Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
I was recently found to be travelling with a 26-30 railcard ticket without a valid railcard. When I tried to use the Railcard and Trainline apps I could not find any record of my expired railcard. I am now waiting to hear from the transport police by post about prosecution / out of court settlement. I have since tried to find any record of my railcard by contacting Railcard and Trainline directly but they are saying there is no record of me ever having had a railcard. I am certain that I had a railcard, and think I recall buying a 3 year railcard in 2022 which would have expired around October 2025. My partner who I regularly travel with also recalls me having a railcard, and recalls that I linked my railcard to my Oyster when we moved house in 2022.
I have tried the following:
Searching my email for purchase confirmation (I think inadvertently used a work email address which I no longer have access to)
Contacting Railcard to ask them to search by my name, and my email address (both personal and work) and telephone number
Contacting Trainline to ask for the same
Contacting Oyster, as I recall linking my Railcard to my Oyster card - they said they don't keep a record after the railcard expires
I changed bank accounts a couple of years ago but have reached out to my old bank to get historic statements so I can hopefully find the transaction that way.
Is there a central database of railcards (live and expired) I can get access to? Is there a reliable record that the transport police will check before prosecuting? I have no idea why the railcard cannot be found - I'd be very grateful for any other suggestions as to what I can try.
I have only made a handful of journeys in the last six months as I have been living abroad, but I am concerned that if there is no record of me ever having a railcard, all journeys from the past 3+ years will be fraudulent and the fine will be extortionate. It was never my intention to travel without a railcard, I just let it lapse by accident and forgot to change the setting on the trainline app (as it auto-populates the railcard option once you've entered it once). I accept that I will need to pay a fine of some amount, however I don't want to be held liable for the period when I'm certain that I did have a valid railcard!
When and where were you "found to be travelling without a railcard"? It is going to be the train company that contact you unless there was something in your behaviour that required the police to attend. If the police were involved, you won't be getting an out of court settlement as that is not an option they have.
Is there a central database of railcards (live and expired) I can get access to? Is there a reliable record that the transport police will check before prosecuting? I have no idea why the railcard cannot be found - I'd be very grateful for any other suggestions as to what I can try.
There isn't a central database that you can access. If you held a railcard but cannot remember which of the many retailers you bought it from it is difficult to see how it could be traced by you or anyone else, but the onus will be on you to deal with the matter. If you can tell us which train company was involved in you being stopped, we might be able to advise on how much of a problem this might be.
I was recently found to be travelling with a 26-30 railcard ticket without a valid railcard. When I tried to use the Railcard and Trainline apps I could not find any record of my expired railcard. I am now waiting to hear from the transport police by post about prosecution / out of court settlement. I have since tried to find any record of my railcard by contacting Railcard and Trainline directly but they are saying there is no record of me ever having had a railcard. I am certain that I had a railcard, and think I recall buying a 3 year railcard in 2022 which would have expired around October 2025. My partner who I regularly travel with also recalls me having a railcard, and recalls that I linked my railcard to my Oyster when we moved house in 2022.
I have tried the following:
Searching my email for purchase confirmation (I think inadvertently used a work email address which I no longer have access to)
Contacting Railcard to ask them to search by my name, and my email address (both personal and work) and telephone number
Contacting Trainline to ask for the same
Contacting Oyster, as I recall linking my Railcard to my Oyster card - they said they don't keep a record after the railcard expires
I changed bank accounts a couple of years ago but have reached out to my old bank to get historic statements so I can hopefully find the transaction that way.
Is there a central database of railcards (live and expired) I can get access to? Is there a reliable record that the transport police will check before prosecuting? I have no idea why the railcard cannot be found - I'd be very grateful for any other suggestions as to what I can try.
