Transpennine 97 counts of fare evasion

[Layla99]

Evidence of fare evasion multiple times, will i go to jail?

I (22M) recently got an email stating that there is evidence of me buying a child ticket whilst being over the age of 18 on 97 separate occasions between the space of about 2 months. Now I know this was stupid of me, it was because i was travelling from leeds to manchester and back every day, and I was just naive and assumed i wouldn’t get caught.

Well, obviously i did. How likely is it they’ll just let me pay the fare, not take me to court and move on with it? I’m really concerned i’m gonna get a criminal record or jail time, i’m not as much concerned about the fine.

My only mitigating circumstances is i was going through a major depressive/ psychosis episode and do have a GP report backing this up with proof i was prescribed bipolar meds.

I would really appreciate any legal advice and where to go from here, should I mention the depressive episode? and how likely is it they’ll just let me pay instead of taking me to court?

thanks in advance

 

[realemil]

I (22M) recently got an email stating that there is evidence of me buying a child ticket whilst being over the age of 18 on 97 separate occasions between the space of about 2 months

This is a serious accusation, and I would be careful what you say on here (public forum), as it’s possible they will read this thread.

I’m sure others will reply with a lot better advice, but most importantly, did you reply to this email accusing you of fare evading, or did you ignore it?

 

[MarlowDonkey]

I (22M) recently got an email stating that there is evidence of me buying a child ticket whilst being over the age of 18 on 97 separate occasions between the space of about 2 months.

They also have to prove that you used the tickets at least once. They could have done this by a ticket inspection. In the absence of that, it is legal to buy child tickets when over 18. It's only illegal to use them in person rather than buying them from someone under 18. Hence the advice that the forum suggests which is not to reply to speculative emails.

It's also possible that you've been targetted. In that case they may well have identified CCTV evidence to prove usage.

 

[Kite159]

They also have to prove that you used the tickets at least once. They could have done this by a ticket inspection. In the absence of that, it is legal to buy child tickets when over 18. It's only illegal to use them in person rather than buying them from someone under 18. Hence the advice that the forum suggests which is not to reply to speculative emails.

It's also possible that you've been targetted. In that case they may well have identified CCTV evidence to prove usage.

Sounds like with this statement from the OP "assumed i wouldn’t get caught. Well, obviously i did" they got caught out by revenue (or another member of staff).

But that's for the OP if they did get caught by a member of staff, or if it's an email out of the blue

 

[WesternLancer]

Evidence of fare evasion multiple times, will i go to jail?

I (22M) recently got an email stating that there is evidence of me buying a child ticket whilst being over the age of 18 on 97 separate occasions between the space of about 2 months. Now I know this was stupid of me, it was because i was travelling from leeds to manchester and back every day, and I was just naive and assumed i wouldn’t get caught.

Well, obviously i did. How likely is it they’ll just let me pay the fare, not take me to court and move on with it? I’m really concerned i’m gonna get a criminal record or jail time, i’m not as much concerned about the fine.

My only mitigating circumstances is i was going through a major depressive/ psychosis episode and do have a GP report backing this up with proof i was prescribed bipolar meds.

I would really appreciate any legal advice and where to go from here, should I mention the depressive episode? and how likely is it they’ll just let me pay instead of taking me to court?

thanks in advance

Have you been stopped and questioned about travel with a child ticket in the last six months or caught doing that ‘red handed’?

This is critical to know in terms of giving you the best advice on next steps.

It would also be helpful to see copies of whatever you have received from TPE with your personal details / ref numbers removed before you upload anything.

You will not go to prison for this but different sorts of court action are possibilities, although advice from here would help you maximise the chances of securing an out of court settlement which avoids court prosecution.

Such a settlement is not a fine (though it might feel like one) - but they would be seeking payment for the fares that they believe you have evaded - ie what you should have paid them to start with - but without reductions like off peak prices etc.

-------------

If you have been stopped and caught for this, which as @Kite159 says, sounds likely - then the general advice usually given on here is a good start for you to know what to expect now - you are presumably some way through this process already. Here is that advice:



Firstly, you committed a criminal offence by travelling with an invalid ticket and railway companies are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. The good news is they will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them and who haven't come to their attention before.

