SWR Fraud Team - do I respond?

[Jup]

SWR Fraud team - do I respond?

Hello all, so last week I received an email from a Fraud Investigator at South Western Railway and I was wondering how I should go about dealing with this. They are essentially asking me to provide proof of Railcard from October 2021 onwards.

I possessed a Railcard between 11/12/21 - 10/12/22 & later between 17/12/23 - 16/12/24. The reason I had none in between was due to travel from October 2022 - August 2023.

There was a window of time between August 2023-December 2023 where I used SWR, without a railcard & was wondering whether I should give them my railcard credentials or not.

My Trainline account does not have my railcard or Address linked, I also use PayPal to pay for a majority of tickets purchased on there. Will this help me in avoiding any prosecution?



For context, below is the email sent to me:

I’m writing to you regarding your travel history on South Western Railway services.

An investigation into your booking and travel history is being conducted. We have access to your Trainline purchase history through a data sharing agreement and are currently reviewing your ticket purchase history. Since 02 October 2021, you have used a 16-25 Railcard whilst purchasing tickets used on the South Western Railway network.

We kindly ask for your cooperation by providing any current and historical railcards used since the 02 October 2021 including their start and expiry dates.

You can access this information by logging into your railcard account on the railcard website here: Login (railcard.co.uk) , or your Trainline account here: (Digital Railcards : Trainline Customer Service | Help, Support and FAQs (thetrainline.com) , or if you purchased your railcard through another provider, please contact that provider. If no Railcard was held, please explicitly state this.

Assistance and guidance can be obtained on the internet and from the Citizens Advice Service, here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/. You may also wish to seek independent legal advice.

South Western Railway takes fare evasion and fraud very seriously. If you fail to respond, this matter may proceed to court, and formal proceedings may follow.

As part of the investigation, you may also provide mitigation regarding your travel history, which we will pass onto our Prosecutions Team, who review each case individually.

I kindly request that you respond by 20th January 2025.

 

[jfollows]

It looks like they’re fishing and trying to get you to incriminate yourself. My feeling is that you should not reply. Unless you have bought tickets with a railcard discount but without actually holding a railcard in the last six months.

 

[AlterEgo]

Have you actually been stopped by SWR, or has this email come out of the blue? If it is the latter, do not respond.

 

[Jup]

It looks like they’re fishing and trying to get you to incriminate yourself. My feeling is that you should not reply. Unless you have bought tickets with a railcard discount but without actually holding a railcard in the last six months.

This is my feeling. My most recent railcard lapsed on the 16/12/24, I have travelled on SWR once between Basingstoke & Southampton Central on 31/12/24. I purchased a Railcard ticket on trainline. In hindsight I should have purchased a paper ticket at the station knowing my railcard had lapsed.

 

[Snow1964]

They are fishing for you to incriminate yourself.

There is no duty to retain an expired railcard (although you might have physical ones tucked away in a drawer). Therefore the idea that you have to contact the original seller is wrong. For info if you bought them at a station the station keeps a log.

I would be inclined to tuck letter in a drawer (in case they keep following up, and if so come back for further advice). But NOT respond to them.

 

[Jup]

Have you actually been stopped by SWR, or has this email come out of the blue? If it is the latter, do not respond.

I was once stopped at Kingston upon Thames, as I purchased a ticket from Waterloo to Vauxhall, but stayed on until Kingston. I showed my ticket but not my railcard. They asked me to provide it but I left the train. This was over 6 months ago.
This email is pretty much out of the blue.
Thanks

 

[jfollows]

If you weren't stopped and reported on 31/12/24 then I agree with @AlterEgo, don't reply because they have nothing to go on and you'll only incriminate yourself if you do. It looks like you're on their radar now so be aware of this for the future, or just buy tickets from ticket offices without leaving a trail.

 

[Jup]

Okay great thanks for your response. It does seem as though they are baiting me. I have not received any letter, just an email. Thanks

 

[AlterEgo]

I was once stopped at Kingston upon Thames, as I purchased a ticket from Waterloo to Vauxhall, but stayed on until Kingston. I showed my ticket but not my railcard. They asked me to provide it but I left the train. This was over 6 months ago.
This email is pretty much out of the blue.
Thanks

So it isn’t really out of the blue, they have caught you with an irregularity in the past and this has triggered an audit of your ticket purchasing accounts because they know you’re a fare evader. Nonetheless idea why it’s taken them so long though.

Nonetheless they can’t do anything about an incident over 6 months ago and it’s unlikely they have a strong fraud case against you, so don’t respond. And of course, pay the proper fare going forward. Lucky escape here for you.

 

[Jup]

If you weren't stopped and reported on 31/12/24 then I agree with @AlterEgo, don't reply because they have nothing to go on and you'll only incriminate yourself if you do. It looks like you're on their radar now so be aware of this for the future, or just buy tickets from ticket offices without leaving a trail.

I was not stopped on 31/12/24. Yes I will certainly be buying exclusively paper tickets from the station from now on.

 

[Haywain]

In hindsight I should have purchased a paper ticket at the station knowing my railcard had lapsed.

I hope that means an undiscounted ticket - not that it matters if you bought one from Trainline.

 

[Jup]

So it isn’t really out of the blue, they have caught you with an irregularity in the past and this has triggered an audit of your ticket purchasing accounts because they know you’re a fare evader. Nonetheless idea why it’s taken them so long though.

Nonetheless they can’t do anything about an incident over 6 months ago and it’s unlikely they have a strong fraud case against you, so don’t respond. And of course, pay the proper fare going forward. Lucky escape here for you.

So it isn’t really out of the blue, they have caught you with an irregularity in the past and this has triggered an audit of your ticket purchasing accounts because they know you’re a fare evader. Nonetheless idea why it’s taken them so long though.

Nonetheless they can’t do anything about an incident over 6 months ago and it’s unlikely they have a strong fraud case against you, so don’t respond. And of course, pay the proper fare going forward. Lucky escape here for you.

Yes I will certainly be paying the proper fare going forwards. Very fortunate they didn’t catch onto me sooner

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Jan 2025 ==

They are fishing for you to incriminate yourself.

There is no duty to retain an expired railcard (although you might have physical ones tucked away in a drawer). Therefore the idea that you have to contact the original seller is wrong. For info if you bought them at a station the station keeps a log.

I would be inclined to tuck letter in a drawer (in case they keep following up, and if so come back for further advice). But NOT respond to them.

Okay great thanks for your response. It does seem as though they are baiting me. I have not received any letter, just an email. Thanks