Accidentally Bought the Wrong Railcard Ticket

[nancy99]

Hello everyone,


I had a situation this morning while travelling from Woking to London and would appreciate some advice.


I was in a rush to catch my train and accidentally bought a ticket with a 16–17 Railcard discount instead of my valid Network Railcard discount. I didn’t realise the mistake until the ticket inspector checked my ticket on the train.


I explained that it was an honest mistake and showed him my active Network Railcard. He took my details, photographed my railcard, issued me a white form, and said I would be contacted.


I’m really worried because I’ve never been in this situation before, and there was absolutely no intention to avoid paying the correct fare.


Has anyone experienced something similar? What happened, and what should I expect or do next?


Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[soccermad]

Please post a redacted version of the paperwork you received

Please also tell us what ticket you purchased and details of when you were stopped

Did you buy the ticket before you boarded the train ?

All of this info will help us to advise you

 

[methecooldude]

I was in a rush to catch my train and accidentally bought a ticket with a 16–17 Railcard discount instead of my valid Network Railcard discount. I didn’t realise the mistake until the ticket inspector checked my ticket on the train

The word accidentally is doing some heavy lifting there as the selection of the 16-17 Saver, and the Network Railcard are so far away in the list that "accidentally selecting" the wrong Railcard is unlikely.

That being said, please do upload a copy of the paperwork

 

[Haywain]

I was in a rush to catch my train and accidentally bought a ticket with a 16–17 Railcard discount instead of my valid Network Railcard discount. I didn’t realise the mistake until the ticket inspector checked my ticket on the train.


I explained that it was an honest mistake and showed him my active Network Railcard.

You need to be aware that while it might be an honest mistake it's a very happy coincidence that many people do the same thing every day and get a greater discount as a result. Because of this the "honest mistake" part won't carry any weight.

 

[swt_passenger]

Also, the weekday £13.00 Network Card minimum fare might mean that card would have no effect, especially if the fare was for a local journey starting at Thornton Heath.

 

[talldave]

Hello everyone,


I had a situation this morning while travelling from Woking to London and would appreciate some advice.


I was in a rush to catch my train and accidentally bought a ticket with a 16–17 Railcard discount instead of my valid Network Railcard discount. I didn’t realise the mistake until the ticket inspector checked my ticket on the train.

Have you by any chance accidentally selected a Railcard discount greater than you're entitled to on multiple occasions?

 

[AlterEgo]

Also, the weekday £13.00 Network Card minimum fare might mean that card would have no effect, especially if the fare was for a local journey starting at Thornton Heath.

OP travelled Woking to London, but same principle applies.

SWR will take a few months to audit the purchase history and be in touch after that. If there are more indiscretions this will be costly as they will be charged at the undiscounted Anytime rate with no credit given for fares previously paid.

 

[WesternLancer]

Have you by any chance accidentally selected a Railcard discount greater than you're entitled to on multiple occasions?

Surely you’d be quite accident prone to have done that

 

[SECR 65]

All the advice above is good, if at times a little playful! I'll contribute more generally to what is likely to happen next.

SWR will be in touch, usually by hard copy post. This often takes a number of months, but could be a couple of weeks. Presumably you gave the inspector an accurate postal address?

They will normally threaten prosecution. This can typically be avoided provided you recieve their correspondence and cooperate with them. Therefore it is important that you check post and emails carefully. If you have not heard anything in 4-5 months, then come back here for further advice.

In the meantime:

• Always make sure you have a correct ticket for your journey
• Have a look at some other SWR threads on the forum to get an idea of what their letter and your response might look like - you don't need to worry about the investigation threads if your case is a one off instance. GTR threads might also be of use - make sure these are 'Notice of Intention to Prosecute' letters. If need be I can find some links to other relevant threads to point you in the right direction.
• Ask any questions you still have on here and someone will be happy to help.

 

[WesternLancer]

All the advice above is good, if at times a little playful! I'll contribute more generally to what is likely to happen next.

SWR will be in touch, usually by hard copy post. This often takes a number of months, but could be a couple of weeks. Presumably you gave the inspector an accurate postal address?

They will normally threaten prosecution. This can typically be avoided provided you recieve their correspondence and cooperate with them. Therefore it is important that you check post and emails carefully. If you have not heard anything in 4-5 months, then come back here for further advice.

In the meantime:

• Always make sure you have a correct ticket for your journey
• Have a look at some other SWR threads on the forum to get an idea of what their letter and your response might look like - you don't need to worry about the investigation threads if your case is a one off instance. GTR threads might also be of use - make sure these are 'Notice of Intention to Prosecute' letters. If need be I can find some links to other relevant threads to point you in the right direction.
• Ask any questions you still have on here and someone will be happy to help.

To add to this I will post some general advice the OP may find useful to read :

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.