I have only made a handful of journeys in the last six months as I have been living abroad, but I am concerned that if there is no record of me ever having a railcard, all journeys from the past 3+ years will be fraudulent and the fine will be extortionate. It was never my intention to travel without a railcard, I just let it lapse by accident and forgot to change the setting on the trainline app (as it auto-populates the railcard option once you've entered it once). I accept that I will need to pay a fine of some amount, however I don't want to be held liable for the period when I'm certain that I did have a valid railcard!
Firstly - you can relax about the Transport Police - you won't be hearing from them unless what happened involved something way beyond the usual issue of staff finding a ticket without a valid Railcard to back this up (eg you assaulted the staff or abused them when they stopped you)
This will be being dealt with by the Revenue Protection Team of the railway operator that stopped and questioned you.
Is there a central database of railcards (live and expired) I can get access to?
No - there is no central record - not even one the railway companies can easily get access to AIUI, and the police will not be involved anyway.
Can you recall who you bought your Railcard from?
If it was Trainline I have read that you can access more info via their website than via their App - so maybe try that
Have you checked your bank statements for a sum being paid to some sort of railway related retailer that might match the cost of a Railcard (£30 if some time ago, £35 if bought in the last couple of years or so - for most one year Railcards - more for the 3 year version)
What sort of Railcard was it? (the name of it eg 16-25 Railcard, Network Railcard, Senior Railcard etc etc) - someone here will know the price if you can state the type, if you think bought in 2022
Was it a physical (card or plastic) railcard or a digital one to display on your phone?
If you linked it to your oyster card it may be that your oyster card records could show it if you log in - or if you contact the TfL helpline and speak to someone to see if they can see a record of it being linked, when that happened and when that expired
Some of those things may be of help for you to check.
If you would make use of it still, and are entitled to have a Railcard still, you should consider buying one now - this is then something you can say to the railway company you did to 'correct things going forwards once this came to light' - but if you rarely travel in the UK now then that may not be worth doing.
Anyway
If you can also answer the specific questions in this post here it will help people here help you
Guidance for those asking for advice: Please bear in mind the following, when asking for advice in this section: We need to know all relevant facts in order to assist you, including, for example: The stations* where you actually started & finished your journey The stations* where you changed...
www.railforums.co.uk
More generally here is a copy of the general advice often posted on this forum - have a read of this because it will help you understand what to expect as things progress:
Firstly, you committed a criminal offence (but this does not mean it will be dealt with by the police, they have better things to do) by travelling with an invalid ticket (a ticket discounted by a railcard reduction when you do not have a valid, in date Railcard is considered a completely invalid ticket) and railway companies are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. The good news is they will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them and who haven't come to their attention before.
Next, what happens is the railway company will write to you. The letter will go to the address that you gave them / on any of your ID they checked so you need to be able to access hard copy post at that address as they often send things that way (but also check e-mail and spam). It is extremely important that you reply, and you'll only have a limited time to do so (often 14 days from the date on their communication).
When you receive the letter post a redacted copy of it in this thread, along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you. You'll find lots of example letters you can use in this section of the forum but the reply basically needs to mention:
- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident and will not do this again
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the railway company’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter
The railway will probably offer you an out of court settlement. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fare for the journey you made at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid ticket you purchased. In addition they will charge an admin fee, typically £150. They will also audit your online ticket purchase history and if this shows you've purchased other tickets that were not valid (eg railcard discounted tickets when you did not have a valid railcard, or tickets for only part of the journey, or tickets bought after boarding the train you travelled on ) they will probably factor the cost of these journeys into the settlement offer. Depending on how many journeys you've made over the period concerned this could end up being expensive.
Settlements usually have to be paid in full within a few days of them being offered so if money is tight you might want to think about how you will raise the sum required at short notice.
Firstly - you can relax about the Transport Police - you won't be hearing from them unless what happened involved something way beyond the usual issue of staff finding a ticket without a valid Railcard to back this up (eg you assaulted the staff or abused them when they stopped you)
This will be being dealt with by the Revenue Protection Team of the railway operator that stopped and questioned you.
