WMT Travel Fraud Investigation - Advice Needed

[jt1706]

Hi there,

I'm looking for some advice on correspondence I have received from West Midlands Trains. The email I have received is below (I've redacted the date):

We have recently been handed a file relating to an incident on the XX April 2025 when approached by staff carrying out their revenue duties, you were asked to show your valid ticket you offered a ticket that was not valid for the journey you had completed, possibly committing short journey fraud.

West Midlands Trains take travel fraud seriously and are 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, as such, a single offence carries a maximum fine of £1,000 and/or three months imprisonment and a criminal record.

Consideration will be taken as to whether this matter amounts to a much more serious offence under the Fraud Act 2006, in particular ‘Fraud by false representation’.

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.

I boarded a train to Moor Street with a ticket that was from a station closer to my destination than where I actually got on, which made my ticket cheaper than it should have been. In all transparency, I’ve done this multiple times over the last several months.

On this occasion, I was issued with a Penalty Fare Notice, which I paid within the allocated time shown.

Obviously, I regret my actions and will never be doing this again (absolutely never!). I am intending to respond to the letter and have drafted a response based on a few threads I've read, but would really appreciate any feedback. Proposed response is outlined below:

Ref: xxxxx

Dear Sir/Madam,

I deeply regret that I was unable to present a valid ticket when requested by your revenue protection inspector on XX April 2025.

As a user of the railways, I appreciate the service West Midland Trains provide, and I understand the financial implication to both the company operator and the taxpayer that comes with fare irregularities. I regret that it has taken for something like this to happen for me to properly evaluate the impact of my actions. Not just the impact it can have on me, but also the impact it has on West Midlands Trains and its customers. I was issued with a Penalty Fare Notice which was paid ahead of the deadline. I have attached an image of both the notice and the payment of the fine, for your records.

I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions and accept full responsibility for this mistake. I understand the seriousness of fare evasion and the potential implications under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 and the Fraud Act 2006. However, I fully acknowledge that by presenting an invalid ticket, I failed to comply with the rules and expectations of rail travel. I deeply regret this lapse in judgment.

I fully acknowledge that it is my responsibility to always carry a valid ticket. Going forward, I will ensure that I always purchase the correct ticket and plan my journeys in advance to avoid any similar incidents. I appreciate that detecting travel irregularities and addressing these cases requires considerable time and resources, and I understand that you may have incurred costs in handling this matter.

With this in mind, I wonder if you would consider resolving this matter without resorting to legal action. I am willing to pay any outstanding fare along with any costs you have incurred immediately.

I look forward to your response and hope this matter can be concluded swiftly.


Thank you for any advice you can give!

 

[Fawkes Cat]

We have recently been handed a file relating to an incident on the XX April 2025 when approached by staff carrying out their revenue duties, you were asked to show your valid ticket you offered a ticket that was not valid for the journey you had completed, possibly committing short journey fraud.

West Midlands Trains take travel fraud seriously and are 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, as such, a single offence carries a maximum fine of £1,000 and/or three months imprisonment and a criminal record.

Consideration will be taken as to whether this matter amounts to a much more serious offence under the Fraud Act 2006, in particular ‘Fraud by false representation’.

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.

Welcome to the forum.

Is this the complete letter you were sent? And can you confirm that you were given (and paid) a penalty fare? That would have meant paying the train fare you should have paid, plus £100 (or £50 if you paid within 21 days of being given the notice)

The thing is - if you were given and paid a penalty fare then that's the end of the matter for that incident. So if you've done that, then you should point that out to the railway as they have no reason to be chasing you for any more money for that incident. Or another possibility is that the railway have looked at your ticket purchases and think that they have spotted other short fares: but if they have done that they normally specifically ask about the other occasions in the letter that they have sent - but they don't seem to have done so in this letter.

So all in all, something seems a little off here, and we need some more information to work out what the position really is.

 

[jt1706]

Hi there, thanks for responding so quickly.

I was given and paid the penalty fare (Penalty amount + full single fare, reduced to a total of £55 as I paid by the deadline). I have a copy of the ticket and of the payment from my bank account.

I did panic on the train and wasn't entirely honest (having recently lost my job and not being in a great head space, this was a massive error but I can't take it back now).

I'm thinking it might be good to remove the word 'mistake' from my draft response.

Let me know if you need anything else specifically.

Thanks again

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hi there, thanks for responding so quickly.

I was given and paid the penalty fare (Penalty amount + full single fare, reduced to a total of £55 as I paid by the deadline). I have a copy of the ticket and of the payment from my bank account.

I did panic on the train and wasn't entirely honest (having recently lost my job and not being in a great head space, this was a massive error but I can't take it back now).

