Expired Railcard - should I contact rail provider?

[Shakatak3850]

I was on a train from St Albans to Bedford. I used to travel by train a lot, but stopped recently due to a recent change in my social life. I was on a Network Railcard which expired, and I forgot to renew, and without thinking I chose that option for my ticket.

When the ticket inspector came, I explained my situation and apologised, and said I'd happily pay my full fare. The Inspector said that wouldn't be possible. I am autistic, have high social anxiety and started to feel overwhelmed at the idea of paying a fine in my parlous financial state, and began panicking and babbling (but not hostile) and didn't want to give my details, due to a previous encounter with a ticket inspector some ten years ago, where I asked a ticket inspector for help and ended up paying a fine instead.

The ticket inspector got off the train with me at my stop, and overwhelmed, I left, after giving them my ticket to photograph, leaving through the ticket gate without incident.

If I contact my rail provider now and explain my case, and circumstances and offer to pay a penalty fare, will I be heard, or will I automatically be judged for a court summons?

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

You cannot be issued with a Penalty Fare retrospectively. The train company has three choices:

1. Prosecute you in the Magistrates Court for travelling without a valid ticket
2. Offer you an out of court settlement - you pay them a sum of money and in return they don't prosecute
3. They do nothing

As long as you co-operate witht he train company option 2 is the most likely. One issue you have, is that by not giving your details you have committed a further criminal offence and this does make a settlement less likely, but probably not impossible.

What happens next is the train company will write to you saying they are considering prosecuting but asking for you version of events before they decide how to proceed. When the letter arrives post a redacted copy of it in this thread along with your draft reply and froum members will oroof read it for you.

There is nothing to be gained by contacting the train company before you have received their letter. You don't know what they're going to ask you, so there'a a risk you will inadvertently incriminate yourself. Also, I assume you have no paperwork relating to the case and without a reference number the train company won't be able to match anything you say to them with your case.

 

[Shakatak3850]

Thank you very much for the swift reply, Hadders. Greatly appreciated

 

[John R]

What type of ticket was it. One purchased at the station, or electronically? That will determine how easy it will be for them to catch up with you.

 

[Shakatak3850]

Purchased at the station

 

[John R]

Thanks. Next question, did he photo your railcard?

 

[Shakatak3850]

No, no photo of my railcard

 

[Egg Centric]

I was on a train from St Albans to Bedford. I used to travel by train a lot, but stopped recently due to a recent change in my social life. I was on a Network Railcard which expired, and I forgot to renew, and without thinking I chose that option for my ticket.

When the ticket inspector came, I explained my situation and apologised, and said I'd happily pay my full fare. The Inspector said that wouldn't be possible. I am autistic, have high social anxiety and started to feel overwhelmed at the idea of paying a fine in my parlous financial state, and began panicking and babbling (but not hostile) and didn't want to give my details, due to a previous encounter with a ticket inspector some ten years ago, where I asked a ticket inspector for help and ended up paying a fine instead.

The ticket inspector got off the train with me at my stop, and overwhelmed, I left, after giving them my ticket to photograph, leaving through the ticket gate without incident.

If I contact my rail provider now and explain my case, and circumstances and offer to pay a penalty fare, will I be heard, or will I automatically be judged for a court summons?

You say you "didn't want to" give him your details. Did you in the end?

 

[Shakatak3850]

I'm afraid not. I panicked and went into a bit of a doom spiral.

 

[John R]

Ok, interested in others views but I’m not sure how they will be able to get hold of you.

 

[Egg Centric]

In theory if OP used card or a similar means to purchase it at the station it would be traceable but it seems fanciful that they would.

I certainly wouldn't be proactively contacting them in OP's position as likely nothing will come of it. I would however be being whiter than white going forward when it comes to ticketing.

 

[AlterEgo]

Nothing will come of this, they’ve no idea who you are.

 

[enyoueffsea]

In theory if OP used card or a similar means to purchase it at the station it would be traceable but it seems fanciful that they would.

They may be able to prove who purchased the ticket, but they won’t be able to prove who was travelling on it unless they corroborated purchased records with CCTV footage.

Extremely unlikely.

 

[John R]

Hopefully (for the OPs sake) they remembered correctly exactly what happened and the inspector didn’t somehow get hold of what they needed. (I’m struck that the first post emphasised how overwhelmed and panicked they were, so it is not inconceivable that their memory of the events is less than perfect.)

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Nothing will come of this, they’ve no idea who you are.

I'm with this. But just in case, keep a close eye on your post for the next six months or so. If a letter comes from the railway, then open it and read it. If it doesn't make sense to you, or if you think that we can help, then get back in touch with us and we'll see what we can do to explain what's going on, and try to help.

 

[Shakatak3850]

Thanks for the advice everyone