Next, what happens is the railway company will write to you. The letter will go to the address that you gave them / on any of your ID they checked so you need to be able to access hard copy post at that address as they often send things that way (but also check e-mail and spam). It is extremely important that you reply, and you'll only have a limited time to do so (often 14 days from the date on their communication).

When you receive the letter post a redacted copy of it in this thread, along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you. You'll find lots of example letters you can use in this section of the forum but the reply basically needs to mention:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident and will not do this again
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the railway company’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter

The railway will probably offer you an out of court settlement. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fare for the journey you made at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid ticket you purchased. In addition they will charge an admin fee, typically £150. They will also audit your online ticket purchase history and if this shows you've purchased other tickets that were not valid* (eg railcard discounted tickets when you did not have a valid railcard, or tickets for only part of the journey, or tickets bought after boarding the train you travelled on, or child tickets when you are aged over 16 years old**) they will probably factor the cost of these journeys into the settlement offer. Depending on how many journeys you've made over the period concerned this could end up being expensive.

Settlements usually have to be paid in full within a few days of them being offered so if money is tight you might want to think about how you will raise the sum required at short notice.

* which is presumably what they have done before accusing you of using child tickets on 90+ occasions
** Adult tickets are in fact required on the railway after turning 16 years old, not 18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regarding your mental health - sorry to read you have been having such difficulties. I'm not sure if mentioning it might help your case or not.

I suspect for it to make a real difference it would need to have something that specifically stated why the condition made you more likely to be prone to the sort of 'error of judgment' that resulted in you evading fares repeatedly for it to carry any significant additional weight.

 

[AndroidBango]

In their Reddit post the OP mentions having been caught twice , but leaving without giving their details - and thinks this is now the result of an investigation.

 

[WesternLancer]

In their Reddit post the OP mentions having been caught twice , but leaving without giving their details - and thinks this is now the result of an investigation.

Perhaps they can give us more details about what has happened in terms of interactions with railway staff to date,
plus copies of any written letters or e mails they have received to date and any replies they may have sent. All with personal details removed.

 

[Snow1964]

The Op also needs to realise that the medical part is not an acceptable excuse. The GP might have given medication, which may (or might only partly) have eased any condition.

But whatever the medical condition, there is no way they would have suggested a 22 year old should only buy tickets for those 15 and under.

 

[AlterEgo]

The Op also needs to realise that the medical part is not an acceptable excuse. The GP might have given medication, which may (or might only partly) have eased any condition.

But whatever the medical condition, there is no way they would have suggested a 22 year old should only buy tickets for those 15 and under.

It is perfectly acceptable mitigation and would be accepted as such by a court if it ever got there. Bipolar and psychosis episodes will make a person more prone to risky or impulsive behaviour. If this was a TfL case then properly evidenced bipolar/psychosis would make compelling grounds to cease legal action, for example. Psychosis is a serious mental health symptom which can sometimes amount to a disability in and of itself.

The OP never mentions it being an "excuse" or that their GP told them to commit the offences.

 

[Layla99]

This is a serious accusation, and I would be careful what you say on here (public forum), as it’s possible they will read this thread.

I’m sure others will reply with a lot better advice, but most importantly, did you reply to this email accusing you of fare evading, or did you ignore it?

so far i have ignored it

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Mar 2026 ==

They also have to prove that you used the tickets at least once. They could have done this by a ticket inspection. In the absence of that, it is legal to buy child tickets when over 18. It's only illegal to use them in person rather than buying them from someone under 18. Hence the advice that the forum suggests which is not to reply to speculative emails.

It's also possible that you've been targetted. In that case they may well have identified CCTV evidence to prove usage.

ive been caught a few times, so pretty sure they have evidence

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Mar 2026 ==

The Op also needs to realise that the medical part is not an acceptable excuse. The GP might have given medication, which may (or might only partly) have eased any condition.

