Making good on past fraud

[cleaningup]

Hi,

If possible I wanted some advice with respect to righting a previous wrong.

Some time ago in an extended period I took many journeys with a fraudulent obtained Railcard. I do not wish to disclose the full details nor thr methodology for this so as to encourage copy cats. In any case it was wrong and the justifications unused to myself at the time were sloppy, and I should not have done it and these days I live a different life as a changed person.

It went undetected and it is not something I do anymore and was never reported. One thing I would like to do is to repay the difference in fares for the journeys I took but this seems to be impractical and any type of disclosure would be ruinously expensive.

I was wondering whether anyone had any advice as to process or best practice here?

 

[jfollows]

Also you might incriminate yourself.

I would make a payment to a charity if I were in your shoes.

 

[cleaningup]

Yes that's my worry, I understand actions have consequences and that's my problem of course. It's more that I'd rather get to them before they get to me and of course it doesn't feel right either on my part.

 

[John R]

If they haven’t stopped you then it is very unlikely that they will contact you. And if they do, come here and you will be advised not to respond.

I second the charity donation suggestion, and would suggest the Samaritans or Railway Children, as they are both very relevant to the rail industry.

 

[AlterEgo]

Don't talk about it, don't make any payment, don't make any contact with the railway. Don't make any donation to charity in lieu of the fraudulent gains, because I'll bet i know what loophole you've been using and I also bet that avenue of fraud will be closed down and the offenders detected soon. Save your money in case they come knocking.

 

[Egg Centric]

This is a bit "philosophical" but that's the nature of the question (since the other posts have shown you I hope why actually trying to pay this back is a terrible idea). And that is to point out that there is another option as well - to in the future have empathy for those who are also breaking the rules in one way or another. And carry this empathy through for the rest of your life. Next time you see a story about the boat people or cocaine users or benefit fraudsters or tax evaders or heretics or whatever it is.

That's not to say that you cannot want them to be stopped, punished or to change their ways. Of course you can. But don't "other" them. They did something that perhaps you might have done in their position.

 

[The exile]

If you really want to pay it back to the railway (as opposed to a charity), buy paper tickets with cash over time to the value concerned and bin them at home (without using them, of course)

 

[greyman42]

Don't talk about it, don't make any payment, don't make any contact with the railway. Don't make any donation to charity in lieu of the fraudulent gains, because I'll bet i know what loophole you've been using and I also bet that avenue of fraud will be closed down and the offenders detected soon. Save your money in case they come knocking.

Excellent advice. You never know what is around the corner in life so save your money for these possibilities.

 

[Raining123]

You could volunteer your time to give back to the wider railway network, you will feel positive too, do you have a steam line near you? There is a job for everyone and there is no need to overcommit. You could also spread the word to others that it’s not an innocent action to forget to pay, it’s a requirement to remember! I let others know i see or over hear of anyone buying a ticket late in their journey or at the barrier, ah I have just re read the intent and your spiritual journey to right the wrong… yep try volunteering

 

[tatitiliti]

You could volunteer your time to give back to the wider railway network, you will feel positive too, do you have a steam line near you? There is a job for everyone and there is no need to overcommit. You could also spread the word to others that it’s not an innocent action to forget to pay, it’s a requirement to remember! I let others know i see or over hear of anyone buying a ticket late in their journey or at the barrier, ah I have just re read the intent and your spiritual journey to right the wrong… yep try volunteering

I think that’s a lovely idea if OP has time - but, whatever you do, don’t contact the railway in any way or waste your money. You’re best off putting it into your long-term savings just in case they ever come after you.

 

[Towers]

OP; if you really feel a burning need to ‘right’ these past wrongs then your only course of action is to ‘fess up, send a letter to the train operator(s) concerned and offer them a presumably substantial sum of reimbursement, risking potential prosecution in the process.

However, you have already said that you cannot or would prefer not to be held liable for the “ruinous” sum that you feel would be owed, and so there is nothing that you can meaninfully do. The only way to ‘repay’ a debt owed would of course be to actually repay it, and so in this case your best course of action is to chalk it up to experience and move on with your life.

No harm was done, forget about it and invest your time and thoughts in more fruitful matters!

 

[cleaningup]

Thanks for the pointers so far everyone.

I think what I will do, is make a nominal donation to a charity as suggested which will be ongoing and I'll also volunteer when I can around existing schedule. There's some sense in keeping a lump sum aside just in case.

In terms of towers point, I think for me (I'm aware people will dispute this) but if there were some guarantee that I could just pay the fare difference by fessing up then I would, I think as people have mentioned, fessing up potentially carries quite a bit of risk in that respect, and I'm not virtuous enough to take that on.

 

[Sonic1234]

Would you have taken the journeys you did, or travelled so often if you hadn't had access to the discount? While not paying the correct fare is the wrong thing to do, if you took additional journeys the railway might have done better out of you compared to if you travelled less.

 

[35B]

Thanks for the pointers so far everyone.

I think what I will do, is make a nominal donation to a charity as suggested which will be ongoing and I'll also volunteer when I can around existing schedule. There's some sense in keeping a lump sum aside just in case.

In terms of towers point, I think for me (I'm aware people will dispute this) but if there were some guarantee that I could just pay the fare difference by fessing up then I would, I think as people have mentioned, fessing up potentially carries quite a bit of risk in that respect, and I'm not virtuous enough to take that on.

If you are of faith, you may also want to consider raising this with your priest (or equivalent) - there are a range of theologies around confession, repentance and reparation, and that may help you find a way to put your conscience at rest, taking into account the very sound advice from the perspective of how railway operators and the legal system deal with these matters.