hilscottgerron
New Member
Hi everyone,
Firstly - what a brilliant forum this is. I’ve spent the last few days reading through various threads and I appreciate in advance people giving up their time to (hopefully!) help me out.
For around the last two years I have regularly commuted from Ashtead to London Waterloo, and I have always bought the correct ticket for those journeys. No problems.
However, on Thursdays I have often driven to Esher in the morning (where I play football after work) and commuted in from there. On a number of those Thursdays (about 23 instances over two years), I bought an Anytime Return from Vauxhall to London Waterloo rather than the correct ticket from Esher (where there is no barriers) to London Waterloo, despite actually travelling from Esher.
The first time, I didn’t realise I hadn’t bought a ticket until I was at Vauxhall… and had the clever idea of just buying a ticket from there. There was seemingly no immediate consequence, so it became a bad habit that I fully appreciate is wrong and unacceptable.
Correspondence from SWR
I think it is important to state that I have never been stopped by any member of staff or ‘caught in the act’.
I have seen in the news that SWR are ramping this sort of thing up. Anyway:
The first email I received (which went to my spam) was:
Dear Customer,
On 16th April 2026, a London Waterloo to Vauxhall ticket was used in the automatic ticket gate at London Waterloo to enter 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 in the subject field.
-
I missed that email, and SWR then sent me a reminder saying they had not yet received a response and asking me to reply by 6 August.
On 30 July I replied simply:
Hi,
Apologies I missed this original email.
How can I help?
Best,
XX
-
SWR have now responded with the following:
Dear XX,
Many thanks for getting in contact.
We are currently at the start of our investigation into your ticket purchasing through your online account with Trainline. We have a Data Sharing Agreement with them, which has allowed us access to your online account and purchase history. The ticket presented at London Waterloo was flagged as suspicious and has been traced to your Trainline account, for which this is the contact email address.
We would like to talk to you about your purchase history through your online account, with a view to resolving this case.
We can continue the conversation several ways:
When making your decision you should consider taking specialist Fare Evasion legal advice (details of solicitors specialising in this field can be found online) or consult other specialist transport organisations such as Transport Focus.
My questions
I’ve seen a number of threads on here where people have suggested that, when receiving such emails, the best course of action is simply not to engage with the train operator.
Given the position I’m now in, does that advice still apply?
My only response so far has been the short email above. I haven’t admitted anything, confirmed my identity, or answered any questions about my journeys.
Am I now past the point where not engaging would be sensible, or is that still something people would consider?
One thing that caught my eye is that SWR repeatedly say they first need to verify my identity before they can discuss the case or send me my purchase history. Is that simply a data protection/GDPR requirement, or does it suggest they haven’t actually established the required level of detail/evidence yet?
If engagement is the better option, I’m assuming people would recommend asking for the purchase history by email, rather than agreeing to an interview or phone call?
More generally, based on the correspondence above and the facts I’ve outlined, what outcome would experienced members expect here? Obviously, I want to avoid prosecution at all costs and will pay any fine if I need to. Given it’s not hundreds of instances, I would imagine (while expensive) it wouldn’t completely cripple me financially.
I’d really appreciate any advice. I know this is entirely of my own making - I’m young and stupid - but I’m trying to deal with it in the most sensible way possible.
Thanks so much in advance.
Firstly - what a brilliant forum this is. I’ve spent the last few days reading through various threads and I appreciate in advance people giving up their time to (hopefully!) help me out.
For around the last two years I have regularly commuted from Ashtead to London Waterloo, and I have always bought the correct ticket for those journeys. No problems.
However, on Thursdays I have often driven to Esher in the morning (where I play football after work) and commuted in from there. On a number of those Thursdays (about 23 instances over two years), I bought an Anytime Return from Vauxhall to London Waterloo rather than the correct ticket from Esher (where there is no barriers) to London Waterloo, despite actually travelling from Esher.
The first time, I didn’t realise I hadn’t bought a ticket until I was at Vauxhall… and had the clever idea of just buying a ticket from there. There was seemingly no immediate consequence, so it became a bad habit that I fully appreciate is wrong and unacceptable.
Correspondence from SWR
I think it is important to state that I have never been stopped by any member of staff or ‘caught in the act’.
I have seen in the news that SWR are ramping this sort of thing up. Anyway:
The first email I received (which went to my spam) was:
Dear Customer,
On 16th April 2026, a London Waterloo to Vauxhall ticket was used in the automatic ticket gate at London Waterloo to enter 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 in the subject field.
-
I missed that email, and SWR then sent me a reminder saying they had not yet received a response and asking me to reply by 6 August.
On 30 July I replied simply:
Hi,
Apologies I missed this original email.
How can I help?
Best,
XX
-
SWR have now responded with the following:
Dear XX,
Many thanks for getting in contact.
We are currently at the start of our investigation into your ticket purchasing through your online account with Trainline. We have a Data Sharing Agreement with them, which has allowed us access to your online account and purchase history. The ticket presented at London Waterloo was flagged as suspicious and has been traced to your Trainline account, for which this is the contact email address.
We would like to talk to you about your purchase history through your online account, with a view to resolving this case.
We can continue the conversation several ways:
- Via email – whereby I will need to verify your identity, then I will send you your Trainline purchase history asking you to comment on actual journeys made for tickets purchased (which will be highlighted);
- I can arrange an interview – after I have confirmed your identity, I will arrange an interview which will be at a location on the SWR network, the interview will be conducted under caution and will be with me and another investigator (who will be taking notes of the interview). At the interview you will be presented with evidence from your ticket purchase history and will be asked to provide details of your actual journeys made for specific tickets purchased;
- Arrange an initial telephone call – during which I will need to confirm your identity, then we can discuss the next steps of our investigation into your ticket purchase history.
When making your decision you should consider taking specialist Fare Evasion legal advice (details of solicitors specialising in this field can be found online) or consult other specialist transport organisations such as Transport Focus.
My questions
I’ve seen a number of threads on here where people have suggested that, when receiving such emails, the best course of action is simply not to engage with the train operator.
Given the position I’m now in, does that advice still apply?
My only response so far has been the short email above. I haven’t admitted anything, confirmed my identity, or answered any questions about my journeys.
Am I now past the point where not engaging would be sensible, or is that still something people would consider?
One thing that caught my eye is that SWR repeatedly say they first need to verify my identity before they can discuss the case or send me my purchase history. Is that simply a data protection/GDPR requirement, or does it suggest they haven’t actually established the required level of detail/evidence yet?
If engagement is the better option, I’m assuming people would recommend asking for the purchase history by email, rather than agreeing to an interview or phone call?
More generally, based on the correspondence above and the facts I’ve outlined, what outcome would experienced members expect here? Obviously, I want to avoid prosecution at all costs and will pay any fine if I need to. Given it’s not hundreds of instances, I would imagine (while expensive) it wouldn’t completely cripple me financially.
I’d really appreciate any advice. I know this is entirely of my own making - I’m young and stupid - but I’m trying to deal with it in the most sensible way possible.
Thanks so much in advance.