I'm thinking it might be good to remove the word 'mistake' from my draft response.

Let me know if you need anything else specifically.

Thanks again

Thanks for this. Again, just to check - have you given us the whole text of the letter that you were sent? I'm not suggesting that you're trying to hide anything from us - but it is quite easy when copying something from a letter to skip a sentence or paragraph!

 

[jt1706]

Thanks for this. Again, just to check - have you given us the whole text of the letter that you were sent? I'm not suggesting that you're trying to hide anything from us - but it is quite easy when copying something from a letter to skip a sentence or paragraph!

No worries, all ok to double check. Yes - this is the contents of the letter I have received. The only thing I have removed is the date and the last sentence. Screen grab attached.

Also worth noting, based on other threads, that haven't received correspondence from them ever before.

Thanks

 

[Fawkes Cat]

No worries, all ok to double check. Yes - this is the contents of the letter I have received. The only thing I have removed is the date and the last sentence. Screen grab attached.

Also worth noting, based on other threads, that haven't received correspondence from them ever before.

Thanks

OK. Others will be along who can give a more definite answer, but in the circumstances I think you want to respond to them rather more briefly: as you have been issued with and paid your penalty fare, I don't think that there is any further action that the railway can take on this matter. I'd suggest changing your response to something like

Ref: xxxxx

Dear Sir/Madam,

I deeply regret that I was unable to present a valid ticket when requested by your revenue protection inspector on XX April 2025.

As a user of the railways, I appreciate the service West Midland Trains provide, and I understand the financial implication to both the company operator and the taxpayer that comes with fare irregularities. I regret that it has taken for something like this to happen for me to properly evaluate the impact of my actions. Not just the impact it can have on me, but also the impact it has on West Midlands Trains and its customers. I was issued with a Penalty Fare Notice which was paid ahead of the deadline. I have attached an image of both the notice and the payment of the fine, for your records.

My understanding is that as a penalty fare has been issued and paid, this brings matters to an end. So I would be grateful if you could confirm that you will not be taking any further action in this matter

I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions and accept full responsibility for this mistake. I understand the seriousness of fare evasion and the potential implications under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 and the Fraud Act 2006. However, I fully acknowledge that by presenting an invalid ticket, I failed to comply with the rules and expectations of rail travel. I deeply regret this lapse in judgment.

I fully acknowledge that it is my responsibility to always carry a valid ticket. Going forward, I will ensure that I always purchase the correct ticket and plan my journeys in advance to avoid any similar incidents. I appreciate that detecting travel irregularities and addressing these cases requires considerable time and resources, and I understand that you may have incurred costs in handling this matter.

With this in mind, I wonder if you would consider resolving this matter without resorting to legal action. I am willing to pay any outstanding fare along with any costs you have incurred immediately.

I look forward to your response and hope this matter can be concluded swiftly.

(new text underlined)

 

[jt1706]

OK. Others will be along who can give a more definite answer, but in the circumstances I think you want to respond to them rather more briefly: as you have been issued with and paid your penalty fare, I don't think that there is any further action that the railway can take on this matter. I'd suggest changing your response to something like

(new text underlined)

Thank you, appreciate the advice. Is this still the case if I am concerned that they may have recognised similar behaviour from my purchase history? As I mentioned above, I have shortened the journey previously (trying to be fully transparent)

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Thank you, appreciate the advice. Is this still the case if I am concerned that they may have recognised similar behaviour from my purchase history? As I mentioned above, I have shortened the journey previously (trying to be fully transparent)

In English law, while it's important that you don't lie, you also have a right not to self incriminate. As I don't see anything in WMT's email that suggests they want to know about other occasions, there doesn't seem to be any reason why you should say anything about other occasions.

 

[jt1706]

Thanks so much @Fawkes Cat - will hold fire to see if any further comments are added. Appreciate you taking the time to come back to me on this.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2025 ==

@Hadders - can see you've also provided some great advice to others. Would be grateful of any thoughts. Thanks in advance.

 

[AlterEgo]

Don't respond at all. They cannot reasonably bring any prosecution on journeys where you were not stopped, under the Bylaws or Regulation of Railways Act, which basically put the onus on them to identify the traveller, their location when committing the offence, and the journey they are making.

They can't double dip like this. It's too bad their RPI didn't fill out a prosecution notice in the first place rather than a Penalty Fare. Maybe they will be better at their jobs next time.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Thanks so much @Fawkes Cat - will hold fire to see if any further comments are added. Appreciate you taking the time to come back to me on this.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2025 ==

@Hadders - can see you've also provided some great advice to others. Would be grateful of any thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Just so we are absolutely crystal clear, have you only ever been stopped once?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Don't respond at all. They cannot reasonably bring any prosecution on journeys where you were not stopped, under the Bylaws or Regulation of Railways Act, which basically put the onus on them to identify the traveller, their location when committing the offence, and the journey they are making.

