Caught using child's ticket - potential fraud case?

[kgaf]

Hello,

In january i was caught for using a child's ticket between london liverpool street and stanstead station. The ticket man took my details and version of events, cautioned me and then said that I should receive a letter with a fine and the next steps in the post. I signed the piece of paper that he showed me so I have (I think) admitted to being guilty. The address I gave him is my university address and not the address on my ID but he said that it was fine.

My concern is that it has been 7 months and I've received no letter. I had probably been buying child tickets for a while now (I have now wisened up and stopped doing that) as I'm 21, although I don't take trains that frequently. I'm wondering if they will check my account and see that I have bought many children's tickets and then pursue further legal action. To clarify, this was my first time on a Greater Anglia service as I live in scotland and use Scotrail - so although I have not been paying the correct fare for years will that matter? Also if it does go further will they be able to prove that I was using those tickets for myself?

I'm hoping to just pay the fine and any fees given by greater anglia but because of how long it has taken I'm starting to worry. I did email them but they told me that it has been put to IRCAS so hopefully it won't be a criminal charge. Please let me know what you think may be the case.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello,

In january i was caught for using a child's ticket between london liverpool street and stanstead station. The ticket man took my details and version of events, cautioned me and then said that I should receive a letter with a fine and the next steps in the post. I signed the piece of paper that he showed me so I have (I think) admitted to being guilty. The address I gave him is my university address and not the address on my ID but he said that it was fine.

My concern is that it has been 7 months and I've received no letter. I had probably been buying child tickets for a while now (I have now wisened up and stopped doing that) as I'm 21, although I don't take trains that frequently. I'm wondering if they will check my account and see that I have bought many children's tickets and then pursue further legal action. To clarify, this was my first time on a Greater Anglia service as I live in scotland and use Scotrail - so although I have not been paying the correct fare for years will that matter? Also if it does go further will they be able to prove that I was using those tickets for myself?

I'm hoping to just pay the fine and any fees given by greater anglia but because of how long it has taken I'm starting to worry. I did email them but they told me that it has been put to IRCAS so hopefully it won't be a criminal charge. Please let me know what you think may be the case.

Welcome

Have you been able to check regularly for hard copy post at the address you gave them and is there any risk it could have gone missing if it’s a communal post system in a student house or hall of residence?

It’s vital that you receive and respond to anything that they have sent you. Also check e mail and spam carefully. If you do not respond it will escalate automatically to court Prosecution.

Who did you speak to when you rang Greater Anglia? It’s unlikely this is being dealt with by IRCAS because they usually deal with penalty fares. But perhaps not impossible. Were you issued with a Penalty Fare on the day?

If you rang customer services it’s likely they just assumed you were talking about a Penalty Fare.

They will certainly check all your on line ticket buying records to look for other evasion of this sort and seek to recover the money they believe you owe them. So you should prepare for that by making your own private record of your past evasion.

 

[kgaf]

I wasn't issued anything on the day, just told that I'd receive a letter. I emailed greater anglia not knowing if it was a penalty fare or not as I've never been in this situation before but now I dont believe it to be a penalty fare as I wasn't given anything.

I do live in a block of flats but I've been checking all my letters and emails (spam too) regularly, and my friends send me postcards all the time so the I don't believe that it would've gone to another flat in my block.

Do you think Greater Anglia will want settlement for the fare of theirs that I evaded? or all of the other ones too.

Also do you think I should try contact them again as I don't want to find out that the letter has indeed been lost and as such the matter go automatically to court?

Thanks for your help

Welcome

Have you been able to check regularly for hard copy post at the address you gave them and is there any risk it could have gone missing if it’s a communal post system in a student house or hall of residence?

It’s vital that you receive and respond to anything that they have sent you. Also check e mail and spam carefully. If you do not respond it will escalate automatically to court Prosecution.

Who did you speak to when you rang Greater Anglia? It’s unlikely this is being dealt with by IRCAS because they usually deal with penalty fares. But perhaps not impossible. Were you issued with a Penalty Fare on the day?

If you rang customer services it’s likely they just assumed you were talking about a Penalty Fare.

They will certainly check all your on line ticket buying records to look for other evasion of this sort and seek to recover the money they believe you owe them. So you should prepare for that by making your own private record of your past evasion.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Aug 2025 ==

Sorry to clarify on the email - I was told that if it were a penalty fare would be dealt with by IRCAS and I should contact them. Not that they were definitely dealing with it.

