Misuse of railcard

[huckleberrymeo]

Hi,
I’m an international student and recently received emails from EMR claiming I used an invalid railcard on five bookings, totaling £594.40. I have already requested a detailed breakdown via email and am fully willing to cooperate. I don’t dispute the allegation. They said I can only see the evidence if I attend a PACE interview, which I’m not comfortable doing. I’m confident that at least one booking was valid, it was for just myself, bought through the CTRIP app, and I still have all the booking info. The other bookings were for myself and my sister. I didn’t realize the railcard couldn’t be used for two people and had no intention to scam. I want to resolve this fairly, but I’m frustrated that they won’t provide a breakdown unless I attend the interview. I just want this to be solved quickly and this is honest mistake. However the total fare is still huge to a student like me.

 

[viewer anonymo]

With that, it will be calculated as an anytime ticket, the anytime single from Nottingham to London is £113.50, with the admin fee that'll be added as someone has had to work on this case

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,
I’m an international student and recently received emails from EMR claiming I used an invalid railcard on five bookings, totaling £594.40. I have already requested a detailed breakdown via email and am fully willing to cooperate. I don’t dispute the allegation. They said I can only see the evidence if I attend a PACE interview, which I’m not comfortable doing. I’m confident that at least one booking was valid, it was for just myself, bought through the CTRIP app, and I still have all the booking info. The other bookings were for myself and my sister. I didn’t realize the railcard couldn’t be used for two people and had no intention to scam. I want to resolve this fairly, but I’m frustrated that they won’t provide a breakdown unless I attend the interview. I just want this to be solved quickly and this is honest mistake. However the total fare is still huge to a student like me.

I'm not sure they are saying that - at this stage I wonder if there is a misunderstanding going on.

It does not sound to me like you need to see 'the evidence', it sounds to me that you want is 'a list of the travel they think you have done without a valid ticket' - but we can probably help you understand what is going on if you give us more information. But if you have asked them for 'evidence' then their reply might be to say they are not minded to provide evidence.

Things that would be helpful for us would be

1) copies of what you have written to them (so we can see what you have written alongside the replies they have sent you which you have uploaded) - remove anything that would personally identify you

2) You say you used an invalid railcard on 5 bookings - can you tell us
a) what railcard you had?
b) what was invalid about it? had it expired or did you never in fact have the railcard for example?

3) if you bought tickets for your sister were they also discounted with a Railcard reduction?

4) Did your sister have a valid railcard at the time of travel? Could she supply a copy of that railcard that you could send to them if required?

5) Can you list the journeys you have bought tickets for when your railcard was not valid (just the station to and from) - and state which tickets were for you and which for your sister. Perhaps set this out as a table or list for clarity.

 

[huckleberrymeo]

I'm not sure they are saying that - at this stage I wonder if there is a misunderstanding going on.

It does not sound to me like you need to see 'the evidence', it sounds to me that you want is 'a list of the travel they think you have done without a valid ticket' - but we can probably help you understand what is going on if you give us more information. But if you have asked them for 'evidence' then their reply might be to say they are not minded to provide evidence.

Things that would be helpful for us would be

1) copies of what you have written to them (so we can see what you have written alongside the replies they have sent you which you have uploaded) - remove anything that would personally identify you

2) You say you used an invalid railcard on 5 bookings - can you tell us
a) what railcard you had?
b) what was invalid about it? had it expired or did you never in fact have the railcard for example?

3) if you bought tickets for your sister were they also discounted with a Railcard reduction?

4) Did your sister have a valid railcard at the time of travel? Could she supply a copy of that railcard that you could send to them if required?

5) Can you list the journeys you have bought tickets for when your railcard was not valid (just the station to and from) - and state which tickets were for you and which for your sister. Perhaps set this out as a table or list for clarity.

Hi, thanks for your reply.
Here are my emails to them asking if they can provide detailed breakdown of bookings that they thought were invalid because I was sure there was 1 booking was valid with my railcard.
I had a 26-30 railcard at the moment (valide since Nov 2024) and I also renewed it on December 2025 and I used it to buy all tickets, including 2 tickets for my sister. My sister didnt have a railcard and we were not aware that it was not allowed to buy tickets for 2 people using just one railcard.
I only made 5 bookings during the time they chose to review so I understand if 4 of them are wrong but only one was made correctly. I also attached my booking info for more context.
I made ny decision that I will pay as requested but I just want to ask is there any chance to ask them to review just 4 was made with “invalid railcard”

 

[AlterEgo]

So, to clarify - it was your sister who had the "wrong" ticket and you have always had the correct ticket?

