Altered railcard

[kempest]

Hi,
I did something incredibly dumb and shamefull and altered an old railcard (from 2024) I had a screenshot of to use on a couple of trips and got caught on TransPennine Express. My last railcard expired mid July 2025 and I've bought maybe 4 short trips and this longer one to Liverpool with the discount. Fully didn't intend on using it past this trip which I'm aware doesn't matter, but I'm wondering if I'll be able to settle this out of court? I've never done anything even remotely illegal in my life and this was a complete lack of judgement on my part and completely unaware of the severity of such act and I just want to try and avoid any serious consequences if possible. I would really appreciate any advice.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I assume you were given some sort of "reported for potential prosecution" paperwork on the day, but have not yet had any communication from TPE since then?

If so, don't do anything until they get in touch with you, then show us what you've been sent and people will advise you on the best course of action.

If you cooperate with them, you should be able to settle this without it going to court, but its likely to cost you some money - probably low hundreds although we can't be sure until we fully understand what's happened

 

[kempest]

I wasn't given anything, this only happened the other day. The controller said they'll be sending me a letter through the mail. I got scared and really didn't argue or comment at all, didn't really know what to say as I was very embarrassed. Will they be able to see that I did have a railcard until July 2025? Once I get the letter I will come back and post here for advice, I'm just incredibly anxious about this now.

 

[WesternLancer]

I wasn't given anything, this only happened the other day. The controller said they'll be sending me a letter through the mail. I got scared and really didn't argue or comment at all, didn't really know what to say as I was very embarrassed. Will they be able to see that I did have a railcard until July 2025? Once I get the letter I will come back and post here for advice, I'm just incredibly anxious about this now.

There is no central database of Railcards for them to check AFAIK. So you will probably need to prove the dates of this and possibly also your past railcards (once they start investigating this and given what you did is deliberate evasion - as opposed to just forgetting to renew your Railcard - ie you actively altered a railcard - they might go back for some time / years and want proof you had railcards in the past).

So things you can do now whilst you wait to hear from them are:

- keep the Railcard that expired in July 2025 if you still have it (ie staff did not confiscate it if it was paper Railcard)

- trawl records you have that might show you had valid railcards in the past - going back as many years as possible if you have had Railcards before - eg e-mail receipts for purchase if you bought them on line - or even physical records / bank statements that might prove it. That might be difficult / a pain but really start having a good and careful search

This is because they will trawl your ticket buying records on line from wherever you buy them and can ask for the full fare for every journey they think you bought with a Railcard discount but no valid Railcard was held - if they agree to offer a settlement they will calculate the sum based on you paying for new tickets for any journeys they think you did not have a valid railcard for - and if you have used a forged railcard you are going to probably need to show them proof of times when it was actually valid.

- buy a new legitimate railcard ASAP if you are entitled to one still. This is something practical you can then show to them you immediately did to 'put right what you did wrong' - even if you are not planning to use a train soo do this now anyway in my view.

It might be some weeks before you hear from them - likely a hard copy letter but also watch e-mail and spam carefully - It is VITAL you get their letter and respond to it - with advice form here as you need it.

Incidentally it's probably no bad thing you did not say much - fare evasion in England is a criminal offence so potentially anything you say can be recorded and used as evidence against you if it actually came to prosecution - but it should indeed be your objective to try and persuade them not to prosecute you but to settle things out of court, which will hopefully be achievable. That's why it's important to get their letter - but don't contact them until they get in touch with you.

 

[kempest]

There is no central database of Railcards for them to check AFAIK. So you will probably need to prove the dates of this and possibly also your past railcards (once they start investigating this and given what you did is deliberate evasion - as opposed to just forgetting to renew your Railcard - ie you actively altered a railcard - they might go back for some time / years and want proof you had railcards in the past).

So things you can do now whilst you wait to hear from them are:

- keep the Railcard that expired in July 2025 if you still have it (ie staff did not confiscate it if it was paper Railcard)

- trawl records you have that might show you had valid railcards in the past - going back as many years as possible if you have had Railcards before - eg e-mail receipts for purchase if you bought them on line - or even physical records / bank statements that might prove it. That might be difficult / a pain but really start having a good and careful search

This is because they will trawl your ticket buying records on line from wherever you buy them and can ask for the full fare for every journey they think you bought with a Railcard discount but no valid Railcard was held - if they agree to offer a settlement they will calculate the sum based on you paying for new tickets for any journeys they think you did not have a valid railcard for - and if you have used a forged railcard you are going to probably need to show them proof of times when it was actually valid.

- buy a new legitimate railcard ASAP if you are entitled to one still. This is something practical you can then show to them you immediately did to 'put right what you did wrong' - even if you are not planning to use a train soo do this now anyway in my view.

It might be some weeks before you hear from them - likely a hard copy letter but also watch e-mail and spam carefully - It is VITAL you get their letter and respond to it - with advice form here as you need it.

