Extremely Worried, Help Required: Issued Witness Statement for travelling with Invalid Railcard

[ConfusedPsnger]

Hi all,

I sincerely hope that you are all doing well.

Like many before, I have found myself here since I made the mistake of travelling with tickets issued for one sort of railcard whilst travelling with a different, albeit valid, railcard. My situation is as follows:

On the 3rd of October 2026, I was travelling from London St Pancras International to Cambridge; whilst on the train and as the train approached Cambridge South, I was approached by a Revenue Team Member and was asked to show my tickets which I promptly did; I was using tickets issued for a "16-25 Railcard" whilst the valid railcard I was travelling with was a "Network Railcard"; I had never paid attention to this before as whenever I had been approached to show either tickets or my railcard, I was always promptly told I was good to go. The Revenue Team Member proceeded to sit down and asked me to show her my valid Network Railcard which she promptly said was OK though was not the correct type needed for the tickets I was using; as such, she proceeded to ask me if she could see my previous railcards which I showed purchase receipts for on my GMail Account and which she said was OK. She then asked me to write my Full Name, Date of Birth, and Address on a piece of paper; she then started asking me if she could take my phone to check if my address is valid and then proceeded to go through my Google App to access my Amazon Account to see the address I had on file there; I felt that this was extremely inappropriate but since I am an international student and on a UK Student Visa as of current, I thought it best to let her do it her way though I am certain this was inappropriate since she also got to see my bank details I had on my Amazon Account. She then asked me if I can show her that I have a 16-25 Railcard on hand to which I replied I realise that I currently do not and that the only valid railcard I currently have is my Network Railcard. She proceeded to write all of this down on her iPad as she said she is required to record verbatim what I say. She then proceeded to hand me a Witness Statement and told me that the Train Operating Company shall be in touch, but she did not specify exactly what will happen.

Now, as of current, I am extremely, extremely worried. I went through the various threads on the forums here and am aware that I could be looking at a criminal conviction which worries me since I had never intentioned to travel with tickets issued for another railcard nor have I ever intentioned to ever short fare on any of my journeys; I worry about the most pedantic of things and am appalled at myself for having made such a mistake. After I was issued the Witness Statement and when I was still in Cambridge, I proceeded to purchase a valid 16-25 Railcard since I do not want to travel without the correct railcard and short fare as it is simply unfair to everyone else using the service. As of current, I have two valid railcards: a 16-25 Railcard and a Network Railcard. Additionally, I am unaware of how many journeys I may have made with the wrong railcard since I would always book using the TrainLine App and it would apply either a 16-25 Railcard or a Network Railcard, and since I was always in a hurry, I had never checked this.

What is the best course of action at the moment? Should I get in touch with the Train Operating Company before they get in touch with me or should I just wait? I do not want to go to court for this and want this settled out of court; I am happy and willing to pay whatever amount the Train Operating Company believes is owed to them. I am genuinely unable to describe how worried this is making me; I have always been under immense exam stress due to the sort of career I am heading into and it is difficult to sleep with something like this constantly on my mind now.

I would greatly, greatly appreciate any and all advice to have this sorted.

 

[6Gman]

Hi all,

I sincerely hope that you are all doing well.

Like many before, I have found myself here since I made the mistake of travelling with tickets issued for one sort of railcard whilst travelling with a different, albeit valid, railcard. My situation is as follows:

On the 3rd of October 2026, I was travelling from London St Pancras International to Cambridge; whilst on the train and as the train approached Cambridge South, I was approached by a Revenue Team Member and was asked to show my tickets which I promptly did; I was using tickets issued for a "16-25 Railcard" whilst the valid railcard I was travelling with was a "Network Railcard"; I had never paid attention to this before as whenever I had been approached to show either tickets or my railcard, I was always promptly told I was good to go. The Revenue Team Member proceeded to sit down and asked me to show her my valid Network Railcard which she promptly said was OK though was not the correct type needed for the tickets I was using; as such, she proceeded to ask me if she could see my previous railcards which I showed purchase receipts for on my GMail Account and which she said was OK. She then asked me to write my Full Name, Date of Birth, and Address on a piece of paper; she then started asking me if she could take my phone to check if my address is valid and then proceeded to go through my Google App to access my Amazon Account to see the address I had on file there; I felt that this was extremely inappropriate but since I am an international student and on a UK Student Visa as of current, I thought it best to let her do it her way though I am certain this was inappropriate since she also got to see my bank details I had on my Amazon Account. She then asked me if I can show her that I have a 16-25 Railcard on hand to which I replied I realise that I currently do not and that the only valid railcard I currently have is my Network Railcard. She proceeded to write all of this down on her iPad as she said she is required to record verbatim what I say. She then proceeded to hand me a Witness Statement and told me that the Train Operating Company shall be in touch, but she did not specify exactly what will happen.