They can't double dip like this. It's too bad their RPI didn't fill out a prosecution notice in the first place rather than a Penalty Fare. Maybe they will be better at their jobs next time.

Given that the email from WMT is (in broad terms) a pre-prosecution letter, is not responding the best option? In this case, it seems to me that WMT need to be told that the case should not be for prosecution: a lack of response would see the case pushed towards court - and while I think the OP would have the defence that the matter had been resolved through the penalty fare, they would also face the hassle of getting the court to understand that point.

My view is that courteously pointing out WMT's error at this stage would head the problem off with the minimum inconvenience to the OP.

 

[AlterEgo]

Given that the email from WMT is (in broad terms) a pre-prosecution letter, is not responding the best option? In this case, it seems to me that WMT need to be told that the case should not be for prosecution: a lack of response would see the case pushed towards court - and while I think the OP would have the defence that the matter had been resolved through the penalty fare, they would also face the hassle of getting the court to understand that point.

My view is that courteously pointing out WMT's error at this stage would head the problem off with the minimum inconvenience to the OP.

Hmm, it does look like they are talking about the incident they were stopped, rather. In which case I agree with you, respond with proof of payment of the pennalty fare.

 

[Haywain]

I would keep the response even more brief than suggested above. Something like:

Dear Sirs,
Thank you for your letter. I acknowledge the incident that occurred on xx April 2025. Your member of staff issued me with a Penalty Fare Notice, ref xxxxxxxxxxx, which has now been paid in full. I understand that this concludes the matter.
Yours etc.

 

[jt1706]

Just so we are absolutely crystal clear, have you only ever been stopped once?

Yes, just the once

 

[furlong]

What were the details of the Penalty Fare issued and paid?
- Was it issued from the true station where you boarded that particular train to the station where you alighted (or the next station), with the correct single fare for that day and time?
If not, which of those things were wrong and why?

So please confirm that the inspector who issued the Penalty Fare was aware of the short fare and your true journey details BEFORE imposing the Penalty Fare on you?

(The point is, does the company have any valid grounds to rescind the Penalty Fare and prosecute instead? Technically that can happen if it was issued for the wrong fare because of something you said at the time that was incorrect.)

 

[jt1706]

The penalty fare was issued after the station I should have got off at. It was issued on the train. The inspector asked where I lived and was aware I was the travelling to Shirley. He suspected I had short fared, so charged me a ticket price between the two stations and then a fine. It says this on the penalty notice I have - I can post a picture of this if helpful.

I think I have correctly understood your questions, but please correct me if I have not. Thank you.

 

[Elecman]

Have you checked that the train company hasn’t refunded your Penalty Fare payment and decided to prosecute after checking your booking history?

 

[furlong]

So you are saying the Penalty Fare was issued correctly for the journey you actually made? That being the case, Haywain's suggestion should be sufficient. (It would be completely improper to attempt to prosecute over an incident that resulted in a correctly-issued Penalty Fare: this should only happen when it was the passenger's fault that the PF was incorrect i.e. the passenger told a material lie to the inspector. We know many parts of the railway, more contentiously, may also do this when a PF is left unpaid but that doesn't apply here.)

While the original incident is resolved by the Penalty Fare, nothing stops the rail company investigating previous incidents with a view to gathering evidence either for prosecution or civil recovery action. My guess is the letter was just worded badly (something we've seen a lot on this forum) and you are really being investigated for previous journeys. The circumstances surrounding the paid Penalty Fare could be used as evidence against you in the other cases. E.g. in a civil case, they could argue that they have proof you did this once, and so it is considerably more likely than not that you also did this on some other occasions they might have identified.

If you respond as Haywain suggests, you'll soon find out...

 

[jt1706]

Have you checked that the train company hasn’t refunded your Penalty Fare payment and decided to prosecute after checking your booking history?

Hi there, yes I have checked (and have just checked again) - there has been no refund of the penalty fare payment. Thanks

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 May 2025 ==

So you are saying the Penalty Fare was issued correctly for the journey you actually made? That being the case, Haywain's suggestion should be sufficient. (It would be completely improper to attempt to prosecute over an incident that resulted in a correctly-issued Penalty Fare: this should only happen when it was the passenger's fault that the PF was incorrect i.e. the passenger told a material lie to the inspector. We know many parts of the railway, more contentiously, may also do this when a PF is left unpaid but that doesn't apply here.)

