SWR Short Faring

[zebra5330]

Hi all,

I recently received an email from SWR's DRPU team with the following message:

Dear x,

On 16th April 2026, ticket number x (Vauxhall to London Waterloo) was used in the automatic ticket gate at London Waterloo to Exit the station. A review of rail usage data found that this ticket is attributable to this email address. We are currently undergoing checks on this account as a result of it being flagged as suspicious.



Further investigation of your online account is ongoing, and preliminary assessment has identified 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 to engage with you.



Please respond to this email within 7 days quoting the reference number x in the subject field.


This was indeed not the only instance where I have been 'short faring' (my actual station was Worcester Park). What I'd do was get a single from Vauxhall to Waterloo, then a single from Waterloo to Worcester Park on my way back. I've checked and there are 42 instances where I had done this. I am totally aware of how stupid consistently doing this was and will have to face the consequences - worst part is I was probably only saving around £3 each journey.

The reason for me posting, however, is that I was caught by a Ticket Inspector at Waterloo for this during mid-may so I believe the email is from a separate investigation (?). I am yet to receive any correspondence regarding this incident. From reading other similar threads I will be profusely apologising, as well as admitting fault and requesting an out of court settlement. It would be great if someone would be able to provide some assistance in how I should respond to the email (i.e. should I mention the case/ticket reference from when I was stopped at Waterloo?).

Many thanks

 

[Swedenorer]

Trouble is that you simply don't know how the two things are linked - if at all.

Before anybody can advise you - what were you issued with by the Inspector? Take out any personal details and post it here.

Meanwhile I would not respond to that email until experts here have looked at the May incident for you.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Trouble is that you simply don't know how the two things are linked - if at all.

Before anybody can advise you - what were you issued with by the Inspector? Take out any personal details and post it here.

Meanwhile I would not respond to that email until experts here have looked at the May incident for you.

The original poster might wish to consider using a different ticket retailer and email address. A different credit card as well perhaps.

The usual consensus is that they can threaten and intend to prosecute and may offer out of court settlements of £££ to avoid this when you have been caught in person. Establishing convincing evidence to prosecute an email address is rather more difficult in the absence of a confession or self incrimination.

 

[Haywain]

The original poster might wish to consider using a different ticket retailer and email address. A different credit card as well perhaps.

I think it would be more appropriate to start paying the correct fares.

 

[zebra5330]

Trouble is that you simply don't know how the two things are linked - if at all.

Before anybody can advise you - what were you issued with by the Inspector? Take out any personal details and post it here.

Meanwhile I would not respond to that email until experts here have looked at the May incident for you.

Hi, thanks for the prompt response.

The ticket I was issued is very smudged as it's been sitting in my bag for a while so it wouldn't be useful if I took a picture. The details I can read are as follows:

• Incident reference is different to one that was in the email to me.
• Issue Reason: Short Fare (Station Block)

Apologies for the lack of info with that - the ticket is titled 'South Western Railway Travel Incident Report'.

Thanks

 

[Haywain]

The reason for me posting, however, is that I was caught by a Ticket Inspector at Waterloo for this during mid-may so I believe the email is from a separate investigation (?). I am yet to receive any correspondence regarding this incident. From reading other similar threads I will be profusely apologising, as well as admitting fault and requesting an out of court settlement. It would be great if someone would be able to provide some assistance in how I should respond to the email (i.e. should I mention the case/ticket reference from when I was stopped at Waterloo?).

Do not respond to this email. Wait until you receive a letter from SWR regarding the incident when you were stopped. They will likely link the incidents but you will be dealing with it all at once.

 

[zebra5330]

The original poster might wish to consider using a different ticket retailer and email address. A different credit card as well perhaps.

The usual consensus is that they can threaten and intend to prosecute and may offer out of court settlements of £££ to avoid this when you have been caught in person. Establishing convincing evidence to prosecute an email address is rather more difficult in the absence of a confession or self incrimination.

I'm unsure if doing this is worth the risk as they may tie this investigation to when I was caught in person.

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

Do not respond to this email. Wait until you receive a letter from SWR regarding the incident when you were stopped. They will likely link the incidents but you will be dealing with it all at once.

Thanks for the advice- is this wise to do even though they're asking me to respond within 7 days?

 

[SaltAndVinegar]

is this wise to do even though they're asking me to respond within 7 days?

That email is fishing for information, you’ll only risk making things worse for yourself by interacting with it.

Have you provided the full email contents (redacting identifiable info), as it reads incomplete?

 

[zebra5330]

That email is fishing for information, you’ll only risk making things worse for yourself by interacting with it.

Have you provided the full email contents (redacting identifiable info), as it reads incomplete?

Thanks again for the help. The remaining part of the email is as follows:

Nicholas Steele
Investigator



Should you have a query about this email, please call our Prosecution Team on 0330 0950 153

Otherwise, please contact SWR Customer Services Team: https://www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-and-help/contact-us

 

[SECR 65]

Welcome to the forum,

When you were stopped in May, what happened? Was this for the same Vauxhall short-faring? Did you recieve any paperwork from the inspector? Please upload it to the forum with personal details redacted if so.

Is the 16th of April, for example, the first time you did this short faring? Can you identify anything significant about this instance? What details did you provide to the inspector?

My instinct is that after you were caught in May, they have traced back to this April instance. I also wonder if there is the chance that the May incident is being treated seperately because they have not linked the two cases, and you might be contacted seperately about the time you were stopped in due course.

 

[WesternLancer]

Do not respond to this email. Wait until you receive a letter from SWR regarding the incident when you were stopped. They will likely link the incidents but you will be dealing with it all at once.

Could such a letter have been sent and simply lost en route to the op?

 

[Haywain]

Could such a letter have been sent and simply lost en route to the op?

It's unlikely.

 

[rj1987]

Any update on this? I just received a similar email

 

[WesternLancer]

Any update on this? I just received a similar email

You are best off starting your own thread. Have a look at the pinned post at top of this bit of the forum for the info you should ideally seek to explain on what happened.