SleepingComet
New Member
Hello,
Thanks in advance for any advice!
I’m writing here on behalf of my partner to help support him.
A few weeks ago we both travelled from London Marylebone to Banbury. He had a return ticket from Marylebone to Leamington Spa purchased before travelling, and we alighted early at Banbury.
This is because he was due to travel back to Marylebone from Leamington Spa the following day, and getting a return and alighting early was the simpler way to do it than two single tickets.
This was a standard adult ticket, super off-peak return, with a 26-30 railcard.
Unfortunately, when we alighted and the tickets were checked, we realised his 26-30 railcard had expired exactly two weeks prior.
The staff did not issue him with a fine, and instead took his details and said he would receive a letter, and to reply to this letter explaining the mistake. All interactions with staff were civil and apologetic.
This letter has arrived and is a “Notice of intended prosecution”
We have double checked and know he travelled 2 other times with this expired railcard before we realised it was expired, both from Marylebone to Leamington Spa, one adult standard off-peak return and one adult standard super off-peak return.
The next day when we continued the journey, he purchased a new ticket from Banbury to Leamington Spa, and a new ticket to return to London, without the railcard. He paid full price for all tickets until the new railcard was purchased which was a few weeks later, as he isn’t travelling often by train.
Our biggest concern is that he has a skilled worker visa, so it is a top priority to avoid any kind of record or court/criminal case.
Please advise us on what we should do. We have drafted this letter together and will gladly take all genuine advice:
“Dear Chiltern Railway,
I’m writing in response to a letter I received, regarding an invalid rail ticket on the 10th of March 2025 between Marylebone and Leamington Spa.
I was advised by the agent who spoke to me, to explain the situation once I received the letter from you.
I had purchased a ticket to Leamington Spa via Trainline, which had automatically applied my railcard as it always does. Unfortunately, my railcard had expired on the 24th of February without me realising. This only happened a short time before I purchased, and unfortunately affected two other journeys earlier in March.
This was a truly honest mistake, one that I apologise for. I paid for replacement normal fare tickets to rectify the mistake for my other pre-purchased tickets that were for the following days, and continued to pay without a railcard discount until my new one was ordered and settled, as I never intended to avoid paying for the train service and recognised the gravity of this accident. I will be more careful in the future to make sure this does not lapse again. At this time, I had recently been handed a no-fault eviction notice from my home - so my railcard lapse was accidentally missed amid the chaos of finding a new place to live.
I would like to request if we can settle the matter without court action. I’m willing to pay an appropriate fine for the mistakenly purchased journeys.
In this message I have included proof of my purchasing new tickets for my onward travel after talking with the agents. I hope this will aid in recognising that I always intended to pay correctly for my travel.
Please accept my apologies, and I hope this can be resolved.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,”
Thanks in advance for any advice!
I’m writing here on behalf of my partner to help support him.
A few weeks ago we both travelled from London Marylebone to Banbury. He had a return ticket from Marylebone to Leamington Spa purchased before travelling, and we alighted early at Banbury.
This is because he was due to travel back to Marylebone from Leamington Spa the following day, and getting a return and alighting early was the simpler way to do it than two single tickets.
This was a standard adult ticket, super off-peak return, with a 26-30 railcard.
Unfortunately, when we alighted and the tickets were checked, we realised his 26-30 railcard had expired exactly two weeks prior.
The staff did not issue him with a fine, and instead took his details and said he would receive a letter, and to reply to this letter explaining the mistake. All interactions with staff were civil and apologetic.
This letter has arrived and is a “Notice of intended prosecution”
We have double checked and know he travelled 2 other times with this expired railcard before we realised it was expired, both from Marylebone to Leamington Spa, one adult standard off-peak return and one adult standard super off-peak return.
The next day when we continued the journey, he purchased a new ticket from Banbury to Leamington Spa, and a new ticket to return to London, without the railcard. He paid full price for all tickets until the new railcard was purchased which was a few weeks later, as he isn’t travelling often by train.
Our biggest concern is that he has a skilled worker visa, so it is a top priority to avoid any kind of record or court/criminal case.
Please advise us on what we should do. We have drafted this letter together and will gladly take all genuine advice:
“Dear Chiltern Railway,
I’m writing in response to a letter I received, regarding an invalid rail ticket on the 10th of March 2025 between Marylebone and Leamington Spa.
I was advised by the agent who spoke to me, to explain the situation once I received the letter from you.
I had purchased a ticket to Leamington Spa via Trainline, which had automatically applied my railcard as it always does. Unfortunately, my railcard had expired on the 24th of February without me realising. This only happened a short time before I purchased, and unfortunately affected two other journeys earlier in March.
This was a truly honest mistake, one that I apologise for. I paid for replacement normal fare tickets to rectify the mistake for my other pre-purchased tickets that were for the following days, and continued to pay without a railcard discount until my new one was ordered and settled, as I never intended to avoid paying for the train service and recognised the gravity of this accident. I will be more careful in the future to make sure this does not lapse again. At this time, I had recently been handed a no-fault eviction notice from my home - so my railcard lapse was accidentally missed amid the chaos of finding a new place to live.
I would like to request if we can settle the matter without court action. I’m willing to pay an appropriate fine for the mistakenly purchased journeys.
In this message I have included proof of my purchasing new tickets for my onward travel after talking with the agents. I hope this will aid in recognising that I always intended to pay correctly for my travel.
Please accept my apologies, and I hope this can be resolved.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,”
