Ex-banker banned from railway after dodging £5,900 of train fares

[John R]

Indeed, who would employ him now?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor?

 

[Kite159]

"After the court hearing Molloy changed his clothes to make it difficult to be identified and vaulted a wall..."

Giving us a preview of his new fare dodging tactic?

Or his tactics to ignore the 12 month ban on using South Eastern

 

[35B]

Thank you for the link to a free version. Several aspects stand out, including;
- A wealthy ex-HSBC executive
- The senior executive caught the train from close to his £2 million home in Orpington, south London, to London Bridge station. He then travelled on to his office at Canary Wharf.
- The banker used false names and addresses
- The banker was appointed head of passive equity at HSBC Global Asset Management in 2015. He retired last year.
- Molloy was suffering from stress because of health difficulties and the death of his mother.
- He also obtained Jobcentre Plus discounts that gave 50 per cent off ticket prices.

At least no pet ate his homework.
The judge appears to have shown Mr Molloy a great deal of compassion and mercy; perhaps, on the verge of Lent, he will be able to 'repent in sackcloth and ashes' and pay his debt through his 80 hours of approved work before he gets a new job.

I saw the article. What stood out was the fraud charge, and the seemingly agreed facts of the case that Molloy's offending was time limited and fitted with the circumstances.

I think the judge was reasonable in his approach. If he reoffends, then he's hoist by his own petard; if his claimed rehabilitation is true, then the loss of his good name in the community will be a significant punishment in itself.

 

[fandroid]

I've seen the annual season ticket price for his journey quoted as £3264. If correct, his paying £5000 compensation will have left him looking rather foolish.

Most of the comments I have seen in the Times about this case fail to appreciate the railway's normal policy of demanding an arm and a leg for invalid tickets and think that as the amount of fraud is reported as £5900, then he ended up saving some cash.

His ploys do beg a question. We know that ticket gates at many Central London stations are set to reject e-tickets for very short journeys. Would the same apply for tickets held on Smartcards? As for Jobseeker Plus discounts, it probably makes sense for every gate to at least flag them, as is done for child fares.

 

[Haywain]

his paying £5000 compensation will have left him looking rather foolish.

The impact of that amount of money will be nothing in comparison to having a fraud conviction.

 

[island]

His ploys do beg a question.

They may raise a question, but they do not beg a question.

We know that ticket gates at many Central London stations are set to reject e-tickets for very short journeys. Would the same apply for tickets held on Smartcards? As for Jobseeker Plus discounts, it probably makes sense for every gate to at least flag them, as is done for child fares.

It seems he may have had a Z1-2 Travelcard with JCP discount loaded to his smartcard. I cannot imagine it would be logistically feasible to reject these at London Bridge.

 

[contrex]

his £2 million home in Orpington, south London

You know you're getting old when you think Orpington is in Kent; my auntie used to give herself airs about taking the Kent Messenger newspaper.

 

[35B]

You know you're getting old when you think Orpington is in Kent; my auntie used to give herself airs about taking the Kent Messenger newspaper.

I lived in Orpington in my 20s. It is in Kent, and has both a BR postcode and its own dialling code.

It is also in London (SE, not S!), being part of the London Borough of Bromley.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

It is also in London (SE, not S!)

If it had an 'S' postcode it would be in (or near) Sheffield.

 

[contrex]

I lived in Orpington in my 20s. It is in Kent, and has both a BR postcode and its own dialling code.

It is also in London (SE, not S!), being part of the London Borough of Bromley.

Yes. It might be located in the 'ceremonial' county of Kent, but since 1.4.1965, it has been administratively in Greater London, as part of the London Borough of Bromley. Below a section of map showing the boundary in that area between London (grey) and Kent. My wife's father would never hear of Wigan being in 'Greater Manchester. South London has the SE postal district, but only part of LB Bromley is in that, SE26 I think mainly.

 

[35B]

Yes. It might be located in the 'ceremonial' county of Kent, but since 1.4.1965, it has been administratively in Greater London, as part of the London Borough of Bromley. Below a section of map showing the boundary in that area between London (grey) and Kent. My wife's father would never hear of Wigan being in 'Greater Manchester. South London has the SE postal district, but only part of LB Bromley is in that, SE26 I think mainly.

View attachment 198445

We head rapidly off topic, but where one feels one lives is as important as the formal governance. The fossil remains of being in the ceremonial county are present in peoples' minds (well, they were when I lived there 20-odd years ago!) and transcend the mundane reality of which borough council is in charge

 

[Gonzoiku]

We head rapidly off topic...

Indeed, and thanks to @island for bravely fighting against the tide of question-beggars

GZ

PS my infant memory suggests that Catford is also ceremonially in Kent.

 

[Wallsendmag]

They may raise a question, but they do not beg a question.

It seems he may have had a Z1-2 Travelcard with JCP discount loaded to his smartcard. I cannot imagine it would be logistically feasible to reject these at London Bridge.

The numbers of fraudulent seasons with a JCP discount would make it worth setting them to be rejected.

 

[RPI]

The numbers of fraudulent seasons with a JCP discount would make it worth setting them to be rejected.

I'd go so far as to take JCP discounts out of all self service option, including online and TVM, this would mean allowing purchases on trains and I'd take that, there are so few of them but at the same time so much abuse that it would be a worthwhile workaround!

 

[JN114]

I'd go so far as to take JCP discounts out of all self service option, including online and TVM, this would mean allowing purchases on trains and I'd take that, there are so few of them but at the same time so much abuse that it would be a worthwhile workaround!