No - there is no central record - not even one the railway companies can easily get access to AIUI, and the police will not be involved anyway.
Can you recall who you bought your Railcard from?
If it was Trainline I have read that you can access more info via their website than via their App - so maybe try that
Can you recall roughly when you bought it?
Have you checked your bank statements for a sum being paid to some sort of railway related retailer that might match the cost of a Railcard (£30 if some time ag, £35 if bought in the last couple of years or so - for most one year Railcards)
What sort of Railcard was it? (the name of it eg 16-25 Railcard, Network Railcard, Senior Railcard etc etc)
Anyway
If you can answer the specific questions in this post here it wil help people here help you
Guidance for those asking for advice: Please bear in mind the following, when asking for advice in this section: We need to know all relevant facts in order to assist you, including, for example: The stations* where you actually started & finished your journey The stations* where you changed...
www.railforums.co.uk
More generally here is a copy of the general advice often posted on this forum - have a read of this because it will help you understand what to expect as things progress:
Firstly, you committed a criminal offence (but this does not mean it will be dealt with by the police, they have better things to do) by travelling with an invalid ticket (a ticket discounted by a railcard reduction when you do not have a valid, in date Railcard is considered a completely invalid ticket) and railway companies are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. The good news is they will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them and who haven't come to their attention before.
Next, what happens is the railway company will write to you. The letter will go to the address that you gave them / on any of your ID they checked so you need to be able to access hard copy post at that address as they often send things that way (but also check e-mail and spam). It is extremely important that you reply, and you'll only have a limited time to do so (often 14 days from the date on their communication).
When you receive the letter post a redacted copy of it in this thread, along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you. You'll find lots of example letters you can use in this section of the forum but the reply basically needs to mention:
- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident and will not do this again
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the railway company’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter
The railway will probably offer you an out of court settlement. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fare for the journey you made at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid ticket you purchased. In addition they will charge an admin fee, typically £150. They will also audit your online ticket purchase history and if this shows you've purchased other tickets that were not valid (eg railcard discounted tickets when you did not have a valid railcard, or tickets for only part of the journey, or tickets bought after boarding the train you travelled on ) they will probably factor the cost of these journeys into the settlement offer. Depending on how many journeys you've made over the period concerned this could end up being expensive.
Settlements usually have to be paid in full within a few days of them being offered so if money is tight you might want to think about how you will raise the sum required at short notice.
Thank you for your quick response. Additional details:
In response to your questions:
1. I believe I bought either from Railcard online directly, or through the Trainline app (but have contacted both companies to no avail). I've tried looking at the Trainline website and also contacted their customer service.
2. Have tried this, sadly no luck.
3. I think I purchased a 3 year railcard around October 2022
4. I need to get access to my old bank statements but am looking into this.
5. 26-30 Railcard (I am 30 now)
Details of journey / interaction with Revenue Officer:
Start: London Paddington
End: Bristol Temple Meads
Train company: GWR
Issue: Travelling on 26-30 railcard ticket, with no valid railcard.
What happened: I was stopped at the barriers and asked to present my railcard. Did not have railcard and could not present expired railcard. Was given the chance to look for it but as I could not find it, I was interviewed under caution and gave my details to hear from the team.
Desired outcome: I feel certain I should be able to show that I had a valid railcard at some point so I would like to be able to find my expired railcard. Failing that, I need to avoid prosecution at all costs as I am a solicitor and cannot afford to have a criminal record of any kind. Even if I end up being found to have done multiple journeys without a valid railcard - will I always be given the option to settle out of court?
Finally - at the end of the interview I expressed a desire to resolve the issue as soon as possible and asked if I could proactively contact GWR to pay the fine before receiving my letter. Is there any reason I should not do this?
