Short faring issue - SWR Request for contact

[JH1081]

Hi all,

Have just received this email from SWR. For full transparency, I have short fared on numerous occasions over the last few months and plan to completely own up to whatever financial punishments ensue:


‘On X April 2026, ticket number XXXXXXXXXX (Vauxhall to London Waterloo) was used in the automatic ticket gate at London Waterloo to Exit the station. A review of rail usage data found that this ticket is attributable to this email address. We are currently undergoing checks on this account as a result of it being flagged as suspicious.

Further investigation of your online account is ongoing, and preliminary assessment has identified other potential inconsistencies in your ticket purchase history. This suggests that you may not be paying the correct fare for journeys made on the UK rail network.

Given the serious nature of this matter, we have taken this step to contact you to engage with you.

Please respond to this email within 7 days quoting the reference number XXXXXXXXXXX in the subject field.’

Firstly, what would be the best port of call here:
- ask for the other inconsistencies they have found?
- Apologise, own up immediately and help corroborate?
- don’t reply to the email - or does this bring in legal implications ?

First time posting here and haven’t properly understood the SWR process that follows so any help would be greatly appreciated guys!

 

[Swedenorer]

Have you been stopped by a member if staff at any point? If so say where and when.

Otherwise do nothing at this stage and await further advice

(By the way SWR you are undertaking not uindergoing.)

 

[JH1081]

Have you been stopped by a member if staff at any point? If so say where and when.

Otherwise do nothing at this stage and await further advice

I have not been stopped by anyone yet and haven’t dodged in Circa. Month or so as have been away.

Do you mean advice from a legal professional or SWR ?
Thanks

 

[WesternLancer]

I have not been stopped by anyone yet and haven’t dodged in Circa. Month or so as have been away.

Do you mean advice from a legal professional or SWR ?
Thanks

means advice from people here over the next 24 hours.

Weight for various comments form people - that will hopefully allow you to assesses the pros and cons of different actions, allowing you to make an informed decision of the best way forward.

In the mean time make a private estimate of the value of the fares you have evaded so you have some idea of what is at stake financially - no need to detail that here

meanwhile have a look at some threads on here involving Greater Anglia train company - who have been sending out e-mails like this for a couple of years or more. I don't think we have seen SWR doing this since quite recently.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

I don't think we have seen SWR doing this since quite recently.

There was one earlier today - the wording starts identically. It would seem they are looking up email addresses for tickets scanned at Waterloo for known popular short tickets.

SWR Short Faring

Hi all, I recently received an email from SWR's DRPU team with the following message: Dear x, On 16th April 2026, ticket number x (Vauxhall to London Waterloo) was used in the automatic ticket gate at London Waterloo to Exit the station. A review of rail usage data found that this ticket is...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[WesternLancer]

There was one earlier today - the wording starts identically. It would seem they are looking up email addresses for tickets scanned at Waterloo for known popular short tickets.

SWR Short Faring

Hi all, I recently received an email from SWR's DRPU team with the following message: Dear x, On 16th April 2026, ticket number x (Vauxhall to London Waterloo) was used in the automatic ticket gate at London Waterloo to Exit the station. A review of rail usage data found that this ticket is...

www.railforums.co.uk

Yes, I've noticed several over the last week or so re SWR - but can't recall SWR one from much before that (tho I'll stand corrected)

Greater Anglia and I think West Midlands Railway seem to have been doing this approach for a few years now (at least 2 or 3) - those operators (possibly?) seem to do them in batches as we often see a flurry of people joining the forum for advice having received such a message.

 

[JH1081]

means advice from people here over the next 24 hours.

Weight for various comments form people - that will hopefully allow you to assesses the pros and cons of different actions, allowing you to make an informed decision of the best way forward.

In the mean time make a private estimate of the value of the fares you have evaded so you have some idea of what is at stake financially - no need to detail that here

meanwhile have a look at some threads on here involving Greater Anglia train company - who have been sending out e-mails like this for a couple of years or more. I don't think we have seen SWR doing this since quite recently.

Do you know / have heard of what their procedure is if someone doesn’t reply to their email in the stated 7 day period?

Thanks for the additional advice as well!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2026 ==

There was one earlier today - the wording starts identically. It would seem they are looking up email addresses for tickets scanned at Waterloo for known popular short tickets.

SWR Short Faring

Hi all, I recently received an email from SWR's DRPU team with the following message: Dear x, On 16th April 2026, ticket number x (Vauxhall to London Waterloo) was used in the automatic ticket gate at London Waterloo to Exit the station. A review of rail usage data found that this ticket is...

www.railforums.co.uk

Would you advise holding fire sending a response email until I receive anything else from them re. email / letter ? Thanks

 

[Trainman40083]

There was one earlier today - the wording starts identically. It would seem they are looking up email addresses for tickets scanned at Waterloo for known popular short tickets.

