I used a fake ticket.

[sharpmango]

I had edited an old ticket because i didnt have the money to buy one at the time. I believed it would have worked thinking the ticket guy would let me off and allow me through but i was wrong. Ive always bought my tickets on trainline (using a 16-25 railcard) but today i had to urgently meet someone, having no money to spare. I gave my information to the ticket guy and he said im banned and ill be going to court. This happened earlier today and im not sure when i will be recieving something. Will i be going to court and get a criminal record? And how would i get unbanned from the station?

(Cheltenham Spa railway station)

 

[Sun Chariot]

Hello @sharpmango

Please will you share more clear specific information, so that we can best assist.
Have a read of this useful linked "mod's sticky" posted at the top of this forum's section.

Please read before posting in Disputes & Prosecutions

Guidance for those asking for advice: Please bear in mind the following, when asking for advice in this section: We need to know all relevant facts in order to assist you, including, for example: The stations* where you actually started & finished your journey The stations* where you changed...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[185143]

I had edited an old ticket because i didnt have the money to buy one at the time. I believed it would have worked thinking the ticket guy would let me off and allow me through but i was wrong. Ive always bought my tickets on trainline (using a 16-25 railcard) but today i had to urgently meet someone, having no money to spare. I gave my information to the ticket guy and he said im banned and ill be going to court. This happened earlier today and im not sure when i will be recieving something. Will i be going to court and get a criminal record? And how would i get unbanned from the station?

(Cheltenham Spa railway station)

When you say "banned"...

Do you mean:
You were refused travel on that occasion, due to not having the means to pay.

You were asked to leave for being abusive to staff or some other reason beyond the travel irregularity.

Or you were genuinely told you were banned permanently in addition to whatever penalty GWR ultimately impose?

I suspect the first is the most likely in all probability.

The inspector on the ground basically either issues a Penalty Fare on the spot and that's the matter dealt with, or reports the incident to the back office and they investigate further. Being banned doesn't usually come into the equation, unless there's more to it. They also cannot definitively say you're definitely going to court either. Yes, it's very much a possibility but providing you engage with GWR when a letter arrives, it is highly unlikely. There have been high profile cases where people have settled out of court for 5 figure sums.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

It might be worth going this in some detail, although as people have already said, we need more information to give our best help.

I had edited an old ticket because i didnt have the money to buy one at the time

This is fraud. Most of the time, the railway takes people to court under some special laws for the railway (the Regulation of Railways Act or the railway byelaws) which can only be dealt with by magistrates with a time limit of six months for the court to be told about what you did, and punished with a fine. Fraud is different - it goes to a judge and jury in the crown court, and can end with you going to prison. And there's no time limit after the offence on when they can take you to court.

Don't panic just yet though, as that probably won't happen if you work with the railway to sort things out.

. I believed it would have worked thinking the ticket guy would let me off and allow me through but i was wrong. Ive always bought my tickets on trainline (using a 16-25 railcard) but today i had to urgently meet someone, having no money to spare

You need to know that if the railway ask Trainline, they will say what tickets you bought and when. Don't delete or close your Trainline account as that won't stop the railway looking at it, but it would stop you. Keep it open so that you can check facts if necessary.

And if you had no money to spare then that confirms to the railway (as if the faked ticket wasn't enough) that you were intending to fare dodge.

. I gave my information to the ticket guy and he said im banned and ill be going to court. This happened earlier today and im not sure when i will be recieving something

Despite what I said about fraud , it's most likely that if the railway take you to court they'll use the railway laws. For that to work, they have to tell the court about the case within six months of the incident, and then the court should tell you within few weeks.

What all that means in practice is that as long as you gave the railway your right address, you should hear from them in the next seven months or so - so think of the middle of November.

Will i be going to court and get a criminal record?
(...)
(Cheltenham Spa railway station)

I'm taking these two together because Cheltenham Spa is run by GWR. Have a look about what they say about prosecutions in https://www.gwr.com/-/media/gwr-sc-...Revenue-Protection-Policy-January-2023-v2.pdf. On page 11 they say

We’ll do our best to settle out of court.
Prosecution can have serious consequences on your personal
and professional life. So, if you don’t pay your fare, we will do
everything we can to avoid taking you to court.
We’ll probably send you an offer to settle out of court – usually
asking you to pay an amount to cover your fare and our costs.