Thank you for your quick response. Additional details:
In response to your questions:
1. I believe I bought either from Railcard online directly, or through the Trainline app (but have contacted both companies to no avail). I've tried looking at the Trainline website and also contacted their customer service.
2. Have tried this, sadly no luck.
3. I think I purchased a 3 year railcard around October 2022
4. I need to get access to my old bank statements but am looking into this.
5. 26-30 Railcard (I am 30 now)
Details of journey / interaction with Revenue Officer:
Start: London Paddington
End: Bristol Temple Meads
Train company: GWR
Issue: Travelling on 26-30 railcard ticket, with no valid railcard.
What happened: I was stopped at the barriers and asked to present my railcard. Did not have railcard and could not present expired railcard. Was given the chance to look for it but as I could not find it, I was interviewed under caution and gave my details to hear from the team.
Desired outcome: I feel certain I should be able to show that I had a valid railcard at some point so I would like to be able to find my expired railcard. Failing that, I need to avoid prosecution at all costs as I am a solicitor and cannot afford to have a criminal record of any kind. Even if I end up being found to have done multiple journeys without a valid railcard - will I always be given the option to settle out of court?
Finally - at the end of the interview I expressed a desire to resolve the issue as soon as possible and asked if I could proactively contact GWR to pay the fine before receiving my letter. Is there any reason I should not do this?
You can make a written subject access request to ATOC Ltd, First Floor North, 1 Puddle Dock, London, EC4V 3DS.
You will need to be very specific about what you are asking for them to check; i.e. the data source that underpins the Railcard Validation Service, which Railcard retailers are required to submit sales records to. Both station-issued and retailer-issued Railcards will be sent to this source; some more esoteric and all regional Railcards will not be.
I don't know how long they are likely to keep details of expired Railcards.
If you buy through railcard.co.uk or indirectly by exchanging Tesco Clubcard points, they appear to have records going back to your first ever purchase.
I am tempted to suggest that you might be well advised to engage the services of a specialist solicitor it it gets close to being a prosecution. However, GWR almost always settle, so the issue at hand is going to be how much it costs you.
If you buy through railcard.co.uk or indirectly by exchanging Tesco Clubcard points, they appear to have records going back to your first ever purchase.
I can see my first purchase on there, even though it was over 8 years ago (and it still gives me an option to renew!). All you need to do is know your log-in details but the log-in page gives options for a forgotten password and for a changed email address.
3rd Edit: OP apologies I’ve just seen in your post that you say you think you used a work email that you no longer have access to. But you might be able to narrow it down if you look at your app purchase/download history (see further below)
—
Are you able to search through your email accounts for words like: railcard , 26-30 , trainline, railcard.co.uk, nationalrail.co.uk
It may be best to do this through the websites of your email providers, because phone apps often don't sync all past emails, so emails go missing
If you don't find it, it possible that you used a different email address that you've forgotten about?
If you check your saved passwords can you check for any saved logins/passwords for railcard/trainline (e.g. iCloud keychain, Google Passwords, whatever Microsoft Edge has as a password manager, password manager app)
Trainline also has the option to sign in with Google, Facebook and Apple, is it possible you used one of those and forgot about it before? (If so, you could try signing in with all of your Google, Facebook and Apple accounts...)
[2nd edit - I don’t know if the system is smart enough to recognise a ‘sign in with Google’ and link it to an email+password account. It could be possible that it creates a second account ‘sign with Google’ account, so it’s worth trying that even if you already have a email+password account with the same email]
Good luck and you're doing the right thing by trying to settle this!
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
FYI here is the email I got when I purchased a digital railcard in 2025
Oooh - could you also check your list of downloaded apps to see if you ever downloaded a specific Railcard app?
(Railcard.co.uk have a separate app, at least as of 2025.) If you don't have a separate app, but did have a digital railcard, it's likely you bought it through a ticket buying app such as Trainline.)