SWR Short Faring

Hi all, I recently received an email from SWR's DRPU team with the following message: Dear x, On 16th April 2026, ticket number x (Vauxhall to London Waterloo) was used in the automatic ticket gate at London Waterloo to Exit the station. A review of rail usage data found that this ticket is...

www.railforums.co.uk

Possibly more so, if said ticket has not been scanned at Vauxhall. Dead giveaway.

 

[WesternLancer]

Do you know / have heard of what their procedure is if someone doesn’t reply to their email in the stated 7 day period?

See the greater Anglia threads. If like that it’s to send 2 or 3 more emails threatening people which then stop.
No idea if swr do the same.

Thanks for the additional advice as well!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2026 ==


Would you advise holding fire sending a response email until I receive anything else from them re. email / letter ? Thanks

I’d advise holding fire sending them anything at all until you get more responses on here from knowledgeable forum members.

And I’d advise buying correct tickets 100% of the time from now on. You u are obviously on their radar. Question is can they do anything

The single most important question is have you been stopped and questioned for any sort of ticketing issue at any time over the last 7 months anywhere in uk by any train operator’s staff? This is vital.
Also any Penalty Fares etc?

 

[JH1081]

See the greater Anglia threads. If like that it’s to send 2 or 3 more emails threatening people which then stop.
No idea if swr do the same.


I’d advise holding fire sending them anything at all until you get more responses on here from knowledgeable forum members.

And I’d advise buying correct tickets 100% of the time from now on. You u are obviously on their radar. Question is can they do anything

The single most important question is have you been stopped and questioned for any sort of ticketing issue at any time over the last 7 months anywhere in uk by any train operator’s staff? This is vital.
Also any Penalty Fares etc?

Ok thanks for advice much appreciated.

Would they be able to do anything with just email address?

I have not had any questioning or penalty fares at all let alone last 7 months - why would this be an issue just out of interest ?

 

[MotCO]

They obviously have your email address, but can it be linked in anyway to identify you personally, and identify your address? Is this information on the website where you have been buying your tickets from?

I'm not saying this so as to avoid having to pay up, but it does buy you valuable time to get advice from this forum (and you will get good advice) as to how to approach this, and also to start saving up. When you pay up, you will have to pay it all in one go - it is exceedingly rare to be offered the opportunity to pay by instalments.

 

[JH1081]

They obviously have your email address, but can it be linked in anyway to identify you personally, and identify your address? Is this information on the website where you have been buying your tickets from?

I'm not saying this so as to avoid having to pay up, but it does buy you valuable time to get advice from this forum (and you will get good advice) as to how to approach this, and also to start saving up. When you pay up, you will have to pay it all in one go - it is exceedingly rare to be offered the opportunity to pay by instalments.

It may be linked to my address from the account I have created I am not sure.
What would this mean if I did disclose my address ?

 

[Nova1]

The logic is if they have only sent you an email they do not know who you actually are and are most likely unable to prove you either did short fare or it was you using the ticket.

 

[MotCO]

It may be linked to my address from the account I have created I am not sure.
What would this mean if I did disclose my address ?

They would be able to identify you if they wanted to start a civil case.

 

[JH1081]

They would be able to identify you if they wanted to start a civil case.

Have just looked and my address is on my SWR account from a monthly season ticket I bought.

Where do I go from here now ?

 

[AlterEgo]

Have just looked and my address is on my SWR account from a monthly season ticket I bought.

Where do I go from here now ?

Wait and see what they do next.

 

[JH1081]

Wait and see what they do next.

So don’t reply to the email I received ? Thanks

 

[island]

It's not illegal to purchase a ticket from Vauxhall to Waterloo. It's illegal to use it for a longer journey. Therefore you need to ignore the emails. They cannot prosecute you without any evidence of who travelled on the tickets. If you reply, you might end up giving them that evidence.

You must however now assume your card is marked. You must always pay the right fare in future, and I would advise throwing away the account you used to purchase with, and setting up a new account with a new email on a new ticketing website.

 

[MotCO]

You must however now assume your card is marked. You must always pay the right fare in future, and I would advise throwing away the account you used to purchase with, and setting up a new account with a new email on a new ticketing website.

Indeed. Using your existing account but now travelling from your real home station instead of Vauxhall is tantamount to a confession that you have been short-faring in thepast. Added to which, 99.9% of people travelling from Vauxhall to Waterloo would use Oyster and not buy a SWR ticket. (The other 0.1% are probably short-faring!)

 

[Egg Centric]

You must however now assume your card is marked. You must always pay the right fare in future, and I would advise throwing away the account you used to purchase with, and setting up a new account with a new email on a new ticketing website.

Note that "throwing away" does not mean "deleting". This just makes things more difficult for you in the unlikely - and it's unlikely enough we've not seen it yet with someone in your position - event that they pursue it.

 

[JH1081]

It's not illegal to purchase a ticket from Vauxhall to Waterloo. It's illegal to use it for a longer journey. Therefore you need to ignore the emails. They cannot prosecute you without any evidence of who travelled on the tickets. If you reply, you might end up giving them that evidence.