I've told you how bad things can get. But if you cooperate with the railway - which means replying to their letters, accepting you were wrong, promising not to do it again and being prepared to pay any settlement they offer - they will probably let you settle out of court.

? And how would i get unbanned from the station?

I don’t think we've seen this before. But the railway is just like a pub - normally anyone can go in, but the people in charge can refuse to let you in. But like being barred from a pub, you probably won't have too much of a problem: if you can, stay away for a few weeks so that they forget about you a bit. Then every time you go, make sure you have the right ticket. If you talk to anyone, be polite. Don’t misbehave. And they'll probably be ok with letting you in to get your train.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I gave my information to the ticket guy and he said im banned.
And how would i get unbanned from the station?
(Cheltenham Spa railway station)

Are you certain those were the gateline operative's words?
People typically don't get banned from station premises as a result of not having a valid train ticket.
What exact things were said, between you and them, in those few moments before you "were banned"?

 

[sharpmango]

He had said something about going to court, started writing my details and then said "you are banned, dont come back"

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Apr 2026 ==

When you say "banned"...

Do you mean:
You were refused travel on that occasion, due to not having the means to pay.

You were asked to leave for being abusive to staff or some other reason beyond the travel irregularity.

Or you were genuinely told you were banned permanently in addition to whatever penalty GWR ultimately impose?

I suspect the first is the most likely in all probability.

The inspector on the ground basically either issues a Penalty Fare on the spot and that's the matter dealt with, or reports the incident to the back office and they investigate further. Being banned doesn't usually come into the equation, unless there's more to it. They also cannot definitively say you're definitely going to court either. Yes, it's very much a possibility but providing you engage with GWR when a letter arrives, it is highly unlikely. There have been high profile cases where people have settled out of court for 5 figure sums.

He said i was "banned", didnt get the chance to say if it was permanant or not. I wasnt being abusive or anything else.

 

[Spaceship323]

Cheltenham spa has barriers, so you'll only need to speak to a member of staff if there's something wrong with your ticket anyway
As long as your tickets are correct in future I wouldn't worry about any "ban"

 

[saismee]

I don't think a ban is enforceable, and TOCs tend to only issue bans to people who have physically assaulted staff.

OP, what you have done by editing the ticket meets the bar for actual fraud, rather than just a byelaw offence. This is serious and could have serious consequences, including jail time.

Despite this, I doubt much will come of it beyond paying a big lump of cash to the company. Unless you're a prolific fare evader, abusive to staff, or a big name HSBC executive, for example), they'd rather hit you with a byelaw offence as it's cheaper for them and gets the same result.

Save some money and co-operate with the train company when they write to you. If you have truly only done this once then you will likely only have to pay 175 pounds + the price of an Anytime Day Single. GWR may be slow to contact you. It could take up to 7 months before the risk of prosecution goes away.

 

[sharpmango]

I don't think a ban is enforceable, and TOCs tend to only issue bans to people who have physically assaulted staff.

OP, what you have done by editing the ticket meets the bar for actual fraud, rather than just a byelaw offence. This is serious and could have serious consequences, including jail time.

Despite this, I doubt much will come of it beyond paying a big lump of cash to the company. Unless you're a prolific fare evader, abusive to staff, or a big name HSBC executive, for example), they'd rather hit you with a byelaw offence as it's cheaper for them and gets the same result.

Save some money and co-operate with the train company when they write to you. If you have truly only done this once then you will likely only have to pay 175 pounds + the price of an Anytime Day Single. GWR may be slow to contact you. It could take up to 7 months before the risk of prosecution goes away.

Thank you for this information, yes this will be my first and last time avoiding to pay for a ticket

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If you have truly only done this once then you will likely only have to pay 175 pounds + the price of an Anytime Day Single.

