SWR Prosecution Email

[bigman19]

Hi,

Posting as I've received a letter from the SWR Prosecutions Department. Back in March, I was stopped at Waterloo (travelling from Walton-on-Thames) for not having a valid 16-17 Railcard. My 16-25 Railcard expired in 2022.

I've used the 16-17 discount between Apr 2024 - Mar 2026 which amounts to around 140+ journeys.

I know I've messed up horribly and I just want to cooperate and get this settled outside of court. I've done some rough calculations and I'm probably looking at a settlement of around £3000+...

Here is what I've received:

Ref: XXX

On X March, you presented ticket number XXX to a member of Revenue Protection. Upon questioning, it was established that you did not hold a valid 16–17 Saver Railcard for the discount applied. You were issued a Report for Prosecution, number XXX.

Further investigation of your online account has highlighted other potential inconsistencies in your ticket purchase history. This suggests that you may not be paying the correct fare for journeys made on the UK rail network.

Given the serious nature of this matter, we have taken this step to contact you and initiate a resolution, prior to escalating the matter to our case management team.

Please respond to this letter via email to: XXX within 7 days, quoting the reference number XXX in the subject field.

My response:

Dear XXX,

Thank you for your letter regarding the above reference.

I would like to sincerely apologise for purchasing and travelling using discounted tickets that I was not entitled to. I fully understand that it was my responsibility to ensure that I held a valid Railcard for any discount I claimed, and I accept that I failed to do so. I deeply regret my actions and appreciate the seriousness of the matter.

Since being spoken to by the Revenue Protection Officer, I have purchased a valid 16–25 Railcard and have ensured that I only purchase tickets using the Railcard that I currently hold. I have also taken extra care to check my ticket details before travelling to ensure this does not happen again.

I am truly sorry for the inconvenience and time my actions have caused South Western Railway and your investigation team.

I would be extremely grateful if you would consider allowing me to resolve this matter by way of an administrative settlement rather than pursuing prosecution. I am willing to pay any outstanding fares identified, together with any administrative costs incurred by South Western Railway.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my request. I appreciate your consideration and hope you will give me the opportunity to resolve this matter without court proceedings.

Yours sincerely,

XXX

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2026 ==

I'd be grateful for any feedback on the response that I've drafted

 

[SECR 65]

Welcome to the forum

Hi,

Posting as I've received a letter from the SWR Prosecutions Department. Back in March, I was stopped at Waterloo (travelling from Walton-on-Thames) for not having a valid 16-17 Railcard. My 16-25 Railcard expired in 2022.

I've used the 16-17 discount between Apr 2024 - Mar 2026 which amounts to around 140+ journeys.

I know I've messed up horribly and I just want to cooperate and get this settled outside of court. I've done some rough calculations and I'm probably looking at a settlement of around £3000+...

I would suggest that you better start saving..... Payment plans are rarely granted I don't belive so you will normally be asked to pay this upfront.

Here is what I've received:

Ref: XXX

On X March, you presented ticket number XXX to a member of Revenue Protection. Upon questioning, it was established that you did not hold a valid 16–17 Saver Railcard for the discount applied. You were issued a Report for Prosecution, number XXX.

Further investigation of your online account has highlighted other potential inconsistencies in your ticket purchase history. This suggests that you may not be paying the correct fare for journeys made on the UK rail network.

Given the serious nature of this matter, we have taken this step to contact you and initiate a resolution, prior to escalating the matter to our case management team.

Please respond to this letter via email to: XXX within 7 days, quoting the reference number XXX in the subject field.

This seems like a fairly standard email from SWR. You will find lots of other similar threads by searching for "SWR investigation" - but I suspect you've looked at some of these already. My reasoning being your draft looks very much in line with what we would normally suggest and as such I don't have loads to alter.

My response:

Dear XXX,

Thank you for your letter regarding the above reference.

Make sure you include your case reference number (I assume this is what you mean here - just checking).

I would like to sincerely apologise for purchasing and travelling using discounted tickets that I was not entitled to. I fully understand that it was my responsibility to ensure that I held a valid Railcard for any discount I claimed, and I accept that I failed to do so. I deeply regret my actions and appreciate the seriousness of the matter.

Since being spoken to by the Revenue Protection Officer, I have purchased a valid 16–25 Railcard

Give them the railcard number of the one you've purchased or include a photo etc so they can check this is legitimate.

and have ensured that I only purchase tickets using the Railcard that I currently hold. I have also taken extra care to check my ticket details before travelling to ensure this does not happen again.