Now, as of current, I am extremely, extremely worried. I went through the various threads on the forums here and am aware that I could be looking at a criminal conviction which worries me since I had never intentioned to travel with tickets issued for another railcard nor have I ever intentioned to ever short fare on any of my journeys; I worry about the most pedantic of things and am appalled at myself for having made such a mistake. After I was issued the Witness Statement and when I was still in Cambridge, I proceeded to purchase a valid 16-25 Railcard since I do not want to travel without the correct railcard and short fare as it is simply unfair to everyone else using the service. As of current, I have two valid railcards: a 16-25 Railcard and a Network Railcard. Additionally, I am unaware of how many journeys I may have made with the wrong railcard since I would always book using the TrainLine App and it would apply either a 16-25 Railcard or a Network Railcard, and since I was always in a hurry, I had never checked this.

What is the best course of action at the moment? Should I get in touch with the Train Operating Company before they get in touch with me or should I just wait? I do not want to go to court for this and want this settled out of court; I am happy and willing to pay whatever amount the Train Operating Company believes is owed to them. I am genuinely unable to describe how worried this is making me; I have always been under immense exam stress due to the sort of career I am heading into and it is difficult to sleep with something like this constantly on my mind now.

I would greatly, greatly appreciate any and all advice to have this sorted.

An out of court settlement is likely in a case like this.

Wait for them to contact you, then - before responding - come back on here for advice.

If you normally buy online then they will be able to trace any past errors so the settlement cost could be expensive.

Try not to worry - easy for me to say I know - but you might want to start saving money for a settlement.

 

[Chiltern 165]

Welcome to the forum!

TOCs, including GTR (Greater Thameslink Railway, the operator of your train) has little to no interest in prosecuting an international student who made a mistake.

GTR will contact you in the next 6 months (expect next 6 weeks) requesting your side of the story, then will almost certainly offer an out of court settlement. This will be an admin fee of ~£250 + the "any-time single" price of any journey you did not pay properly for.

I am genuinely unable to describe how worried this is making me; I have always been under immense exam stress due to the sort of career I am heading into and it is difficult to sleep with something like this constantly on my mind now.

You do not need to be worried. This will almost certainly not affect your future (unless your dream job was GTR revenue protection .)

Additionally, I am unaware of how many journeys I may have made with the wrong railcard since I would always book using the TrainLine App and it would apply either a 16-25 Railcard or a Network Railcard, and since I was always in a hurry, I had never checked this.

As you used Trainline, surely you can check through the rest of your emails or just look through your history on the app?

I proceeded to purchase a valid 16-25 Railcard since I do not want to travel without the correct railcard and short fare as it is simply unfair to everyone else using the service

Unfortunately, you did exactly what you said you didn't want to do. You cannot retroactively buy a railcard.

You did not short-fare however, as that is the practice of buying a ticket which doesn't cover your full journey.


What should you do now?
- start saving that amount of money, generally you will only be offered 1/2 weeks for repayment.
- start writing a draft for your response - you can find many good examples in the rest of the forum
- watch your email, and your post
- stop fare evading - they are watching you from now on

You are in the right place for fare evasion advise, please do not contact them without requesting advise from here first.

 

[SECR 65]

Lots of good advice given in the above posts, although I would slightly beg to differ on the

next 6 months (expect next 6 weeks)

GTR may take a number of months to get in touch with you, and this is something we often see. I would not be at all surprised if you're waiting 4 or so months for a letter.

If you've heard nothing after about 5 months, come back here for further advice. GTR have up to six months if they were to want to criminally prosecute you, which is unlikely.

Be prepared for them to look back through your Trainline account history (DON'T delete you're Trainline account - otherwise you won't be able to look at these past journeys) and they could charge you the anytime single fare for every journey undertaken without a valid ticket/correct railcard in the past few years. I'm personally slightly more optimistic about the admin fee - with GTR often £80-£150 but you'll have to wait and see.

The first correspondence is likely but not definitely to be by physical post.

Let us know if/when you have further questions.

