Misuse of 16-17 Railcard

[mlok]

Hi

I've put myself in a very difficult position and i admit to being very, very wrong. My financial worries at home have led me to do this, but there is no excuse I suppose.

Since March this year I've been using the 16-17 railcard (I'm actually 47 years of age) to get a discounted rail ticket, travelling from Maidenhead to London Paddington.

Today I've been caught by the Revenue protection officers at the Paddington station barriers and the inspector asked for the railcard, which clearly I didn't have.

Stupidly, I've stated im 16 and then admitted my age correctly. Secondly, i have a daughter who is about to turn 16 in Dec and again, stupidly, i admitted that my daughter has a rail card.

He has taken my address down, my email address and then took a snip of all the journeys I've taken so far from the GWR app.

Im feeling very very worried how all of this is going to turn out.

I vow never to commit this ever again in my life and I hope I have a chance to explain why I did what i did.

When do the GWR write back and do they offer an out-of-court settlement?

Any guidance and advice will be most appreciated.

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

I expect the forum pros will be around soon with advice for you. They may ask to see any paperwork that you were given today.

Are you able to give us an idea of how many times you said you had the 16-17 railcard please?

 

[mlok]

Since March 2025. i travel into London three times a week.

 

[jfollows]

They should be able to see all the times you bought a ticket with a railcard discount.
They will likely ask for something like £16.40 single, £32.80 for each such return trip. That’s of the order of £2,500 for six months at three times a week. Plus £150 for their costs if they are going to settle.

They will write to ask you for your explanation, and you can reply by offering to settle out of court by paying unpaid fares plus their costs. They will then send you a figure.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Since March 2025. i travel into London three times a week.

If they offer an out of court settlement, they base it around the Anytime Single Fare. That's currently £ 16.40 for Maidenhead to Paddington according to the Forum's ticket website. At three times a week and both ways, that's getting on for £ 100 for each week. They usually add on something like £ 150 for their investigation expenses.

 

[mlok]

thank you so much for your responses.

Much appreciated.

I know there is no guarantee but how linient are GWR to offer an out of court settlement?

 

[jfollows]

thank you so much for your responses.

Much appreciated.

I know there is no guarantee but how linient are GWR to offer an out of court settlement?

As long as you engage with them, reply to their messages, explain you understand your error and will not repeat it, very likely.
For 3 times a week a flexi-season may be a good idea for you, and if you buy one and tell them that you have done this will help also. 8 days within 28 days for £207.20.

 

[mlok]

Thank you so much for your guidance.

I will keep you posted.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

...the Anytime Single Fare. That's currently £ 16.40 for Maidenhead to Paddington according to the Forum's ticket website.

Slightly more expensive if travelling from Paddington. (= £18.00).

 

[mlok]

Not £18. I’ve never seen this price, as my husband paid £16.40 on his trips to London.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Oct 2025 ==

On the subject of price, would there be an opportunity (if available) to pay for the price difference so £16.40 x2 =£32.80 less £14.80 I’ve paid for each day?

Also how quick do GWR write to you with the initial letter?

 

[jfollows]

On the subject of price, would there be an opportunity (if available) to pay for the price difference so £16.40 x2 =£32.80 less £14.80 I’ve paid for each day?

No. Their settlement offer will be for the full undiscounted single fare. No “credit” for what you paid for your invalid tickets.

Their view will be that if you only pay the difference, you are more likely to do it again. And, in the end, you can take their settlement offer or go to court. That’s the way it is.

 

[mlok]

No. Their settlement offer will be for the full undiscounted single fare. No “credit” for what you paid for your invalid tickets.

Their view will be that if you only pay the difference, you are more likely to do it again. And, in the end, you can take their settlement offer or go to court. That’s the way it is.

Understood. Thanks for clarifying.

I’m just keen to get this settled asap. Any idea by when GWR will reach out?

 

[jfollows]

I’m just keen to get this settled asap. Any idea by when GWR will reach out?

No, but probably weeks. They have a stack of these to work through.

The threat of prosecution is “live” for six months, so it will be in time to prosecute if you don’t agree a settlement, but the truth is that neither you nor they want court. You for obvious reasons and them because it’s less expensive to settle for them.

 

[mlok]

No, but probably weeks. They have a stack of these to work through.

The threat of prosecution is “live” for six months, so it will be in time to prosecute if you don’t agree a settlement, but the truth is that neither you nor they want court.

Thank you.

