Invalid Railcard

[Hdjdhdb]

Hi,
Please could someone give me some advice on the following.
On Sunday I was travelling on FCC, purchased a YP 16-25 railcard ticket from London Kings Cross to Hatfield. I had my railcard on me but hadn't checked the expiration date- something I should have done and admit I should have checked it. When ticket inspector arrived I presented my ticket and YP 16-25 and it turned out to be 2 months out of date. I offered to pay but inspector refused. Inspector asked if I was aware I said no but I told her that I had previously lost the card and had only just started using it again which was true. I was told that I would be prosecuted from another company. The ticket was £2.50 under standard rate. I have since found a dated and timed text on my phone to my boyfriend telling him I'd found my railcard which I've taken a screenshot of and a rail ticket to Cambs from the day before which was a STD ticket.
Will this be sufficient evidence?
Will I be able to apply for a new railcard as I'm still in full time education?
Will I get a Criminal record?
If so will this destroy my teaching career and ambition to become an Educational psychologist?
I am more than happy to pay any fine and admit that it was just an oversight.
Please help me

 

[reb0118]

I believe that FCC (First Capital Connect) has now been replaced with TLGN (Thameslink Great Northern)? However the advice will remain the same.

Firstly, as you are no doubt aware now, a railcard reduced ticket without a supporting railcard is not valid and you are deemed to be travelling without a ticket in those circumstances. TLGN operate a Penalty Fare system and you are generally, with very few exceptions, unable to purchase tickets on board.

Where you offered a Penalty Fare and did you refuse, or were unable, to pay this on the spot?

Although it has no bearing on your case, as you were unable to produce a railcard at the time, I am intrigued about the mention of a second railcard - can you explain further? That said, however, if I am understanding you correctly, if you did in fact hold (although not on your person at the material time) a valid railcard then I would suggest that any prosecution would be for the lesser byelaw offence [non recordable] rather than the more onerous RoRA (Regulation of Railway Act 1889) [recordable].

Anyway we are getting ahead of ourselves here with talk of prosecutions. Await the letter from TLGN and see what they ask - you may be able to arrange an administrative penalty or an "out of court settlement".

You must be patient, hard I know, as the ball is in the railway's court at present.

 

[ian959]

A screenshot from your phone of a text to your boyfriend saying that you had found your Railcard is irrelevant to the matter. You produced an expired Railcard when requested therefore your discounted ticket was invalid.

Sending a copy of a ticket from the previous day showing that you had paid a Standard fare would possibly provide ample evidence that you KNOWINGLY used an expired Railcard for this journey which COULD be used as evidence of a far more damaging RoRA prosecution.

These two things have no bearing on the matter to be addressed so you would be wasting your time sending them - and potentially creating more problems.

As long as you meet the conditions of the Railcard then yes you will still be able to buy a new one.

If the matter is dealt with as a Byelaw offence then no you will not get a criminal record as advised by reb0118.

 

[island]

Hi there, there's no such thing as First Capital Connect any more; it would be Great Northern that you travelled with.

Unfortunately you've committed a criminal offence by joining a train without a valid ticket – a Railcard-discounted ticket isn't valid without the relevant valid Railcard accompanying it.

That offence doesn't carry a criminal record in and of itself; however, depending on what other evidence the inspector obtained such as from interviewing you, you may instead be charged with travelling without paying and with intent to avoid the payment. That would be more troublesome as it does carry a criminal record.

In either event, as long as you have not previously been dealt with for ticket irregularities by Great Northern Railway or its predecessor, you are likely to be able to settle the matter on payment of a contribution to the company's costs in dealing with criminals like yourself. Sums frequently mentioned are in the £65-100 territory.

 

[Andrew1395]

Await the letter. Pay an administrative fine, do not challenge as regardless of circumstances you are in the wrong. However do not simply get upset by this but ensure you never get in this situation again. Put your railcard expiry date in your mobiles calendar. Also as a parent of a student,I also suggest you ensure you have a TV licence - another potential criminal record if caught without one. If you are not efficient in your personal administration, best to buy tickets face to face at a booking office. The clerk will very quickly point out if your railcard is out of date.

 

[Hdjdhdb]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I don't deny that I am in the wrong in the situation. In the meantime I'll just wait for the mail to come and try not to panic so much.

 

[jon0844]

If you previously bought a standard ticket, that hardly looks good. After all, if you thought you had a valid railcard then you'd be using it all the time.

Hatfield is one such station that, given the University, has the gates set to stop all people with YP railcards and they do check them quite thoroughly in my experience. Suffice to say, they also catch quite a few people sharing railcards or using out of date ones. Or just not having one in their possession at all.