Misuse of rail card - WMT

[jbrezz]

Hi all, i’ve been hit with an email surrounding using a railcard i don’t have…..stupid I know, but when I’m not earning much it the little savings do help.

The email reads:

Dear **** ******

We have recently noticed some activity on your account that has raised concerns regarding potential misuse of your railcard.

Upon review, it appears that your transactions may not be compliant with the terms and conditions of your railcard.

Please be advised that any form of railcard misuse is a serious matter and may result in further action if not addressed promptly. We encourage you to contact us immediately to resolve the matter

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’.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

The trips aren’t too regular and fluctuate from once a month to once a week across a 2 year period….

Just some advice on what is best to do due to fear of prosecution and escalation etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[John R]

Have you actually been stopped? If not, ignore it, and make sure you scrupulously buy the correct ticket going forward. Every time, and before you set foot on a train if buying online.

They can’t do anything without hard evidence that you travelled, but if they catch you going forward, they will almost certainly build in the costs of what they suspect you have been doing in any settlement they offer you.

 

[Hadders]

I agree with @John R

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.

Do not acknowledge or respond to the email in any way. WMT will continue to send further emails/letters for the forseeable future. These letters will threaten escalation, police involvement and fraud convictions.

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 et us know.

 

[jbrezz]

Have you actually been stopped? If not, ignore it, and make sure you scrupulously buy the correct ticket going forward. Every time, and before you set foot on a train if buying online.

They can’t do anything without hard evidence that you travelled, but if they catch you going forward, they will almost certainly build in the costs of what they suspect you have been doing in any settlement they offer you.

No they haven’t caught me i’ve only ever been stopped over 10 years ago and paid a fine but this was on a completely different line etc and possibly a different email and definitely a different address etc.

I agree with @John R

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.

Do not acknowledge or respond to the email in any way. WMT will continue to send further emails/letters for the forseeable future. These letters will threaten escalation, police involvement and fraud convictions.

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 et us know.

Is it been known for them to acquire cctv because if that’s the case then it could be a possibility as it’s either moor st or snow hill.

I’ll keep everyone posted but obviously going to court/criminal record etc would not be great.

Have you seen it dropped more often than not due to no response or is a case of “hope they don’t take you to court” kind of thing.

Thanks for the help both!

 

[Haywain]

Is it been known for them to acquire cctv because if that’s the case then it could be a possibility as it’s either moor st or snow hill.

CCTV might show you at a station but it won't be able to show what ticket you held, so don't overthink this.

 

[jbrezz]

@Hadders @John R @Haywain just a quick clarification the email was from London North Western and West Midlands Railways i dont know if that makes a difference as I’ve seen cases like this differ depending upon what rail service email you……. Thx for all the advice so far

 

[AlterEgo]

if you’ve not been stopped don’t reply. I’m sure you’ve seen all the other cases on here by now where nothing happened after refusing to respond to their enquiries.

 

[Hadders]

@Hadders @John R @Haywain just a quick clarification the email was from London North Western and West Midlands Railways i dont know if that makes a difference as I’ve seen cases like this differ depending upon what rail service email you……. Thx for all the advice so far

West Midlands Trains is the official name of the train operating company that operates services branded as West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway.

 

[jbrezz]

if you’ve not been stopped don’t reply. I’m sure you’ve seen all the other cases on here by now where nothing happened after refusing to respond to their enquiries.

Olay thanks, like I mentioned previously i recall being stopped around 10 years ago maybe even longer would this come into play regarding this case?(before trainline was even a thing)

 

[John R]

Olay thanks, like I mentioned previously i recall being stopped around 10 years ago maybe even longer would this come into play regarding this case?(before trainline was even a thing)

If it was that long ago I very much doubt it. I am not sure they would even be allowed to hold data that far back for one thing.

 

[jbrezz]

Hi all, just an update below:

Dear xxxx xxxxx,

We refer to our previously letter dated 26th May 2025, to which we have not received a response.

Following further investigation, we have identified “around 100” instances of possible railcard misuse linked to your account. As a result, the total outstanding amount owed, inclusive of administrative fees, is xxxx - (just under £600

Due to your failure to respond, the sum is now due in full within 7 days from the date of this letter. If payment is not received within this timeframe, we will escalate this matter to our prosecutions team for legal action, which may result in additional costs and penalties being incurred.