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi, thanks for your reply.
Here are my emails to them asking if they can provide detailed breakdown of bookings that they thought were invalid because I was sure there was 1 booking was valid with my railcard.
I had a 26-30 railcard at the moment (valide since Nov 2024) and I also renewed it on December 2025 and I used it to buy all tickets, including 2 tickets for my sister. My sister didnt have a railcard and we were not aware that it was not allowed to buy tickets for 2 people using just one railcard.
I only made 5 bookings during the time they chose to review so I understand if 4 of them are wrong but only one was made correctly. I also attached my booking info for more context.
I made ny decision that I will pay as requested but I just want to ask is there any chance to ask them to review just 4 was made with “invalid railcard”

OK thanks

Which of the journeys was made with a valid Railcard? from those you listed

I have to say your request for a breakdown seems reasonably asked and clearly worded. I don't recall seeing any EMR cases where people have had to ask for this but with other train companies they are usually happy to provide such a breakdown. I wonder if the EMR person dealing with this mis understood what you asked for (though you asked clearly twice) or if they have a different policy.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2026 ==


From what we usually see on here it is the policy of the train company to ask for the money equivalent to a full priced Anytime single for each journey where the wrong ticket is held. A return trip (eg out and back to and from Skegness to Nottingham is this two Anytime Singles

So using those tickets those fares would be

Nottingham to Gatwick: £143.40 each way (so 2 x £143.40)

Nottingham to Skegness: £33.90 each way (so 2 x £33.90)

Nottingham to London St Pancras: £116.60 each way (2 return trips listed so 4 x £116.60)

Please check my calculations but that totals £821 I think - with no add on for any of the 'admin costs' they often ask for (maybe in the region of £100)

So if they are asking you for £594 (£227 less than my total) have they perhaps already removed one return trip to London St Pancras (at £113.50 which is the price quoted in post #2 for one person one way fare co-incidentally) from the total?

Could this be the explanation?

Others here will have thoughts.

 

[huckleberrymeo]

OK thanks

Which of the journeys was made with a valid Railcard? from those you listed

I have to say your request for a breakdown seems reasonably asked and clearly worded. I don't recall seeing any EMR cases where people have had to ask for this but with other train companies they are usually happy to provide such a breakdown. I wonder if the EMR person dealing with this mis understood what you asked for (though you asked clearly twice) or if they have a different policy.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2026 ==


From what we usually see on here it is the policy of the train company to ask for the money equivalent to a full priced Anytime single for each journey where the wrong ticket is held. A return trip (eg out and back to and from Skegness to Nottingham is this two Anytime Singles

So using those tickets those fares would be

Nottingham to Gatwick: £143.40 each way (so 2 x £143.40)

Nottingham to Skegness: £33.90 each way (so 2 x £33.90)

Nottingham to London St Pancras: £116.60 each way (2 return trips listed so 4 x £116.60)

Please check my calculations but that totals £821 I think - with no add on for any of the 'admin costs' they often ask for (maybe in the region of £100)

So if they are asking you for £594 (£227 less than my total) have they perhaps already removed one return trip to London St Pancras (at £113.50 which is the price quoted in post #2 for one person one way fare co-incidentally) from the total?

Could this be the explanation?

Others here will have thoughts.

Hi, thanks for your reply. It’s very well-explained.
I think they applied the any time ticket for me as well. But let me get this clear. The return ticket Nottingham-Gatwick I purchased in April 2025, using the railcard 26-30 which was valid since November 2024.
The other trips, I bought 2 return tickets each trip for me and my sister, also using my railcard which was still valid at the time I purchased. I also renewed it in December 2025 before my trip to London St pancras.
So to my understanding, I thought there were 4 of them counted as invalid. The Gatwick-Notts was supposed to be fine and valid because my railcard at that moment was all good, still valid and I used it for only me.
If it was correct then I should be charged for the 4 tickets Notts-Skegness and Notts-London St pancras.

 

[z444z]

For the avoidance of doubt, your instinct not to attend an interview is correct. Do not. There is nothing to gain and a whole lot to lose.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi, thanks for your reply. It’s very well-explained.
I think they applied the any time ticket for me as well. But let me get this clear. The return ticket Nottingham-Gatwick I purchased in April 2025, using the railcard 26-30 which was valid since November 2024.
The other trips, I bought 2 return tickets each trip for me and my sister, also using my railcard which was still valid at the time I purchased. I also renewed it in December 2025 before my trip to London St pancras.
So to my understanding, I thought there were 4 of them counted as invalid. The Gatwick-Notts was supposed to be fine and valid because my railcard at that moment was all good, still valid and I used it for only me.
If it was correct then I should be charged for the 4 tickets Notts-Skegness and Notts-London St pancras.

