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I have received a letter from Greater Anglia confirming I was spoken to at a station a few weeks and the letter asks me to respond within 7 days to settle out of court. My question is, can Greater Anglia request access to my Trainline account? They don't have the email address that my account is linked to, only the statement they took from me at the time. I am asking this because I'm wondering how they would work out the the differences in fares over a period of time. Do they have any legal right to request access?
I have received a letter from Greater Anglia confirming I was spoken to at a station a few weeks and the letter asks me to respond within 7 days to settle out of court. My question is, can Greater Anglia request access to my Trainline account? They don't have the email address that my account is linked to, only the statement they took from me at the time. I am asking this because I'm wondering how they would work out the the differences in fares over a period of time. Do they have any legal right to request access?
They have the right to access. It's a power under investigating crime. If they have ticket details they can get the retailer to tell them who bought the tickets.
They have the right to access. It's a power under investigating crime. If they have ticket details they can get the retailer to tell them who bought the tickets.
All they took was my name and address and details of the fare that was purchased, I'm pretty sure they didn't get the booking reference. They don't have my email address that's linked to my trainline account.
All they took was my name and address and details of the fare that was purchased, I'm pretty sure they didn't get the booking reference. They don't have my email address that's linked to my trainline account.
My question is, can Greater Anglia request access to my Trainline account? They don't have the email address that my account is linked to, only the statement they took from me at the time. I am asking this because I'm wondering how they would work out the the differences in fares over a period of time. Do they have any legal right to request access?
Yes, not only does GDPR allow for data access for detection and prevention of crime, but also it forms part of the Trainline terms and conditions you accepted when purchasing a ticket.
They do not need details of your trainline account, they just need the scan of the ticket, this is linked to your account
Yes, not only does GDPR allow for data access for detection and prevention of crime, but also it forms part of the Trainline terms and conditions you accepted when purchasing a ticket.
They do not need details of your trainline account, they just need the scan of the ticket, this is linked to your account
The ticket was scanned but it was someone from British Transport Police who took a statement. When they email back will they be sending me details of what they have worked out I potentially owe? That's if they were able to get access to the trainline account? Is that how it works?
All they took was my name and address and details of the fare that was purchased, I'm pretty sure they didn't get the booking reference. They don't have my email address that's linked to my trainline account.
In practice, you probably need to assume that they can access your account. They have the right to do so (as explained above, GDPR is quite limited when crime is being investigated - and not paying your train fare is a crime) and so it seems a bit risky to assume that they won't somehow have gathered enough information to get access to your records.
The ticket was scanned but it was someone from British Transport Police who took a statement. When they email back will they be sending me details of what they have worked out I potentially owe? That's if they were able to get access to the trainline account? Is that how it works?
The ticket was scanned but it was someone from British Transport Police who took a statement. When they email back will they be sending me details of what they have worked out I potentially owe? That's if they were able to get access to the trainline account? Is that how it works?
If they scanned the ticket they will have access to the account via Train Line's T&Cs which has been mentioned in post #5.
They can then search your history of purchasing as well. If you log in with a guest account this will not hide you as remember you pay with a bank account.
I think so given he gave me the "you have the right to remain silent and anything you do say may be given in evidence" I can't imagine that Greater Anglia staff have the rights to say that to a customer?
I think so given he gave me the "you have the right to remain silent and anything you do say may be given in evidence" I can't imagine that Greater Anglia staff have the rights to say that to a customer?
Revenue Protection will be trained in P.A.C.E like police. They can interview you under caution and take details. What they cannot do is arrest you. They will caution you as you said then interview you.
They do have a right to say this to you.
Would it be possible to see the letter they sent you please? That will help the experts to advise you on how to reply for best effect and not incriminate yourself. Obscure your personal details and their reference number.
I think so given he gave me the "you have the right to remain silent and anything you do say may be given in evidence" I can't imagine that Greater Anglia staff have the rights to say that to a customer?
I see, that makes sense. So I just wait for them to respond to my email assuming they have access to my Trainline account. Only thing is they wuld have to prove that I didn't actually make those journeys that was paid for I guess.
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Would it be possible to see the letter they sent you please? That will help the experts to advise you on how to reply for best effect and not incriminate yourself. Obscure your personal details and their reference number.
I see, that makes sense. So I just wait for them to respond to my email assuming they have access to my Trainline account. Only thing is they wuld have to prove that I didn't actually make those journeys that was paid for I guess.
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Well, they only need to prove one occasion that you travelled without a valid ticket to prosecute you in court, and you will get a criminal record. If you were read the PACE statement you describe you have probably already admitted to them you were travelling without a fully valid ticket (or even if you said no comment they will have the proof you did that), which is all they need to secure a guilty verdict in court
You can pay them what they are asking you for now, and that may close the matter, or you can refuse which is basically you inviting them to 'see you in court' - where you will be found guilty, get a court fine, costs, a victim surcharge and a criminal record.
In reality it's a fairly straightforward choice. They probably don't care much either way as they take hundreds of people to court annually so the ball is in your court to some extent.
It's worth noting that if you look over this forum through the past few years (not saying you will want to ) that Greater Anglia seem to have been at the forefront of using digital data trawls and investigations to find info on people who may have carried out various types or fare evasion / fraudulent ticket refund requests etc. They have presumably found it a worthwhile approach to adopt.
You replied to the letter that was sent?
What did you reply with?
If it's saying yes that's me what's stopping them from linking all purchases made with your bank account?
Unless you used a different bank each time you bought a ticket they will all be linked to you as it is your bank account. Any and all emails you used from day one is also logged and linked.
We regaularly see cases on here where Trainline ticket purchasing history is researched. As others have said this is all legal under GDPR as it is for the 'prevention and detection of crime.' The ticket scan will link it back to your account and I assume your account has contact details of some sort associated with it. Purchasing tickets as a guest does anonymise this.
It's highly unlikely that BTP were incolved. I suspect it was a Revenue Protection Officer. At my local station (admitedely not a GA station) I often see revenue staff dressed to look like police officers so I can understand the confusion. As noted above they are entitled to interview you under PACE regulations.
What exactly did you say to Greater Anglia in your email. From what you've told us it sounds as though you've been evading your fares and have done this on more than one occasion. Although you've not told us exactly what has happened it's almost certain that Greater Anglia has sufficient evidence to prosecute you for the incident on the day you were caught. If you co-operate with Greater Anglia then they almost always offer an out of court settlement which normally costs the value of the fares avoided at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid tickets you did purchase. In addition you will have to pay an admin fee.
At this stage, Greater Anglia are only asking you about the incident on the day you were stopped. My advice is to confine your reply to this incident only. This is because you are not required to incriminate yourself but do be aware that Greater Anglia may well write to you again about further incidents they have discovered.
We are aware of an issue with emails from the Forum to Microsoft-based email accounts (hotmail/outlook/live.com email addresses). This is being looked into currently, thanks for your patience meanwhile.
