Railcard Issue

[choochoo77]

Just returned home from my job in the city, massive queue at my normal station and the fraud watch are there. I’m thinking, oh no bother I’ve got my ticket so I shuffle past and am met by a very aggressive inspector.

“Ticket” no please, no manners, very rude.
“Certainly no problem”
“Come with me”

Turns out my 26-30 railcard is a few weeks out of date, unbeknownst to me. I’ve had no communication from Trainline, it still allowed me to purchase tickets with the expired railcard, how was I to know?

I’m then treated like a criminal and placed under caution (I’m already late to go and collect my daughter from nursery)
I tried to explain that I didn’t have time to answer these questions as my daughter needed me, I’ve always paid for train tickets.

My argument is that the system is flawed, designed to catch people like myself out. Surely if the railcard is expired it shouldn’t allow you to carry on using it, and prompt you to pay for a new one?
I now have no idea what’s going to happen and am left very anxious by the whole experience. Not helped by the rudeness of the inspector.

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I expect the pros will be along soon.

My understanding is that Trainline don't do reminders about rail cards but I sympathise with you. With the help of the experts here you can probably resolve this directly with the train company but you need to note the date that your card expires when you buy another one.

If you have any paperwork from today, could you show us please? Be sure to hide your name, address and any reference numbers.

 

[choochoo77]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I expect the pros will be along soon.

My understanding is that Trainline don't do reminders about rail cards but I sympathise with you. With the help of the experts here you can probably resolve this directly with the train company but you need to note the date that your card expires when you buy another one.

If you have any paperwork from today, could you show us please? Be sure to hide your name, address and any reference numbers.

Hi there, thanks for the warm welcome.
Unfortunately I wasn’t provided with any paperwork at all from today.
As mentioned, I was in a rush, the lady asked for my details which I provided (she then accused me of lying about my address, which I 100% wasn’t)
And that was that, I said I’ll just buy another railcard now to which I was told “it’s too late”
No option of paying a fine there and then.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

. Surely if the railcard is expired it shouldn’t allow you to carry on using it, and prompt you to pay for a new one?

You have to blame the retailer for that. Other ways of buying tickets are available that aren't Trainline.

 

[John R]

how was I to know?

Well most people manage to remember, or check every now and again when it expires.

So, put that to one side, what happens next? You'll likely get a letter threatening prosecution, but in reality if you cooperate, apologise, (don't blame anyone else for your shortcoming), promise to be more careful in future, and ask very nicely if they will consider an out of court settlement.

One problem is that your ticket was a few weeks out of date. It's usual practice for your trainline account to be reviewed and for them to come after you for every invalid ticket you purchased, with no allowance for the amount you paid, usually pricing it at two Anytime Single fares for each journey. There will also be an admin charge of around £150 built into any settlement offer.

It would help us if you also tell us which company stopped you, and provide (with any personal details redacted) a copy of anything you were given.

 

[WesternLancer]

Just returned home from my job in the city, massive queue at my normal station and the fraud watch are there. I’m thinking, oh no bother I’ve got my ticket so I shuffle past and am met by a very aggressive inspector.
“Ticket” no please, no manners, very rude.
“Certainly no problem”
“Come with me”
Turns out my 26-30 railcard is a few weeks out of date, unbeknownst to me. I’ve had no communication from Trainline, it still allowed me to purchase tickets with the expired railcard, how was I to know?
I’m then treated like a criminal and placed under caution (I’m already late to go and collect my daughter from nursery)
I tried to explain that I didn’t have time to answer these questions as my daughter needed me, I’ve always paid for train tickets. My argument is that the system is flawed, designed to catch people like myself out. Surely if the railcard is expired it shouldn’t allow you to carry on using it, and prompt you to pay for a new one?
I now have no idea what’s going to happen and am left very anxious by the whole experience. Not helped by the rudeness of the inspector.

There’s no central database of railcards apparently.

Whichbtrain company are you dealing with and where did this happen?

Can you give the details requested in the pinned post at the top of this part of the forum where applicable so people have the info to tailor advice for you on what to expect and how to deal with this.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Nov 2025 ==

The reason for no on the spot fine of £50 is they know chances are you have bought other tickets with the discount applied albeit unwittingly and they want the back office to check your purchase history and charge you for those fares too as they regard a discounted ticket without the rail card valid as an invalid ticket. They know chances are £50 won’t cover it.

Lots of similar cases on this forum if you want to peruse.

 

[saismee]

You have to blame the retailer for that. Other ways of buying tickets are available that aren't Trainline.

Absolutely blame the retailer. Railcard.co.uk (NR) do give reminders by email.