But whatever the medical condition, there is no way they would have suggested a 22 year old should only buy tickets for those 15 and under.

i mean i never said they suggested to, i know it's not an excuse, just something that might help me out in a dire situation

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Mar 2026 ==

Perhaps they can give us more details about what has happened in terms of interactions with railway staff to date,
plus copies of any written letters or e mails they have received to date and any replies they may have sent. All with personal details removed.

one interaction i was given a fine which im not sure i paid, this was for being caught with a child ticket, another interaction i also got caught with a child ticket and just left the station without giving my details

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Mar 2026 ==

Have you been stopped and questioned about travel with a child ticket in the last six months or caught doing that ‘red handed’?

This is critical to know in terms of giving you the best advice on next steps.

It would also be helpful to see copies of whatever you have received from TPE with your personal details / ref numbers removed before you upload anything.

You will not go to prison for this but different sorts of court action are possibilities, although advice from here would help you maximise the chances of securing an out of court settlement which avoids court prosecution.

Such a settlement is not a fine (though it might feel like one) - but they would be seeking payment for the fares that they believe you have evaded - ie what you should have paid them to start with - but without reductions like off peak prices etc.

-------------

If you have been stopped and caught for this, which as @Kite159 says, sounds likely - then the general advice usually given on here is a good start for you to know what to expect now - you are presumably some way through this process already. Here is that advice:



Firstly, you committed a criminal offence by travelling with an invalid ticket and railway companies are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. The good news is they will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them and who haven't come to their attention before.

Next, what happens is the railway company will write to you. The letter will go to the address that you gave them / on any of your ID they checked so you need to be able to access hard copy post at that address as they often send things that way (but also check e-mail and spam). It is extremely important that you reply, and you'll only have a limited time to do so (often 14 days from the date on their communication).

When you receive the letter post a redacted copy of it in this thread, along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you. You'll find lots of example letters you can use in this section of the forum but the reply basically needs to mention:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident and will not do this again
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the railway company’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter

The railway will probably offer you an out of court settlement. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fare for the journey you made at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid ticket you purchased. In addition they will charge an admin fee, typically £150. They will also audit your online ticket purchase history and if this shows you've purchased other tickets that were not valid* (eg railcard discounted tickets when you did not have a valid railcard, or tickets for only part of the journey, or tickets bought after boarding the train you travelled on, or child tickets when you are aged over 16 years old**) they will probably factor the cost of these journeys into the settlement offer. Depending on how many journeys you've made over the period concerned this could end up being expensive.

Settlements usually have to be paid in full within a few days of them being offered so if money is tight you might want to think about how you will raise the sum required at short notice.

* which is presumably what they have done before accusing you of using child tickets on 90+ occasions
** Adult tickets are in fact required on the railway after turning 16 years old, not 18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regarding your mental health - sorry to read you have been having such difficulties. I'm not sure if mentioning it might help your case or not.

I suspect for it to make a real difference it would need to have something that specifically stated why the condition made you more likely to be prone to the sort of 'error of judgment' that resulted in you evading fares repeatedly for it to carry any significant additional weight.

thanks this is very helpful

 

[WesternLancer]

one interaction i was given a fine which im not sure i paid, this was for being caught with a child ticket, another interaction i also got caught with a child ticket and just left the station without giving my details

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Mar 2026 ==

Thanks - we really need to know roughly when these instances happened

particularly which if any of these occasions were in the last 6 months

This is because there is a 6 month limit on when they can bring the sorts of criminal prosecutions the railways typically bring against people.

But they can also bring civil court action to pursue debts they think you might owe them for 6 years - but that does not result in a criminal record -and it is the criminal record you have told us you wish to avoid having. So we need to give you some idea of how likely they might be to bring a criminal record

Can you possibly give us some idea of the dates, even a rough idea when you were caught?

If you were given a fine what do you mean? Do you mean a fine from a court? or (as I suspect) do you mean a Penalty fare (£100 but reduced to £50 if paid promptly), which technically isn't a fine but of course will feel like one - can you check your bank records to see if you paid it or not? - if you did not pay it then that can escalate too - we se occasions when these escalate to hundreds of pounds because people have ignored them - and eventually bailiffs will find you wanting that money.

