Short fare fraud

[jessandes]

Right this is going to sound awful. Today I was stopped for short fair fraud, I know it’s no excuse but I wanted to make a saving. I paid for a railway card and have proof of this, but this railway card was under my siblings name which also makes it the wrong age as I am 29 and my sibling is within the 16-25 category but with my image. As I paid for it and it was my picture it wasn’t a big deal at the time. I am now panicking as reading the posts they are usually really strict. I cant risk my career and I wanted to know what the likely outcome may be for this?

 

[Egg Centric]

stopped by who?

 

[WesternLancer]

Right this is going to sound awful. Today I was stopped for short fair fraud, I know it’s no excuse but I wanted to make a saving. I paid for a railway card and have proof of this, but this railway card was under my siblings name which also makes it the wrong age as I am 29 and my sibling is within the 16-25 category but with my image. As I paid for it and it was my picture it wasn’t a big deal at the time. I am now panicking as reading the posts they are usually really strict. I cant risk my career and I wanted to know what the likely outcome may be for this?

Welcome.

So are you saying you deliberately bought a railcard you weren’t entitled to hold but placed your image on it in the hope that this would not be noticed so you could get a discount you were not entitled to?

Ie a deliberate attempt to evade paying the correct fare by using this (fraudulently ?) obtained railcard?

And as well as this you short fared ie bought a ticket for a shorter journey than you undertook.

Would it be right to assume you have used this railcard on a number of occasions and also short fared on several occasions?

Be aware your digital fingerprints will probably be on all of this. The railway will look at your purchase records to see how much you have evaded by doing this over time.

Which train company detected this when they stopped you?

 

[jessandes]

Welcome.

So are you saying you deliberately bought a railcard you weren’t entitled to hold but placed your image on it in the hope that this would not be noticed so you could get a discount you were not entitled to?

Ie a deliberate attempt to evade paying the correct fare by using this (fraudulently ?) obtained railcard?

And as well as this you short fared ie bought a ticket for a shorter journey than you undertook.

Would it be right to assume you have used this railcard on a number of occasions and also short fared on several occasions?

Be aware your digital fingerprints will probably be on all of this. The railway will look at your purchase records to see how much you have evaded by doing this over time.

Which train company detected this when they stopped you?

In short yes, but it was a stupid mistake as my sibling took it out for me but I would have been able to get the same discount if I got it under my name and age. I know it’s ridiculous. That’s why I am now panicking.

Yes I have used this on multiple occasions for a few years.

I am not sure, they were guards at the Newport Pagnell station.

 

[WesternLancer]

In short yes, but it was a stupid mistake as my sibling took it out for me but I would have been able to get the same discount if I got it under my name and age.

Do you mean if you had a 26-30 railcard?

I think this may have slightly different t&cs that mean in certain circumstances the discount would not be exactly the same. Though this is probably the least of your problems now.

I would suggest you buy the correct railcard immediately as that is something you can then show you have done to try and put things right.

I know it’s ridiculous. That’s why I am now panicking.

Yes I have used this on multiple occasions for a few years.

So you need to start trying to compile a list if those occasions because that would be the basis of the money they would seek from you for the fares you have evaded by having a railcard you were not entitled to.

You should assume no allowance would be given for the fares you did pay.

I am not sure, they were guards at the Newport Pagnell station.

Were you given any paperwork?

I assume they also detected the short faring and things unraveled from there?

 

[jessandes]

What do you mean by shirt faring? They took my details on their phone and asked for the railway card number which I provided but was not mine.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Jun 2025 ==

Do you mean if you had a 26-30 railcard?

I think this may have slightly different t&cs that mean in certain circumstances the discount would not be exactly the same. Though this is probably the least of your problems now.

I would suggest you buy the correct railcard immediately as that is something you can then show you have done to try and put things right.

I know it’s ridiculous. That’s why I am now panicking.


So you need to start trying to compile a list if those occasions because that would be the basis of the money they would seek from you for the fares you have evaded by having a railcard you were not entitled to.

You should assume no allowance would be given for the fares you did pay.

Were you given any paperwork?

I assume they also detected the shirt faring and things unraveled from there?

What do you mean by shirt faring? They took my details on their phone and asked for the railway card number which I provided but was not mine.

 

[WesternLancer]

Your aim should be to seek an out of court settlement with them which could be for quite a large sum given what has happened.

You will need advice from here on how to do that in due course.

Did you give rail staff your correct name and postal address when stopped. It’s vital you respond to them when they write to you. But they may also e mail so check any e mail accounts you use and your spam.

If you do not respond you can expect things to escalate to a court prosecution which you probably want to avoid.

 

[jessandes]

Do you mean if you had a 26-30 railcard?

I think this may have slightly different t&cs that mean in certain circumstances the discount would not be exactly the same. Though this is probably the least of your problems now.

I would suggest you buy the correct railcard immediately as that is something you can then show you have done to try and put things right.

I know it’s ridiculous. That’s why I am now panicking.


So you need to start trying to compile a list if those occasions because that would be the basis of the money they would seek from you for the fares you have evaded by having a railcard you were not entitled to.