 

[choochoo77]

Thanks everyone for responses.
Unfortunately no paperwork was provided so I have nothing of that sort to share.
I believe it was Greater Anglia, from Liverpool Street to Harlow Town

 

[JBuchananGB]

You may expect to receive a letter from Greater Anglia.

They will most likely have checked your Trainline account to see how many journeys you have made with discounted fares since your railcard expired. If all the trips are Liverpool Street to Harlow Town they will want £17.30 each way, and then about £150 as an administration charge. It would be a good idea for you to look through your account yourself so that you are prepared. They will not make any allowance for money you paid for invalid (worthless) tickets.

When you receive their letter, come back to the forum for specific advice before you respond.

 

[choochoo77]

Thanks everyone for responses. Will wait and see what comes through the post. Is there a time limit on these things (how long do they have to reach out to me before it becomes invalid)

Really kicking myself, but in the same breath, there’s a lot to remember, and I can’t think of any other system which would allow you to carry on using once expired, I’m certain it’s to catch people out. My example would be, Netflix wouldn’t allow you to carry on watching if your subscription expires.

I would have been better off saying I didn’t have a ticket, which is ridiculous to think.

 

[simonw]

Thanks everyone for responses. Will wait and see what comes through the post. Is there a time limit on these things (how long do they have to reach out to me before it becomes invalid)
Really kicking myself, but in the same breath, there’s a lot to remember and I can’t think of any other system which would allow you to carry on using once expired, I’m certain it’s to catch people out. My example would be, Netflix wouldn’t allow you to carry on watching if your subscription expires.
I would have been better off saying I didn’t have a ticket, which is ridiculous to think.

There are plenty of systems out there where it is down to the individual to check the validity of their entitlement. Netflix and similar have the advantage that they can terminate your usage remotely, but for example you can still drive a car (until caught) with no insurance, mot or tax.

 

[choochoo77]

Fair point. I’m happy to take responsibility, I have since purchased another railcard, I’d just like it to be known that I find there to be a flaw in the system. I still find it ridiculous had I said yesterday that I simply didn’t have a ticket, I would be in a far better financial state and state of mind than I am now.

 

[Rab Smith]

The general theme I see with all these claims, DO NOT USE TRAINLINE! Every TOC has their own booking platform. Cheaper in most cases and safer as you are purchasing direct from the supplier.
Never understand why people use these third party apps.

 

[choochoo77]

The general theme I see with all these claims, DO NOT USE TRAINLINE! Every TOC has their own booking platform. Cheaper in most cases and safer as you are purchasing direct from the supplier.
Never understand why people use these third party apps.

I guess my issue with that is what if I’m not using a greater Anglia train?

 

[MarlowDonkey]

I guess my issue with that is what if I’m not using a greater Anglia train?

It doesn't matter at all. All the ToC websites sell tickets for all the other ToCs. In many cases the ToC website is just a relabelled version of something generic used by other ToCs.

 

[Rab Smith]

I guess my issue with that is what if I’m not using a greater Anglia train?

Greater Anglia sell tickets to travel on GWR, Scotrail, TfW etc etc.
They sell the correct ticket for your journey the exact same as Trainline but Trainline charge a finders fee.

All the information is out there about train tickets, you just need to know where to look. BR Fares.com is a great site for you to look up a particular journey and how much it will cost, as their data is from the National ticketing database. If you buy your ticket from, say, Greater Anglia, you have far more comeback if challenged than if you bought it from Trainline.

 

[saismee]

The general theme I see with all these claims, DO NOT USE TRAINLINE! Every TOC has their own booking platform. Cheaper in most cases and safer as you are purchasing direct from the supplier.
Never understand why people use these third party apps.

This is misguided as TOC retailers are just Trainline under the hood and they will have even easier access to your records. Trainline also offers splits which TOC-specific retailers don't. I personally use the GA app for simple journeys (I mostly travel with GA so I can also check the service easily), and the forum's site for complex journeys which benefit from splits.

Another thing to note is that this is a railcard expiration issue brought up by a scan, not by data analysis. I would suggest buying a railcard through the NR website as it does give renewal reminders before the railcard expires.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Nov 2025 ==

They sell the correct ticket for your journey the exact same as Trainline but Trainline charge a finders fee.

Trainline appear to charge a 59p booking fee, though it's not super transparent what they charge when using splits. It's not a huge amount but the forum's ticketing site only charges a % of the split savings, and have no fee if they don't find any deals. Plus, you get the backing of the forum staff in the event of a dispute with a TOC.

If you buy your ticket from say, Greater Anglia, you have far more comeback if challenged than if you bought it from Trainline.

This is incorrect. Your rights as a consumer don't change at all unless a retailer offer extra entitlement, which the TOC apps do not.

