Greater Anglia fraud investigation | closed

[banditomode]

Hello guys, received an email today saying:

We are emailing from the Greater Anglia fraud department. We have been investigating industry data and have been led to believe you are potentially not paying full fares on Greater Anglia services. There appear to be a number of incorrectly purchased tickets showing on your account that are a breach of our terms and conditions and considered fraudulent activity.

With a letter attached saying:

Following a review of your bookings, several travel irregularities were identified.

These irregularities involve your journeys between Chelmsford and London Liverpool Street on Greater

Anglia Services between July 2022 and October 2025.

We are seeking to ascertain whether valid tickets and railcards were held for these journeys.

I panicked, replied saying:

Hello I’m not sure why I’ve been flagged for this, I rarely use Trainline or trains in general.
I have a valid railcard also and only travel within its limits.
I refunded a few tickets recently because I fell ill and didn’t go on the trip , that’s about all.

I’ve seen a lot on here to ignore, but I’m quite scared frankly, from their view I’m short faring.

Should I ignore or comply? I want to keep this out of court.

 

[Elecman]

If you’ve done nothing wrong why you worried about ending up in court?

 

[banditomode]

If you’ve done nothing wrong why you worried about ending up in court?

I bought a ticket from ingatestone to Chelmsford because my paper ticket didn’t work throughout my journey, and my anxiety makes it hard to ask staff so I just bought the ticket extra to get through the gate, so there’s no proof of this

 

[AlterEgo]

I bought a ticket from ingatestone to Chelmsford because my paper ticket didn’t work throughout my journey, and my anxiety makes it hard to ask staff so I just bought the ticket extra to get through the gate, so there’s no proof of this

Trust me when I tell you here - you need to ignore any future correspondence and stop talking. Replying as you did was unwise.

 

[banditomode]

Trust me when I tell you here - you need to ignore any future correspondence and stop talking. Replying as you did was unwise.

I’m worried of them spamming me. I just want this sorted. If I reply and comply will it just be a fine

 

[MotCO]

I bought a ticket from ingatestone to Chelmsford because my paper ticket didn’t work throughout my journey, and my anxiety makes it hard to ask staff so I just bought the ticket extra to get through the gate, so there’s no proof of this

Did you have a full ticket for your whole journey? In which case you have nothing to worry about. Do not respond to them.

 

[AlterEgo]

I’m worried of them spamming me. I just want this sorted. If I reply and comply will it just be a fine

Why would you worry about them sending emails?

Do you have all your ticket records since 2022? What ticket were you using and what journey were you making for you to keep buying one stop tickets?

 

[banditomode]

Did you have a full ticket for your whole journey? In which case you have nothing to worry about. Do not respond to them.

Why would you worry about them sending emails?

Do you have all your ticket records since 2022? What ticket were you using and what journey were you making for you to keep buying one stop tickets?

I have the receipts on the app, they’re just random journeys idk. I’m a student so I just use train when going on random trips

 

[AlterEgo]

I have the receipts on the app, they’re just random journeys idk. I’m a student so I just use train when going on random trips

They're alleging you travel to and from London and use the Ingatestone ticket to activate the barriers because you don't have a ticket for the full journey.

Which paper tickets have you been using and why have you been using a one stop ticket to operate the barriers?

 

[banditomode]

just into London. The paper ticket never worked on any barrier so I got the cheapest ticket I could find just o open and avoid confrontation at Chelmsford

 

[AlterEgo]

just into London. The paper ticket never worked on any barrier so I got the cheapest ticket I could find just o open and avoid confrontation at Chelmsford

Was this a season ticket? Do you have records of the tickets you've been using to get into London? Why are you happy to accept "a fine"?

 

[z444z]

I’m worried of them spamming me. I just want this sorted. If I reply and comply will it just be a fine

Outcomes of hundreds of posts on this forum suggest that if you engage with them, you can expect to lose hundreds or even thousands of pounds, but if you ignore them it’s likely that nothing will happen except you receive a few more emails.

 

[John R]

I bought a ticket from ingatestone to Chelmsford because my paper ticket didn’t work throughout my journey, and my anxiety makes it hard to ask staff so I just bought the ticket extra to get through the gate, so there’s no proof of this

Have you only done this once? And what journey were you making, and how many times did the paper ticket not work, and in what context?

Why would there be any confrontation at the barrier if you had a valid ticket? You simply show it to the barrier staff, they take a very quick look and open the barrier for you. Happens thousands of times every day without even a word being said.

These are the sort of questions a suspicious investigator will be asking you if you get sucked in to an investigation, because the explanation that you would incur extra cost for no good reason is an unlikely one.

And they think there has been suspicious behaviour for three years, not one instance.

 

[MotCO]

Have you only done this once? And what journey were you making, and how many times did the paper ticket not work, and in what context?

Why would there be any confrontation at the barrier if you had a valid ticket? You simply show it to the barrier staff, they take a very quick look and open the barrier for you. Happens thousands of times every day without even a word being said.

These are the sort of questions a suspicious investigator will be asking you if you get sucked in to an investigation, because the explanation that you would incur extra cost for no good reason is an unlikely one.

And they think there has been suspicious behaviour for three years, not one instance.

The OP has also not responded to my direct question:

Did you have a full ticket for your whole journey?

I can understand someone of a nervous / shy disposition may not want a conversation with a gateline member of staff, but I'm not sure if we are being told the complete picture.

 

[WesternLancer]

The OP has also not responded to my direct question:


I can understand someone of a nervous / shy disposition may not want a conversation with a gateline member of staff, but I'm not sure if we are being told the complete picture.

Could it be possible that on a regular basis they have a damp or damaged paper ticket that won’t work the barriers so buy a short digital ticket to get through the barriers on arrival?

