely to take any further action.

Which train company was this? Given the relatively low value of the fare I am not sure they would bother?
 

ferro

Member
Joined
29 Dec 2024
Messages
6
Location
leicester
A train company can not issue a "fine" (that is for the courts only) nor can they issue a penalty fare after the event. The penalty fare has to be issued on the train at the time of the occurence. There is no such thing as a railcard account but I suppose they could track you down via the railcard but that would be unusual.

The options open to the TOC (Train operating company) are (a) do nothing (b) write to the ticket account holder asking for an explanation of the occurrence. The ticket account holder could reply saying the ticket was for a relative (and give no details) or give them your details. They could then write to you but as I said earlier as you purchased a full value ticket they would be very unlikely to take any further action.

Which train company was this? Given the relatively low value of the fare I am not sure they would bother?
It was East Midlands Railway, thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my enquiry.
 

WesternLancer

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12 Apr 2019
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15,309
It was East Midlands Railway, thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my enquiry.
You must check your own hard copy post and e mail and spam for at least 6 to 8 months. Most importantly the person who bought the ticket must do the same.

If they write about this it’s VITAL not to ignore it (or risk of prosecution arises). If you do hear from them or your ticket purchaser does head back here for help on what to do / how to reply. Experts here will assist with that.

Renew the Railcard asap. Make a note of expiry date as you may not be notified (esp if you use trainline or so it seems!)
 

Hadders

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Senior Fares Advisor
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27 Apr 2011
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18,153
Welcome to the forum!

What type of ticket did you have? Was it a credit card sized paper ticket or an e-ticket shown on a phone?

If it was an e-ticket and the inspector scanned the barcode then the train company can get the details of the account it was ourchased from. EMR are likely to contact the account holder - based on what youy have told us they haven't done anything wrong. Purchasing invalid tickets is not illegal, but using them is.

I echo the view of @WesternLancer that if the account holder is contacted then obtain advice from us before replying to EMR.
 

Cuthbert

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4 Jul 2024
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321
Location
United Kingdom
Was it a Revenue Officer or the train guard/manager/conductor of the train?
If the latter they cannot issue penalty fares some might issue a UFN but might not have time.
What they can do and a lot do with other ToCs is pass the scanned tickets details to their Fraud/Revenue department.
 
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ferro

Member
Joined
29 Dec 2024
Messages
6
Location
leicester
Was it a Revenue Officer or the train guard/manager/conductor of the train?
If the latter they cannot issue penalty fares some might issue a pnf but might not have time.
What they can do and a lot do with other ToCs is pass the scanned tickets details to their Fraud/Revenue department.
It was the conductor on the train.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

Welcome to the forum!

What type of ticket did you have? Was it a credit card sized paper ticket or an e-ticket shown on a phone?

If it was an e-ticket and the inspector scanned the barcode then the train company can get the details of the account it was ourchased from. EMR are likely to contact the account holder - based on what youy have told us they haven't done anything wrong. Purchasing invalid tickets is not illegal, but using them is.

I echo the view of @WesternLancer that if the account holder is contacted then obtain advice from us before replying to EMR.
It was an e-ticket. I will return for advice if l get contacted
 
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