I am truly sorry for the inconvenience and time my actions have caused South Western Railway and your investigation team.

I would be extremely grateful if you would consider allowing me to resolve this matter by way of an administrative settlement rather than pursuing prosecution. I am willing to pay any outstanding fares identified, together with any administrative costs incurred by South Western Railway.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my request. I appreciate your consideration and hope you will give me the opportunity to resolve this matter without court proceedings.

Yours sincerely,

XXX

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2026 ==

I'd be grateful for any feedback on the response that I've drafted

A question for other members but also possibly for the OP to consider: Given the vast amount of money involved in a potential settlement, would it be cheaper to go to court here? This would come with a criminal record, which may be something you are desperate to avoid, but, if I understand correctly, you would only be charged with the individual occasion where they caught you. Can someone confirm if this is correct or not?

 

[AlterEgo]

A question for other members but also possibly for the OP to consider: Given the vast amount of money involved in a potential settlement, would it be cheaper to go to court here? This would come with a criminal record, which may be something you are desperate to avoid, but, if I understand correctly, you would only be charged with the individual occasion where they caught you. Can someone confirm if this is correct or not?

Most people don't want a criminal record, and regardless, train companies are now instigating civil recovery processes anyway; I expect this to be standard practice fairly soon under GBR.

 

[bigman19]

Welcome to the forum

I would suggest that you better start saving..... Payment plans are rarely granted I don't belive so you will normally be asked to pay this upfront.

This seems like a fairly standard email from SWR. You will find lots of other similar threads by searching for "SWR investigation" - but I suspect you've looked at some of these already. My reasoning being your draft looks very much in line with what we would normally suggest and as such I don't have loads to alter.

Make sure you include your case reference number (I assume this is what you mean here - just checking).

Give them the railcard number of the one you've purchased or include a photo etc so they can check this is legitimate.



A question for other members but also possibly for the OP to consider: Given the vast amount of money involved in a potential settlement, would it be cheaper to go to court here? This would come with a criminal record, which may be something you are desperate to avoid, but, if I understand correctly, you would only be charged with the individual occasion where they caught you. Can someone confirm if this is correct or not?

Thanks for the feedback.

Understood on the point about payment plans... I really need to think this through and maybe get a second job in that case.

And yes, I'll make sure to include the case reference number and railcard number in the email.

On your point about going to court, I'd like to avoid that if possible. But thanks for the suggestion.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jul 2026 ==

Will I lose my current job because of this?

 

[SECR 65]

Will I lose my current job because of this?

If you achieve and pay an out of court settlement, which is the most common outcome in cases like these, then no - this has no repercussions other than stress and financial.

If you are prosecuted, then this is unlikely to lose you an ordinary job, unless it is something with high level security clearance etc.

 

[bigman19]

If you achieve and pay an out of court settlement, which is the most common outcome in cases like these, then no - this has no repercussions other than stress and financial.

If you are prosecuted, then this is unlikely to lose you an ordinary job, unless it is something with high level security clearance etc.

Understood, thank you.

I've really f***ed myself over.

 

[WesternLancer]

Understood, thank you.

I've really f***ed myself over.

Well, that's the problem with getting caught for criminal activity like this -esp when you have left a digital trail to follow. But it's not the end of the world.

But on one point we did used to see (well a couple of years ago or more IIRC) that SWR did offer some sort of payment plan but we never had feedback from anyone who used it to work out exactly what it involved - but it essentially seemed to involve referring the passenger to some sort of payment plan 3rd party organisation who essentially paid the sum demanded by SWR and then handled the debt from the passenger to this 3rd party organisation - presumably at a rate of interest you would not really want to pay. So essentially a loan to pay the sum required. Since I assume the financial services sector might think fare evaders aren't likely to be the most reliable people to lend money to, I always assumed the interest rates on this would not be that desirable...
I'm not sure if that is still an option they use or not.
Which is why it's often recommended on here to see if you can borrow from trusted family or friends to pay any sum demanded, then repay those family members over time. Not an option for some people of course.
Is a credit card debt manageable? If so perhaps look into that.
Whatever you do, do not use a dodgy money lending 'service'

 

[bigman19]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Quick update: I've paid the amount owed and this case is now closed.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks for update.