Edited to add: From: No Reply <no-reply@nationalrail.co.uk> Subject: Thank you for your order Sender shows as: No Reply via scbe2mx9q02u7t.1t-fsz1eag.gbr112.bnc.salesforce.com
The email only appeared in my Outlook.com email when I specifically searched for railcard.co.uk
2nd edit - it’s possible the email went into spam and got deleted, because it’s sent from this weird salesforce address.
Dear [FULL NAME],
Thank you for choosing to buy your 16 - 25 Railcard (1 Year) from Railcard.co.uk*.
RAILCARD REF NUMBER: [RAILCARD NUMBER]
Net
VAT
Gross
Railcard(s)
£35.00
£0.00
£35.00
Delivery
£0.00
£0.00
£0.00
Total
£35.00
£0.00
£35.00
This email confirms your purchase and cannot be used as a Railcard.
You will need to download your new Railcard to the Railcard app on your smartphone to be able to use it. Here’s how:
Look out for a separate email containing your download code – this may take up to 10 minutes to arrive, please check your junk folder if it isn’t in your inbox
Once you have received your code, make sure you have the Railcard app installed on your smartphone
Follow the instructions in the app to enter your download code and add your Railcard
Please note your code will only work for the next 10 days
If you need a new download code, you can log in to your account and request one at any time
You must always carry your digital Railcard with you when travelling with Railcard discounted tickets.
For any further help and information, please visit our FAQs page.
We hope you enjoy all the benefits of using your Railcard.
The Railcard Team
*Your payment has been processed through Global Payments. Your account will be charged accordingly with the reference: Railcard.
Payment Information: VAT No: GB 679 214 213
This is a service message designed to keep you informed of important information associated with your Railcard.
I have only made a handful of journeys in the last six months as I have been living abroad, but I am concerned that if there is no record of me ever having a railcard, all journeys from the past 3+ years will be fraudulent
Unfortunately, if you bought a 26-30 railcard in 2022 and never renewed it, that's a likely outcome. They are issued only digitally and only for a single year. So you've been without a railcard for about three years.
@starlight73 gives good advice here and that would be where I'd start if I were you.
You can make a written subject access request to ATOC Ltd, First Floor North, 1 Puddle Dock, London, EC4V 3DS.
You will need to be very specific about what you are asking for them to check; i.e. the data source that underpins the Railcard Validation Service, which Railcard retailers are required to submit sales records to. Both station-issued and retailer-issued Railcards will be sent to this source; some more esoteric and all regional Railcards will not be.
I don't know how long they are likely to keep details of expired Railcards.
Thanks for correcting me - bound to be helpful to the OP
We know GWR can be quite tardy due to workload volumes in following these up with passengers, so I would think the OP has time to write a carefully drafted written request it RDG about this.
It's looking like the OP probably had a 1 year Railcard that expired in 2023 - but it would obviously help them if they can establish the precise circumstances and validity of the Railcard they did have.
You have been sent this email by the Trainline Group.
The Trainline Group consists of:
Trainline.com Limited (company number 3846791) whose registered office is at 120 Holborn, London, EC1N 2TD; VAT number 791 7261 06.
Trainline SAS (RCS Paris 512 277 450) is domiciled at 20 rue Saint-Georges, 75009 Paris with a registered capital of 118 513.94 Euros. The company is registered under IM078100022 with the commercial trade authority at 79-81, rue de Clichy, 75009 Paris; VAT number FR 58 512 277 450.
It's looking like the OP probably had a 1 year Railcard that expired in 2023 - but it would obviously help them if they can establish the precise circumstances and validity of the Railcard they did have.
Finally - at the end of the interview I expressed a desire to resolve the issue as soon as possible and asked if I could proactively contact GWR to pay the fine before receiving my letter. Is there any reason I should not do this?