The issue will be that potentially on line tickets will have been bought with a bank card that is linked back to a postal address so they have the ability - if they decide to do so - to find you

I know your mental health might make this more difficult to do but if at all possible you should try to go back through your records of ticket buying and bank statements to see what you may or many not have paid.

As I see it there are 2 options for you

- respond to their e-mail and apologise and seek to pay them what you owe / what they think you owe
or

- ignore their e-mail / letters and see what happens (which could vary)

What we can do is try to explain to you how best to do either of those things in a way that minimises consequences for you and / or what the pros and cons of doing either of them might be.
By consequences I mean things like court action / criminal record / civil court action / sums you may have to pay etc

Hope this might help you weigh things up.

 

[Sun Chariot]

A few clarification-questions for you, @Layla99
I ask because 97 separate occasions seems very high for a period of two months' travel, even if daily. Their email might be overstatihg the reality.
However, sustained and pre-meditated fare-avoidance might be more challenging to explain as temporary or impulsive.

Post 1
I recently got an email stating that there is evidence of me buying a child ticket whilst being over the age of 18 on 97 separate occasions between the space of about 2 months. Now I know this was stupid of me, it was because i was travelling from leeds to manchester and back every day.
- Were your trips purchased as singles, or returns?
- You state "every day". Was it 7 days each week? If not, how many days per week? When was this two-month period?
- Did you travel on Child Ticket(s) for any journeys other than your two months' travelling between Leeds and Manchester? If yes, then where, when and how often?

Post 10
ive been caught a few times, so pretty sure they have evidence
- Were these cases wholly and solely within your two months' travelling between Leeds and Manchester? If no, where and when else were you caught?
- Do you know how many times in total you were caught? If yes, how many of those have you already paid the Penalty Fare?

 

[VT118]

Hi OP.

I went through similar. In fact, I had a significant number of accusations more than you!

I was able to get an out of court settlement, but it didn't come cheap. I ended up having to use Gray Hooper Holt solicitors to help get me through. They wrote to the train company on my behalf. They explained that I had a history of mental illness / anxiety etc... and that it was out of character. I reached a prompt settlement but the entire endeavor ended up costing me approximately £1500+

There is a possibility that I may have reached a settlement without the solicitors involvement. You need to be as open and honest as possible. Explain and apologise for your mistake. No sob stories. Explain clearly how you are eager to reimburse them and give examples of why you will never do it again and how you will prove yourself to be a valuable customer.

Hold your hands up, admit your wrong doing, show them you are sorry and eager to make amends. If you don't get any joy from their first response and it they give the impression they want to pro, be prepared to 'lawyer up'

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi OP.

I went through similar. In fact, I had a significant number of accusations more than you!

I was able to get an out of court settlement, but it didn't come cheap. I ended up having to use Gray Hooper Holt solicitors to help get me through. They wrote to the train company on my behalf. They explained that I had a history of mental illness / anxiety etc... and that it was out of character. I reached a prompt settlement but the entire endeavor ended up costing me approximately £1500+

There is a possibility that I may have reached a settlement without the solicitors involvement. You need to be as open and honest as possible. Explain and apologise for your mistake. No sob stories. Explain clearly how you are eager to reimburse them and give examples of why you will never do it again and how you will prove yourself to be a valuable customer.

Hold your hands up, admit your wrong doing, show them you are sorry and eager to make amends. If you don't get any joy from their first response and it they give the impression they want to pro, be prepared to 'lawyer up'

This is good advice and could well be possible to follow without a solicitor potentially.
We have seen TPE take a reasonable approach in other cases.

 

[Layla99]

Thanks - we really need to know roughly when these instances happened

particularly which if any of these occasions were in the last 6 months

This is because there is a 6 month limit on when they can bring the sorts of criminal prosecutions the railways typically bring against people.

But they can also bring civil court action to pursue debts they think you might owe them for 6 years - but that does not result in a criminal record -and it is the criminal record you have told us you wish to avoid having. So we need to give you some idea of how likely they might be to bring a criminal record

Can you possibly give us some idea of the dates, even a rough idea when you were caught?

