Gave false details and unsure what to do. Need help!!

[c2001]

How long can they track the trainline account for? Can they go all the way back to like 2023 for example? I must admit I’ve purchased tickets quite a lot from the stop away from my station to save money I know it’s only like £3 but it’ll add up.

Also can you pay instalments or has it gotta be within a certain timeframe?

 

[AlterEgo]

How long can they track the trainline account for? Can they go all the way back to like 2023 for example? I must admit I’ve purchased tickets quite a lot from the stop away from my station to save money I know it’s only like £3 but it’ll add up.

Also can you pay instalments or has it gotta be within a certain timeframe?

In theory they can go back six years. They’ll certainly have the 2023 journeys on there. The company normally asks for a settlement to be paid within a few weeks of their offer.

 

[c2001]

In theory they can go back six years. They’ll certainly have the 2023 journeys on there. The company normally asks for a settlement to be paid within a few weeks of their offer.

By the sounds of that it looks like I’ll end up having to pay quite a lot!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==

By the sounds of that it looks like I’ll end up having to pay quite a lot

Do they look at every single journey on there?

 

[AlterEgo]

By the sounds of that it looks like I’ll end up having to pay quite a lot!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==


Do they look at every single journey on there?

Yes, they have access to every single journey.

 

[c2001]

I get that they have access to every single journey but surely they don’t look at every single one. There’s been times on the trainline app where I’ve actually paid for the right tickets so how will they work it out?

 

[AlterEgo]

I get that they have access to every single journey but surely they don’t look at every single one. There’s been times on the trainline app where I’ve actually paid for the right tickets so how will they work it out?

Well they'll look at every single journey of course, anything that looks like a short fare (one or two stops) they'll ask for a settlement for. Short fares are usually quite obvious.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I get that they have access to every single journey but surely they don’t look at every single one. There’s been times on the trainline app where I’ve actually paid for the right tickets so how will they work it out?

For a start, they'll look at your (corrected) address and likely use the nearest station to that as where you've been travelling from

And yes, they will look at every one because they won't have to do them individually - their process will basically output data from their ticketing system into a spreadsheet of all your ticket purchases and they'll be able to quickly go through it and find every purchase which looks "wrong"

 

[c2001]

For a start, they'll look at your (corrected) address and likely use the nearest station to that as where you've been travelling from

And yes, they will look at every one because they won't have to do them individually - their process will basically output data from their ticketing system into a spreadsheet of all your ticket purchases and they'll be able to quickly go through it and find every purchase which looks "wrong"

I’ve been travelling from Wolverhampton the last few months as I’ve been staying at my girlfriends house but it isn’t my actual home

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==

I’ve been travelling from Wolverhampton the last few months as I’ve been staying at my girlfriends house but it isn’t my actual home

So when they do look at that how do assess it or I do explain that to them?

 

[AlterEgo]

That's a bridge to cross when the problem comes. If you've been buying tickets from say, Wolverhampton to Birmingham, they might not identify these as short ticketing.

But as you've been ripping them off for years you have lost the presumption of benefit of the doubt, so it will be up to you to substantiate any journeys you say are legitimate but the company says are not.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

That's a bridge to cross when the problem comes. If you've been buying tickets from say, Wolverhampton to Birmingham, they might not identify these as short ticketing.

But as you've been ripping them off for years you have lost the presumption of benefit of the doubt, so it will be up to you to substantiate any journeys you say are legitimate but the company says are not.

They will if there's no scan data form the station given the barriers are more often closed than open since the latest hiring was completed.

 

[c2001]

They will if there's no scan data form the station given the barriers are more often closed than open since the latest hiring was completed.

Will that be a positive or negative for me in my case?

 

[Hadders]

They will check all transactions potentially up to six years.

They will list all the purchases and identify ones they deem to be suspicious, for example:

• If a Wolverhampton to Colseley and Five Ways to Birmingham New Street tickets are purchased on the same day then they will assume you've made a Wolverhampton to Birmingham New Street journey
• If a Jewellery Quarter to Birmingham Moor Street ticket is purchased but you live in Wolverhampton then they will assume you've made a longer journey
• They will look for railcard discounted tickets and ask for evidence that you held the appropriate railcard
• They will look to see if there is any pattern of refunded tickets

You will have the opportunity to comment on the suspicious journeys. Using one of the examples above, if you could show that your Girlfriend lived near Jewellery Quarter station then that would remove those journeys from the suspicous list.