You must however now assume your card is marked. You must always pay the right fare in future, and I would advise throwing away the account you used to purchase with, and setting up a new account with a new email on a new ticketing website.

Understood thanks.

Issue here is I’ve bought a legitimate monthly pass from my home station just a couple of days ago which cost several hundred pounds.
Would you recommend setting up a new account even so and using this going forwards or will it be too late seeming as I’ve used the pass eg. Today ? Thanks

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2026 ==

Note that "throwing away" does not mean "deleting". This just makes things more difficult for you in the unlikely - and it's unlikely enough we've not seen it yet with someone in your position - event that they pursue it.

So don’t delete for instance my address off account just leave it how it is ?

 

[Egg Centric]

So don’t delete for instance my address off account just leave it how it is ?

Yes just disappear into the shadows

They have six years to make a civil claim against you. They probably won't, but they might - we can't be sure how policy on this will evolve. And if they do you will need access to it to check/challenge their figures.

It is incredibly important in the meantime that you do not proactively contact them.

 

[JH1081]

Yes just disappear into the shadows

They have six years to make a civil claim against you. They probably won't, but they might - we can't be sure how policy on this will evolve. And if they do you will need access to it to check/challenge their figures.

It is incredibly important in the meantime that you do not proactively contact them.

Ok thank you for the advice!

Would you carry on using the monthly season pass if you’ve already used it (only for one day) or leave that as well ? Thanks

 

[LYradial]

Ok thank you for the advice!

Would you carry on using the monthly season pass if you’ve already used it (only for one day) or leave that as well ? Thanks

It is the act of buying the pass that may, and its a big may, that might be to your detriment but you cannot undo that so just use it

 

[gembercannelle]

Indeed. Using your existing account but now travelling from your real home station instead of Vauxhall is tantamount to a confession that you have been short-faring in thepast. Added to which, 99.9% of people travelling from Vauxhall to Waterloo would use Oyster and not buy a SWR ticket. (The other 0.1% are probably short-faring!)

I did buy such a train ticket a few times - because this way I could get reimbursement from my employer without extra headache.

 

[Egg Centric]

Ok thank you for the advice!

Would you carry on using the monthly season pass if you’ve already used it (only for one day) or leave that as well ? Thanks

Is the season pass 100% legitimate - i.e. correct for your journey and your circumstances?

If it is then use it but if stopped using it and asked questions then you must give them your details and otherwise say nothing (not even "no comment" - just stare blankly) to any other question. Would you be comfortable doing this?

(I don't know if we've any experience of this sort of thing happening outside of TfL but you have to be aware it's something that they technically are capable of doing)

 

[white43306]

In essence, what they are saying is we suspect you of short faring but don’t quite have enough evidence of you doing so so we’d like to discuss the matter with you in a hope you’ll incriminate yourself and give us the information.

It would be different if you had been caught at the station.

Ignore it. It is commonly called fishing. There will be many people who receive these letters and through panic and fear will reply and incriminate themselves. Do not do this.

As others have said, is it illegal to buy tickets for one station? How do they know it was even you using the tickets? Could have bought them on behalf of someone else.

Ignore and see what they come back with (if anything)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2026 ==

In essence, what they are saying is we suspect you of short faring but don’t quite have enough evidence of you doing so so we’d like to discuss the matter with you in a hope you’ll incriminate yourself and give us the information.

It would be different if you had been caught at the station.

Ignore it. It is commonly called Phishing.

Alternately, you may wish to reply something along the lines of “you are unaware of any issues with your travel g history and therefore decline their invitation to discuss further as you’d have nothing to share”

As others have said, is it illegal to buy tickets for one station? How do they know it was even you using the tickets? Could have bought them on behalf of someone else.

Ignore and see what they come back with (if anything)

 

[Blaine]

You said you were prepared to pay whatever is owed... put your season ticket in a drawer and don't use it. It increases the likelihood of you being stopped and questioned.

Use a different retailer to buy new tickets, never cheat again, don't respond to any emails from them and - if you are stopped by people looking for you - don't say anything but your name and address.

 

[WesternLancer]

Alternately, you may wish to reply something along the lines of “you are unaware of any issues with your travel g history and therefore decline their invitation to discuss further as you’d have nothing to share”

which would probably be a lie. Which is not a good idea.

But not responding at all no lie is told.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2026 ==

You said you were prepared to pay whatever is owed... put your season ticket in a drawer and don't use it. It increases the likelihood of you being stopped and questioned.

Use a different retailer to buy new tickets, never cheat again, don't respond to any emails from them and - if you are stopped by people looking for you - don't say anything but your name and address.

This is probably good advice. All of the message points made.

I don't know what the season ticket will have cost but there is presumably added security in not using it.
You may even be able to get a refund for the unused period on it (tho depending on the refund process I am not sure if that might create other risks to the OP - I've not checked how season ticket refunds work and it's a very long time since I last had one myself)

 

[gray1404]

Do not reply the email. Ignore it and see what happens next.

You have your season ticket purchased now so just use it.