If you were given a fine what do you mean? Do you mean a fine from a court? or (as I suspect) do you mean a Penalty fare (£100 but reduced to £50 if paid promptly), which technically isn't a fine but of course will feel like one - can you check your bank records to see if you paid it or not? - if you did not pay it then that can escalate too - we se occasions when these escalate to hundreds of pounds because people have ignored them - and eventually bailiffs will find you wanting that money.

The issue will be that potentially on line tickets will have been bought with a bank card that is linked back to a postal address so they have the ability - if they decide to do so - to find you

I know your mental health might make this more difficult to do but if at all possible you should try to go back through your records of ticket buying and bank statements to see what you may or many not have paid.

As I see it there are 2 options for you

- respond to their e-mail and apologise and seek to pay them what you owe / what they think you owe
or

- ignore their e-mail / letters and see what happens (which could vary)

What we can do is try to explain to you how best to do either of those things in a way that minimises consequences for you and / or what the pros and cons of doing either of them might be.
By consequences I mean things like court action / criminal record / civil court action / sums you may have to pay etc

Hope this might help you weigh things up.

thank you, the dates i got caught where most likely both mid june 2025. I believe i paid one of the fines. i also do not think they have my address as my account is linked to an old address. is it not risky to ignore the email? i want to do whatever it takes to avoid going to court, even if that means paying a lot

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Mar 2026 ==

Hi OP.

I went through similar. In fact, I had a significant number of accusations more than you!

I was able to get an out of court settlement, but it didn't come cheap. I ended up having to use Gray Hooper Holt solicitors to help get me through. They wrote to the train company on my behalf. They explained that I had a history of mental illness / anxiety etc... and that it was out of character. I reached a prompt settlement but the entire endeavor ended up costing me approximately £1500+

There is a possibility that I may have reached a settlement without the solicitors involvement. You need to be as open and honest as possible. Explain and apologise for your mistake. No sob stories. Explain clearly how you are eager to reimburse them and give examples of why you will never do it again and how you will prove yourself to be a valuable customer.

Hold your hands up, admit your wrong doing, show them you are sorry and eager to make amends. If you don't get any joy from their first response and it they give the impression they want to pro, be prepared to 'lawyer up'

thanks this makes me feel better. i was considering getting a lawyer to write to them, do you think i could do this myself? i just don’t want to risk saying the wrong thing and having it go to court. but the lawyers want to charge around £3k which is a lot. is the letter something you think i could get away with writing? i just feel like there’s a lot at stake and i don’t wanna mess up. thanks again

 

[Bayum]

The Op also needs to realise that the medical part is not an acceptable excuse. The GP might have given medication, which may (or might only partly) have eased any condition.

But whatever the medical condition, there is no way they would have suggested a 22 year old should only buy tickets for those 15 and under.

Unfortunately, this is a lack of understanding. If the diagnosis of bi-polar is true, mania can affect people in very distinct ways. Reasoning and justification can, for some, fall well away, “I’m going to take this now but I can pay for it when I’m back in next week”, “ I have a ticket showing I’ve paid so I’m fine with this one”. Financial instability is unfortunately quite common when people are in a manic state. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16302377/ is a one off retrospective look at mental health and stealing in a population of Chinese individuals.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924933813774157 discusses bipolar and mania more tightly than the above.

 

[MrJeeves]

i just don’t want to risk saying the wrong thing and having it go to court. but the lawyers want to charge around £3k which is a lot. is the letter something you think i could get away with writing? i just feel like there’s a lot at stake and i don’t wanna mess up. thanks again

I would certainly start attempting to resolve the situation yourself. Many people in your situation do this and achieve an out-of-court settlement.

Only if they do not accept your attempt to resolve the situation would I engage a solicitor.

We always recommend you create a first draft based on the advice provided by people on here, and then post it as a reply so that we can provide feedback before you send it to the train company.

