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SWR Travel Irregularity Report: short faring and wrong name

M

missrail

Member
Joined
16 Aug 2026
Messages
6
Location
London
Hi everyone,
A few days ago, while traveling I made a huge mistake. I was coming from Reading to Vauxhall and got a ticket to Earley. It was my first day making that kind of short fare. When stopped by the officer at Bracknell and not being able to show a valid ticket, my ticket was scanned and the picture taken. In my panic, I gave a wrong first name (my sister's) and date of birth and my old address. After the adrenaline settled down, I realized how messed up that actually was and I now am at a loss because my ticket was scanned and yeah, it was just a mess. I really would just like to settle out of court but I haven't gotten a letter yet and I don't know what to expect.
 
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RailUK Forums

Haywain

Haywain

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24,587
missrail said:
I haven't gotten a letter yet and I don't know what to expect.
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Well, you won’t get a letter if you gave a false address, because that’s where a letter will be sent. And when they don’t receive a reply SWR will prosecute your sister, and in time the court appointed bailiffs will knock on the door looking to obtain the unpaid fine. To avoid that you will need to contact SWR to put the record straight about who you are. Were you given a slip of paper with a reference number when you were stopped?
 
M

missrail

Member
Joined
16 Aug 2026
Messages
6
Location
London
Haywain said:
Well, you won’t get a letter if you gave a false address, because that’s where a letter will be sent. And when they don’t receive a reply SWR will prosecute your sister, and in time the court appointed bailiffs will knock on the door looking to obtain the unpaid fine. To avoid that you will need to contact SWR to put the record straight about who you are. Were you given a slip of paper with a reference number when you were stopped?
Click to expand...
Yes, I was.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

Haywain said:
Well, you won’t get a letter if you gave a false address, because that’s where a letter will be sent. And when they don’t receive a reply SWR will prosecute your sister, and in time the court appointed bailiffs will knock on the door looking to obtain the unpaid fine. To avoid that you will need to contact SWR to put the record straight about who you are. Were you given a slip of paper with a reference number when you were stopped?
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Is this a good email draft?

Dear sir/ Madam

Re: GW....
I was stopped at Bracknell on the 14th of August and would like to correct the personal information I gave at that time.
I provided inaccurate information while panicked and would like to ensure your records are accurate

Name:
DOB:
Address

I apologize for providing incorrect information and would be grateful if you could update your records accordingly.

Regards,
Miss Rail
 
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AlterEgo

AlterEgo

Verified Rep - Wingin' It! Paul Lucas
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29,336
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Do you have a reference number starting GW?
 
Haywain

Haywain

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Messages
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And does the slip have an email address on it? It is important that your email goes to the right team otherwise it will be fairly meaningless.
 
WesternLancer

WesternLancer

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Joined
12 Apr 2019
Messages
15,069
missrail said:
Yes, I was.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==


Is this a good email draft?

Dear sir/ Madam

Re: GW....
I was stopped at Bracknell on the 14th of August and would like to correct the personal information I gave at that time.
I provided inaccurate information while panicked and would like to ensure your records are accurate

Name:
DOB:
Address

I apologize for providing incorrect information and would be grateful if you could update your records accordingly.

Regards,
Miss Rail
Click to expand...
Variation on your draft in case you think anything in it is helpful (one I have suggested before) but nothing fundamentally wrong with yours really.

Vital it goes to the correct train company however (and not their customer services general address) - do you need an e-mail address /postal address

The key to resolving what has happened and avoiding this escalating to court which will cost you more and cause way more hassle is for you to receive their letter and respond to it with advice from here



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.

Please note my correct name and address is …..



My e-mail address is:

Yours faithfully
 
M

missrail

Member
Joined
16 Aug 2026
Messages
6
Location
London
WesternLancer said:
Variation on your draft in case you think anything in it is helpful (one I have suggested before) but nothing fundamentally wrong with yours really.

Vital it goes to the correct train company however (and not their customer services general address) - do you need an e-mail address /postal address

The key to resolving what has happened and avoiding this escalating to court which will cost you more and cause way more hassle is for you to receive their letter and respond to it with advice from here



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.

Please note my correct name and address is …..



My e-mail address is:

Yours faithfully
Click to expand...
Thank you.IMG_0910.jpeg Do you think it will be additional incrimination if I do reach out now or prevent things from becoming worse?
 
WesternLancer

WesternLancer

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Messages
15,069
missrail said:
Thank you.View attachment 209765 Do you think it will be additional incrimination if I do reach out now or prevent things from becoming worse?
Click to expand...

missrail said:
Thank you. Do you think it will be additional incrimination if I do reach out now or prevent things from becoming worse?
Click to expand...

No - but there is no point in doing so until they contact you - which may take 4 to 6 weeks or so depending on how busy they are.

They will deal with cases in order and you just need to wait for yours to get to the top of the pile. Until they write to you you don't know what they might ask you (tho every chance you will get the relatively standard letter you can see on other SWR threads). It won't become any worse if you just wait for them to contact you.

Now they have your e-mail address you should also keep an eye on e-mail, spam and hard copy post

When you hear more from them head back here for advice on next steps.
 
M

missrail

Member
Joined
16 Aug 2026
Messages
6
Location
London
WesternLancer said:
No - but there is no point in doing so until they contact you - which may take 4 to 6 weeks or so depending on how busy they are.

They will deal with cases in order and you just need to wait for yours to get to the top of the pile. Until they write to you you don't know what they might ask you (tho every chance you will get the relatively standard letter you can see on other SWR threads). It won't become any worse if you just wait for them to contact you.

Now they have your e-mail address you should also keep an eye on e-mail, spam and hard copy post

When you hear more from them head back here for advice on next steps.
Click to expand...
I haven't sent the attached e-mail yet and so was asking if sending the email to clear things up will make things worse possibly.
 
WesternLancer

WesternLancer

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missrail said:
I haven't sent the attached e-mail yet and so was asking if sending the email to clear things up will make things worse possibly.
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No I don’t think it will make things worse. I think it's helpful to give them your correct details in this way.

If you don't tell them those details it will get worse without you knowing about it, and by the time you find out (after it has gone to court automatically as these things just escalate) then it will be much more difficult for you to resolve it

But giving them your correct address you can engage with them and very probably - from what we see on here with other cases - prevent it going to court at all.

This is why I think it is better to advise them now of your correct address.
 
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M

missrail

Member
Joined
16 Aug 2026
Messages
6
Location
London
WesternLancer said:
No I don’t think it will make things worse. I think it's helpful to give them your correct details in this way.

If you don't tell them those details it will get worse without you knowing about it, and by the time you find out (after it has gone to court automatically as these things just escalate) then it will be much more difficult for you to resolve it

But giving them your correct address you can engage with them and very probably - from what we see on here with other cases - prevent it going to court at all.

This is why I think it is better to advise them now of your correct address.
Click to expand...
What about the name thing? Do you think the implication might be worse for giving another name?
 
Haywain

Haywain

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missrail said:
What about the name thing? Do you think the implication might be worse for giving another name?
Click to expand...
No, it happens all the time and is balanced by taking the responsible action of ensuring that they have correct details.
 
WesternLancer

WesternLancer

Veteran Member
Joined
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Messages
15,069
missrail said:
What about the name thing? Do you think the implication might be worse for giving another name?
Click to expand...
no - people will often be doing that sort of thing - so I would think that someone who then comes back to correct it and be truthful would be considered more favourably, not less. This is my opinion.
 
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