SWR Short-fare on Trainline e-ticket - Gave brother's name in panic (Same address) - Need settlement advice

[Traveller1973]

Hello everyone,
I am looking for some realistic advice on how to handle an incident that happened this morning with South Western Railway (SWR), as I am incredibly stressed about the legal and employment implications.
The Incident:
This morning, I was stopped by an SWR revenue protection officer. I was traveling on a "short-fare" e-ticket that I had purchased through Trainline (traveling from Station A to Station B, but the ticket only covered a fraction of the journey).
When stopped, I completely panicked and verbally gave my brother’s name and date of birth instead of my own. However, the inspector took my Trainline e-ticket. Because my brother and I live at the same address, any letter sent to his name will arrive at our family home.
My History & Background:
Employment: I am full-time employed, so protecting my record from a criminal conviction/DBS check is my absolute priority.
Ticket History: Looking back at my Trainline history, I have unfortunately bought a short-fare ticket on this same route approximately 5 times earlier this year.
SWR History: A few years ago, I was given an Unpaid Fare Notice / Penalty Fare slip by SWR. I paid it in full immediately, and no further letter or court action ever came of it, but I assume it is on their internal system.
My Questions:
Since the e-ticket trail links directly to my real Trainline account details, how will SWR's prosecutions department handle the mismatch with the verbal name? Will the initial Notice of Intended Prosecution arrive in my brother's name?
What is the best way to intercept the letter to ensure my brother is completely cleared of blame immediately?
Given the false name and the handful of previous short-fares this year, is SWR still likely to offer an out-of-court settlement, or will they push straight for a Magistrates' Court summons?
I am fully prepared to pay whatever outstanding fares and administrative/investigation costs SWR demands to settle this out of court. I just want to ensure I word my eventual response perfectly to minimize the risk of prosecution.


Thank you so much in advance for your time and help.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello everyone,
I am looking for some realistic advice on how to handle an incident that happened this morning with South Western Railway (SWR), as I am incredibly stressed about the legal and employment implications.
The Incident:
This morning, I was stopped by an SWR revenue protection officer. I was traveling on a "short-fare" e-ticket that I had purchased through Trainline (traveling from Station A to Station B, but the ticket only covered a fraction of the journey).
When stopped, I completely panicked and verbally gave my brother’s name and date of birth instead of my own. However, the inspector took my Trainline e-ticket. Because my brother and I live at the same address, any letter sent to his name will arrive at our family home.
My History & Background:
Employment: I am full-time employed, so protecting my record from a criminal conviction/DBS check is my absolute priority.
Ticket History: Looking back at my Trainline history, I have unfortunately bought a short-fare ticket on this same route approximately 5 times earlier this year.
SWR History: A few years ago, I was given an Unpaid Fare Notice / Penalty Fare slip by SWR. I paid it in full immediately, and no further letter or court action ever came of it, but I assume it is on their internal system.
My Questions:
Since the e-ticket trail links directly to my real Trainline account details, how will SWR's prosecutions department handle the mismatch with the verbal name? Will the initial Notice of Intended Prosecution arrive in my brother's name?
What is the best way to intercept the letter to ensure my brother is completely cleared of blame immediately?
Given the false name and the handful of previous short-fares this year, is SWR still likely to offer an out-of-court settlement, or will they push straight for a Magistrates' Court summons?
I am fully prepared to pay whatever outstanding fares and administrative/investigation costs SWR demands to settle this out of court. I just want to ensure I word my eventual response perfectly to minimize the risk of prosecution.


Thank you so much in advance for your time and help.

Welcome.
Were you given any paperwork when stopped? Specifically anything with a reference number on it?

 

[Acathater]

How many times have you short-fared like this? Were all the tickets purchased from the same retailer?

 

[Traveller1973]

Hello and thank you for the response.
Yes, I received a Travel Irregularity Report which i was asked to sign and includes the details of the incident. There is a reference number on this report, starting with SWR.
Thanks again

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Oct 2026 ==

Welcome.
Were you given any paperwork when stopped? Specifically anything with a reference number on it?

Hello and thank you for the response.
Yes, I received a Travel Irregularity Report which i was asked to sign and includes the details of the incident. There is a reference number on this report, starting with SWR.
Thanks again

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Oct 2026 ==

How many times have you short-fared like this? Were all the tickets purchased from the same retailer?