I’m then treated like a criminal and placed under caution

Unfortunately as you travelled without a valid ticket, you still committed an offence, even if unintentional. It's not always pleasant how RPIs treat people but you have to understand that they deal with a lot of shady people and there are certain procedures for these things. What has happened to you is very typical and it's almost guaranteed that they will agree to settle out of court, if you even have to ask - TOCs sometimes offer a settlement right away for these things.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Another thing to note is that this is a railcard expiration issue brought up by a scan, not by data analysis. I would suggest buying a railcard through the NR website as it does give renewal reminders before the railcard expires.

Anyone collecting Tesco Clubcard points can use these up on railcards through the NR website, which also maintains histories of Railcard purchase dates.

 

[WesternLancer]

I still find it ridiculous had I said yesterday that I simply didn’t have a ticket, I would be in a far better financial state and state of mind than I am now.

This isn’t necessarily the case. Do not assume that people without tickets all consistently get £100 penalty fares like you see on the station posters.

 

[yorkie]

The general theme I see with all these claims, DO NOT USE TRAINLINE! Every TOC has their own booking platform. Cheaper in most cases and safer as you are purchasing direct from the supplier.
Never understand why people use these third party apps.

This is very misleading for so many reasons.

Indeed, I am aware of people who bought tickets through the forum ticketing site who have been given far more support than they would have ever done had they bought "direct".

Furthermore, all TOCs outsource their websites anyway; if you think any TOC does this in-house, I would be interested to hear which....

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Nov 2025 ==

... My example would be, Netflix wouldn’t allow you to carry on watching if your subscription expires.

I suggest we keep this thread for providing advice regarding your specific situation.

Netflix isn't a like-for-like comparison by any means; I'd argue it's a false equivalence.

There have been many other threads to discuss proposals to do things like force people to enter railcard numbers and various other suggestions; see:

Should railcards be linked/verified to online accounts?

In my ticket checking duties I've noticed of late that there seems to be a rapid increase in people purposely selecting railcards that they don't actually own and availing of discounts they are not entitled - and it seems way too easy to do. Is it time to link railcards to...

www.railforums.co.uk

Linking Digital Railcards & ticketing together.

Could a system be developed that links a passengers digital railcard, regardless of where purchased, into the digital ticket issuing system? Something very similar to the Trainline system. Then, as both could be scanned together the more positive scans received results in fewer requests for the...

www.railforums.co.uk

Experiment - swap 16-17 and 16-25 railcards in drop down lists

There are lots of cases of people who select 16-17 railcard when they "mean" 16-25 railcard. Very few indeed the other way around. Cynics will note that 16-17 railcard gives a better discount and terms. Non cynics however will note that the 16-17 railcard is usually "first in the list" on any...

www.railforums.co.uk

Reducing the risk of people using expired Railcards by accident

One common prosecution or settlement is where Railcards have expired and people haven't noticed. I think we could do more to avoid this. How about: * For accreditation, sites and apps (and maybe even TVMs) must ask for the Railcard number and expiry date when selling a discounted ticket...

www.railforums.co.uk

Expired railcards. Is there a better way of ensuring this doesn’t happen by accident?

The OP may need to consider/explain how he failed for so long to notice the prominently featured expiry date on a card that he (always?) carried. mods note - split from here. It's tricky to explain in the circs, but in real life there's no actual need to ever look at your own Railcard when...

www.railforums.co.uk

Should all Railcards contain photos and should discounted tickets be linked to a specific Railcrd number?

A Carlisle Security meathead asking to see your railcard is a "polygraph test" now. Dear me. It certainly explains why the Leeds gateline is a zoo. Somehow your Railcard has got to be linked to your ticket to stop this? Buy online, present your Railcard number (if there is one?) and your good...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Realfish]

Absolutely blame the retailer. Railcard.co.uk (NR) do give reminders by email.

Sometimes. I have held four x 3 year Senior Railcards and received a reminder each time, except September '24 when my previous one expired. There was no reminder. Mrs R never received her reminder in February, either.

 

[Adam Williams]

My understanding is that Trainline don't do reminders about rail cards

Absolutely blame the retailer. Railcard.co.uk (NR) do give reminders by email.

DO NOT USE TRAINLINE

I would suggest buying a railcard through the NR website as it does give renewal reminders

Far be it from me to speak for Trainline, but I do want to point out that all of these assertions that TTL don't send out expiry notifications are simply nonsense:

 

[saismee]

Far be it from me to speak for Trainline, but I do want to point out that all of these assertions that TTL don't send out expiry notifications are simply nonsense:

I could only confirm that NR gave them as that is what I was using for my railcard. Good to know that Trainline give emails (if only people read them!!)