Altered railcard

[FarNorth]

Hello everyone,

I have done something very stupid recently. I was recently stopped while travelling on a TransPennine Express service from Manchester to Leeds.

I had purchased a discounted ticket using a 16–25 Railcard that belongs to my friend. I had also altered the railcard by replacing the photo with one of myself. When the inspector asked to see the railcard in the app, it became apparent that the version I had initially shown had been edited. The inspector took photographs of my ID, the genuine railcard and the edited version, and I was issued with a Travel Irregularity Notice. I have not yet received any further correspondence.

I'm feeling very ashamed now and deeply regret for my actions. I'm extremely anxious about what will happen next.

Has anyone had experience with TransPennine Express in cases involving an altered railcard? Is it common for TPE to offer an out-of-court settlement in cases like this? How long does it usually take for the first letter to arrive?

I'm not looking for ways to avoid responsibility. I know I made a serious mistake. I'm just trying to understand what the process is likely to be and what I should expect next.

Thank you for any advice.

 

[styles]

Wait for the correspondence then come back for advice, generally-speaking.

You can see some other threads about similar situations, including TPE specifically, but often the original posters haven't returned to provide an update on the conclusion.

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[Mcr Warrior]

@FarNorth. Welcome to the forum. What was the journey you were making when you were stopped? Have you ever actually had a genuine 16-25 Railcard? If so, when did it expire? Will inspection of your online ticket purchasing history show any other instances of purchasing (and using) inappropriately discounted ticket(s)?

 

[FarNorth]

@FarNorth. Welcome to the forum. What was the journey you were making when you were stopped? Have you ever actually had a genuine 16-25 Railcard? If so, when did it expire? Will inspection of your online ticket purchasing history show any other instances of purchasing (and using) inappropriately discounted ticket(s)?

Hi, Thank you for your answer.
Im travelling from Manchester to Leeds until I got caught on the train but the inspector still let me end up in Leeds. I have never had a genuine 16-25 card, I have used the fake card from last year September when my girlfriend moved to Liverpool so I have made several trip from Manchester to Liverpool (at least 6 as I last checked my purchasing history). I know it is such foolish to do such thing, and Im deeply ashamed of what I have done. By any chance, is it possible for me to arrange an out-of-court settlement, im willing to pay at any cost. And is my friend somehow being affected by this case.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi, Thank you for your answer.
Im travelling from Manchester to Leeds until I got caught on the train but the inspector still let me end up in Leeds. I have never had a genuine 16-25 card, I have used the fake card from last year September when my girlfriend moved to Liverpool so I have made several trip from Manchester to Liverpool (at least 6 as I last checked my purchasing history). I know it is such foolish to do such thing, and Im deeply ashamed of what I have done. By any chance, is it possible for me to arrange an out-of-court settlement, im willing to pay at any cost. And is my friend somehow being affected by this case.

You are right to take this seriously.

Obviously it’s clear pre meditated evasion that they may see as worse than simply not paying for a ticket.

I suspect they may still be prepared to settle out of court however, but you might need to work hard to achieve that.

Are you of an age such that you would be entitled to a railcard? If so it was a very risky way to save £35…

If you are prepared to settle this at any cost then get the help of a solicitor that specialises in rail fare evasion. Lists of those are available on the forum.
At this stage you might want to wait until they write to you to see what they ask or accuse you of.

It’s vital you receive correspondence from them for at least 7 months at the address you gave them. Bear that in mind if you move address. You will need to make arrangements regarding obtaining your post. But also check email and spam.

 

[FarNorth]

Im 22 and recently graduate so I definitely dont want this to be resulted in the court which will be the end of my carreer. How much am I expected to pay to resolve this in a settlement?

You are right to take this seriously.

Obviously it’s clear pre meditated evasion that they may see as worse than simply not paying for a ticket.

I suspect they may still be prepared to settle out of court however, but you might need to work hard to achieve that.

Are you of an age such that you would be entitled to a railcard? If so it was a very risky way to save £35…

If you are prepared to settle this at any cost then get the help of a solicitor that specialises in rail fare evasion. Lists of those are available on the forum.
At this stage you might want to wait until they write to you to see what they ask or accuse you of.

It’s vital you receive correspondence from them for at least 7 months at the address you gave them. Bear that in mind if you move address. You will need to make arrangements regarding obtaining your post. But also check email and spam.