@sharpmango. Did you actually travel anywhere? Warwick to Cheltenham, perhaps, and you got stopped exiting the station?

@saismee. If no travel was made, would any fare still be due?

 

[saismee]

Thank you for this information, yes this will be my first and last time avoiding to pay for a ticket

Sounds like the enforcement is working then . I wish you luck obtaining a settlement from GWR.

 

[sharpmango]

@sharpmango. Did you actually travel anywhere? Warwick to Cheltenham, perhaps, and you got stopped exiting the station?

@saismee. If no travel was made, would any fare still be due?

The original ticket was Cheltenham to Bruton for 2nd April. I had edited the ticket to show it was for Cheltenham to Leamington. I was stopped at the gates before i could enter the cheltenham spa station. (10th april)

 

[saismee]

The original ticket was Cheltenham to Bruton for 2nd April. I had edited the ticket to show it was for Cheltenham to Leamington. I was stopped at the gates before i could enter the cheltenham spa station. (10th april)

This might change things. Expert forum members will let you know the next steps.

 

[furlong]

He had said something about going to court, started writing my details and then said "you are banned, dont come back"

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Apr 2026 ==

He said i was "banned", didnt get the chance to say if it was permanant or not. I wasnt being abusive or anything else.

Did he complete writing your details?
What did you say in response to the "ban"? Did you say anything like "OK" that he would construe as your acceptance of it?

(This sort of prosecution is more complicated than the normal ones they like to do. I'm basically wondering if he gave you the "ban" as an alternative to having to deal with all the paperwork.)

Were you cautioned and formally interviewed, and then asked to sign the inspector's notes (which would be the normal procedure in a case such as this)?

 

[sharpmango]

Did he complete writing your details?
What did you say in response to the "ban"? Did you say anything like "OK" that he would construe as your acceptance of it?

Yes he had wrote down my details and thats when he said to not come back because im banned so i was nodding and then i left after that

 

[WesternLancer]

I don’t know but it seems unlikely that any member of staff a passenger at a station is likely to encounter would be given the authority to ban someone from the station or railway network in the way described.

That’s not to say staff fed up with fare dodgers wouldn’t say this to someone however. And I would not blame them.

 

[furlong]

Well at this stage just wait and see if you get a letter and what it says.
Keep a low profile for a while at that station - don't do anything to draw attention to yourself and if you can avoid using it for a while, do so.

If they want to ban you officially, you'll get told that in writing, and it would be for a specific period of time e.g. 6 months.
However, this would depart from normal procedure and so could be challenged.
(If it was a proper immediate ban, you'd have been handed such a letter on the spot.)

More likely to me this sounds like an informal "ban" that was really a severe warning not to engage in this activity again and indicates there's a chance he'll let the matter drop (i.e. a use of informal justice).

 

[Sun Chariot]

Thanks for your additional.clarifications, @sharpmango - so, to recap:

1) You [fraudulently] digitally edited an existing, used e-ticket;
a) You changed its date, from 2-April 2026 to 10-April 2026
b) You changed its "to" station, from Bruton to Leamington.

2) You did not actually travel - so you didn't actually use this manipulated e-ticket; however, you showed intent to travel.

3) You have no previous evidenced instances of fare-avoidance, your digital tickets history on Trainline are all for valid tickets and for full distance of the journey.

4) You were not abusive or confrontational to Cheltenham's gateline staff today:
a) You were not given a written ban from Cheltenham station premises today; the word "banned" was solely verbal - and it was solely from that gateline staff member.
b) You have not had any previous instance of confrontation with Cheltenham's staff.

Have I summarised those fairly and correctly?

 

[sharpmango]

Well at this stage just wait and see if you get a letter and what it says.
Keep a low profile for a while at that station - don't do anything to draw attention to yourself and if you can avoid using it for a while, do so.

If they want to ban you officially, you'll get told that in writing, and it would be for a specific period of time e.g. 6 months.
However, this would depart from normal procedure and so could be challenged.
(If it was a proper immediate ban, you'd have been handed such a letter on the spot.)

