Hey I just need some advice becuase I am so worried. Recently I traveled from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverly using the 16-17 saver railcard. However, I do not have that railcard but I have an Oyster card for under 18 use. So I thought it was the same thing as I am not really sure how the rail system works and thought the Oyster card and the railcard were the same thing. Therefore, I used the railcard. Then during the journey I got a ticket irregularity report from one of the employees and I was so confused on why I received the report until she explained to me that the Oyster card and rail cards are not the same. It was an honest mistake, I genuinely thought they were the same thing and this is my first time even using the railcard option. That is why I am so scared I might have to go to court. She said they will most likely try to sort it out of court. But I am so worried it might end up being a court hearing. Please do you guys have some advice on what possibly could happen? I am willing to pay the fine or the penalty fare. She said it will take within 4 weeks for me to receive a letter in the mail but I still haven’t received one. I am worried and scared.
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Ticket irregularity for LNER
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Hello, welcome to the Forum. You will get expert advice on here. If you follow that there's every chance of avoiding a court hearing, although it's likely that a financial settlement will be fairly costly as it involves a London to Edinburgh journey. Others more qualified will be on here shortly to offer more detailed advice
Fawkes Cat
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Try not to worry too much. The first thing that you need to know is that however badly things turn out, you won't go to prison. The quick way of explaining this is that even if this goes to court, the magistrates or judges have to follow rules about what punishment they impose - and those rules won't let them send you to prison
The second thing to know is that as long as you keep in touch with the railway (once they've written to you) and make it clear that you won't make the same mistake again, the railway will probably let you 'settle out of court' - which will mean you have to pay the train fare that you should have paid, plus the cost of the railway's investigation. As @fandroid has said, this won't be cheap, but it's much better than what might be worrying you.
As you were told on the train, it may take about four weeks for the letter to come through. But one piece of bad news is that it could take six months for the letter to get to you. So while it will probably be less, you may have a long wiat before you can be certain that the railway won't write to you.
The second thing to know is that as long as you keep in touch with the railway (once they've written to you) and make it clear that you won't make the same mistake again, the railway will probably let you 'settle out of court' - which will mean you have to pay the train fare that you should have paid, plus the cost of the railway's investigation. As @fandroid has said, this won't be cheap, but it's much better than what might be worrying you.
As you were told on the train, it may take about four weeks for the letter to come through. But one piece of bad news is that it could take six months for the letter to get to you. So while it will probably be less, you may have a long wiat before you can be certain that the railway won't write to you.
WesternLancer
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As you probably now realise, Oyster cards are generally only available for use in the London area.
How old are you?
You may want to now seriously think about buying a 16-17 railcard (or another railcard for young people) if you are entitled to one. That will allow you to say to the railway company when you need to reply to them that you have taken steps to make sure you now understand how to get the correct discounted fare. This will help show them that you did indeed make a mistake and you want to do the right thing in future, instead of juts be lumped in with lots of other people who are deliberate fare evaders.
Use this website to check which Railcard might be best for you and how to buy one.
Official Railcard | Save 1/3 on GB Train Tickets | Railcards
We are the official retailer of Railcards by National Rail. With a Railcard you can save up to 1/3 off rail travel. There's a Railcard for everyone.
www.railcard.co.uk
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