Caught reusing period return ticket

[bunjamin]

A family member of mine has received an email saying they've been identified as having reused a ticket. The ticket reference has been provided and we've worked out they used this ticket 3 times in total (i.e 2x more than they should). The ticket was bought on Trainline so would have been scanned by inspectors multiple times. There has been no mention of prosecution but they've asked for a response within 7 days. At this point is the right course of action to say "yes I must have reused the ticket" and offer to pay for the extra travel costs + any fine they issue?

 

[jfollows]

Welcome to the forum.
Although it’s technically not a “fine”, if your family member can agree an out of court settlement this may well be the best outcome, so they should offer to pay unpaid fares plus investigation costs.
The alternative of prosecution may well cost the same and come with a criminal record.
As you’ll probably know, reusing a ticket which is scanned each time of use isn’t wise, to say the least! In the past, before barcodes and scanners it may well have been undetectable.

The usual amount will be something like £150 plus full fare single tickets for each journey. If you want to know the fare, https://www.brfares.com/!home may be a good resource.

 

[WesternLancer]

A family member of mine has received an email saying they've been identified as having reused a ticket. The ticket reference has been provided and we've worked out they used this ticket 3 times in total (i.e 2x more than they should). The ticket was bought on Trainline so would have been scanned by inspectors multiple times. There has been no mention of prosecution but they've asked for a response within 7 days. At this point is the right course of action to say "yes I must have reused the ticket" and offer to pay for the extra travel costs + any fine they issue?

I would also include int he response with some sort of profuse apology and making it clear that they know what they did was wrong and won't do it again.

The railway want to know that the person has changed their ways and learned a serious lesson if they are to be persuaded not to consider court action against your relative.

 

[Egg Centric]

A family member of mine has received an email saying they've been identified as having reused a ticket. The ticket reference has been provided and we've worked out they used this ticket 3 times in total (i.e 2x more than they should). The ticket was bought on Trainline so would have been scanned by inspectors multiple times. There has been no mention of prosecution but they've asked for a response within 7 days. At this point is the right course of action to say "yes I must have reused the ticket" and offer to pay for the extra travel costs + any fine they issue?

Received an email from who? Have they responded yet? Have they been stopped in person ever?

 

[bunjamin]

Received an email from who? Have they responded yet? Have they been stopped in person ever?

Greater Anglia fraud investigations. They buy the tickets on Trainline so it was scanned multiple times. No they have not ever been stopped in person.

 

[MotCO]

Can Greater Anglia prove who used the ticket? If not, is it just a phishing exercise?

Not that I am advocating fare evasion. Please ensure your family member buys the correct ticket from now on. There are a range of season tickets which may work out cheaper if they are a regular traveller.

Edit- spelling correction

 

[Egg Centric]

Greater Anglia fraud investigations. They buy the tickets on Trainline so it was scanned multiple times. No they have not ever been stopped in person.

I would recommend reading the emails but otherwise not engaging at all. And being whiter than white from now on, preferably using a different retailer. It's highly unlikely they're in a position to prove anything at the moment (although likely they will be sending more emails).

Under no circumstances respond without running any response past this forum.

 

[mr_jrt]

I know little of these new barcoded tickets (I still buy old style ones from a machine), but presumably, a scan to get through the barriers doesn't prove the ticket was used, just that it was scanned. It heavily implies it was used, but unless it was scanned on a train by an inspector, it wouldn't prove it was. You could have decided not to travel after going through the barriers. Three scans doesn't help that argument, however!

 

[bunjamin]

Can Greater Anglia prove who used the ticket? If not, is it just a phishing exercise?

Not that I am advocating fare evasion. Please ensure your family member buys the correct ticket from now on. There are a range of season tickets which may work out cheaper if they are a regular teaveller.

The ticket was purchased from a Trainline account which has their email, address and bank card linked to the account. They weren't caught by an inspector red handed so would these details not be enough to prove the ticket was used multiple times?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Sep 2025 ==

I know little of these new barcoded tickets (I still buy old style ones from a machine), but presumably, a scan to get through the barriers doesn't prove the ticket was used, just that it was scanned. It heavily implies it was used, but unless it was scanned on a train by an inspector, it wouldn't prove it was. You could have decided not to travel after going through the barriers. Three scans doesn't help that argument, however!

