Discounted fare and false ID

[cat2295]

Hello! I’m posting this on behalf of my friend who recently got caught for buying discounted tickets without actually having the relevant railcard. Unfortunately, they don’t know how many tickets they bought this way and had closed their account so can’t check. To top it all off, when they got caught they provided false information. Somehow an email still reached them which is asking for their personal details and explains that they will conduct an investigation. How likely would they be to settle this out of court? The trainline is South Western Railway.

Letter is attached. Thanks in advance!

 

[Pushpit]

A key question is when was the last date of travel without having the railcard. If it was more than 6 months ago that changes things. But broadly SWR will offer out of court settlements where the passenger is co-operative.

 

[Grvrdvicdr]

I’d say a good start would be to provide the correct details as providing false details is an offence in itself, won’t take them long to put 2 and 2 together and your ‘friend’ will have a hard time convincing them to settle

 

[AlterEgo]

When were they caught? If it was over 6 months ago they cannot be prosecuted.

 

[cat2295]

When were they caught? If it was over 6 months ago they cannot be prosecuted.

It’s been just over 2 months since they got caught. Of course they didn’t buy the wrong ticket ever since and go themselves a railcard

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Mar 2025 ==

I’d say a good start would be to provide the correct details as providing false details is an offence in itself, won’t take them long to put 2 and 2 together and your ‘friend’ will have a hard time convincing them to settle

I’ve helped them draft an email showing they understood what they did was wrong and provide all personal details requested. Hoping they will offer some settlement!

Not sure why the quotation marks on the word friend - it is an anonymous thread anyway but I wouldn’t mind admitting it was me had I done that. Unfortunately, I’m a control freak who follows every rule and small print

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

If SWR scanned your ticket they will have obtained your details from Trainline. Using a railcard discounted ticket and not possessing the ralicard makes the ticket invalid and giving false details in itself it a criminal offence. It wouldn't be too difficult for SWR to join the dots if they wanted to.

Co-operating with SWR will almost certainly see them offer an out of court settlement. I suggest sending a short, concise reply mentioning the following points:

- 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

If an out of court settlement is offered expect to have to pay the cost of all the fares purchased when a valid railcard wasn't held at the full Anytime rate, with no credit given for the invalid tickets that were purchased. They will also want an admin fee, typically around £150.

 

[methecooldude]

Not sure why the quotation marks on the word friend - it is an anonymous thread anyway but I wouldn’t mind admitting it was me had I done that. Unfortunately, I’m a control freak who follows every rule and small print

As you can imagine, we see plenty of threads on this forum where people for whatever reason decide to say it was a "friend" or "family member". Rail staff can and do read these threads so I guess it's a further attempt at anonymity.
Thanks for clearing that up tho

 

[cat2295]

Welcome to the forum!

If SWR scanned your ticket they will have obtained your details from Trainline. Using a railcard discounted ticket and not possessing the ralicard makes the ticket invalid and giving false details in itself it a criminal offence. It wouldn't be too difficult for SWR to join the dots if they wanted to.

Co-operating with SWR will almost certainly see them offer an out of court settlement. I suggest sending a short, concise reply mentioning the following points:

- 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

If an out of court settlement is offered expect to have to pay the cost of all the fares purchased when a valid railcard wasn't held at the full Anytime rate, with no credit given for the invalid tickets that were purchased. They will also want an admin fee, typically around £150.

Thank you that is very helpful! We drafted an email based on this and sent it off. Fingers crossed they will respond quickly with a settlement!

As you can imagine, we see plenty of threads on this forum where people for whatever reason decide to say it was a "friend" or "family member". Rail staff can and do read these threads so I guess it's a further attempt at anonymity.
Thanks for clearing that up tho

That’s understandable! My friend has learning needs hence supporting them to draft the response and researching how to best settle this out of court for them. This forum has been super helpful for this

 

[Pushpit]

Thank you that is very helpful! We drafted an email based on this and sent it off. Fingers crossed they will respond quickly with a settlement!

That’s understandable! My friend has learning needs hence supporting them to draft the response and researching how to best settle this out of court for them. This forum has been super helpful for this

If the learning needs are diagnosed, it is worth mentioning this in the reply, since at least some rail companies are prepared to take that into account. It helps if that is documented (e.g. SEND report).

 

[dosxuk]

Unfortunately, they don’t know how many tickets they bought this way and had closed their account so can’t check. To top it all off, when they got caught they provided false information. Somehow an email still reached them which is asking for their personal details and explains that they will conduct an investigation.

By closing their account, all they have done is prevent themselves from accessing the information. Information about what tickets were purchased and who purchased them will be held for a period of time after the closure of the account - it doesn't suddenly cease to exist - and the retailers are required to co-operate with the operating companies when investigating potential breaches of the law. Your friends email address (and probably sufficient of a postal address if they paid with a bank card) will still be available to the retailer, and therefore the train operating company - along with the details of all tickets they have purchased.

While your friend may not know exactly how many times they have done this, the operating company will have a very good idea. While your friend is not required to fess up to anything they haven't been formally accused of, it's a bad idea to say you've only done this once when the TOC can see you've probably done it 20 times.