There’s precedent with the RST (rail staff travel) online portal for a special online ticket retailer exclusively for JCP railcard holders. They’re offered a login when they receive it; and their account access can be tied to the validty of their railcard

 

[contrex]

my infant memory suggests that Catford is also ceremonially in Kent.

In 1889, it became part of the County of London, which was 'ceremonial' in the sense that it had a Lord Lieutenant, as does the 1965 Greater London.

 

[Greyman1]

I'd go so far as to take JCP discounts out of all self service option, including online and TVM, this would mean allowing purchases on trains and I'd take that, there are so few of them but at the same time so much abuse that it would be a worthwhile workaround!

Also, with todays technology. the Job Centre can provide tickets direct

 

[ainsworth74]

There’s precedent with the RST (rail staff travel) online portal for a special online ticket retailer exclusively for JCP railcard holders. They’re offered a login when they receive it; and their account access can be tied to the validty of their railcard

Also, with todays technology. the Job Centre can provide tickets direct

As someone who deals with the DWP on a day to day basis I'd be very wary of anything that requires them to do more administration! I reckon @RPI had the right idea. Restrict the available sales channels so tickets can only be sold by staff either on trains, at gatelines or ticket offices.

 

[fandroid]

The ban from Southeastern seems to be a rather parochial sentence. I'd ban him from all the railways in GB.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I read a news report last night saying he retired last year... does that actually mean he was "asked to leave" after being caught?

 

[pdeaves]

The ban from Southeastern seems to be a rather parochial sentence. I'd ban him from all the railways in GB.

Could that be a legal limitation (I don't know, just surmising)? The crime was against SE, so the ban is from SE?

 

[TrenHotel]

So he's banned from Southeastern, but can still pop to Orpington station and hop on a Thameslink train? Hmmm.

I thought this was someone trying to dodge the big fares from deepest Kent, but all he was doing was trying to dodge the price of a z1-6 Travelcard while still (presumably) paying for the London Bridge to Canary Wharf bit. Must have been something deeper lying behind this than a desire to save big money.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Must have been something deeper lying behind this than a desire to save big money

Arrogance, the thrill, and an over-inflated ego?

 

[duffield]

So he's banned from Southeastern, but can still pop to Orpington station and hop on a Thameslink train? Hmmm.

I thought this was someone trying to dodge the big fares from deepest Kent, but all he was doing was trying to dodge the price of a z1-6 Travelcard while still (presumably) paying for the London Bridge to Canary Wharf bit. Must have been something deeper lying behind this than a desire to save big money.

Not saying any of this applies in his case, but sometimes people do this sort of thing effectively for a thrill - the thrill of "getting away with it" plus the the thrill induced by the risk of getting caught. A bit like people having sex in public places where they could easily be caught in the act. Also there are types of medication that remove the inhibitions most of us have in relation to certain types of risk-taking behaviour.

 

[Mattplans]

So he's banned from Southeastern, but can still pop to Orpington station and hop on a Thameslink train? Hmmm.

The poor guy will now have to sit through Bromley, Catford, Peckham, Denmark Hill and Elephant & Castle instead of the fast service to London Bridge. And only during peak hours since Thameslink don’t go to Orpington off peak anymore!

 

[AlterEgo]

Arrogance, the thrill, and an over-inflated ego?

A lot of it is about playing a game and becoming addicted to the thrill of transforming a mundane experience into one involving jeopardy.

 

[Djgr]

Arrogance, the thrill, and an over-inflated ego?

and not a great advert for bankers

 

[Horizon22]

You know you're getting old when you think Orpington is in Kent; my auntie used to give herself airs about taking the Kent Messenger newspaper.

Trust me people in Orpington still think they live in Kent, nearly 60 years on! Same with Romford (Essex), Kingston/Richmond (Surrey) etc. Worst of all are those who think they live in Middlesex which no longer exists!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Feb 2026 ==

The poor guy will now have to sit through Bromley, Catford, Peckham, Denmark Hill and Elephant & Castle instead of the fast service to London Bridge. And only during peak hours since Thameslink don’t go to Orpington off peak anymore!

I do wonder how enforceable the ban on Southeastern is though?

Buys a paper ticket legitiamtely goes through busy stations and won't be noticed. Obviously its a huge risk to take, but it's not like gateline have a "WANTED" poster at stations!

 

[Killingworth]

His job was managing financial risk.

His hobby was a type of train spotting, managing the risk of cheating the system.

He got caught. At 53 he wouldn't be due for retirement although that's sometimes a course used to disguise redundancy. It would be interesting to know how that was negotiated. He's almost certainly also conned HSBC into letting him go with a better package than if they officially knew about his pending conviction.

He seemed to be aware that a custodial sentence was almost certain and had a bag with him in case, it's only suspended so now has to face family and friends.

His future income prospects must be somewhat tarnished.

 

[island]

The ban from Southeastern seems to be a rather parochial sentence. I'd ban him from all the railways in GB.

Could that be a legal limitation (I don't know, just surmising)? The crime was against SE, so the ban is from SE?

I do wonder how enforceable the ban on Southeastern is though?

I can't find any article specifying the mechanism used to ban him, but two possibilities that came to mind were

1. The ban is a condition of his suspended sentence, like the unpaid work. Breaching this is not an offence in and of itself, but would enable HM Probation Service to initiate breach proceedings which could lead to additional conditions, the suspended sentence being extended, or the custodial period activated.
2. The ban was applied by way of a Criminal Behaviour Order, the order which replaced ASBOs. Breaching a CBO is a standalone offence with a theoretical maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment.

Either would have allowed him to be banned from other, or all, TOCs had the prosecution applied and the learned judge seen fit.