 

[ConfusedPsnger]

I am immensely grateful to you all. Thank you so much!

I will keep you all posted and look forward to resolving this soon. In the meanwhile, I shall monitor both my email and post for any correspondence from GTR.

 

[WesternLancer]

Has the railway actually made any loss here ie is the discount afforded by the network railcard any different to the 16-25 railcard discount?

Or did the op breach a term of use aspect of the Network Railcard given they say that they gave that railcard.?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Oct 2026 ==

Hi all,

I sincerely hope that you are all doing well.

Like many before, I have found myself here since I made the mistake of travelling with tickets issued for one sort of railcard whilst travelling with a different, albeit valid, railcard. My situation is as follows:

On the 3rd of October 2026, I was travelling from London St Pancras International to Cambridge; whilst on the train and as the train approached Cambridge South, I was approached by a Revenue Team Member and was asked to show my tickets which I promptly did; I was using tickets issued for a "16-25 Railcard" whilst the valid railcard I was travelling with was a "Network Railcard"; I had never paid attention to this before as whenever I had been approached to show either tickets or my railcard, I was always promptly told I was good to go. The Revenue Team Member proceeded to sit down and asked me to show her my valid Network Railcard which she promptly said was OK though was not the correct type needed for the tickets I was using; as such, she proceeded to ask me if she could see my previous railcards which I showed purchase receipts for on my GMail Account and which she said was OK. She then asked me to write my Full Name, Date of Birth, and Address on a piece of paper; she then started asking me if she could take my phone to check if my address is valid and then proceeded to go through my Google App to access my Amazon Account to see the address I had on file there; I felt that this was extremely inappropriate but since I am an international student and on a UK Student Visa as of current, I thought it best to let her do it her way though I am certain this was inappropriate since she also got to see my bank details I had on my Amazon Account. She then asked me if I can show her that I have a 16-25 Railcard on hand to which I replied I realise that I currently do not and that the only valid railcard I currently have is my Network Railcard. She proceeded to write all of this down on her iPad as she said she is required to record verbatim what I say. She then proceeded to hand me a Witness Statement and told me that the Train Operating Company shall be in touch, but she did not specify exactly what will happen.

Now, as of current, I am extremely, extremely worried. I went through the various threads on the forums here and am aware that I could be looking at a criminal conviction which worries me since I had never intentioned to travel with tickets issued for another railcard nor have I ever intentioned to ever short fare on any of my journeys; I worry about the most pedantic of things and am appalled at myself for having made such a mistake. After I was issued the Witness Statement and when I was still in Cambridge, I proceeded to purchase a valid 16-25 Railcard since I do not want to travel without the correct railcard and short fare as it is simply unfair to everyone else using the service. As of current, I have two valid railcards: a 16-25 Railcard and a Network Railcard. Additionally, I am unaware of how many journeys I may have made with the wrong railcard since I would always book using the TrainLine App and it would apply either a 16-25 Railcard or a Network Railcard, and since I was always in a hurry, I had never checked this.

What is the best course of action at the moment? Should I get in touch with the Train Operating Company before they get in touch with me or should I just wait? I do not want to go to court for this and want this settled out of court; I am happy and willing to pay whatever amount the Train Operating Company believes is owed to them. I am genuinely unable to describe how worried this is making me; I have always been under immense exam stress due to the sort of career I am heading into and it is difficult to sleep with something like this constantly on my mind now.

I would greatly, greatly appreciate any and all advice to have this sorted.

The most important thing you need to do is to be sure you can receive hard copy post over the next 6 to 7 months. Eg if you move address etc but also watch e mail and check spam.

Make a diary reminder to come back here for advice if you have not heard from them in 4 months.

 

[ConfusedPsnger]

The most important thing you need to do is to be sure you can receive hard copy post over the next 6 to 7 months. Eg if you move address etc but also watch e mail and check spam.

Make a diary reminder to come back here for advice if you have not heard from them in 4 months.

My address shall remain unchanged for one full calendar year, and I will keep an eye on both email and physical post.

I am very grateful.

 

[Haywain]

Has the railway actually made any loss here ie is the discount afforded by the network railcard any different to the 16-25 railcard discount?

My feeling is that they haven't, and I would also note that GTR tend to act very reasonably. I doubt there is much to worry about.

 

[WesternLancer]

My address shall remain unchanged for one full calendar year, and I will keep an eye on both email and physical post.

I am very grateful.