More likely to me this sounds like an informal "ban" that was really a severe warning not to engage in this activity again and indicates there's a chance he'll let the matter drop (i.e. a use of informal justice).

Thanks, i will update if anything happens

Thanks for your additional.clarifications, @sharpmango - so, to recap:

1) You [fraudulently] digitally edited an existing, used e-ticket;
a) You changed its date, from 2-April 2026 to 10-April 2026
b) You changed its "to" station, from Bruton to Leamington.

2) You did not actually travel - so you didn't actually use this manipulated e-ticket; however, you showed intent to travel.

3) You have no previous evidenced instances of fare-avoidance, your digital tickets history on Trainline are all for valid tickets and for full distance of the journey.

4) You were not abusive or confrontational to Cheltenham's gateline staff today:
a) You were not given a written ban from Cheltenham station premises today
b) You have not had any previous instance of confrontation with Cheltenham's staff.

Have I summarised those fairly and correctly?

Yes, this is all summarised perfectly

 

[z444z]

It appears the available charges would be:

Byelaw 20(1):

No person shall alter any ticket in any way with the intent that an Operator shall be defrauded or prejudiced.

RoRA 5(3)(a):

If any person travels or attempts to travel on a railway without having previously paid his fare, and with intent to avoid payment thereof, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, either to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or in the discretion of the court to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.

Or of course there’s far more serious Fraud Act.

I think GWR will be happy to settle this isolated incident but there’s no way to know for sure until you hear from them. Definitely read their revenue protection policy linked in post #4.

You just need to wait and see if anything comes of this - it could be up to 6 months for criminal prosecution (except under the Fraud Act), or up to 6 years for civil action. We have seen GWR, more than any other operator I’d say, missing the 6 month deadline and then getting in touch proposing a settlement to avoid civil action.

My questions are:

Were you given a caution at any point? This is usually in the form of “you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court, anything you do say may be given in evidence”

Were you given a witness statement receipt (MG11) or any other document?

What evidence was taken regarding your ticket - were photos taken, ticket scanned, were you asked any questions or did you make any statements about what you’d done? Do you know if a body cam was recording?

 

[sharpmango]

My questions are:

Were you given a caution at any point? This is usually in the form of “you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court, anything you do say may be given in evidence”

Were you given a witness statement receipt (MG11) or any other document?

What evidence was taken regarding your ticket - were photos taken, ticket scanned, were you asked any questions or did you make any statements about what you’d done? Do you know if a body cam was recording?

He did say that exact caution.
I wasnt given anything.
I gave my name, email, and address.
He scanned the ticket then took a photo of it to compare the details side by side.
He did turn on his bodycam.
The other things i said other than my info (sentence 3) was that i knew i was committing a crime and the reason why i was committing it (no money)

 

[z444z]

He did say that exact caution.
I wasnt given anything.
I gave my name, email, and address.
He scanned the ticket then took a photo of it to compare the details side by side.
He did turn on his bodycam.
The other things i said other than my info (sentence 3) was that i knew i was committing a crime and the reason why i was committing it (no money)

Okay. Other than ensuring you always have the correct ticket in future, another thing you could do to demonstrate your intention to never repeat this would be buying a railcard (if available to you) or season ticket (if it would make sense for your circumstances - though I’d say if you calculate it’d cost you say £50 more a year than just buying tickets that might be worth it to be able to say that you’ve got one if/when they contact you)

 

[furlong]

It appears the available charges would be:

Byelaw 24(5) with 20(2):

24(5) Attempts
Any person who attempts to breach any of the Byelaws numbered 9, 10, 11, 13(1), 20(2) and 21 shall be liable to the same penalty as given above for breach of that Byelaw.

20(2) No person shall knowingly use any ticket which has been altered in any way in breach of Byelaw 20(1).

The ticket was scanned and seen not to be valid.

What was the precise sequence here? Did you attempt to scan it yourself at a ticket gate? Did you show it visually to someone holding a scanner ready to scan it so you knew it would be scanned when you showed it?