I suppose anything is possible…

Still. Some kind of receipt or proof of purchase for such tickets would put any investigators mind at rest.

 

[John R]

Could it be possible that on a regular basis they have a damp or damaged paper ticket that won’t work the barriers so buy a short digital ticket to get through the barriers on arrival?

I suppose anything is possible…

Still. Some kind of receipt or proof of purchase for such tickets would put any investigators mind at rest.

Post 8 they say they just use the train for random trips. So unlikely to be damaged with such regularity that they are in the habit of buying a short ticket, surely?

As @MotCO says, I don’t think we have the complete picture here, which of course would mean we can’t help give the OP best advice.

 

[WesternLancer]

As @MotCO says, I don’t think we have the complete picture here, which of course would mean we can’t help give the OP best advice.

I’m minded to agree.
Potentially doughnutting happening occasionally or regularly will be what the railway systems think.

 

[Haywain]

I find it difficult to believe that anyone would spend a fiver or so on a ticket in order to avoid the briefest of interactions with barrier staff.

 

[enyoueffsea]

Seems strange to know in advance your paper ticket won’t open the barrier.

Trust me when I tell you here - you need to ignore any future correspondence and stop talking. Replying as you did was unwise.

This is the only advice to follow here.

 

[saismee]

What about Liverpool Street? How did you exit/enter the barriers there?

 

[Jim the Jim]

Have you only done this once? And what journey were you making, and how many times did the paper ticket not work, and in what context?

Why would there be any confrontation at the barrier if you had a valid ticket? You simply show it to the barrier staff, they take a very quick look and open the barrier for you. Happens thousands of times every day without even a word being said.

These are the sort of questions a suspicious investigator will be asking you if you get sucked in to an investigation, because the explanation that you would incur extra cost for no good reason is an unlikely one.

And they think there has been suspicious behaviour for three years, not one instance.

You do get moronic members of staff who will tell you to "put it through the machine!", often in far from friendly tone, even when you are entirely confident the machine will reject it. Over time that means a lot of somewhat confrontational encounters and/or a lot of wasted time.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Potentially doughnutting happening occasionally or regularly will be what the railway systems think.

They might also think it was refund claims where travel had actually taken place. The paper ticket not being inserted in the barriers at the end of the journey so as not to be swallowed.

 

[John R]

You do get moronic members of staff who will tell you to "put it through the machine!", often in far from friendly tone, even when you are entirely confident the machine will reject it. Over time that means a lot of somewhat confrontational encounters and/or a lot of wasted time.

If they haven’t tried it in the machine then I don’t think it’s at all moronic for a member of staff to ask them to do so, and I think it’s offensive to say so.

All they have to do is put it in and when it is rejected the member of staff will clearly see that it has been.

 

[saismee]

If they haven’t tried it in the machine then I don’t think it’s at all moronic for a member of staff to ask them to do so, and I think it’s offensive to say so.

All they have to do is put it in and when it is rejected the member of staff will clearly see that it has been.

And the member of staff needs to check the rejection code. 07/08/09 happen if it has been improperly encoded or damaged, but having the machine double-check it for other things is always handy.

 

[Haywain]

And the member of staff needs to check the rejection code.

Unofrtunately, too many don't bother to even try and do that.

 

[fandroid]

I have experience of Liverpool Street national rail barriers mangling the magstripe on a paper out-boundary Travelcard. It happened with monotonous regularity. That's what tipped me over to using Smartcards from then on. My experience was that the ticket wouldn't work thereafter on TfL barriers but my hazy memory suggests that it was somewhat random as to whether it operated Waterloo and Basingstoke barriers

 

[banditomode]

Hey everyone, still no updated and it’s been 10 days. Is this common or do GA normally go over their timeframes?

Only thing I can think of is that I put the reference in the first line of the email by accident not the subject, yet I haven’t received the ‘you didn’t reply email’

 

[Tetchytyke]

You do get moronic members of staff who will tell you to "put it through the machine!", often in far from friendly tone, even when you are entirely confident the machine will reject it.

You know that the machine will reject it, but they don't know that. You may well be trying to avoid having the ticket scanned by the machine, or having the magstripe record its use, or having the machine retain the ticket at the end of a journey.

Hey everyone, still no updated and it’s been 10 days. Is this common or do GA normally go over their timeframes?

They are likely to take longer than 10 days. Don't go chasing them.

 

[banditomode]

Your account was highlighted due to some tickets either being purchased on board the trains or on arrival at stations. These tickets have been scanned on the barriers just after purchase to exit the barriers. These tickets are not valid. Tickets must be purchased prior to boarding the train to be valid. This flagged your account as possible fraudulent travel.
For example:
31/10/2025 18:25  Ingatestone Chelmsford
25/10/2025 15:21  Ingatestone Chelmsford

The time you are scanning in does not correlate with Greater Anglia services stopping at Ingatestone during this time. Therefore, can you please confirm your full journey.

In addition, could you provide evidence of your 16-25 railcard from October 2023 until present.

There has also been a number of child rate tickets purchased on your account, could you provide your date of birth please?

At this stage we would like to offer you an opportunity to explain these irregularities on your account, and based on your response the decision will be to either offer you the opportunity to repay any funds relating to these journeys (plus our administration fee), (b) to forward your case to our prosecutions department for processing or (c) close your case (if sufficient evidence has been provided and proved).


This is the reply I’ve got, what should I include in my reply which isn’t too incriminating? Can I mention the child tickets weren’t for me even if they were or will that end badly for me? Any help would be appreciated

 

[notmyrealname]

We never suggest lying to the train company, that could indeed end badly for you.