To avoid further consequences, we urge you to make immediate payment or contact us to discuss this matter. Payment details are provided below for your convenience.

If you believe this matter has been raised in error or require further clarification, please contact us immediately at Digitalfraudteam@wmtrains.co.uk

Account Name: WMT Ltd - Digital Prosecutions

Sort Code: 30 80 12

Account Number: 24429068

REF – xxxxx

We strongly advise you to take this notice seriously and act to resolve this issue.

Regards


Does this change anything due to the fact they have my name and a specific amount/instances, which to be honest seems very high as if they’ve gone through all of my data and just logged it rather than individual trips that were possibly incorrect. - just an fyi i’ve put things in quotes to remove anything exact just in case.

Cheers

 

[Fawkes Cat]

It seems to me that the key word is in the following sentence:

Following further investigation, we have identified “around 100” instances of possible railcard misuse linked to your account.

If the railway want to prosecute you (take you to the criminal court) they need the court (magistrates or jury as appropriate) to be sure that you misused tickets ('certain beyond reasonable doubt' in the old wording). I'd suggest that 'possible' doesn't meet the level of 'being sure'.

Or the railway might want to take civil action to get back the money that they think you owe. That's got a lower level of proof - the court would have to be convinced on the balance of probabilities (or what is more likely than not, to put it another way) that the railway was right. The railway might well argue that no one would buy loads of railcard tickets unless they were planning to use them, and the court might have some sympathy for that argument - or they might not.

For the moment, I think the forum's general advice would be not to respond. I will modify that a bit - it paying £600 is worth it to you for a quiet life, then do that. But if it's an amount that you're not happy to give up, then hang on to the letter/email, but don't respond.

 

[styles]

Without evidence of you using invalid tickets, which as has been said can only really be obtained by CCTV footage in which you are identifiable, and given the quality of CCTV probably also data from the ticket gates (if present), how can they prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was you using the tickets?

They could of course obtain CCTV footage in certain circumstances, however how likely are they to do that for less than £600? Personally I'd say unlikely, but others with more experience may know otherwise.

I'd be intrigued to know what prompted this fraud investigation. Have you been caught out by a ticket inspector or revenue protection officer recently for travelling without the railcard on a railcard ticket?

For completeness, I'd probably stop using that platform to book tickets. If you suddenly start buying non-railcard tickets, while not strictly an admission or guilt or evidence of previous wrongdoing, it would look suspicious. And of course, if you have been travelling on railcard tickets without a railcard, stop doing that. For what it's worth, if these tickets are <£600 for 'around 100' instances, are they Advance fares or flexible fares? Because if they're not Advance fares you could just buy at the station which makes gathering evidence of you using non-railcard tickets after these emails more difficult.

 

[jbrezz]

Without evidence of you using invalid tickets, which as has been said can only really be obtained by CCTV footage in which you are identifiable, and given the quality of CCTV probably also data from the ticket gates (if present), how can they prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was you using the tickets?

They could of course obtain CCTV footage in certain circumstances, however how likely are they to do that for less than £600? Personally I'd say unlikely, but others with more experience may know otherwise.

I'd be intrigued to know what prompted this fraud investigation. Have you been caught out by a ticket inspector or revenue protection officer recently for travelling without the railcard on a railcard ticket?

For completeness, I'd probably stop using that platform to book tickets. If you suddenly start buying non-railcard tickets, while not strictly an admission or guilt or evidence of previous wrongdoing, it would look suspicious. And of course, if you have been travelling on railcard tickets without a railcard, stop doing that. For what it's worth, if these tickets are <£600 for 'around 100' instances, are they Advance fares or flexible fares? Because if they're not Advance fares you could just buy at the station which makes gathering evidence of you using non-railcard tickets after these emails more difficult.

Thanks for the reply, no I haven’t been stopped and I assume just a data trawl which has flagged an irregularity.

I’ve travelled once since and bought one normal ticket but yeah would make sense just to use normal paper tickets as it’s just an on the day thing.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Jun 2025 ==

Without evidence of you using invalid tickets, which as has been said can only really be obtained by CCTV footage in which you are identifiable, and given the quality of CCTV probably also data from the ticket gates (if present), how can they prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was you using the tickets?