Hello, and thank you for the response. I would say I've short fared similar to this about 5 times this year.

Thanks again

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Oct 2026 ==

Hello and thank you for the response.
Yes, I received a Travel Irregularity Report which i was asked to sign and includes the details of the incident. There is a reference number on this report, starting with SWR.
Thanks again

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Oct 2026 ==



Hello and thank you for the response.
Yes, I received a Travel Irregularity Report which i was asked to sign and includes the details of the incident. There is a reference number on this report, starting with SWR.
Thanks again

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Oct 2026 ==


Hello, and thank you for the response. I would say I've short fared similar to this about 5 times this year.

Thanks again

and yes these have all been with the same retailler, being SWR.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello, and thank you for the response. I would say I've short fared similar to this about 5 times this year.

and yes these have all been with the same retailler, being SWR.

Your post talks about tickets bought from Trainline, but here you say the retailer was SWR - are both correct?
Or do you mean you buy your tickets from Trainline but all the travel is with SWR?

 

[Traveller1973]

Welcome.
Were you given any paperwork when stopped? Specifically anything with a reference number on it?

Your post talks about tickets bought from Trainline, but here you say the retailer was SWR - are both correct?
Or do you mean you buy your tickets from Trainline but all the travel is with SWR?

Yes apolagies for the confusion. The tickets were bought from trainline travelling with SWR.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello everyone,
I am looking for some realistic advice on how to handle an incident that happened this morning with South Western Railway (SWR), as I am incredibly stressed about the legal and employment implications.
The Incident:
This morning, I was stopped by an SWR revenue protection officer. I was traveling on a "short-fare" e-ticket that I had purchased through Trainline (traveling from Station A to Station B, but the ticket only covered a fraction of the journey).
When stopped, I completely panicked and verbally gave my brother’s name and date of birth instead of my own. However, the inspector took my Trainline e-ticket. Because my brother and I live at the same address, any letter sent to his name will arrive at our family home.
My History & Background:
Employment: I am full-time employed, so protecting my record from a criminal conviction/DBS check is my absolute priority.
Ticket History: Looking back at my Trainline history, I have unfortunately bought a short-fare ticket on this same route approximately 5 times earlier this year.
SWR History: A few years ago, I was given an Unpaid Fare Notice / Penalty Fare slip by SWR. I paid it in full immediately, and no further letter or court action ever came of it, but I assume it is on their internal system.
My Questions:
Since the e-ticket trail links directly to my real Trainline account details, how will SWR's prosecutions department handle the mismatch with the verbal name? Will the initial Notice of Intended Prosecution arrive in my brother's name?
What is the best way to intercept the letter to ensure my brother is completely cleared of blame immediately?
Given the false name and the handful of previous short-fares this year, is SWR still likely to offer an out-of-court settlement, or will they push straight for a Magistrates' Court summons?
I am fully prepared to pay whatever outstanding fares and administrative/investigation costs SWR demands to settle this out of court. I just want to ensure I word my eventual response perfectly to minimize the risk of prosecution.


Thank you so much in advance for your time and help.

Thanks for clarifying ref the tickets - anyway - to get back to the key questions you need answering as per your original post.

Basically - the key to avoiding prosecution, and we see this working on numerous threads here, is to co-operate with their investigation. I'll copy some general advice given here which tell you how to go about that. That didn't get off to a good start by giving them a false name, but they are used to people lying to them so my advice on that would be to contact them and correct that information.

You should wait a few days - maybe a week - so that the case ref number has been entered into the back office systems and then they can link up your correction with their records.
Don't get into any excuses about what happened or why at this stage - just the basics to correct the details you gave - I would suggest this sort of thing:

-------
e-mail
prosecutions@swrailway.com (or use whatever contact details are listed on the TIR papers you were given on the day)

Postal
Prosecutions Department

South Western Railway Ltd

FREEPOST

SWR PROSECUTIONS DEPARTMENT



Dear Sir/ Madam

I was stopped on x date at y location and questioned about the validity of my rail ticket.

I was given this ref number xxxxx

Unfortunately I did not give correct personal detail and I would like to apologise for this.

The name I gave was:

Please note my correct name and address is …..


My e-mail address is:

Please write to me using the above details and I will do my best to respond.