My apologies but the way you are setting this out is confusing to me.

For example your Gatwick trip in the list is when you had a valid railcard (a Railcard valid from November 2024 to October 2025). But presumably if you bought the Railcard in Nov 2024 then your rail trip to Gatwick in June 2025 was not the first time you bought any train tickets? So I don't understand why you shared that ticket booking information but not other ticket booking information from November 2024 onwards.

- When did your own Railcard commence and expire (the exact dates not just the month)

- It may be that you need to send a copy of the Railcard you had to EMR with a suitably composed letter asking if they can look at this again- they probably won't have a record of the Railcard to cross check.

- What Railcard was it?

- Was the same Railcard used to discount both you and your sisters tickets?

- Can you list the tickets bought with a Railcard discount for anyone who did not hold a valid Railcard on the date of the travel listed on the ticket? Include the date of travel in the list.

 

[huckleberrymeo]

Hi there, thanks

My apologies but the way you are setting this out is confusing to me.

For example your Gatwick trip in the list is when you had a valid railcard (a Railcard valid from November 2024 to October 2025). But presumably if you bought the Railcard in Nov 2024 then your rail trip to Gatwick in June 2025 was not the first time you bought any train tickets? So I don't understand why you shared that ticket booking information but not other ticket booking information from November 2024 onwards.

- When did your own Railcard commence and expire (the exact dates not just the month)

- It may be that you need to send a copy of the Railcard you had to EMR with a suitably composed letter asking if they can look at this again- they probably won't have a record of the Railcard to cross check.

- What Railcard was it?

- Was the same Railcard used to discount both you and your sisters tickets?

- Can you list the tickets bought with a Railcard discount for anyone who did not hold a valid Railcard on the date of the travel listed on the ticket? Include the date of travel in the list.

Hi there, thanks for your time and your reply to my question.
Sorry for my wording so it seems a bit confusing. Here is the full context.

I bought a 26-30 railcard in November 2024 but I didn’t use it much. Fyi, I always buy tickets in advanced, weeks or even months before the date.

In 2025, I went back to my country for 1 month in summer from 2nd June to 2nd July so I bought return tickets Nottingham-Gatwick in advanced (in April 2025). This trip I went alone, my sister still stayed in Nottingham.

After this, I bought 2 return tickets Nottingham-Skegness for me and my sister in August 2025, also using my own railcard because I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to use it for other person. On train I showed our tickets and my railcard to the train staff member and they didn’t say anything.

This led to the last time when we went together to London in December 2025. So I bought 2 return tickets Nottingham-London st pancras for me and my sister as well and the staff said this wasn’t allowed and they interviewed me and recently sent me the email with the fare.
My old railcard expired in December 2025 but I renewed it before our trip to London so I still have a valid railcard with me. The problem is my sister doesn’t have a railcard and I didn’t know I cant buy her tickets using mine.

I listed the booking in July from Gatwick to Nottingham because in the email, the fraud department chose to investigate from July to December 2025. As they said I made 5 bookings during this time but I believe one of them was used correctly with a valid railcard. That’s why I asked them for a breakdown but it seems they didn’t agree to do it.
I’m a student so the fare is really high for me, however I understand that it’s my mistake for misusing it and I just want to settle everything, not putting things further.
I think I’m gonna make the payment for them today. Thank you for your time.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2026 ==

So, to clarify - it was your sister who had the "wrong" ticket and you have always had the correct ticket?

Yeah it was what I’m trying to say. My sister doesn’t have a railcard, only me. But they marked all of my bookings as made with invalid railcard.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi there, thanks

Hi there, thanks for your time and your reply to my question.
Sorry for my wording so it seems a bit confusing. Here is the full context.

I bought a 26-30 railcard in November 2024 but I didn’t use it much. Fyi, I always buy tickets in advanced, weeks or even months before the date.

In 2025, I went back to my country for 1 month in summer from 2nd June to 2nd July so I bought return tickets Nottingham-Gatwick in advanced (in April 2025). This trip I went alone, my sister still stayed in Nottingham.