Incidentally it's probably no bad thing you did not say much - fare evasion in England is a criminal offence so potentially anything you say can be recorded and used as evidence against you if it actually came to prosecution - but it should indeed be your objective to try and persuade them not to prosecute you but to settle things out of court, which will hopefully be achievable. That's why it's important to get their letter - but don't contact them until they get in touch with you.

Ok thank you, I'll keep all this in mind. I can't buy a railcard anymore as the one that expired was the last one I can get (I'm now 31). I appreciate the advice!

 

[WesternLancer]

Ok thank you, I'll keep all this in mind. I can't buy a railcard anymore as the one that expired was the last one I can get (I'm now 31). I appreciate the advice!

Thanks - that's bad luck of course.
It should still be possible to avoid court with this - have a look at some other threads involving TPE or indeed cases where altered / doctored / forged railcards might throw up results in the forum search

A recent one with Northern Trains for example

UPDATE Railcard fraud

I was caught by northern rail using a forged railcard. I’d been using it for just under a year when my original one ran out. I know I’m really stupid and I’m not contesting that I should get into trouble and face the consequences of my selfish actions, I just want to know what those consequences...

www.railforums.co.uk

One with Trans Pennine worth you looking at (includes a copy of the sort of letter you will probably be sent) unfortunately final outcome not given by the person who started the thread

Urgent Help Needed – Railcard Date Tampering Incident

Hi everyone, I'm in a really panicked and regretful state right now and I need advice or support from anyone who may have experienced something similar. Today, while travelling by train in the UK, a staff member scanned my Railcard. I had made a terrible decision earlier by editing the expiry...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[kempest]

Thanks - that's bad luck of course.
It should still be possible to avoid court with this - have a look at some other threads involving TPE or indeed cases where altered / doctored / forged railcards might throw up results in the forum search

A recent one with Northern Trains for example

UPDATE Railcard fraud

I was caught by northern rail using a forged railcard. I’d been using it for just under a year when my original one ran out. I know I’m really stupid and I’m not contesting that I should get into trouble and face the consequences of my selfish actions, I just want to know what those consequences...

www.railforums.co.uk

Can the outcome be different depending on the train company as well or what the controller reports back? I think it was very obvious I was incredibly embarrassed by the situation and not something I'd ever want to go through again

 

[John R]

I doubt the embarrassment will make any difference. Most people would be embarrassed in your situation. The good news is that, unless you are dealing with TfL (which you are not) then an out of court settlement is the likely outcome if you cooperate with them and are appropriately apologetic.

 

[WesternLancer]

Can the outcome be different depending on the train company as well or what the controller reports back? I think it was very obvious I was incredibly embarrassed by the situation and not something I'd ever want to go through again

I agree with @John R who has just posted - the train companies can do things differently and some are more difficult to deal with than others (Cross Country Trains comes to mind because they use a contractor for this sort of thing who seem to play hard ball) - but from what we see on here most train companies are open to settling out of court even for evasion activity that will have involved fares much higher / for a longer period than you indicate in your case. In part this is because if they agree an out of court settlement the train company gets to keep the settlement money - if they prosecute, things like the court fines etc go to the court - not the railway.

You have to remember they stop lots of people every day for ticket infringements of various sorts - the process for dealing with people will be fairly standard and the ticket Inspector will probably confine their comments to the facts of what they noted, the basics of what you said when they asked you about the Railcard and why they had reported you for investigation. Then they pass that to the back office for them to act on, and the process moves on to the next stage.

When you hear from them the useful advice often posted here is that you need to reply with concise content that

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you understand the seriousness of this and have learned from the incident
- You will pay the correct fare always in future
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action

You'll see this in other threads including those linked to.

 

[kempest]

I agree with @John R who has just posted - the train companies can do things differently and some are more difficult to deal with than others (Cross Country Trains comes to mind because they use a contractor for this sort of thing who seem to play hard ball) - but from what we see on here most train companies are open to settling out of court even for evasion activity that will have involved fares much higher / for a longer period than you indicate in your case. In part this is because if they agree an out of court settlement the train company gets to keep the settlement money - if they prosecute, things like the court fines etc go to the court - not the railway.

You have to remember they stop lots of people every day for ticket infringements of various sorts - the process for dealing with people will be fairly standard and the ticket Inspector will probably confine their comments to the facts of what they noted, the basics of what you said when they asked you about the Railcard and why they had reported you for investigation. Then they pass that to the back office for them to act on, and the process moves on to the next stage.

When you hear from them the useful advice often posted here is that you need to reply with concise content that

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you understand the seriousness of this and have learned from the incident
- You will pay the correct fare always in future
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action

You'll see this in other threads including those linked to.

Thanks so much for all this! I genuinely appreciate it! The lesson has definitely been learned. I'll come back for advice once I've actually received the letter.