Yours faithfully


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Since the e-ticket trail links directly to my real Trainline account details, how will SWR's prosecutions department handle the mismatch with the verbal name? Will the initial Notice of Intended Prosecution arrive in my brother's name?

See above, if not corrected it may well be sent to your brother (so you should perhaps tell him what you have done....)

2) What is the best way to intercept the letter to ensure my brother is completely cleared of blame immediately?

See above - get it corrected in my view

3) Given the false name and the handful of previous short-fares this year, is SWR still likely to offer an out-of-court settlement,

From what we see on here yes (and it's probably not a deal breaker that you have had a previous Penalty Fare though it might have contributed to you getting a TIR this time as the Inspector may have considered that you have not learned your lesson from the previous incident)

4) or will they push straight for a Magistrates' Court summons?

From what we see on here typically, no - but you can have a look at other SWR cases to get a sense of it


Here is the general advice I mentioned for you to consider:

Firstly, you committed a criminal offence by travelling with an 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.

 

[Traveller1973]

Thanks for clarifying ref the tickets - anyway - to get back to the key questions you need answering as per your original post.

Basically - the key to avoiding prosecution, and we see this working on numerous threads here, is to co-operate with their investigation. I'll copy some general advice given here which tell you how to go about that. That didn't get off to a good start by giving them a false name, but they are used to people lying to them so my advice on that would be to contact them and correct that information.

You should wait a few days - maybe a week - so that the case ref number has been entered into the back office systems and then they can link up your correction with their records.
Don't get into any excuses about what happened or why at this stage - just the basics to correct the details you gave - I would suggest this sort of thing:

-------
e-mail
prosecutions@swrailway.com (or use whatever contact details are listed on the TIR papers you were given on the day)

Postal
Prosecutions Department

South Western Railway Ltd

FREEPOST

SWR PROSECUTIONS DEPARTMENT



Dear Sir/ Madam

I was stopped on x date at y location and questioned about the validity of my rail ticket.

I was given this ref number xxxxx

Unfortunately I did not give correct personal detail and I would like to apologise for this.

The name I gave was:

Please note my correct name and address is …..


My e-mail address is:

Please write to me using the above details and I will do my best to respond.

Yours faithfully


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Since the e-ticket trail links directly to my real Trainline account details, how will SWR's prosecutions department handle the mismatch with the verbal name? Will the initial Notice of Intended Prosecution arrive in my brother's name?

See above, if not corrected it may well be sent to your brother (so you should perhaps tell him what you have done....)

2) What is the best way to intercept the letter to ensure my brother is completely cleared of blame immediately?

See above - get it corrected in my view

3) Given the false name and the handful of previous short-fares this year, is SWR still likely to offer an out-of-court settlement,

From what we see on here yes (and it's probably not a deal breaker that you have had a previous Penalty Fare though it might have contributed to you getting a TIR this time as the Inspector may have considered that you have not learned your lesson from the previous incident)

4) or will they push straight for a Magistrates' Court summons?

From what we see on here typically, no - but you can have a look at other SWR cases to get a sense of it


Here is the general advice I mentioned for you to consider:

Firstly, you committed a criminal offence by travelling with an 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 so much for your detailed response - I really appreciate the help.

On step 1 - emailing / writing to the prosecutors, I’ve seen some posts which advise to wait for the first letter until contacting. Do you think the preemptive contact is better in my situation?

Thanks again

 

[Haywain]

Do you think the preemptive contact is better in my situation?

Were you given any paperwork when you were stopped?

 

[Traveller1973]

Were you given any paperwork when you were stopped?

Yes. I was give a TIR slip that I was asked to sign, containing the details and my reference number.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you so much for your detailed response - I really appreciate the help.

On step 1 - emailing / writing to the prosecutors, I’ve seen some posts which advise to wait for the first letter until contacting. Do you think the preemptive contact is better in my situation?

Thanks again

The pre emptive contact is just to correct the name record. Nothing else.
Hence the point I made about the draft.
Much better to do this now than let them write to your brother in 3 months time and then you have to admit to those lies then as well as the ticket evasion.

My personal view fwiw.

It’s worth you waiting to see what others here think as there may be different views. Then you can weigh those up and decide what to do.