While the original incident is resolved by the Penalty Fare, nothing stops the rail company investigating previous incidents with a view to gathering evidence either for prosecution or civil recovery action. My guess is the letter was just worded badly (something we've seen a lot on this forum) and you are really being investigated for previous journeys. The circumstances surrounding the paid Penalty Fare could be used as evidence against you in the other cases. E.g. in a civil case, they could argue that they have proof you did this once, and so it is considerably more likely than not that you also did this on some other occasions they might have identified.

If you respond as Haywain suggests, you'll soon find out...

Okay, understood. I’m nervous that they will go straight to prosecution and not give me a chance to pay off any other previous incidents outside of prosecution. Would they need to write to me again about the other incidents before going down the prosecution route?

 

[Haywain]

I’m nervous that they will go straight to prosecution and not give me a chance to pay off any other previous incidents outside of prosecution.

They won't and really can't. Before prosecution they would have to send you a summons, which would provide an opportunity to respond, but they don't have sufficient evidence to prosecute anyway.

 

[jt1706]

Okay, thanks @Haywain. I'd like to include an apology in my letter, as I feel that this is the right thing to do (given I was in the wrong). I've drafted the below - do you think this will be ok?

"I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions and accept full responsibility for this mistake. I fully acknowledge that it is my responsibility to always carry a valid ticket. I’m ashamed that it has taken something like this for me to realise the severity of fare evading and I acknowledge I acted completely foolishly by doing this. Going forward, I will ensure that I always purchase the correct ticket and plan my journeys in advance to avoid any similar incidents."

 

[Haywain]

I'd like to include an apology in my letter, as I feel that this is the right thing to do (given I was in the wrong). I've drafted the below - do you think this will be ok?

No, no apology. They are referring to matters for which they have no real evidence and an apology gives them evidence.

 

[jt1706]

@Haywain The apology is referencing the incident that happened where I was issued the PCN - not anything else. Is it the wording that is the concern? Can change this if needed. Really appreciate the advice.

 

[Haywain]

@Haywain The apology is referencing the incident that happened where I was issued the PCN - not anything else. Is it the wording that is the concern? Can change this if needed. Really appreciate the advice.

You don’t have to apologise for that, you have paid the Penalty Fare and the matter is closed. Keep this as simple as I suggested.

 

[Hadders]

Just to sum up where I think things are with this:

You were stopped and issued with a Penalty Fare for travelling with an invalid ticket. You paid the Penalty Fare which means WMT cannot take any further action in respect of the incident where you were stopped.

You have short fared on previous occasions. WMT have written to you sepatrately about these other occasions (it is possible that their letter refers to the original incident which was dealt with by means of a Penalty Fare).

What WMT should have done if they suspected you of short faring on previous occasions was not issue you with a Penalty Fare. They should have reported you for investigation which would have given them two options:

1. Prosecute you for the offence on the day you were caught
2. Investigate your purchase history and offer you an out of court settlement for the cost of all the journeys made with short tickets

People who co-operate with the train company usually end up being offered a settlement. WMT retails the option to prosecute for the original ofference if people don't co-operate ot don't pay the settlement.

The problem for WMT is because a Penalty Fare has been issued and settled they cannot prosecute you for the offence on the day you were caught.

Purchasing tickets is not illegal but using them in an invalid ticket is illegal. To secure a conviction in court WMT would have to prove that you used the tickets and it is highly unlikely they can do that, unless you confess. The easiest way for them to prove this is to catch you on a train but they might (although highly unlikely) have something like CCTV.

WMT want you to engage with them and pay a settlement, if you want to do this they will charge you the cost of the fares for the journeys made at the Anytime rate with no credit given for the tickets you did use. They will also charge an admin fee, typically £175.

It is possible that WMT might seek to recover the outstanding fares via the civil courts. If you get further communication suggesting this then please let us know.

Ultimately this comes down to your appetite for risk.

 

[jt1706]

Thanks @Hadders. Really helpful to understand your thoughts on this.

My appetite for risk is relatively low (not going to sugar coat it). I'm keen to respond to the communication in the appropriate manner, while I will be 100% ensuring I am always travelling with a correct and valid ticket moving forwards.

What are your thoughts on the response? Keep it simple as per Haywain's suggestion?

 

[Hadders]

Thanks @Hadders. Really helpful to understand your thoughts on this.

My appetite for risk is relatively low (not going to sugar coat it). I'm keen to respond to the communication in the appropriate manner, while I will be 100% ensuring I am always travelling with a correct and valid ticket moving forwards.

What are your thoughts on the response? Keep it simple as per Haywain's suggestion?

I would keep it simple!

 

[AlterEgo]

Don't apologise for anything. You paid a penalty fare, the matter is closed.

 

[enyoueffsea]

Haywain’s response in post #14 is absolutely the right approach here. Anything more may give them something to work with.