Expect to have to pay the cost of all the journeys made with invalid tickets at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for invalid tickets purchased. They will also charge an admin fee, typically £175. Settlements normally have to be paid in full within a couple of weeks of them being offered, payment in installments isn't normally allowed. You might want to search your own Trainline account to work out the sort of sum involved (you should be able to see more transaction details on the website version rather than the app) and if money is tight think about how you can raise the sum required.

The alternative to an out of court settlement is that the train company prosecutes you in the Magistrates Court for the offence where you were caught. If this happens you would be found guilty and have to pay:

• A fine based on your income, normally discounted by a third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity
• A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
• A contribution towards WMTs costs
• Compensation for the fares avoided

In addition you would have a criminal conviction although the court would normally allow the fine and costs to be paid in installments. Whatever the outcome, I'm afraid it's going to be expensive.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Wait and see what the reply to your email is and let's go from there.

 

[c2001]

That sounds like a lot of stress and my girlfriend lives in Wolverhampton hence why I travel there. I’m gonna admit that I’ve been purchasing tickets that I shouldn’t have to and be completely honest with them. If I get a criminal conviction I’d end up losing my job and I’m trying to cooperate as much as I can to make sure the I get the best possible outcome.

 

[Hadders]

That sounds like a lot of stress and my girlfriend lives in Wolverhampton hence why I travel there. I’m gonna admit that I’ve been purchasing tickets that I shouldn’t have to and be completely honest with them. If I get a criminal conviction I’d end up losing my job and I’m trying to cooperate as much as I can to make sure the I get the best possible outcome.

I'm afraid it is potentially stressful. There isn't anything you can do at the moment until you hear back from WMT/ITAL so the best thing you can do for now is to put the matter to the back of your mind and get on with your life. Most importantly, do make sure you have 100% valid tickets when you travel by train.

 

[c2001]

I'm afraid it is potentially stressful. There isn't anything you can do at the moment until you hear back from WMT/ITAL so the best thing you can do for now is to put the matter to the back of your mind and get on with your life. Most importantly, do make sure you have 100% valid tickets when you travel by train.

Do you think they’ll co operate with me as long as I’m willing to pay the money required?

 

[Hadders]

Do you think they’ll co operate with me as long as I’m willing to pay the money required?

You need to co-operate with them! Although we can't guarantee it, experience tells us that WMT do normally offer an out of court settlement if you co-operate with them,

A big complication in your case is you gave false details, that in itself is a separate offence. This doesn't necessarily mean you won't get offered a settlement but you will have to work harder to get one - starting with the emails you've written today!

 

[SuspectUsual]

Do you think they’ll co operate with me as long as I’m willing to pay the money required?

For as long as they think you are being 100% honest with them, almost certainly yes. As soon as they don’t think that, the risk of being prosecuted goes up. So to some degree the ball is in your court

 

[c2001]

You need to co-operate with them! Although we can't guarantee it, experience tells us that WMT do normally offer an out of court settlement if you co-operate with them,

A big complication in your case is you gave false details, that in itself is a separate offence. This doesn't necessarily mean you won't get offered a settlement but you will have to work harder to get one - starting with the emails you've written today!

Thank you anyways, I’ll just have to wait and see when they reply I’ve emailed them my correct my details and have apologised

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==

For as long as they think you are being 100% honest with them, almost certainly yes. As soon as they don’t think that, the risk of being prosecuted goes up. So to some degree the ball is in your court

Yes im going to tell the truth I can’t risk going to court and potentially going jail or ending up having a criminal record I work in a school so I think ill lose my job too so I have no choice other than to be honest

 

[WesternLancer]

Do you think they’ll co operate with me as long as I’m willing to pay the money required?

Yes. This is what we typically see.