You should assume no allowance would be given for the fares you did pay.

Were you given any paperwork?

I assume they also detected the shirt faring and things unraveled from there?

I just understood you meant short faring. They haven’t mentioned anything about the railway card. They just said about the short fare but took all my details

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Jun 2025 ==

Does anyone know how long they usually take to contact?

 

[WesternLancer]

What do you mean by shirt faring? They took my details on their phone and asked for the railway card number which I provided but was not mine.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Jun 2025 ==

Sorry. Short faring. You said you have also done this. It means buying a ticket for a shorter journey than you undertook. Typically to get through ticket gates.

Did you do this and did rail staff detect it when they stopped and questioned you?

 

[jessandes]

Yes that is the actual reason. I am just anticipating what they may find if they review all the tickets and I haven’t had a valid railway card

 

[WesternLancer]

I just understood you meant short faring. They haven’t mentioned anything about the railway card. They just said about the short fare but took all my details

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Jun 2025 ==

Does anyone know how long they usually take to contact?

So did you give them your date of birth? If so they will work out you were not entitled to the railcard you have if they are on the ball.

Basically there is nothing you can do until they write to you and you can see what they accuse you of doing.

At least get yourself the correct railcard now. That is something you can do now.

 

[jessandes]

So did you give them your date of birth? If so they will work out you were not entitled to the railcard you have if they are on the ball.

Basically there is nothing you can do until they write to you and you can see what they accuse you of doing.

At least get yourself the correct railcard now. That is something you can do now.

Yes they stopped me for short faring. They didn’t mention anything about the railway card. But requested the railway card number. I have purchased the correct railway card now. But I am just worried that I will get prosecuted.

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes they stopped me for short faring. They didn’t mention anything about the railway card. But requested the railway card number. I have purchased the correct railway card now. But I am just worried that I will get prosecuted.

Well you could get prosecuted unfortunately and you’ve probably already admitted you were guilty of not having the correct ticket when they stopped you.

However if you cooperate with the railway when they write to you it’s often possible to avoid prosecution and obtain an out of court settlement and people here can help you with that, or you could pay a specialist solicitor for help but that’s often not necessary.

But they will expect you to pay for the fares they believe you have evaded/ not correctly paid for as part of any settlement offer they might make.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Jun 2025 ==

Have a look at some other threads to get the general idea of what will typically happen.

 

[AlterEgo]

I am not sure, they were guards at the Newport Pagnell station.

Newport Pagnell station closed to passengers in 1964. It is now a housing estate.

Where were you stopped, and by which company?

 

[jessandes]

Newport Pagnell station closed to passengers in 1964. It is now a housing estate.

Where were you stopped, and by which company?

Apologies I meant Leighton Buzzard

 

[AlterEgo]

Apologies I meant Leighton Buzzard

Okay, so it would be West Midlands Trains who have stopped you. They will audit your historic transactions to find out how many fares you have evaded and either:

- prosecute you for a single offence in the magistrates court, or

- settle out of court for every single fare evaded; no account will be taken of any fares previously paid - they will go for full Anytime fares for every single occasion.

Have you been buying your tickets online with Trainline?

 

[WesternLancer]

Apologies I meant Leighton Buzzard

Further to previous messages I think it will be worth separating out the issue with the incorrect / doctored(?) Railcard from the short fare incidents.

It seems that the short faring is what they noticed on the day.

They may or may not notice the Railcard issue.

Obviously immediately cease using that Railcard, and you have bought a legitimate Railcard now (AIUI) so use this from that point onwards. Retain proof of your Railcard purchase, read the Railcard T&Cs and make sure you only use your new Railcard correctly. That draws a line under that and provides a basis on which you can at least demonstrate positive action you have taken if asked about the Railcard (but it's possible they may not ever notice this)

You will no doubt be asked about the short fares and this train company will look at your ticket purchasing to look for other past suspicious ticket purchases. If they opt to offer an out of court settlement you should assume they will make that conditional on payment by you for all the fares you have evaded, in full.

But until they write to you you can't really know what they will ask you / accuse you of doing. So you will have to wait for that and then return here for advice on how to respond to minimise your chances of getting prosecuted in court.

Meanwhile start making your own private record of the number of instances where you have evaded the correct fares / used a railcard illegitimately. That way you can get an ide of how much money you might need to pay them, and thus make a plan to save up that money so you have it. You would be expected to pay it in full and prompltly and paymwent by installments is unusual.

Also - there is a helpful general set of guidance often provided by @Hadders which it is worth you having a read of - I have copied it here from another thread:

Legally speaking, you did not have a valid ticket for the journey where you were stopped which is a criminal offence and the railway company are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. The good news is that railway companies often settle these matters out of court as long as you co-operate with them, and haven't come to their attention before.

When they contact you -

I suggest writing a short, concise reply mentioning the following:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and administrative costs in dealing with the matter

If you are offered an out of court settlement expect to have to pay the cost of the fare avoided at the full Anytime rate, plus an admin fee of around £150.

If you pop a draft reply in this thread forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.