They could of course obtain CCTV footage in certain circumstances, however how likely are they to do that for less than £600? Personally I'd say unlikely, but others with more experience may know otherwise.

I'd be intrigued to know what prompted this fraud investigation. Have you been caught out by a ticket inspector or revenue protection officer recently for travelling without the railcard on a railcard ticket?

For completeness, I'd probably stop using that platform to book tickets. If you suddenly start buying non-railcard tickets, while not strictly an admission or guilt or evidence of previous wrongdoing, it would look suspicious. And of course, if you have been travelling on railcard tickets without a railcard, stop doing that. For what it's worth, if these tickets are <£600 for 'around 100' instances, are they Advance fares or flexible fares? Because if they're not Advance fares you could just buy at the station which makes gathering evidence of you using non-railcard tickets after these emails more difficult.

It’s more around the criminal conviction and I’m not in a great place to pay that £600 which in relation to their “100” instances they claim I think it’s high!

The data on my app only shows instances of around 60 trips dating back to early 2023 with a mix of normal fares and railcard use so I don’t know how they’ve come to the over 100 number

 

[Haywain]

Thanks for the reply, no I haven’t been stopped and I assume just a data trawl which has flagged an irregularity.

Whatever has caused the letter to be sent, it is not totally wide of the mark.

I’m not in a great place to pay that £600 which in relation to their “100” instances they claim I think it’s high!

Whether you think it to be high or not, if you were to be caught and prosecuted it would most likely cost you that amount, or possibly more. It ios therefore essential that from now onwards you always buy valid tickets.

 

[jbrezz]

Just another query, I guess. A week before this email was received, I had put in a claim on delay and repay with WMT in regards to a delay/cancellation when I was travelling between Bham and somewhere up north using the same email that they have on file. So, they do have my details including home address etc. Does this make a difference regarding the steps I should take such as ignoring vs engaging. Cheers

 

[John R]

Did you include the ticket for that? And did it have a railcard discount? If so you have admitted travelling with an invalid ticket, and they may have the evidence they need.

 

[Titfield]

Just another query, I guess. A week before this email was received, I had put in a claim on delay and repay with WMT in regards to a delay/cancellation when I was travelling between Bham and somewhere up north using the same email that they have on file. So, they do have my details including home address etc. Does this make a difference regarding the steps I should take such as ignoring vs engaging. Cheers

Was the delay repay claim for a railcard discounted ticket that you did not have a valid railcard for?

 

[jbrezz]

Did you include the ticket for that? And did it have a railcard discount? If so you have admitted travelling with an invalid ticket, and they may have the evidence they need.

Was the delay repay claim for a railcard discounted ticket that you did not have a valid railcard for?

No this was a valid ticket without a railcard bought through a different platform due to work etc so completely unrelated to the trainline tickets but it's more around my up to date details that they will have on file that correlates to my email

 

[John R]

That’s ok then. It’s easier for them to join the dots and know who you are (if they do) but they still have no proof that you travelled with those tickets. It might make a civil case easier though.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

If you think you have, either deliberately or unwittingly, misused your Railcard or something similar, do yourself a favour and make sure you don't do it again.

You now have a file against your name, if any train company actually catches you in person, you'll be on the hook for all of it.

Whilst they don't seem to have evidence to prosecute this time, use this as a warning shot.

 

[jbrezz]

If you think you have, either deliberately or unwittingly, misused your Railcard or something similar, do yourself a favour and make sure you don't do it again.

You now have a file against your name, if any train company actually catches you in person, you'll be on the hook for all of it.

Whilst they don't seem to have evidence to prosecute this time, use this as a warning shot.

Yes, I agree fully

 

[enyoueffsea]

No this was a valid ticket without a railcard bought through a different platform due to work etc so completely unrelated to the trainline tickets but it's more around my up to date details that they will have on file that correlates to my email

I’m assuming you haven’t claimed delay repay on any of the invalid tickets purchased without holding the railcard? Appreciate this instance wasn’t the case with that, but you haven’t previously claimed on any of those 100 journeys they talk about?

 

[jbrezz]

I’m assuming you haven’t claimed delay repay on any of the invalid tickets purchased without holding the railcard? Appreciate this instance wasn’t the case with that, but you haven’t previously claimed on any of those 100 journeys they talk about?

No i haven’t