That's good

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Oct 2026 ==

My feeling is that they haven't, and I would also note that GTR tend to act very reasonably. I doubt there is much to worry about.

Thanks - should be helpful for the OP

 

[blimmo]

I would suggest OP checks all the tickets they bought with a 16-25 railcard for travel during the time they only had a network railcard to see if any wouldn't have been discountable with the network railcard.

 

[Benjwri]

I would suggest OP checks all the tickets they bought with a 16-25 railcard for travel during the time they only had a network railcard to see if any wouldn't have been discountable with the network railcard.

Probably worth them also checking they haven’t discounted any journeys with a 16-25 railcard that go outside the Network Railcard area.

 

[Snow1964]

Probably worth them also checking they haven’t discounted any journeys with a 16-25 railcard that go outside the Network Railcard area.

And the time validity is also different, doesn't affect the evening train that Op was caught on, but would be relevant for morning trains.

16-25 railcards have no time restrictions, except not valid for fares under £12 in morning September-June (£12 minimum restriction doesn't apply July or August)

 

[Kite159]

.

Probably worth them also checking they haven’t discounted any journeys with a 16-25 railcard that go outside the Network Railcard area.

And haven't used it to discount any advance fares where the Network Railcard gives no discount on

 

[WesternLancer]

I am mindful that @ConfusedPsnger says as below

What is the best course of action at the moment? Should I get in touch with the Train Operating Company before they get in touch with me or should I just wait? I do not want to go to court for this and want this settled out of court; I am happy and willing to pay whatever amount the Train Operating Company believes is owed to them. I am genuinely unable to describe how worried this is making me; I have always been under immense exam stress due to the sort of career I am heading into and it is difficult to sleep with something like this constantly on my mind now.

and is

I am an international student and on a UK Student Visa as of current,

so may wish to minimise the impact of all this on them.

I also noted it looks like they decided to buy the correct railcard before actually travelling on the train on the day in question as I understand it. So ref these points I would suggest the following.

Should I get in touch with the Train Operating Company before they get in touch with me or should I just wait?

- almost certainly best to just wait - and it may be 6 to 8 weeks or so before you hear from them (usually via hard copy post as mentioned). Though if you did have to move address then contact them to update your details - keep any paperwork you already have with ref numbers on it safe - eg take a picture of it

I do not want to go to court for this and want this settled out of court; I am happy and willing to pay whatever amount the Train Operating Company believes is owed to them.

Usually pretty straightforward to reach such a settlement with advice from here

I am genuinely unable to describe how worried this is making me; I have always been under immense exam stress due to the sort of career I am heading into and it is difficult to sleep with something like this constantly on my mind now.

Try not to worry about it and put it to the back of your mind if you can until they write to you which as said may be a while - but not so far back that you forget all about it - so make a diary note to check back here if you have not heard from train company in say 4 months for any advice then (eg pros and cons of contacting them to ask what is going on their end)

Practical things you can do now to prepare for next steps

A few suggestions that will help you get ahead of things while you wait to hear about this

- have a read through the T&Cs of the 2 railcards involved so you can see the differences between their use conditions (which are things people are pointing out in the thread). In general I suspect the 16-25 Railcard is the better one for you to use as it has more wider use then the Network Railcard. However, IIRC the Network Railcard also allows you to take other people with you on a journey also at the discounted fare (the 16-25 Railcard does now) - so there may be occasions where you can still get some use out of the Network Rail Card
Use the official Railcard website and read the proper T&Cs - they are not that long (or pick up the leaflet that is at every staffed station which has them printed in it I think)

Official Railcard | Save 1/3 on GB Train Tickets | Railcards

We are the official retailer of Railcards by National Rail. With a Railcard you can save up to 1/3 off rail travel. There's a Railcard for everyone.

www.railcard.co.uk

- carefully go back through your ticket buying history if you buy the tickets on line and list out every ticket that you might have booked with the wrong discount applied so you have this info to hand when they write to you about the incident. Just keep this info for your own records.

- Identify the differences that might have applied between the 2 Railcards (ie occasions where the railway may have lost money as a result of your error) eg See if there are any occasions where you might have been granted a discount that the Railcard you did hold on the date concerned would not have entitled you to, if you see what I mean.
This may not be immediately clear given some of the rules of the railcard T&Cs but if you are not sure juts ask here as people will quickly know and can clarify.