 

[antharro]

If they offer a settlement, you can usually expect it to be made up of the anytime single fare for the journey undertaken, plus an administration fee of somewhere around £150. You will likely be expected to make this payment in one sum. Whether they look at this one incident in isolation, or whether they look into your journey history is something you will only find out once they write to you. They have six months to start court action and can write to you any time during those six months. Make sure the details they have for you are correct as you will not want to miss their letter.

 

[dodecahedron67]

TPE take a very dim view on edited railcards/tickets and I am aware of multiple cases which have resulted in legal charges being brought against people

 

[srg]

Given you are 22 and eligible for a 16-25 railcard, a first step might be that you buy one so you can legitimately buy discounted tickets going forward.

 

[saismee]

Given you are 22 and eligible for a 16-25 railcard, a first step might be that you buy one so you can legitimately buy discounted tickets going forward.

And evidence this in your response to give TPE more confidence that it won't happen again - they won't offer a settlement if they think you're going to continue to defraud them.

 

[WesternLancer]

Im 22 and recently graduate so I definitely dont want this to be resulted in the court which will be the end of my carreer. How much am I expected to pay to resolve this in a settlement?

Essentially you need to wait to hear from them about that whey are minded to do - which is usually to ask you for your version of events. That is your opportunity to try and persuade them to let you settle out of court

You have no automatic right to settle this out of court - they can prosecute you if they want to - so your focus has to be on persuading them not to do that - which involves convincing them that you have learned a serious lesson and will never evade fares again, and to offer to pay them what you owe.
If you are willing to pay at "any cost" to get an out of court settlement then you could consider using a solicitor experienced in this sort of work to help you - as they may be better able to present your case to TPE than you yourself can, in order to try and obtain an out of court settlement - but you could try to achieve that outcome yourself, which would save you the money you would have to pay a solicitor to do this for you.

The lesson learned is pretty obvious of course - for a saving of £35 by not buying a Railcard you will be looking at needing to pay them over £150 (possibly well over that depending on how may tickets you have bought with this forged railcard), and that is if they do agree to a settlement - if it goes to court the court fines an cost will be notably higher then that.

My advice is that whilst you wait there are a few things you can do to prepare yourself for what is to come - these include:

- since you are entitled to a 16-25 Railcard buy one now. This is clear way in which you can show the railway company you have changed your ways and now discount your fares legitimately. See this as a £35 investment in helping to avoid prosecution (as well as a way to cut your fares from now on). Make sure you understand the use rules of the Railcard and use it correctly

- go through your full ticket buying history and list out for your personal records every ticket you bought with the forged Railcard (no need to share that here)- they will find this information too and may want paying for new tickets for all those trips - potentially at the full Anytime Single fare - this will help you know what a settlement might cost so you can save up that money whilst you wait for them to contact you

- do not delete your on line ticket buying account. They can still access the data but you can't - deleting it puts you at a disadvantage as result, plus also makes you look suspicious

- read other threads as linked above to understand things more clearly

- make sure you keep an eye out for post - when they write to you you can upload an anonymised copy of their letter to get further advice on responding with the objective of seeking an out of court settlement

- It may be 6-8 weeks before you hear from them, but could be sooner. Make a diary note that if you have not heard from them in 4 months to come back here so people can advise on what action (if any) you may want to consider at that point.

 

[FarNorth]

Thank you all for your advice. Once I receive the first letter from TPE, I'll prepare a draft response and post it here before sending it so I can get your feedback. I genuinely appreciate all the advice you've given me during this very stressful time.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you all for your advice. Once I receive the first letter from TPE, I'll prepare a draft response and post it here before sending it so I can get your feedback. I genuinely appreciate all the advice you've given me during this very stressful time.

This below is the standard advice often given to people on here who find themselves caught with ticket irregularities - obviously this is generic advice for all sorts of situations - so bear that in mind - but it does indicate the sort of focus you should place on the content of a reply to them.
As you can see - just getting on a train without buying a ticket - even by mistake - is actually a criminal offence - so you can see that a pre-meditated decision to alter a railcard is likely to be considered a more serious matter than that IMHO - but that does not automatically preclude them settling out of court if you can persuade them you are seriously remorseful and have learned your lesson etc.

see below:


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
- That 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(s) 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.