 

[jfollows]

Good luck, and when you get contacted feel free to post here with any questions. We will be notified of your new post.

 

[WesternLancer]

Understood. Thanks for clarifying.

I’m just keen to get this settled asap. Any idea by when GWR will reach out?

Well I’m not sure I’d describe it as ‘reach out’. It’s going to be a letter threatening prosecution.

It’s worth you having a careful read of the GWR revenue protection policy pdf booklet that you can download from thier website.

You can expect it to be a while before they write to you usually in hard copy so look out for your post but also check e mail and spam. Could be four weeks or more.

Be aware they will be checking your on line purchase records with whoever you buy tickets from.

 

[mlok]

Good luck, and when you get contacted feel free to post here with any questions. We will be notified of your new post.

Yes will do.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Oct 2025 ==

Well I’m not sure I’d describe it as ‘reach out’. It’s going to be a letter threatening prosecution.

It’s worth you having a careful read of the GWR revenue protection policy pdf booklet that you can download from thier website.

You can expect it to be a while before they write to you usually in hard copy so look out for your post but also check e mail and spam. Could be four weeks or more.

Be aware they will be checking your on line purchase records with whoever you buy tickets from.

Will do. Thank you.

I’m just going to be using contactless payment henceforth, regardless of how much it’s costing me.

Flexi ticket is only cost effective if travelling to London 2 days each week.

The problem is I’m feeling very stressed at the moment, not knowing what the letter content will be. Unable to focus clearly

 

[Undiscovered]

GWR will be looking into your ticket purchasing history, and they will write to you to ask for your version of events. It would be wise to start saving for a hefty settlement fee- use your ticket purchasing heading account to work out an approximate figure.

Surely, Given the nature of use of the 16-17 Railcard, and that OP tried to claim they were of that age, GWR, pragmatic as they may be, would they go for a prosecution, to serve as deterrent?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Not £18. I’ve never seen this price, as my husband paid £16.40 on his trips to London.

You may wish to check that assertion with respect to the price of Anytime Day Singles from London Paddington to Maidenhead.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Surely, Given the nature of use of the 16-17 Railcard, and that OP tried to claim they were of that age, GWR, pragmatic as they may be, would they go for a prosecution, to serve as deterrent?

We don’t know, but quite often people on here say “if this doesn’t merit a prosecution then what does?” but settlements are still generally offered

 

[MotCO]

Can we just check that contactless is valid from Maidenhead?

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Can we just check that contactless is valid from Maidenhead?

It has been ever since Elizabeth Line services started if not before. It also applies on the Windsor, Marlow and Henley branches where you can change directly to and from Elizabeth services without going through any barriers.

You cannot add railcards to contactless, so no offence of using an invalid railcard can arise.

 

[jfollows]

Can we just check that contactless is valid from Maidenhead?

Yes it is.
It’s valid from Reading.

Contactless and Oyster pay-as-you-go | Great Western Railway

Tap in and travel between Reading and London Paddington using your contactless card or mobile – no need to top up or queue.

www.gwr.com

The daily cap is usually set to the same as the Travelcard price.

 

[RPI]

No. Their settlement offer will be for the full undiscounted single fare. No “credit” for what you paid for your invalid tickets.

Their view will be that if you only pay the difference, you are more likely to do it again. And, in the end, you can take their settlement offer or go to court. That’s the way it is.

GWR do give credit for fares paid.

 

[mlok]

GWR do give credit for fares paid.

do you know under what circumstances this has been applied?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Oct 2025 ==

Also just to mention I was asked to be interviewed under caution but I said I’m running late for work so this never happened.

Does this mean my case will not be reviewed by the Prosecution team in the first instance?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

GWR do give credit for fares paid.

do you know under what circumstances this has been applied?

My understanding is that @RPI is in a position to know what they are talking about, but nonetheless it would be a good idea to plan for the worst, and be pleasantly surprised if that doesn't happen.

 

[30907]

Flexi ticket is only cost effective if travelling to London 2 days each week.

This is a bit of a side issue, but FYI you can use the 8 journeys as quickly as you want and then buy another before 28 days are up - they're designed for situations like yours.

 

[furlong]

do you know under what circumstances this has been applied?

I can't recall any GWR case on the forum where they didn't - correctly - deduct money already paid (for the wrong fares) from the amount they were asking for. However they do also still seem to demand Anytime single fares which I think may be based on an out-of-date interpretation of previous versions of the contract,. (Off-peak fares have been considered to be full fares in their own right for many years now.)