Railcard Evasion

[Femor]

I just found this platform and I need help please
I made a journey with Thameslink yesterday from Luton to elephant and castle in London and bought my digital ticket with a railcard. I do not have a railcard but when the officer scanned my ticket, I panicked and said I don’t have my railcard with me instead of saying I don’t have a railcard. I was issued a witness statement receipt with a link to upload my railcard within 14 days or they will write to my address for me to explain why I haven’t uploaded my railcard. I bought a railcard immediately after the interaction but realised uploading that will amount to ‘intent to deceive’ since this the purchase of ticket and railcard come with time stamps. Saying I didn’t have a railcard or added a railcard when purchasing my ticket was by mistake could have gotten me to pay a fine on the train but I panicked and thought by saying I didn’t have it on me, he would let go since I had a ticket. Now, I wouldn’t want to go to court for this or have this on my dbs. What do you think will happen and what can I do? Help

 

[AlterEgo]

Which railcard did you use? And do you qualify for that railcard anyway?

 

[WesternLancer]

I just found this platform and I need help please
I made a journey with Thameslink yesterday from Luton to elephant and castle in London and bought my digital ticket with a railcard. I do not have a railcard but when the officer scanned my ticket, I panicked and said I don’t have my railcard with me instead of saying I don’t have a railcard. I was issued a witness statement receipt with a link to upload my railcard within 14 days or they will write to my address for me to explain why I haven’t uploaded my railcard. I bought a railcard immediately after the interaction but realised uploading that will amount to ‘intent to deceive’ since this the purchase of ticket and railcard come with time stamps. Saying I didn’t have a railcard or added a railcard when purchasing my ticket was by mistake could have gotten me to pay a fine on the train but I panicked and thought by saying I didn’t have it on me, he would let go since I had a ticket. Now, I wouldn’t want to go to court for this or have this on my dbs. What do you think will happen and what can I do? Help

Nothing you can do over the bank holiday weekend anyway so you have time to prepare for what to do.

You’ll get the guidance you need to
Minimise the impact of this from here on the forum.

 

[Femor]

Nothing you can do over the bank holiday weekend anyway so you have time to prepare for what to do.

You’ll get the guidance you need to
Minimise the impact of this from here on the forum.

Thank you. I’m just panicking

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 May 2026 ==

Which railcard did you use? And do you qualify for that railcard anyway?

I used 27 to 30 and I qualify for that

 

[SECR 65]

I suspect the most likely realistic outcome is them offering you an out of court settlement, with the anytime single fare for the journey plus an admin fee. You are unlikely to be taken to court provided you cooperate with GTR.

Have you made other journeys in the past without a valid railcard? They may look through your ticketing history - but GTR don't always bother.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you. I’m just panicking

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 May 2026 ==


I used 27 to 30 and I qualify for that

So just to clarify, you’ve claimed a railcard discount but did not own that railcard at the time of travel?

Had you ever previously owned this railcard? Eg had it expired and you overlooked renewal or was this an attempt to save paying £35 cost of the railcard?

Was buying a discounted ticket something you have done before or was it a one off?
They will be able to access your ticket buying records on line to check this and may ask you about it.

They will most likely want to recoup the money you have failed to pay them if you engage with them when they contact you.

If you don’t engage with them they will automatically prosecute you in the magistrates court for travelling without a valid ticket. You would get a fine from the court and a criminal record.

Saying on the train you didn’t have a railcard wouldn’t necessarily have resulted in a £100 / £50 penalty fare. It might have done, but staff know Railcard related evasion or error is common and often report it for further investigation so past avoided fares can be investigated by the back office as the sums owed can easily exceed the amount you would have to pay for a Penalty Fare.

It’s very likely you can settle this without it going to court but it will cost more than the cost of buying a railcard in the first place.

 

[Fokx]

I used 27 to 30 and I qualify for that

A 26-30 Railcard can only be issued digitally, it isn't possible to "leave it at home" unless it's stored on a device that you don't have with you.

 

[WesternLancer]

Edit. Post deleted. Posted in error.

 

[Haywain]

I think the op has explained above how they were confused about which railcard they actually had when they were stopped and asked to present one.

Confusion? I think that is highly unlikely given that the OP has stated quite clearly:

I do not have a railcard

 

[Femor]

I suspect the most likely realistic outcome is them offering you an out of court settlement, with the anytime single fare for the journey plus an admin fee. You are unlikely to be taken to court provided you cooperate with GTR.

Have you made other journeys in the past without a valid railcard? They may look through your ticketing history - but GTR don't always bother.

I’ve bought quite a few tickets using a railcard without owning one

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 May 2026 ==

So just to clarify, you’ve claimed a railcard discount but did not own that railcard at the time of travel?

Had you ever previously owned this railcard? Eg had it expired and you overlooked renewal or was this an attempt to save paying £35 cost of the railcard?

Was buying a discounted ticket something you have done before or was it a one off?
They will be able to access your ticket buying records on line to check this and may ask you about it.

They will most likely want to recoup the money you have failed to pay them if you engage with them when they contact you.

If you don’t engage with them they will automatically prosecute you in the magistrates court for travelling without a valid ticket. You would get a fine from the court and a criminal record.

Saying on the train you didn’t have a railcard wouldn’t necessarily have resulted in a £100 / £50 penalty fare. It might have done, but staff know Railcard related evasion or error is common and often report it for further investigation so past avoided fares can be investigated by the back office as the sums owed can easily exceed the amount you would have to pay for a Penalty Fare.