In other words was it scanned BEFORE the part you had edited was viewed? Or was your fake information viewed BEFORE it was scanned with you seeing a chance it might not get scanned at all?

If it was scanned and the original invalid details were validated or shown on the inspector's device, was "a ticket" actually "altered"? Maybe - but until there is case law RORA seems a safer bet as that merely requires an attempt to travel intending not to pay the correct fare.

 

[sharpmango]

Byelaw 24(5) with 20(2):


The ticket was scanned and seen not to be valid.

What was the precise sequence here? Did you attempt to scan it yourself at a ticket gate? Did you show it visually to someone holding a scanner ready to scan it so you knew it would be scanned when you showed it?

In other words was it scanned BEFORE the part you had edited was viewed? Or was your fake information viewed BEFORE it was scanned with you seeing a chance it might not get scanned at all?

If it was scanned and the original invalid details were validated or shown on the inspector's device, was "a ticket" actually "altered"? Maybe - but until there is case law RORA seems a safer bet as that merely requires an attempt to travel intending not to pay the correct fare.

I scanned the ticket on the gate and the guy came over to see what the problem was, then i showed him the ticket, he scanned it to have a look and then took a photo to have a deeper look. I didnt know he had a scanner. The scanner showed him the original tickets details so he quickly came to the conclusion that i had edited the image. (New text layer overlapping the old text layer)

 

[Fawkes Cat]

If it was scanned and the original invalid details were validated or shown on the inspector's device, was "a ticket" actually "altered"? Maybe - but until there is case law RORA seems a safer bet as that merely requires an attempt to travel intending not to pay the correct fare.

You might want to have a look at section 2, Fraud Act 2006:

2Fraud by false representation
(1)A person is in breach of this section if he—

(a)dishonestly makes a false representation, and

(b)intends, by making the representation—

(i)to make a gain for himself or another, or

(ii)to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.

(2)A representation is false if—

(a)it is untrue or misleading, and

(b)the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.

(3)“Representation” means any representation as to fact or law, including a representation as to the state of mind of—

(a)the person making the representation, or

(b)any other person.

(4)A representation may be express or implied.

(5)For the purposes of this section a representation may be regarded as made if it (or anything implying it) is submitted in any form to any system or device designed to receive, convey or respond to communications (with or without human intervention).

(source:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/2).

I don't see that a prosecutor would have any difficulty in showing that the OP had dishonestly made a false representation.

Actually, ignore all that - while I stand by it, it's not replying to the point made.

 

[Cantab26]

You just need to wait and see if anything comes of this - it could be up to 6 months for criminal prosecution (except under the Fraud Act which is 6 years), or up to 6 years for civil action.

There is no statutory time limit for offences under the Fraud Act 2006 to be preferred.

 

[z444z]

There is no statutory time limit for offences under the Fraud Act 2006 to be preferred.

Edited, thanks for the correction.

 

[Gloster]

Just a small comment. I wonder if by ‘banned’ the member of staff was effectively saying ‘clear off and don’t have another go at getting onto the platform with this dodgy ticket later on’.

 

[Segedunum]

Just a small comment. I wonder if by ‘banned’ the member of staff was effectively saying ‘clear off and don’t have another go at getting onto the platform with this dodgy ticket later on’.

I would imagine it is basically this. When I did gatelines I refused travel to passengers blatantly taking the mick (trying to use a child ticket then arguing the toss for example) and that basically meant go away and don't let yourself come to my attention again.

Proper bans were reserved for repeatedly abusive and violent offenders. The OP need not worry about being prohibited from the railway for a single ticketing irregularity, however serious that irregularity may be.

 

[saismee]

I would imagine it is basically this. When I did gatelines I refused travel to passengers blatantly taking the mick (trying to use a child ticket then arguing the toss for example) and that basically meant go away and don't let yourself come to my attention again.

We use the wording "you are not allowed to travel today" at my station as it's clear what it means. RPIs don't actually have any power to prevent someone from travelling without BTP/security presence, but it doesn't stop them from telling people they're banned to scare them off.