 

[furlong]

I note you say tickets - plural - and that this was a Saturday. What precise tickets did you show and what was the price you paid for them?
Was London to Cambridge your complete journey? If you were travelling further in certain directions, only the 16-25 discount would be available as the Network Railcard covers a limited area.

 

[ConfusedPsnger]

.

And haven't used it to discount any advance fares where the Network Railcard gives no discount on

I use the TrainLine App and it only shows that I bought tickets and it makes no mention of which railcard was applied; if I comb through my emails, I see that some of my tickets did have the 16-25 railcard applied when I only had a Network Railcard; as such, nearly all of my travel was to and from either London Kings Cross, Liverpool Street or St Pancras International to Cambridge. I almost always travelled in the evening and do not ever recall travelling before 10am.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Oct 2026 ==

I am mindful that @ConfusedPsnger says as below

and is



so may wish to minimise the impact of all this on them.

I also noted it looks like they decided to buy the correct railcard before actually travelling on the train on the day in question as I understand it. So ref these points I would suggest the following.


- almost certainly best to just wait - and it may be 6 to 8 weeks or so before you hear from them (usually via hard copy post as mentioned). Though if you did have to move address then contact them to update your details - keep any paperwork you already have with ref numbers on it safe - eg take a picture of it


Usually pretty straightforward to reach such a settlement with advice from here



Try not to worry about it and put it to the back of your mind if you can until they write to you which as said may be a while - but not so far back that you forget all about it - so make a diary note to check back here if you have not heard from train company in say 4 months for any advice then (eg pros and cons of contacting them to ask what is going on their end)

Practical things you can do now to prepare for next steps

A few suggestions that will help you get ahead of things while you wait to hear about this

- have a read through the T&Cs of the 2 railcards involved so you can see the differences between their use conditions (which are things people are pointing out in the thread). In general I suspect the 16-25 Railcard is the better one for you to use as it has more wider use then the Network Railcard. However, IIRC the Network Railcard also allows you to take other people with you on a journey also at the discounted fare (the 16-25 Railcard does now) - so there may be occasions where you can still get some use out of the Network Rail Card
Use the official Railcard website and read the proper T&Cs - they are not that long (or pick up the leaflet that is at every staffed station which has them printed in it I think)

Official Railcard | Save 1/3 on GB Train Tickets | Railcards

We are the official retailer of Railcards by National Rail. With a Railcard you can save up to 1/3 off rail travel. There's a Railcard for everyone.

www.railcard.co.uk

- carefully go back through your ticket buying history if you buy the tickets on line and list out every ticket that you might have booked with the wrong discount applied so you have this info to hand when they write to you about the incident. Just keep this info for your own records.

- Identify the differences that might have applied between the 2 Railcards (ie occasions where the railway may have lost money as a result of your error) eg See if there are any occasions where you might have been granted a discount that the Railcard you did hold on the date concerned would not have entitled you to, if you see what I mean.
This may not be immediately clear given some of the rules of the railcard T&Cs but if you are not sure juts ask here as people will quickly know and can clarify.

I will certainly make sure to check both my email and post regularly; I live in a flat and will make sure to check my physical postbox at least twice a day.
For every ticket that I did buy, I used to receive an email confirmation; however, in the email, it does not mention what I paid for the ticket and how much discount had been applied; what would be the best way to check this? I intend to make a spreadsheet, so I can provide this to the TOC when they do get in touch.

On the TrainLine App, I can only access my ticket purchasing history for up to 2 years ago whereas on email it is slightly longer.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Oct 2026 ==

I note you say tickets - plural - and that this was a Saturday. What precise tickets did you show and what was the price you paid for them?
Was London to Cambridge your complete journey? If you were travelling further in certain directions, only the 16-25 discount would be available as the Network Railcard covers a limited area.

I had booked return tickets to and from Cambridge so had two tickets on hand.

 

[WesternLancer]

On the TrainLine App, I can only access my ticket purchasing history for up to 2 years ago whereas on email it is slightly longer.

I've read on here that if you log into the trainline website (not the app) you can access more info about purchases - which may be of help - apols as I don't use Trainline so I can't say I have done this myself, but it may be something you can look at to check, in case it's of help

Although you have clearly done some work on it by checking your e-mail history.

Make your own private list of those journeys and save the e-mails you have found safely so that you can easily locate them, in case you need them as the process goes forward. They might be helpful to be able to refer to.

