EXPIRED RAILCARD letter - advice requested

[id100]

Hi there,

I am seeking advice regarding an email I received today addressing an incident with an expired railcard 2 months ago.

In September 2024, I was travelling from Clapham Junction to Woking (return £11 without railcard) which I had paid for with a 16-25 discount thinking I had a railcard.

When I alighted the train I was met with revenue protection officers who checked my ticket, and when asked to see my railcard discovered it had expired 11 days prior. They took my details etc and only now in November 2024 I have received an email from the South Western Railway team asking for details on my railcards etc and alerting me to this investigation.

What kind of fine would I be looking to expect and how should I proceed with this? Do I provide them with the details they are after?

Any advice appreciated greatly.

 

[Gloster]

Please post the e-mail and any other paperwork that you received in this thread. Please obscure your name, address and any other identifying details, such as reference numbers.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

We see lots of cases like this on here. I suspect SWR will have been auditing your online ticket purchasing account to discover how many tickets you've purchased with a railcard. I suspect they are asking you for details of railcards held and asking you to give them any other mitigation you want them to take into consideration before they decide how to proceed.

I suggest a short, concise reply that mentions:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

I would also check your purchase history to find out how many times you've travelled with an expired railcard and tell them this in your reply. SWR usually offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them and who haven't come to their attention before. Expect to have to pay the full Anytime fare for every journey made without the correct ticket and an admin fee, typically £150.

Paying an out of court settlement might feel like paying a fine but technically it isn't. Only a court can impsose a fine as a punishment upon conviction. You won't have a conviction or criminal record if you pay an out of court settlement.

If you post a copy of the email from SWR along with your draft reply in this thread forum members will proof read it for you. Do redact any personal details before doing so.

 

[id100]

Welcome to the forum!

We see lots of cases like this on here. I suspect SWR will have been auditing your online ticket purchasing account to discover how many tickets you've purchased with a railcard. I suspect they are asking you for details of railcards held and asking you to give them any other mitigation you want them to take into consideration before they decide how to proceed.

I suggest a short, concise reply that mentions:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

I would also check your purchase history to find out how many times you've travelled with an expired railcard and tell them this in your reply. SWR usually offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them and who haven't come to their attention before. Expect to have to pay the full Anytime fare for every journey made without the correct ticket and an admin fee, typically £150.

Paying an out of court settlement might feel like paying a fine but technically it isn't. Only a court can impsose a fine as a punishment upon conviction. You won't have a conviction or criminal record if you pay an out of court settlement.

If you post a copy of the email from SWR along with your draft reply in this thread forum members will proof read it for you. Do redact any personal details before doing so.

Hi - thanks so much for your response. I went back with a message like this, to which I received a response this morning thanking me for my cooperation/prompt reply. They originally asked for proof of railcard history from Aug 2020 which I provided - I have had one on/off since then so I provided details of these. In today's response they asked specifically about evidence for period Aug 22 - Sept 23, in which I don't think I had one. I am pretty sure that during this time I paid for standard fares but now I am worried I may have sometimes still used a railcard I thought I had. I have tried to access this information on trainline but it just seems to say 1 Adult on the history without stating if a railcard was used or not. I am very worried about what will happen - I have been made redundant recently and very concerned financially about a possible outcome. How should I proceed?

 

[notmyrealname]

If you post the correspondence as asked by Hadders, that will help the experts to advise you.

 

[30907]

. I am pretty sure that during this time I paid for standard fares but now I am worried I may have sometimes still used a railcard I thought I had. I have tried to access this information on trainline but it just seems to say 1 Adult on the history without stating if a railcard was used or not.

Is that also the case when you know a railcard was used?

If you look at https://www.brfares.com/!home you can check prices back to summer 2023, and it will usually be obvious whether you paid a full or discounted fare. Not so easy with Advance fares as they vary so much anyway.