Threatened to be prosecuted

[WesternLancer]

Thank you for the note. I will do that.
For travelling in, I don’t come into London often for work. So I usually get the 8:30 trains in which cost around £40-50. I then would get a single back after 19:00 which is usually around £30. I had looked at day returns but it always seemed more expensive.
I did not know the ticket was wrong, and that is why I went to the staff and asked for help and if they could tell me what is wrong with the ticket. I gave them my phone to look at it. When they told me the ticket was old and not the right date, 6 staff members surrounded me, in a semi circle with the wall behind me (one turned on his camera). Told me if I moved they would call the police now. They asked for my name, did not believe me, so took pictures of my ID and rail card (which I gave them), they did not believe the address I gave them was correct, so took pictures of my bank statements and a bill. Things escalated so quickly when I asked for help. I co-operated with them and will do. But I can see that no matter what I say, no one believes me. I genuinely did not act in bad faith, but I will follow through with the next steps.

People do believe you. But you can see why it can arise scepticism too.

Thanks for the added info.

It’s also worth you trying to see things from the staff point of view too of course.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Hello @assistance
Thanks for confirming your travel frequency and your ticket-purchasing rationale.
I recognise the experience of being surrounded and recorded was confusing and distressing for you; you shared details on your Posts 1 and 30.

What I haven't seen, is your laying out the sequence (i.e. what and where) from when you were talking with this man, to the point you tried to use that person's falsified ticket through Waterloo platform gateline barrier.

Even if you don't want to share those details with us (.e. if the person is known to you), it is important you get the sequence clear so you articulate it to SWR in writing if needed.

 

[furlong]

The reason we're still waiting for you to answer the detailed questions is that small details can make a big difference as to what action is available to them to take and whether or not they could realistically prove any offence was committed by you. The law has many nuances.

So far you have told us that you offered to pay your fare and you were unaware that the ticket had already been used and you were unaware that the actual ticket as contained in the barcode was different from what was displayed.

Please look back and answer more of the questions.

 

[johnny_t]

Just a side question on this, but is there any inherent issue if someone gives you an unused return portion of a ticket ? I have given away unused (paper) legs on my village Facebook group in the past.

 

[blimmo]

Just a side question on this, but is there any inherent issue if someone gives you an unused return portion of a ticket ? I have given away unused (paper) legs on my village Facebook group in the past.

Yes, if the outbound portion has been used:

5.1 A Ticket may be transferred by the person who bought that Ticket to another person, but only if:
5.1.1 ...
5.1.2 the journey has not begun, for example, you have not passed through an automatic Ticket gate, boarded a train, or started to use the Ticket (e.g., used the outward portion of a return Ticket,);

https://assets.nationalrail.co.uk/e8xgegruud3g/217USO6GPDMxJmB4YAJLRi/f103a3edc5f39a0a27832dbeeb53863e/National_Rail_Conditions_of_Travel_2026.pdf

 

[furlong]

Just a side question on this, but is there any inherent issue if someone gives you an unused return portion of a ticket ? I have given away unused (paper) legs on my village Facebook group in the past.

To clarify, the OP still hasn't given us details of the "ticket" such as the origin/destination and direction - nor details of what the edit was versus the actual ticket.

 

[gembercannelle]

Yes, if the outbound portion has been used:

Well, there is no way to check this.
As far as I am aware there is no requirement to buy your own tickets, e.g. when my friends or colleagues based outside of UK come to visit us I usually buy tickets for them because it is a nightmare to navigate UK railway system for non-trivial journeys, never mind strategic splits and advances. It goes without saying that when my OH and I travel together on with a two together railcard, only one of us pays. Similarly, when I travel for work, my employer buys tickets for me and pays directly; and on some occasions my other half and I buy tickets for each other.

 

[Haywain]

As far as I am aware there is no requirement to buy your own tickets,

That's why it is specified that a ticket cannot be transferred once it has been used, before that there is no problem.

 

[gembercannelle]

That's why it is specified that a ticket cannot be transferred once it has been used, before that there is no problem.

I got paper day return ticket from the machine, then decided to stay overnight with some friends and gave my return part to someone else. How on Earth the train company is supposed to know it was me and not them travelling down earlier?

 

[AlterEgo]

I got paper day return ticket from the machine, then decided to stay overnight with some friends and gave my return part to someone else. How on Earth the train company is supposed to know it was me and not them travelling down earlier?

One way of keeping this sort of misuse secret is not to talk about it online with a unique user name and your location.

 

[johnny_t]

I got paper day return ticket from the machine, then decided to stay overnight with some friends and gave my return part to someone else. How on Earth the train company is supposed to know it was me and not them travelling down earlier?

In practice,they never will. Also, worth mentioning that if this was all the OP had done, they would never have been pulled up on it either.

 

[zero]

If the story is all true, it sounds like either an evil man is trying to get strangers prosecuted by tricking them into reusing tickets, or a stupid man was trying to impress someone by demonstrating how he travels for "free" on reused / forged tickets but it has backfired and the OP gets to suffer the consequences.

 

[DDB]

If it was part of a flirtatious exchange you would assume there would also be an exchange of numbers or social media handles or something to allow further exchange so the OP should be able to identify this person to the authorities.

 

[Sun Chariot]

As the OP hasn't looked at this thread since 14-April - and has yet to provide any of the sequence (i.e. what + where) from the point when she talked with this man, to the point she tried to use that person's falsified ticket at Waterloo's gateline - can I suggest we just await the OPs return here.

 

[Eyersey468]

If the story is all true, it sounds like either an evil man is trying to get strangers prosecuted by tricking them into reusing tickets, or a stupid man was trying to impress someone by demonstrating how he travels for "free" on reused / forged tickets but it has backfired and the OP gets to suffer the consequences.

I can quite believe a stupid man was trying to impress someone and it has backfired