For every ticket that I did buy, I used to receive an email confirmation; however, in the email, it does not mention what I paid for the ticket and how much discount had been applied; what would be the best way to check this? I intend to make a spreadsheet, so I can provide this to the TOC when they do get in touch.

Would your bank statements show what you paid, going back in time - eg matching bank statement payment records with e-mail dates about ticket purchases?

This website lists all available fares that can potentially be bought in the UK between any two points - however, you will see that it can generate a large range of fares even between just London and Cambridge - so that might be confusing if you are unfamiliar with it...
and if you are looking over time you can set the search at the top to the date period to show what the fares were at that time which may help with accuracy

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

But if you happen know the sort of ticket you typically buy, (eg Off Peak, Single or Return, Advance etc) people here might be able to advise you on what sort of price that fare would be which might help you match them up

Also to note:
What normally happens is that if the railway company investigate your ticket buying records and think you owe them for multiple past journeys they will ask you about that, and you can then ask them to provide you with a list that they think show wrong tickets which then helps you compare with whatever records you can access in order to get an accurate figure. They will usually be happy to provide this information if they think you are co-operating with them and helping resolve it.

 

[ConfusedPsnger]

I've read on here that if you log into the trainline website (not the app) you can access more info about purchases - which may be of help - apols as I don't use Trainline so I can't say I have done this myself, but it may be something you can look at to check, in case it's of help

Although you have clearly done some work on it by checking your e-mail history.

Make your own private list of those journeys and save the e-mails you have found safely so that you can easily locate them, in case you need them as the process goes forward. They might be helpful to be able to refer to.

Both the app and online service available for TrainLine only show me 2 years worth of history.
I believe combing through my emails would be best. I shall report back here with what I think were journeys with the wrong railcard applied.

I will archive all of the emails so they remain safely stored.

 

[WesternLancer]

Both the app and online service available for TrainLine only show me 2 years worth of history.
I believe combing through my emails would be best. I shall report back here with what I think were journeys with the wrong railcard applied.

I will archive all of the emails so they remain safely stored.

This seems like a good approach to the preparation you can do at this stage.

 

[ConfusedPsnger]

This seems like a good approach to the preparation you can do at this stage.

Would it also be helpful in drafting a reply now which includes a statement to the effect of that I am happy and willing to pay for any and all journey's the TOC thinks they might be owed for? I understand that the amount could be high, but if it means getting it sorted without much trouble then I shall greatly appreciate that.

 

[WesternLancer]

Would it also be helpful in drafting a reply now which includes a statement to the effect of that I am happy and willing to pay for any and all journey's the TOC thinks they might be owed for? I understand that the amount could be high, but if it means getting it sorted without much trouble then I shall greatly appreciate that.

It depends how you want to handle it I guess

You can look at lots of other threads to see drafts of letters people typically send in response (with edits on the forum) but usually best to look for ones involving the same train operator that stopped you (is that Great Northern / GTR?)

But at this stage you don't exactly know what they will ask you (although chances are you will get a copy of the standard letter they usually send out), so only so much you can do by way of a draft response

But this is a relatively unusual case because from what you describe ref your travel it seems likely that you may have paid exactly the same price for all or most of the tickets that you did buy albeit with the wrong Railcard listed against the purchase. So whilst that is technically going to be a breach of the rules, it quite likely means that the sum paid for your travel might be exactly the same as you actually paid had you applied the discount for the railcard you did actually have - as I understand it - so the railway may not ask for any more money anyway.
If that is the case then it seems to me there isn't much point to actually just offer them money.

So such a draft might need to involve
- an apology for the error you made
- an explanation about what you did to resolve matters (bought the correct railcard)
- an assurance you won't make the mistake again
- a polite indication that you don't think the error resulted in any financial loss to the railway (if this is correct), but if they think it did, could they let you know so that you can resolve the matter by paying any sum owed

Most people who come here for help are not in the situation you are with railcard errors - we mostly see people applying discounts when they have no railcard at all for example - either by accident or deliberately - so the railway has lost out financially. But in your case that isn't what has happened.

 

[Haywain]

Would it also be helpful in drafting a reply now

No. How can you answer a question you haven't been asked? Wait to see what you get from GTR and try not to overthink things until then (which a lot of people on this thread are also doing).

 

[ConfusedPsnger]

Understood. Thank you everyone so far for your guidance. I shall update you all here when I receive anything from the TOC.

