HELP railcard problem

[lisbon11]

Hi

In a moment of madness for the first time, I bought a ticket with a railcard and was asked for it on the train.

I don't have a railcard.

I was under the impression that anyone between 16-25 can get 1/3 off.

I have been asked to send in a copy before 14 days of the day of travel.

Please help me as I do not want a criminal conviction.

please help me with what I should do now.

 

[district]

Have you received any correspondence? If so, can you upload a copy (with your details redacted) or tell us exactly what it says?

 

[AlterEgo]

Why have you been asked for a copy?

Did you not admit at the time that you don't have a railcard whatsoever?

 

[lisbon11]

I haven't received any correspondence nor have made any yet.

FYI this was Great Northern rail.

Please help

 

[najaB]

I have been asked to send in a copy before 14 days of the day of travel.

Does this mean that you told the guard that you had lost/forgotten your railcard?

Please help me as I do not want a criminal conviction.

please help me with what I should do now.

You need to give us full details (e.g. which train company and what you've told them thus far) in order for us to give you any useful advice.

 

[lisbon11]

Why have you been asked for a copy?

Did you not admit at the time that you don't have a railcard whatsoever?

The woman asked me for the railcard, I panicked and said I had one. She filled out a form, took my details and handed me this slip of paper saying:

"If failed to carry, passenger to send copy of their season ticket or railcard within 14 days to the address below."
"Passenger may travel:"
info abt time, date and stations "only."
"send to: gtr.prosecutions@gtrailway.com"

Please help me!

Does this mean that you told the guard that you had lost/forgotten your railcard?
You need to give us full details (e.g. which train company and what you've told them thus far) in order for us to give you any useful advice.

The train company is Great Northern.

The officer asked me for my railcard, I said I don't have it with me but might have it back at home.

I offered to pay the full fare but she said thats not needed and gave me the slip detailed in the above post.

Why have you been asked for a copy?

Did you not admit at the time that you don't have a railcard whatsoever?

No, I didn't admit I didn't have a railcard as I panicked. I just told her that I don't have it with me at the moment.

 

[najaB]

The train company is Great Northern.

I was asked by the guard to produce a railcard to which I replied that I didn't have it with me.

She then started getting my details and info.

I offered to pay the full fee, to which she said that its not needed and handed me a slip of paper saying I need to send a copy of the railcard within 14 days.

Good news bad news time...

Good news: Great Northern (technically Govia Thameslink Railways) is more likely to settle than some other train operating companies (TOCs).

Bad news: By lying and saying you had a railcard when you didn't this became a criminal matter. And the GTR will be able to verify that you didn't have one when the incident occurred so you can't buy one now.

My advice is to write to the address you were given for providing the copy of your railcard and admit what actually happened, offer to pay the outstanding fare and any costs they've incurred so far and commit to not doing it again.

 

[Llanigraham]

Good news bad news time...

My advice is to write to the address you were given for providing the copy of your railcard and admit what actually happened, offer to pay the outstanding fare and any costs they've incurred so far and commit to not doing it again.

But the OP has admitted he does not have a Railcard and assumed that all people between 16 and 25 got the reduced fares automatically.

 

[najaB]

But the OP has admitted he does not have a Railcard and assumed that all people between 16 and 25 got the reduced fares automatically.

I know. That's why I said to write to GTR admitting the lie about the railcard.

 

[yorkie]

How did you buy the ticket? Was it online, from a machine, or a ticket office?

Usually you would have to go out of your way to add a Railcard discount. So the train company (GTR, who operate services branded Great Northern) is likely to see it as an attempt to avoid paying for the full fare, especially given you said you had a Railcard when you were challenged.

They may settle out of court, if this is a first offence. If you wish to avoid a criminal record, you should pay whatever it takes to keep it out of court. More information is available in our Fares Guide (see the Disputes and Legal sections).

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's also possible that a settlement figure may be quite high, taking into account that you have in their eyes (even if you actually haven't) probably done this before and not got caught.

 

[Bertie the bus]

This

“In a moment of madness for the first time, I bought a ticket with a railcard and was asked for it on the train.”

And this

“I was under the impression that anyone between 16-25 can get 1/3 off.”

Are contradictory.

If they truly believed they were entitled to a discount based solely on their age they would have done it before unless this is the first time they have ever travelled on a train, and in which case the chances of knowing about the 33% discount or a 16 – 25 railcard are very slim.

This is meant to be helpful because if they do contact GTR with some obvious cock and bull story they are unlikely to be looked upon sympathetically.

 

[30907]

This

“In a moment of madness for the first time, I bought a ticket with a railcard and was asked for it on the train.”

And this

“I was under the impression that anyone between 16-25 can get 1/3 off.”

Are contradictory.

I took the OPs meaning as "I bought a ticket with a railcard discountapplied."

Even so, I agree it's odd that they managed to ignore the reference to a railcard in reaching the discounted price, and even stranger that they then thought that having a railcard made no difference.

I wonder if the OP will be Back?