It’s very likely you can settle this without it going to court but it will cost more than the cost of buying a railcard in the first place.

I’ve claimed the discount quite a few times without owning a railcard. It was not an attempt to avoid paying the railcard fee as I didn’t even know how much it cost at the time. I knew about the severity of not owning a ticket so I always bought a ticket. I’ve just added the railcard to few journeys because no one has ever asked for my railcard when they scan my ticket so I didn’t know it carried the same seriousness as the ticket. I’ll pay whatever I’m fined but I’m scared of them going through my travel history and this becoming messy. Some people are also fined up to £1000 and that’s a lot

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 May 2026 ==

Yes. Quite so

I think the op has explained above how they were confused about which railcard they actually had when they were stopped and asked to present one.

But as mentioned this aspect perhaps aroused a degree of suspicion on the part of the inspector who quite sensibly then advised the op to find whatever railcard they actually believed they had and upload the evidence of it.

I didn’t even know it was only issued digitally as I mostly buy full price ticket. I would have just said I didn’t have one. This is my mistake and I have to pay for it

 

[SECR 65]

Have you purchased previous tickets without a valid railcard online / through an app etc or in person at a machine / ticket office? They cannot track the latter option as easily.

If you are able to ascertain how many journeys you made without a valid ticket and what journeys they were, you can then calculate the maximum amount they could ask for, using the anytime single fares. I think there's a website which allows you to do this: https://www.brfares.com/ Or I might have not got the right site in which case hopefully someone can correct me! Then add an admin fee, which could be up to £250, but is likely to be less than that.

 

[WesternLancer]

Confusion? I think that is highly unlikely given that the OP has stated quite clearly:

Apols. I’ve posted this in the wrong thread. That aspect. Thanks for picking this up.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 May 2026 ==

I’ve bought quite a few tickets using a railcard without owning one

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 May 2026 ==


I’ve claimed the discount quite a few times without owning a railcard. It was not an attempt to avoid paying the railcard fee as I didn’t even know how much it cost at the time. I knew about the severity of not owning a ticket so I always bought a ticket. I’ve just added the railcard to few journeys because no one has ever asked for my railcard when they scan my ticket so I didn’t know it carried the same seriousness as the ticket. I’ll pay whatever I’m fined but I’m scared of them going through my travel history and this becoming messy. Some people are also fined up to £1000 and that’s a lot

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 May 2026 ==


I didn’t even know it was only issued digitally as I mostly buy full price ticket. I would have just said I didn’t have one. This is my mistake and I have to pay for it

Thanks. No one is fined up to £1000. That’s just the maximum fine a court can impose for this offence.

Your objective is to avoid court in the first place.

That involves paying them back the fares you avoided usually at the price of a fully new ticket.

By searching your own ticket records you can work out how much that was. If it was a lot of travel it might cost more than £1k, but you can work it out because you know how much travel you have undertaken.

 

[Elecman]

Remember that what you have paid already for the invalid tickets is dead money and no account is usually taken of it, the train company will charge you the Full Anytime single fare for each journey ( return journey=2 single fares) and they will add on a £100-£250 admin fee on top

 

[Femor]

It’s been 11 days now and I still haven’t received any letter yet. He did say up to 14 days though.

Also, I want to ask….he read me my rights after taking my details before he printed the witness statement receipt. I didn’t sign anything though. Is that normal?

 

[WesternLancer]

It’s been 11 days now and I still haven’t received any letter yet. He did say up to 14 days though.

Also, I want to ask….he read me my rights after taking my details before he printed the witness statement receipt. I didn’t sign anything though. Is that normal?

assuming you did not (and could not because you did not have a valid Railcard) upload anything - it might be weeks before you hear anything (months potentially)
I think it is 14 days to upload a copy of a valid railcard for the journey concerned. I am assuming you were not able to do that.

Not 14 days in which you will expect to hear from them I am afraid.

Make sure you check hard copy post, e-mail and spam. If you move address make arrangements for your post to be forward to your new address by Royal Mail (see their website), as well as inform the railway company of your change of address.

If you have not heard within 4 months of the date of the incident then head back here for people to suggest what options you might then want to consider taking at that point.

 

[Femor]

assuming you did not (and could not because you did not have a valid Railcard) upload anything - it might be weeks before you hear anything (months potentially)
I think it is 14 days to upload a copy of a valid railcard for the journey concerned. I am assuming you were not able to do that.

Not 14 days in which you will expect to hear from them I am afraid.

Make sure you check hard copy post, e-mail and spam. If you move address make arrangements for your post to be forward to your new address by Royal Mail (see their website), as well as inform the railway company of your change of address.

If you have not heard within 4 months of the date of the incident then head back here for people to suggest what options you might then want to consider taking at that point.

Thanks

 

[Femor]

Dear people, good afternoon. It’s been almost 3 months now and I haven’t heard from them nor received a letter or email. I keep thinking “this is it” with every letter I get in the post. The delay makes everything frightening as I don’t know what they will come up with and when.

 

[WesternLancer]

Dear people, good afternoon. It’s been almost 3 months now and I haven’t heard from them nor received a letter or email. I keep thinking “this is it” with every letter I get in the post. The delay makes everything frightening as I don’t know what they will come up with and when.

I don’t think you should be unduly concerned yet. But if you wanted to ask them what’s going on you’d have to write to them hard copy.
We can give you a template to use if that would help.
You have to weigh that up against reminding them about you.