 

[rhizomergence]

she then started asking me if she could take my phone to check if my address is valid and then proceeded to go through my Google App to access my Amazon Account to see the address I had on file there; I felt that this was extremely inappropriate but since I am an international student and on a UK Student Visa as of current, I thought it best to let her do it her way though I am certain this was inappropriate since she also got to see my bank details I had on my Amazon Account

No one has brought up this - this seems pretty wild to me. Is it within their right to do this? And if say there is a body-worn camera isn't it some sort of data privacy/handling concern if bank details were indeed shown?

I sure hope the railway will be reasonable here and drop the case as this feels like a "paperwork error", more than an attempt to avoid paying any fares. The OP received the same discount that the railcard they held entitled them to, and they were clearly eligible for the 16-25 as they were able to purchase one later. In fact, one might expect that a customer-friendly public service would offer to change (or refund/reissue) the clearly incorrectly-purchased railcard (given the strict superiority of the 16-25) free of charge (I know in practice a process probably does not exist for this).

 

[Haywain]

No one has brought up this - this seems pretty wild to me. Is it within their right to do this?

This question keeps coming up - yes, they have every right to ask but no-one is compelled to hand over their phone. All anyone is required to do, by law, is to give their name and address but it seems most people are very poorly informed about their rights.

The OP received the same discount that the railcard they held entitled them to,

Did they? Have you seen the OP's ticket buying history and travel records?

one might expect that a customer-friendly public service would offer to change (or refund/reissue) the clearly incorrectly-purchased railcard (given the strict superiority of the 16-25) free of charge

How do you know the Network Railcard was incorrectly purchased and hasn't been used in a way that the 16-25 Railcard can't be used?

 

[Chiltern 165]

This question keeps coming up - yes, they have every right to ask but no-one is compelled to hand over their phone. All anyone is required to do, by law, is to give their name and address but it seems most people are very poorly informed about their rights.

This seemingly is becoming standard practice- I recently watched a TfL documentary where the RPOs were making people show their name through their settings app.

 

[rhizomergence]

Did they? Have you seen the OP's ticket buying history and travel records?

Obviously not, I’m taking what the OP has described at face value but they do seem honest to me.

And 16-25 is, as far as I know, almost strictly superior to the network railcard and seeing that a 16-25 has been purchased they are eligible (unless they’re lying about it entirely, which I think is unlikely).

All I can think of is that they may have been using a network railcard to discount tickets for accompanying passengers, but again given the post, the OP’s username, and their described actions I find it unlikely. And obviously if the OP was doing this, they wouldn’t have bought 16-25 railcard tickets at all - if there was foul play, it would be more likely that they would be caught buying network tickets for friends while using a 16-25, or using 16-25 tickets while holding a network to circumvent the area restrictions.

I can believe that the name “Network railcard” could be confusing, as a former international student myself - someone unfamiliar with the railway may think it just means “one of the railcards used on the (railway) network”. For example on the Oyster single fare finder there is a category for “national railcards and gold cards” or something of that note, it’s not too far a stretch for someone to think “network railcard” is a similar idea. Though it’s obviously different to anyone in-the-know.

 

[123*]

This question keeps coming up - yes, they have every right to ask but no-one is compelled to hand over their phone. All anyone is required to do, by law, is to give their name and address but it seems most people are very poorly informed about their rights.

Did they? Have you seen the OP's ticket buying history and travel records?

How do you know the Network Railcard was incorrectly purchased and hasn't been used in a way that the 16-25 Railcard can't be used?

That seems a little bit excessive to me.

Are you able to give any sort of legislation that gives people in that role the authority to go through this sort of data?

Seems like a significant abuse of authority. Pressuring someone to hand over completely irrelevant information and potentially sensitive personal data.

 

[AlterEgo]

That seems a little bit excessive to me.

Are you able to give any sort of legislation that gives people in that role the authority to go through this sort of data?

They have permission, so no authority is needed. As long as they do not say or imply it is mandatory or a legal requirement or under pain of punishment then it is lawful.

 

[123*]

They have permission, so no authority is needed. As long as they do not say or imply it is mandatory or a legal requirement or under pain of punishment then it is lawful.

Hmmmm, I’d like to see some footage of the incident to see whether permission was genuine or coerced upon from a position of power. I can absolutely imagine it being the latter in this case.

“I need to look through your Amazon account as you’ve done something very bad”. International student doesn’t want to get in trouble, no doubt all sort of criminal connotations going through their head, perhaps they did allow it but doesn’t automatically means it is acceptable.