Caught using someone else railcard and haven’t received penalty letter

[abbieh2002]

Hi there I’m needing help with a penalty for using someone else’s railcard! (I know very silly of me)

I purchased a ticket from ealing Broadway station all the way to stanstead airport with a 16-25 railcard discount. I made it all the way to stanstead airport and then was asked to show my railcard. In which I showed a photo of my friends and they said I couldn’t use a photo and it obviously wasn’t me. They took me aside asked me a few questions and told me I’d receive a letter in the mail regarding how to move forward in terms of a fine or penalty. It’s been a little over a month and I still haven’t received the letter and they stressed the fact that I should not ignore the letter when it arrives otherwise I could end up going to court for fair evasion. I can’t find anything online about who to contact about this as I would really like to avoid court and just pay whatever I owe!! So my question is does anyone know who I should contact or why the letter hasn’t shown up yet! I really don’t want to keep waiting without knowing what’s going on! Any advice is appreciated.

 

[signed]

It’s been a little over a month and I still haven’t received the letter and they stressed

Don't, it can take up to 6 months for them to contact you

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

As long as Greater Anglia have your correct contact details I would not contact them, it is their job to contact you.

Sometimes it can take quite a while for the initial letter to arrive. Greater Anglia deal with lots of these issues at any one time, and it is possible that they are asking Trainline for details of your online ticket purchasing history because if this shows you've purchased railcard discounted tickets when you don't hold a valid railcard they might want to ask you about these instances as well.

If Greater Anglia want to prosecute you they have to lay papers before the court within six months of the date of the offence. There is nothing to be gained by chasing them up.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi there I’m needing help with a penalty for using someone else’s railcard! (I know very silly of me)

I purchased a ticket from ealing Broadway station all the way to stanstead airport with a 16-25 railcard discount. I made it all the way to stanstead airport and then was asked to show my railcard. In which I showed a photo of my friends and they said I couldn’t use a photo and it obviously wasn’t me. They took me aside asked me a few questions and told me I’d receive a letter in the mail regarding how to move forward in terms of a fine or penalty. It’s been a little over a month and I still haven’t received the letter and they stressed the fact that I should not ignore the letter when it arrives otherwise I could end up going to court for fair evasion. I can’t find anything online about who to contact about this as I would really like to avoid court and just pay whatever I owe!! So my question is does anyone know who I should contact or why the letter hasn’t shown up yet! I really don’t want to keep waiting without knowing what’s going on! Any advice is appreciated.

It’s not in your interest to chase them up. If you are v lucky they may loose your case and never write. But if they do it is indeed vital that you respond to them. Also check e mail and spam but it’s likely to be hard copy post.

Head back here for advice on what to do when you hear from them.

In the meantime look up other threads involving Greater Anglia to see what may happen.

They will also likely check any on line ticket buying records and may assume any tickets bought with a railcard may have been used with a railcard you didn’t own and they may seek to charge you in respect of those trips too. If you did have your own railcard in the past try to find some proof of it to show them if they ask about past purchases.

And buy a legitimate railcard asap as something you can show you have done to change your ways.