Unfortuately they've told me it was definitely scanned by inspectors. Neither the entry/exit stations have barriers so it could only have been scanned by an inspector.

 

[Hadders]

I know little of these new barcoded tickets (I still buy old style ones from a machine), but presumably, a scan to get through the barriers doesn't prove the ticket was used, just that it was scanned. It heavily implies it was used, but unless it was scanned on a train by an inspector, it wouldn't prove it was. You could have decided not to travel after going through the barriers. Three scans doesn't help that argument, however!

If you're trying to say that a ticket scan doesn't show a ticket has been used, then you need to think about how someone would exit the station having scanned in at a gateline. There are two ways of doing that - either back through the gateline (which will record a scan) or on a train.

The issue isn't has the ticket been used multiple times, but who used it.

 

[bunjamin]

I would recommend reading the emails but otherwise not engaging at all. And being whiter than white from now on, preferably using a different retailer. It's highly unlikely they're in a position to prove anything at the moment (although likely they will be sending more emails).

Under no circumstances respond without running any response past this forum.

Thank you. The worry is the return journey which was used 3 times (from station A to B) is accompanied by at least 2 single tickets the other way (i.e from B to A) so it does look suspicious. Aside from lying about someone else using the ticket we are not sure whether to leave it or admit wrongdoing like some of the earlier posters have suggested.

 

[Egg Centric]

Thank you. The worry is the return journey which was used 3 times (from station A to B) is accompanied by at least 2 single tickets the other way (i.e from B to A) so it does look suspicious. Aside from lying about someone else using the ticket we are not sure whether to leave it or admit wrongdoing like some of the earlier posters have suggested.

Under no circumstances lie. The best response is no response.

 

[AlterEgo]

Thank you. The worry is the return journey which was used 3 times (from station A to B) is accompanied by at least 2 single tickets the other way (i.e from B to A) so it does look suspicious. Aside from lying about someone else using the ticket we are not sure whether to leave it or admit wrongdoing like some of the earlier posters have suggested.

You don't have to say, or do, anything. In fact I recommend this course of action.

 

[mr_jrt]

Unfortuately they've told me it was definitely scanned by inspectors. Neither the entry/exit stations have barriers so it could only have been scanned by an inspector.

How strange, you would think the inspector would flag it up the second time. I guess perhaps there's a bit of leeway for break of journey purposes, or perhaps it just silently flags it up for further checks as seems to have happened here?

 

[SuspectUsual]

How strange, you would think the inspector would flag it up the second time. I guess perhaps there's a bit of leeway for break of journey purposes, or perhaps it just silently flags it up for further checks as seems to have happened here?

Beat me to it

Seems odd that (a) the scan wouldn’t reveal the ticket had been used previously and (b) they wouldn’t take the chance to catch the offender red handed

Unless the locations of the scans might support a break of journey defence, but that’s a whole extra level of complexity in the background when the scan is made.

 

[tatitiliti]

A family member of mine has received an email saying they've been identified as having reused a ticket. The ticket reference has been provided and we've worked out they used this ticket 3 times in total (i.e 2x more than they should). The ticket was bought on Trainline so would have been scanned by inspectors multiple times. There has been no mention of prosecution but they've asked for a response within 7 days. At this point is the right course of action to say "yes I must have reused the ticket" and offer to pay for the extra travel costs + any fine they issue?

Whether guilty or not guilty, do not reply at all to this fishing attempt. Ignore any and all further correspondence and threats.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Whether guilty or not guilty, do not reply at all to this fishing attempt. Ignore any and all further correspondence and threats.

Is an alternative to write back stating "no comment"? That is after all what could be said in an interview under caution.

 

[AlterEgo]

Is an alternative to write back stating "no comment"? That is after all what could be said in an interview under caution.

There is no advantage to doing this. As this isn't an interview the company does not even have a guarantee you have received the question let alone making a decision to answer it.