Letter not received

[Anonymously]

Hello,

I was stopped by SWR officer around two months ago for having the wrong railcard applied. I was told that I should receive a letter to explain the incidence but I have not received anything yet. I gave all my contact details and email. Is it advisable to email them to chase this because I had to cancel my flight before while waiting for the letter to come? Or should I just keep waiting?

 

[30907]

I was stopped by SWR officer around two months ago for having the wrong railcard applied. I was told that I should receive a letter to explain the incidence but I have not received anything yet. I gave all my contact details and email. Is it advisable to email them to chase this because I had to cancel my flight before while waiting for the letter to come? Or should I just keep waiting?

Did you get any paperwork at the time? Does it have a reference number or similar?
If not, I'm afraid you need to keep waiting, but make sure someone you trust can access your post (I assume your flight takes you out of the UK?)

BTW I assume you applied 16-17 Saver Fare when you held a 16-25 Railcard?

 

[fandroid]

Welcome to the forum. Can you please tell us a bit more about the incident. What is the Railcard that you did hold at the time (assuming you did) and what was the "wrong" one? What sort of ticket did you hold, what day of the week was it and what time of day?

Sorry for all the questions but Railcard validity can be quite complicated and different Railcards offer different discounts, so it could have been just "technically" incorrect or you could have failed to pay enough for the journey.

 

[Anonymously]

Yes I received a paper titled (report for prosecution) with a reference number, however the tickets officer told me I am not prosecuted currently but I should receive a letter to explain the events.

I had an active network card but applied 25-30 which I used to have but expired a while ago. I was not aware of the 10pm rule I was travelling before 10am and after speaking with the revenue protection officer I was told that all my tickets are not valid as if I was travelling without tickets for months.

Now I am waiting to hear from them but nothing so far. There's an email address on the paper and I wounder if I should contact them or just keep waiting? Or if speaking to a solicitor to contact them on my behalf to hopefully resolve this problem soon is a good idea?

 

[Blinkbonny]

I'd hold back on the solicitor for now if I were you. It's just extra expense - unless you just have an initial consultation. You'll get excellent advice here and possibly your outcome won't be as alarming as you might fear.
Allow time for the forum experts to mull it through.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Dec 2023 ==

2 months does seem a little on the long side but in fact they have up to six months to contact you. Contacting them is rarely advised.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I was stopped by SWR officer around two months ago for having the wrong railcard applied. I was told that I should receive a letter to explain the incidence but I have not received anything yet.

Yes I received a paper titled (report for prosecution) with a reference number, however the tickets officer told me I am not prosecuted currently but I should receive a letter to explain the events.

@Anonymously. Welcome to the forum. Was this 'paper' issued at the time you were stopped and handed over to you in person? Either way, could you upload a copy of same with any personal details/ case reference number suitably obscured?

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello,

I was stopped by SWR officer around two months ago for having the wrong railcard applied. I was told that I should receive a letter to explain the incidence but I have not received anything yet. I gave all my contact details and email. Is it advisable to email them to chase this because I had to cancel my flight before while waiting for the letter to come? Or should I just keep waiting?

Have a look over other threads for the sort of letter you are likely to receive - and the general advice on how to respond - the issue here will be how many occasions you have used the discount before 10am without realising this was not valid and what that will add up to ref the journeys concerned. You could do some prep by checking your records etc and listing them out (for your own info - not to post here).

 

[30907]

I had an active network card but applied 25-30 which I used to have but expired a while ago. I was not aware of the 10pm rule and since both have the same discount value and same price I thought it was not a huge problem, however I was travelling before 10am and after speaking with the revenue protection officer I was told that all my tickets are not valid as if I was travelling without tickets for months.

There are two possible scenarios here which you need to consider (but may not wish to tell us about):
1. you used the 26-30 discount to start a journey between 0930 and 1000 (when it is valid, but the Network Card isn't) - the issue would simply be that the 26-30 card had expired.
2. you used the discount to travel before 0930 when neither card is valid.
As most ticket websites/apps/machines require you to state a travel time, the second requires a deliberate workaround, which would possibly allow you to travel on an offpeak ticket as well as claim the discount.

In the circumstances SWR are probably investigating your purchase history which accounts for the delay.

Please don't worry overmuch (easy to say!) as it should be possible to end up with an out-of-court settlement - and even a magistrates' court fine isn't life-changing.

 

[methecooldude]

2. you used the discount to travel before 0930 when neither card is valid.

The 26-30 is valid before 09:30, it just attracts the £12 minimum fare

 

[Anonymously]

@Anonymously. Welcome to the forum. Was this 'paper' issued at the time you were stopped and handed over to you in person? Either way, could you upload a copy of same with any personal details/ case reference number suitably obscured?

This is the paper I received

 

[island]

We’d need to see the rest of it – do cover over your personal info though.

 

[Hadders]

There’s a good possibility that SWR have requested details of your ticket purchasing history from Trainline etc. This usually takes a few weeks for them to obtain which is probably why there is a delay.

As long as you have them your correct contact details they will be in touch in due course.

For now, put the matter to the back of your mind and get on with your life (easier said than done) but do come back here when the letter does arrive and we’ll be happy to assist.