 

[WesternLancer]

I wasn't issued anything on the day, just told that I'd receive a letter. I emailed greater anglia not knowing if it was a penalty fare or not as I've never been in this situation before but now I dont believe it to be a penalty fare as I wasn't given anything.

I do live in a block of flats but I've been checking all my letters and emails (spam too) regularly, and my friends send me postcards all the time so the I don't believe that it would've gone to another flat in my block.

Do you think Greater Anglia will want settlement for the fare of theirs that I evaded? or all of the other ones too.

Also do you think I should try contact them again as I don't want to find out that the letter has indeed been lost and as such the matter go automatically to court?

Thanks for your help


== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Aug 2025 ==

Sorry to clarify on the email - I was told that if it were a penalty fare would be dealt with by IRCAS and I should contact them. Not that they were definitely dealing with it.

Thanks. Usually advice here is not to contact them but to wait for them to contact you. See what others suggest over next few days though.

Sounds like your post is reasonably reliable. You can always test it by sending yourself a letter if you want to do so.

What date did this happen? The seven months are pertinent.

They usually want evadedcfares owed on any train service going back potentially for some years if they can find evidence. That includes all other train companies. You should prepare for that scenario financially.

Sounds like you were‘reported for investigation’ and not given a penalty fare.

That’s likely because it was fairly obvious deliberate evasion and the staff want back office to check records for more of the same as it’s unusual to catch people first time.

This doesn’t mean they will automatically prosecute you. See some other threads.

 

[kgaf]

It was on the 7th of January. Also yes I've had a look and hopefully its similar to other cases where it's a fine plus the outstanding amount paid back.

 

[MotCO]

Legally, the rail company have 6 months in which to take you to Court for either Bye- Law or Regulation of Railways Acts infringements. That would take you to 7th July. However, if they took Court action on 6 July, it may take a month or 6 weeks or so for the Court to process your case, so I wouldn't be holding your breath just yet, thinking you are out of the woods.

Your title of this thread refers to 'fraud'. It is unusual for them to go down this route, unless you have been evading fares on an industrial scale. However, fraud does not have the same six month Court deadline.

 

[soil]

A fraud prosecution is vanishingly unlikely for using a ticket to which one is not entitled

Fraud prosecutions are only likely when there are altered tickets, fake tickets, etc.

 

[kgaf]

Legally, the rail company have 6 months in which to take you to Court for either Bye- Law or Regulation of Railways Acts infringements. That would take you to 7th July. However, if they took Court action on 6 July, it may take a month or 6 weeks or so for the Court to process your case, so I wouldn't be holding your breath just yet, thinking you are out of the woods.

Your title of this thread refers to 'fraud'. It is unusual for them to go down this route, unless you have been evading fares on an industrial scale. However, fraud does not have the same six month Court deadline.

So am I wise to sit and wait for a few weeks to see what happens and hope for the best?

Also apologies for using the term fraud I was merely uncertain what else to call it.

 

[WesternLancer]

So am I wise to sit and wait for a few weeks to see what happens and hope for the best?

Also apologies for using the term fraud I was merely uncertain what else to call it.

Yes sit tight for a bit eg 3 weeks or so. But head back here for advice then even if you don’t hear anything. If you do hear definitely comeback for advice on what to do.

Keep close eye on post etc.

The railway company might suggest it’s fraud when they write to you but probably a better phrase is evasion as you’ve been deliberately buying child tickets which you presumably knew you were not entitled to travel at the child rate.

Get a Railcard if you’re eligible for one. Get the correct one. It’s something you can then say you’ve actively done to change your ways. That’s what you need to persuade them of to help avoid court.

 

[kgaf]

Hello again, I have received an email this morning and just looking for clarification. The amount of £111.95 offered is the out of court settlement and once that is paid there is no way this issue will come up again? Also for note I have bought a railcard and now use the correct tickets. Further note greater anglia did take down my address wrong so that is why there was such a delay in this arriving and I chased it up with them.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hello again, I have received an email this morning and just looking for clarification. The amount of £111.95 offered is the out of court settlement and once that is paid there is no way this issue will come up again? Also for note I have bought a railcard and now use the correct tickets. Further note greater anglia did take down my address wrong so that is why there was such a delay in this arriving and I chased it up with them.

If you pay the £111.95 that will conclude the issue for the time when you were caught. But it's possible that now the railway know about you, they may go through their old records and be in touch with you about the previous times when you bought a child fare.

Our usual advice is to get back in touch with us if the railway does that, in case there's any more help that we can give.