At this stage I would say do not contact them - reasons being:
- they won't have processed your case form the frontline report yet, it needs to go into their systems and then for back office staff to get round to contacting you. But it might be an option in due course. - do you have a ref number on paperwork you were given when stopped? If so that is helpful
- GWR cases on here often do not progress that quickly (think weeks or months, not days)
- GWR will want to check your historic purchase records before they contact you - which takes time - they have to get that from e-g Trainline - in the meantime you can run your own check - make sure you do not delete your Trainline account (as you then don't have access to data that GWR / Trainline will still have access to) but go back through it an list all the travel where you can see tickets bought with Railcard discounts applied - make your own private list as part of your preparation. This then gives you an idea of what you might need top pay them to resolve this.
You may need to go back to autumn 2023 if you think you bought a 1 year Railcard in autumn 2022.
- this means there is time for you to prepare yourself for the process, find relevant info etc etc (as you are trying to do already- which is good) - more on preparing below
- they might just forget about you (tho if you have a care ref number issued I suspect this is unlikely to be honest) - but if they do not bring action within 6 months they can't bring a criminal prosecution against you AIUI (so no criminal record) - but we do see GWR then later on bring civil legal action to recoup money for tickets wrongly discounted with railcards some years after the date - but you will recognise there is a key difference to criminal legal action and civil legal action - tho given your work you may wish to steer well clear of both civil and criminal court action. There are recent threads of both types of scenarios if you want to peruse them on the site (happy to try and find links)
It is generally worth you reading the GWR revenue protection policy pdf document carefully as part of your preparation - this:
You will note they don't generally want to prosecute people for things like overlooked Railcard renewals - but they do want the money they believe you owe them for tickets not correctly purchased (and unfortunately usually seek to obtain the punitively priced Anytime fare rather then the off peak fare or Advance fare charge you may have paid for the time of travel concerned). This is usually done via negotiating an Out of court settlement with them, which basically means them calculating what you owe, adding an admin fee, and requesting you pay them a sum that reflects the costs of replacement tickets for the journeys concerned. If you can evidence that travel was in fact with legitimate tickets we generally see them play fair with people - and accept that - but evidence to support your position is obviously of help.
- you should note GWR will not be 'fining you' - and neither do you want a fine (like the posters you see at stations about Penalty Fares) - because only a court issues a fine and your objective is to prevent it getting to court in the first place
Thank you for your quick response. Additional details:
In response to your questions:
1. I believe I bought either from Railcard online directly, or through the Trainline app (but have contacted both companies to no avail). I've tried looking at the Trainline website and also contacted their customer service.
2. Have tried this, sadly no luck.
3. I think I purchased a 3 year railcard around October 2022
4. I need to get access to my old bank statements but am looking into this.
5. 26-30 Railcard (I am 30 now)
I won't repeat the good advice posted above to help you try and source accurate info about your old Railcard - good luck - using time before GWR contact you to exhaust your search here is a good use of that time.
As mentioned the 26-30 Railcard is not available for a 3 year period
It might also be worth you carefully reading through the T&Cs (as well as the FAQs) of the Railcards (and any other types of Railcard you have) use the official Railcard website for this:
Details of journey / interaction with Revenue Officer:
Start: London Paddington
End: Bristol Temple Meads
Train company: GWR
Issue: Travelling on 26-30 railcard ticket, with no valid railcard.
What happened: I was stopped at the barriers and asked to present my railcard. Did not have railcard and could not present expired railcard. Was given the chance to look for it but as I could not find it, I was interviewed under caution and gave my details to hear from the team.
Thanks - the reason they do the interview under caution for Railcard issues is often because they know it's rare for them to stop someone who has a discounted ticket with a Railcard (either deliberately or by accident) on the first time it's happened - so they want to report it to the back office for investigation to look for previous fares that need to be paid too. It does not mean prosecution is inevitable (see the GWR policy link)
Desired outcome: I feel certain I should be able to show that I had a valid railcard at some point so I would like to be able to find my expired railcard. Failing that, I need to avoid prosecution at all costs as I am a solicitor and cannot afford to have a criminal record of any kind. Even if I end up being found to have done multiple journeys without a valid railcard - will I always be given the option to settle out of court?