 

[Traveller1973]

The pre emptive contact is just to correct the name record. Nothing else.
Hence the point I made about the draft.
Much better to do this now than let them write to your brother in 3 months time and then you have to admit to those lies then as well as the ticket evasion.

My personal view fwiw.

It’s worth you waiting to see what others here think as there may be different views. Then you can weigh those up and decide what to do.

Thanks again. I will try to find some sort of consensus on this point.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks again. I will try to find some sort of consensus on this point.

Maybe ask your brother!

 

[Traveller1973]

Maybe ask your brother!

Ha! I feel that I have to tell the truth at some point so reaching out preemptively can’t do any harm… But there may be something I’m missing.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Oct 2026 ==

Were you given any paperwork when you were stopped?

Hey, thanks for getting back to me. I was wondering if you had any advice as to how to handle this situation, especially as to whether I should email / write to the prosecutors with the incorrect name.

 

[Haywain]

Hey, thanks for getting back to me. I was wondering if you had any advice as to how to handle this situation, especially as to whether I should email / write to the prosecutors with the incorrect name.

As you have a reference number and contact details you can send a brief letter apologising for giving the wrong details when you were stopped and correcting them. Take care to say nothing more.

 

[Traveller1973]

As you have a reference number and contact details you can send a brief letter apologising for giving the wrong details when you were stopped and correcting them. Take care to say nothing more.

Thanks for the response. How is this for an email:

I was stopped on [Insert Date] at [Insert Station Name] and questioned about the validity of my rail ticket. The inspector issued a Travel Incident Report (TIR) and advised that contact should be made in writing.

Unfortunately, I did not give the correct personal details at the scene, and I am writing to correct that information immediately.

The name I gave was: [Insert Your Brother's Full Name]

Please note my correct name and address is:

• Name: [Insert Your Real Full Name]
• Address: [Insert Your Real Address]
• Date of Birth: [Insert Your Date of Birth]

My email address is: [Insert Your Email Address]

Please write to me directly using the above details, and I will do my best to respond and cooperate fully with your investigation.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I was stopped on [Insert Date] at [Insert Station Name] and questioned about the validity of my rail ticket. The inspector issued a Travel Incident Report (TIR) and advised that contact should be made in writing.

Unfortunately, I did not give the correct personal details at the scene, and I am writing to correct that information immediately.

The name I gave was: [Insert Your Brother's Full Name]

Please note my correct name and address is:

• Name: [Insert Your Real Full Name]
• Address: [Insert Your Real Address]
• Date of Birth: [Insert Your Date of Birth]

My email address is: [Insert Your Email Address]

Please write to me directly using the above details, and I will do my best to respond and cooperate fully with your investigation.

Couple of little amends if it were me but otherwise I think its spot on.

(Especially the "do my best" one - you're going to cooperate so be clear about it)

 

[Traveller1973]

Couple of little amends if it were me but otherwise I think its spot on.

(Especially the "do my best" one - you're going to cooperate so be clear about it)

Thank you. I really appreciate it. I hope they see my mail before they send out the letter, so it doesn’t go out to my brother

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you. I really appreciate it. I hope they see my mail before they send out the letter, so it doesn’t go out to my brother

Some recent threads on here ref SWR are people saying SWR have not yet written to them after 4 or even 5 months - so I suspect the prospects of them sending your brother a letter imminently are slim

 

[Traveller1973]

Some recent threads on here ref SWR are people saying SWR have not yet written to them after 4 or even 5 months - so I suspect the prospects of them sending your brother a letter imminently are slim

Thank you. I will come back here when I get my letter for further advice. I appreciate the help

 

[Titfield]

Arguably a question of semantics and a very minor point, but I would use the word “Regretably” rather than the word “unfortunately”.

Having said that many of the TOCs appear to issue an offer of an out of court settlement providing engagement is made and there are no high level aggravating factors ( threats of violence or abuse / fraud in its correct legal meaning / persistent fare evasion over a sustained period of time).

 

[Traveller1973]

Arguably a question of semantics and a very minor point, but I would use the word “Regretably” rather than the word “unfortunately”.

Having said that many of the TOCs appear to issue an offer of an out of court settlement providing engagement is made and there are no high level aggravating factors ( threats of violence or abuse / fraud in its correct legal meaning / persistent fare evasion over a sustained period of time).

Thank you for your help and response. I plan to send the email tomorrow correcting the name given.