After this, I bought 2 return tickets Nottingham-Skegness for me and my sister in August 2025, also using my own railcard because I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to use it for other person. On train I showed our tickets and my railcard to the train staff member and they didn’t say anything.

This led to the last time when we went together to London in December 2025. So I bought 2 return tickets Nottingham-London st pancras for me and my sister as well and the staff said this wasn’t allowed and they interviewed me and recently sent me the email with the fare.
My old railcard expired in December 2025 but I renewed it before our trip to London so I still have a valid railcard with me. The problem is my sister doesn’t have a railcard and I didn’t know I cant buy her tickets using mine.

I listed the booking in July from Gatwick to Nottingham because in the email, the fraud department chose to investigate from July to December 2025. As they said I made 5 bookings during this time but I believe one of them was used correctly with a valid railcard. That’s why I asked them for a breakdown but it seems they didn’t agree to do it.
I’m a student so the fare is really high for me, however I understand that it’s my mistake for misusing it and I just want to settle everything, not putting things further.
I think I’m gonna make the payment for them today. Thank you for your time.

I think a way forward may be to try and make a clear explanation to them of what happened as I think I understand this now. That may be worth doing before you pay them? Of course you would have to be happy with that approach. We would try to help you write such a message. You would need to send them copies of your own Railcard(s)

It seems to me therefore (and tell me if this is not correct) that at all times of travel you had a valid Railcard?

But it's your sister who was using tickets discounted with a Railcard but never had a Railcard?

However, if that is the case I do not understand why they are asking you for the money when they should be asking your sister for it?

Or did you travel in December 2025 after your Railcard had expired, but before you bought a new Railcard? meaning that in December 2025 neither you or your sister had a valid Railcard.

This is why I was asking you for the exact dates of your Railcard(s) commencement and expiry dates - but I don't think you have stated that yet.

 

[huckleberrymeo]

I think a way forward may be to try and make a clear explanation to them of what happened as I think I understand this now. That may be worth doing before you pay them? Of course you would have to be happy with that approach. We would try to help you write such a message. You would need to send them copies of your own Railcard(s)

It seems to me therefore (and tell me if this is not correct) that at all times of travel you had a valid Railcard?

But it's your sister who was using tickets discounted with a Railcard but never had a Railcard?

However, if that is the case I do not understand why they are asking you for the money when they should be asking your sister for it?

Or did you travel in December 2025 after your Railcard had expired, but before you bought a new Railcard? meaning that in December 2025 neither you or your sister had a valid Railcard.

This is why I was asking you for the exact dates of your Railcard(s) commencement and expiry dates - but I don't think you have stated that yet.

Hi, sorry for not mentioning it before.
My first railcard was from Nov 5 2024 - Nov 4 2025 and my second 15/12/2025 - 14/12/2026.
At the moment I bought tickets Nottingham - London st pancras to travel on 15/12/2025, my railcard was still valid (the payment was purchased on 22/10/2025). I forgot to renew it right after it expired but I renewed it before the trip so when I showed them my railcard it was still fine. The problem is my sister didn’t have any. It was me who made the booking via my Trip account so that’s why they interviewed me and sent the letter to me.
At first I thought the tickets for me were valid so we only had to pay for the tickets that I bought for my sister. But it seems it’s not the case.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi, sorry for not mentioning it before.
My first railcard was from Nov 5 2024 - Nov 4 2025 and my second 15/12/2025 - 14/12/2026.
At the moment I bought tickets Nottingham - London st pancras to travel on 15/12/2025, my railcard was still valid (the payment was purchased on 22/10/2025). I forgot to renew it right after it expired but I renewed it before the trip so when I showed them my railcard it was still fine. The problem is my sister didn’t have any. It was me who made the booking via my Trip account so that’s why they interviewed me and sent the letter to me.
At first I thought the tickets for me were valid so we only had to pay for the tickets that I bought for my sister. But it seems it’s not the case.

if you had the Railcard purchased and downloaded (or a physical one) before you boarded the train on the day of travel that is fine for you. You do not need a railcard when you buy the tickets - only when you use the ticket t travel with.

can you answer these questions to the best of your ability:

• What type of railcard is it/ was it? - ie what is the name of the Railcard (eg 16-25 Railcard / Network Railcard / etc)
• 
  
• Did you have and can you now prove you had a Railcard in your ownership at 11.12am on 15 December 2025?
• 
  
• What exact time is the purchase receipt or acknowledgment of your railcard that you bought on 15 December 2025?
• 
  
• I know your sister did not have a Railcard at any time, but this correspondence is addressed to you I assume - not her - is that correct?