 

[Hadders]

Yes im going to tell the truth I can’t risk going to court and potentially going jail or ending up having a criminal record I work in a school so I think ill lose my job too so I have no choice other than to be honest

You absolutely will not be going to jail.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you anyways, I’ll just have to wait and see when they reply I’ve emailed them my correct my details and have apologised

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==


Yes im going to tell the truth I can’t risk going to court and potentially going jail or ending up having a criminal record I work in a school so I think ill lose my job too so I have no choice other than to be honest

You will not go to prison for this.

If your efforts to solve it with advice here don’t work and you are worried about your job, are you in a union where you work at school? If so you will be able to ask for their help if this places your job at risk from a disciplinary.

 

[c2001]

You will not go to prison for this.

If your efforts to solve it with advice here don’t work and you are worried about your job, are you in a union where you work at school? If so you will be able to ask for their help if this places your job

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==

No im not in a union I’ve only been working there a few months

 

[WesternLancer]

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==

No im not in a union I’ve only been working there a few months

Ok. But have a good think about joining a union at work.

You also need to planning how to pay any settlement they might offer you when that time comes. If you can’t pay with savings startbthinkingvaboutvtrusted family or friends who you might be able to talk to about this in confidence and who may be able to lend you funds.

 

[c2001]

Ok. But have a good think about joining a union at work.

You also need to planning how to pay any settlement they might offer you when that time comes. If you can’t pay with savings startbthinkingvaboutvtrusted family or friends who you might be able to talk to about this in confidence and who may be able to lend you funds.

I should be ok with the money I just hope it isn’t over £1000

 

[SCDR_WMR]

I should be ok with the money I just hope it isn’t over £1000

You can work out a rough estimate. Calculate how many occasions (return is 2 trips) you have short fared and add an admin fee of around £175. It will soon add up.

 

[c2001]

You can work out a rough estimate. Calculate how many occasions (return is 2 trips) you have short fared and add an admin fee of around £175. It will soon add up.

Some trips are just 1 as I haven’t needed to get a return ticket and some of the trips are that long ago I can’t remember if they are short fared or if I was planning on actually going to the destination I booked.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==

Some trips are just 1 as I haven’t needed to get a return ticket and some of the trips are that long ago I can’t remember if they are short fared or if I was planning on actually going to the destination I booked.

Also there are some trips I have purchased from Birmingham New Street to London Euston for £39 I didn’t end up going and tried to get a refund through the trainline app and it didn’t work will they look into that aswell?

 

[WesternLancer]

Also there are some trips I have purchased from Birmingham New Street to London Euston for £39 I didn’t end up going and tried to get a refund through the trainline app and it didn’t work will they look into that aswell?

Not if they were not refunded I would not think so.

All this is some way off yet. But when it happens you can ask them for a breakdown of the fares they think have not been correctly paid and you can then compare with your own records.

But to a certain extent you are not in a strong position having been caught with a track record of persistent cheating them. It was only a matter of time before they caught you and your luck ran out and now they want money for what you ve cheated them out of. Your digital fingerprints leave an easily followed trail for them.

 

[c2001]

I’ve had an account with trainline for like 3-4 years and I’d say most of the short fares have been in the last 3 months

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==

I’ve had an account with trainline for like 3-4 years and I’d say most of the short fares have been in the last 3 months

Also will they calculate the difference for the fares for example if I bought a ticket from Wolverhampton to coseley and it was £3.90 for return but in reality I was going Birmingham and the fare would have been about £10. Would I have to pay the full amount or the difference?

 

[John R]

I’ve had an account with trainline for like 3-4 years and I’d say most of the short fares have been in the last 3 months

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Jul 2025 ==


Also will they calculate the difference for the fares for example if I bought a ticket from Wolverhampton to coseley and it was £3.90 for return but in reality I was going Birmingham and the fare would have been about £10. Would I have to pay the full amount or the difference?

It's usually the full amount, though practice can vary by train company.

 

[MotCO]

Yes im going to tell the truth I can’t risk going to court and potentially going jail or ending up having a criminal record I work in a school so I think ill lose my job too so I have no choice other than to be honest

Yes, telling the truth is the best policy, but don't say anything which may incriminate yourself. Your best approach is to share all correspondence with this forum when you receive it, and not respond until the collective wisdom and knowledge of this forum offers you advice and guidance.