As mentioned above given what you feel is at stake you may want to put the matter in the hands of a solicitor - either soon, or if your own attempts to resolve it fail, or when GWR write to you. This might typically cost £600+ in legal fees (you work in the legal sector and will have a realistic idea of what is a reasonable client charge I'm sure, better than I do)
There are 3 or 4 firms that get mentioned on this forum from time to time who are specialists in the field ref rail fares issues. You get quotes at this stage even if you have yet to decide if using one or not is the route you want to take
The forum strongly recommends using firms that have relevant experience in the area, if you want to use a solicitor.
I have no connection with any of them, but we can post a list if you want to seek quotes etc. You can search the forum for what people who have used them say about the service provided.
The way I think people should weigh this up is the costs of the legal advice vs the costs to them if any of this gets to court in career limiting terms. So for example - if it costs £600 - £1k to employ a solicitor to help resolve this out of court (which no one can actually 100% guarantee of course, but it's very probable it would be resolved out of court from what we see on here), plus the cost of any settlement, that that is a lot of cash, but if the matter going to court is career limiting then it's a modest percentage of annual salary, or indeed combined salary over future years, if it means a hoped for promotion is not achieved by virtue of the court action against you.
Of course you can trade all that off using whatever process you wish.
Finally - at the end of the interview I expressed a desire to resolve the issue as soon as possible and asked if I could proactively contact GWR to pay the fine before receiving my letter. Is there any reason I should not do this?
So if you want to try to resolve it yourself I'm sure people will give you sound advice here on each step of the way, and you can see many cases on the forum where this has worked perfectly well - but only you can make the call on how you want to do it.
Hopefully this post and others here will help you make an informed decision on what you want to do.
In the meantime feel free to ask any questions you like. Someone here will have a good idea of the answer.
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
I was recently found to be travelling with a 26-30 railcard ticket without a valid railcard. When I tried to use the Railcard and Trainline apps I could not find any record of my expired railcard. I am now waiting to hear from the transport police by post about prosecution / out of court settlement. I have since tried to find any record of my railcard by contacting Railcard and Trainline directly but they are saying there is no record of me ever having had a railcard. I am certain that I had a railcard, and think I recall buying a 3 year railcard in 2022 which would have expired around October 2025. My partner who I regularly travel with also recalls me having a railcard, and recalls that I linked my railcard to my Oyster when we moved house in 2022.
I have tried the following:
Searching my email for purchase confirmation (I think inadvertently used a work email address which I no longer have access to)
Contacting Railcard to ask them to search by my name, and my email address (both personal and work) and telephone number
Contacting Trainline to ask for the same
Contacting Oyster, as I recall linking my Railcard to my Oyster card - they said they don't keep a record after the railcard expires
I changed bank accounts a couple of years ago but have reached out to my old bank to get historic statements so I can hopefully find the transaction that way.
Is there a central database of railcards (live and expired) I can get access to? Is there a reliable record that the transport police will check before prosecuting? I have no idea why the railcard cannot be found - I'd be very grateful for any other suggestions as to what I can try.
I have only made a handful of journeys in the last six months as I have been living abroad, but I am concerned that if there is no record of me ever having a railcard, all journeys from the past 3+ years will be fraudulent and the fine will be extortionate. It was never my intention to travel without a railcard, I just let it lapse by accident and forgot to change the setting on the trainline app (as it auto-populates the railcard option once you've entered it once). I accept that I will need to pay a fine of some amount, however I don't want to be held liable for the period when I'm certain that I did have a valid railcard!
We are aware of an issue with emails from the Forum to Microsoft-based email accounts (hotmail/outlook/live.com email addresses). This is being looked into currently, thanks for your patience meanwhile.