I suggest you do not pay them any money yet until we can consider if you should be writing back to them explaining this - but that will take a bit of time to get drafted up.

 

[huckleberrymeo]

if you had the Railcard purchased and downloaded (or a physical one) before you boarded the train on the day of travel that is fine for you. You do not need a railcard when you buy the tickets - only when you use the ticket t travel with.

What type of railcard is it/ was it?

Both of them are 26-30 railcard

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2026 ==

if you had the Railcard purchased and downloaded (or a physical one) before you boarded the train on the day of travel that is fine for you. You do not need a railcard when you buy the tickets - only when you use the ticket t travel with.

can you answer these questions to the best of your ability:

• What type of railcard is it/ was it? - ie what is the name of the Railcard (eg 16-25 Railcard / Network Railcard / etc)
• 
  
• Did you have and can you now prove you had a Railcard in your ownership at 11.12am on 15 December 2025?
• 
  
• What exact time is the purchase receipt or acknowledgment of your railcard that you bought on 15 December 2025?
• 
  
• I know your sister did not have a Railcard at any time, but this correspondence is addressed to you I assume - not her - is that correct?

I suggest you do not pay them any money yet until we can consider if you should be writing back to them explaining this - but that will take a bit of time to get drafted up.

Thanks for your suggestion. I tried to check the receipts and my mailbox but couldn’t find any information about the exact time of the purchase, only the date.
Mine is 26-30 railcard and yes it’s me who got investigated for the issue.

 

[30907]

On the basis of what you have told us so far, your trips to Gatwick and to Skegness were legitimate. Your sister's definitely weren't, and I make that £301.

That leaves your own London trip: assuming these were one-way Advances, the return leg is definitely OK, the outward will depend on exactly when the second Railcard was bought (as Western Lancer) has asked.

 

[WesternLancer]

On the basis of what you have told us so far, your trips to Gatwick and to Skegness were legitimate. Your sister's definitely weren't, and I make that £301.

That leaves your own London trip: assuming these were one-way Advances, the return leg is definitely OK, the outward will depend on exactly when the second Railcard was bought (as Western Lancer) has asked.

Thanks for pitching in on this @30907 as it has seemed a bit complicated - but I have come to this conclusion too.

@huckleberrymeo - you say you bought the new railcard to start on 15 December ahead of your journey that day - but I see you say you can't find exact receipts with time of purchase. How did you buy it / where di you buy it from? (if on line could that be on the ticket buying account you bought it from ref the time of purchase? Perhaps try looking)

Either way are you personally confident you bought it before you got on the train that morning of 15 December? - to the best of your memory - ie it would not be a lie to say you bought it before you got on the train. This is pretty critical

More broadly in my view the ticket inspector should have taken the details of your sister and her ticket - but perhaps if you were travelling together booth her and your tickets were on your phone so it was easier for the Inspector to just take your details, but it was her that committed the offence - not you.
However, I appreciate you will not be wanting to go to court to argue that out with the Magistrate.

 

[AlterEgo]

More broadly in my view the ticket inspector should have taken the details of your sister and her ticket - but perhaps if you were travelling together booth her and your tickets were on your phone so it was easier for the Inspector to just take your details, but it was her that committed the offence - not you.
However, I appreciate you will not be wanting to go to court to argue that out with the Magistrate.

Why not? It's an open and shut case. OP hasn't done anything wrong and should defend themselves. The train company have cocked up by not taking the offender's details. Too bad. Show proof of railcards, insist all travel was legitimate and then cease cooperating.

 

[WesternLancer]

Why not? It's an open and shut case. OP hasn't done anything wrong and should defend themselves. The train company have cocked up by not taking the offender's details. Too bad. Show proof of railcards, insist all travel was legitimate and then cease cooperating.

Why not - well as an international student and not a UK passport holder there are probably greater risks in letting that escalate to court than there would be for a UK passport holder / citizen.

But this is the sort of wording, politely put, I think the OP should / could reply with as I think that could be put without risk of them escalating it to court quite yet (hopefully) - I'm happy to help with a draft - but the OP needs to be happy to take this approach in terms of a response to EMR - they could sleep on it and decide in the morning.

 

[huckleberrymeo]

Hi, I double checked it on my Trip account and my email receipt but none of them show the exact second of the payment. I’m confident that I bought it before the trip but now I couldn’t find any proof for that.

