Expired railcard

[KENNY TITI]

Hi everyone
I was travelling from Maidstone to Bromley South and i got caught using an expired railcard at BromleySouth, my railcard expired on 25/05/24. I got stopped by an inspector on 25/06/24 ,she noticed my railcard had expired ,she asked to see my trainline and saw that I have purchased some few travel tickets after the expiration of my railcard.
she wrote down the dates of the previous tickets I had purchased .She asked me why I was using an expired railcard I told her I had forgotten that my railcard is expired
I just got a letter,please advise on how to respond .

 

[ikcdab]

Welcome to the forum. Please post the letter and any other paperwork here, but with your name etc covered up. Then you will get the best advice.

 

[KENNY TITI]

This is the letter that was sent to me.Please advise on how to respond

 

[Titfield]

The advice regular forum contributor @Hadders gives in these circumstances is:

You should be able to settle this out of court if you write a short, concise reply to the letter. I suggest mentioning the following in the reply:

- 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 fares and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Post a draft of your reply in this thread and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you. Don't use AI to generate the letter, we can spot them a mile off!

South Eastern will normally offer an out of court settlement costing around £150 plus the fares avoided at the full Anytime rate. You will normally have to pay this in full within a few days of it being offered.

Most Train Operating Companies do not give any credit for the fares actually paid. They will use the information you have already provided to see how many tickets you have purchased at the railcard rate without actually holding the appropriate railcard.

 

[KENNY TITI]

Hello all, please find a draft of my response below:



Dear Prosecutions Manager,

I'd like to start by apologising for my action which brought about the letter I received from your company recently.

On my part, I believe there's no proper justification for forgetting to renew my railcard before travelling on the train.

I am sorry and I take full responsibility for this, and I have learnt to always ensure my travel tickets and discounts are in order before setting out on any journey.

As a result, I am keen to settle the matter without the need for court action.

In addition, I am willing to pay the outstanding fares and any administrative costs that your company might incure in dealing with the matter.

Thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@KENNY TITI. Welcome to the forum. Approximately how many times did you buy/travel using incorrectly discounted tickets in the period after your old railcard had expired? Were these all Maidstone Stns to/from Bromley South journeys? Were they singles or returns?

 

[KENNY TITI]

Approximately I bought 10 travel incorrect discounted tickets ,some of the ticket were singles ,while some were returns .All my journey has been been within Maidstone to Bromley South and Bromley South to Maidstone.

 

[Hadders]

I think what you've written is ok. Please keep us updated on how it ends up.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@KENNY TITI. If you are able to negotiate an out of court settlement, reckon it'll possibly cost you several hundred pounds. An Anytime Day Single from Maidstone Stns to Bromley South is £18.80 (even if only charged at the "not valid on HS1" rate) for the one journey and it's fairly usual for the train company to then add on a three figure sum towards their investigation and admin costs. Likely also that they won't make any allowance either for what's already been paid. So will likely be a tad expensive. BTW, have you now renewed your railcard, if eligible to do so?

 

[KENNY TITI]

Yes,I have renewed my railcard

@KENNY TITI. If you are able to negotiate an out of court settlement, reckon it'll possibly cost you several hundred pounds. An Anytime Day Single from Maidstone Stns to Bromley South is £18.80 (even if only charged at the "not valid on HS1" rate) for the one journey and it's fairly usual for the train company to then add on a three figure sum towards their investigation and admin costs. Likely also that they won't make any allowance either for what's already been paid. So will likely be a tad expensive. BTW, have you now renewed your railcard, if eligible to do so?