 

[AlterEgo]

Why not - well as an international student and not a UK passport holder there are probably greater risks in letting that escalate to court than there would be for a UK passport holder / citizen.

But this is the sort of wording, politely put, I think the OP should / could reply with as I think that could be put without risk of them escalating it to court quite yet (hopefully) - I'm happy to help with a draft - but the OP needs to be happy to take this approach in terms of a response to EMR - they could sleep on it and decide in the morning.

The correspondence needs to be curt and robust. Screw EMR, they're going after the wrong person. Too bad they were too lazy to take the actual offenders details, better luck next time.

OP. Pay them nothing. Send the railcards and say you trust that closes the matter. That's it. Don't help them by identifying your sister either.

 

[huckleberrymeo]

Why not - well as an international student and not a UK passport holder there are probably greater risks in letting that escalate to court than there would be for a UK passport holder / citizen.

But this is the sort of wording, politely put, I think the OP should / could reply with as I think that could be put without risk of them escalating it to court quite yet (hopefully) - I'm happy to help with a draft - but the OP needs to be happy to take this approach in terms of a response to EMR - they could sleep on it and decide in the morning.

Thank you very much for your time and your assistance. I really appreciate it. After reading all of your comments and thinking carefully, I decided to make the payment to settle this issue as soon as possible. I think there’s no need to write another email, especially regarding of what they replied to me when I asked for a breakdown. As a student visa holder, I don’t want to make things more complicated so I think that’s the best thing I could do now. Again, thank you all a lot for your time and your advice.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi, I double checked it on my Trip account and my email receipt but none of them show the exact second of the payment. I’m confident that I bought it before the trip but now I couldn’t find any proof for that.

Ok. Well done for trying.
I don’t suppose there is a time stamp on the bank record about payment time by any chance?

Even if not are you minded to respond to EMR seeking to make it clear you don’t owe them what they claim? (But if you wish to do so,to offer what is required regarding your sister’s travel - though I note alterego recommends not mentioning that).

I’m happy to help you with a draft response to EMR if that would help. It would essentially be a reply to their original e mail to you which invites you to provide evidence that they are wrong in saying you travelled without a railcard.

 

[Crithylum]

Hi, I double checked it on my Trip account and my email receipt but none of them show the exact second of the payment. I’m confident that I bought it before the trip but now I couldn’t find any proof for that.

Does your email client (such as Gmail) have a time that it received the email?

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you very much for your time and your assistance. I really appreciate it. After reading all of your comments and thinking carefully, I decided to make the payment to settle this issue as soon as possible. I think there’s no need to write another email, especially regarding of what they replied to me when I asked for a breakdown. As a student visa holder, I don’t want to make things more complicated so I think that’s the best thing I could do now. Again, thank you all a lot for your time and your advice.

Ok. Just seen this (I think new joiners on the forum get posts delayed before they display).

It’s bad luck you didn’t come to this forum before you replied to their earlier messages.

One other thing to do if you have not done it already is to buy a railcard for your sister if she is entitled to have one.

Ref the payment you have made to EMR keep proof of that payment and keep that long term. If the payment generated a receipt from EMR then keep that also.

 

[huckleberrymeo]

The correspondence needs to be curt and robust. Screw EMR, they're going after the wrong person. Too bad they were too lazy to take the actual offenders details, better luck next time.

OP. Pay them nothing. Send the railcards and say you trust that closes the matter. That's it. Don't help them by identifying your sister either.

Oh thank you for defending me, I appreciate it. My sister and I are both students and she or I we just want this to end. We made mistake to be honest and we learned a lesson though the price is high. Thank you anw for your time.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2026 ==

Ok. Just seen this (I think new joiners on the forum get posts delayed before they display).

It’s bad luck you didn’t come to this forum before you replied to their earlier messages.

One other thing to do if you have not done it already is to buy a railcard for your sister if she is entitled to have one.

Ref the payment you have made to EMR keep proof of that payment and keep that long term. If the payment generated a receipt from EMR then keep that also.

Yes we will do it. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

 

[z444z]

The correspondence needs to be curt and robust. Screw EMR, they're going after the wrong person.

And regardless are being very unreasonable. It’s a shame this approach has worked for them here.

Might a complaint about the handling of the case have any impact here?

 

[AlterEgo]

And regardless are being very unreasonable. It’s a shame this approach has worked for them here.

Might a complaint about the handling of the case have any impact here?

Bit late for that, they paid them £500 despite having done not a thing wrong.