 

[z444z]

thanks this makes me feel better. i was considering getting a lawyer to write to them, do you think i could do this myself? i just don’t want to risk saying the wrong thing and having it go to court. but the lawyers want to charge around £3k which is a lot. is the letter something you think i could get away with writing? i just feel like there’s a lot at stake and i don’t wanna mess up. thanks again

£3k is a huge amount. Look for lawyers specialising in fare evasion - the one most frequently mentioned (always with glowing reviews) on the forum is Manak, but there are others and maybe someone can send the full list. I’d expect the cost to negotiate a settlement, or at least attempt to, to be around £800.

However I am also of the opinion that there’s a good chance you can resolve this yourself with our help, and can always get a lawyer involved later if necessary.

 

[WesternLancer]

thank you, the dates i got caught where most likely both mid june 2025. I believe i paid one of the fines. i also do not think they have my address as my account is linked to an old address. is it not risky to ignore the email? i want to do whatever it takes to avoid going to court, even if that means paying a lot

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Mar 2026 ==


thanks this makes me feel better. i was considering getting a lawyer to write to them, do you think i could do this myself? i just don’t want to risk saying the wrong thing and having it go to court. but the lawyers want to charge around £3k which is a lot. is the letter something you think i could get away with writing? i just feel like there’s a lot at stake and i don’t wanna mess up. thanks again

That solicitors quote seems over the odds to me compared with reports from people on here who have used solicitors and reported exactly what they paid for help. Was it one that specialised in fare evasion?

Fundamentally you need to decide if you want to engage with them and reply to seek an out of court settlement. If you do then have a go at drafting a reply to the email you have received and we can help you get the wording as good as it can be before you send it if you want to try and handle this yourself.

 

[AlterEgo]

There is no need to get a solicitor. This company settles out of court every time and you're basically setting fire to even more money by getting one.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Wise advice in these recent posts. The more clear facts you can provide, @Layla99 , the better chance of forum members being able to assist and advise you, before - if any - solicitor involvement.

Can you start by giving us steer on all the points I asked you yesterday (linked):

Transpennine 97 counts of fare evasion

Evidence of fare evasion multiple times, will i go to jail? I (22M) recently got an email stating that there is evidence of me buying a child ticket whilst being over the age of 18 on 97 separate occasions between the space of about 2 months. Now I know this was stupid of me, it was because i...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Layla99]

A few clarification-questions for you, @Layla99
I ask because 97 separate occasions seems very high for a period of two months' travel, even if daily. Their email might be overstatihg the reality.
However, sustained and pre-meditated fare-avoidance might be more challenging to explain as temporary or impulsive.

Post 1
I recently got an email stating that there is evidence of me buying a child ticket whilst being over the age of 18 on 97 separate occasions between the space of about 2 months. Now I know this was stupid of me, it was because i was travelling from leeds to manchester and back every day.
- Were your trips purchased as singles, or returns?
- You state "every day". Was it 7 days each week? If not, how many days per week? When was this two-month period?
- Did you travel on Child Ticket(s) for any journeys other than your two months' travelling between Leeds and Manchester? If yes, then where, when and how often?

Post 10
ive been caught a few times, so pretty sure they have evidence
- Were these cases wholly and solely within your two months' travelling between Leeds and Manchester? If no, where and when else were you caught?
- Do you know how many times in total you were caught? If yes, how many of those have you already paid the Penalty Fare?

The tickets were purchased as singles, Monday - Friday. The journey would have been single child ticket to manchester victoria from leeds (sometimes i’d get it to huddersfield than huddersfield to victoria etc) and then single child ticket to salford central. same on the way back but back to leeds. The two month period was from around late may to early july. I may have travelled on a child ticket outside of this time, probably on a lner to london, not often though. The cases i was caught was solely between leeds and manchester. I was caught twice, i don’t think I paid the fare, i’m not going to lie i think the first time i didn’t pay it because i gave them a fake address, which obviously does not help my case at all. Thanks in advance for any advice i appreciate it

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Mar 2026 ==

Thanks - we really need to know roughly when these instances happened

particularly which if any of these occasions were in the last 6 months

This is because there is a 6 month limit on when they can bring the sorts of criminal prosecutions the railways typically bring against people.

But they can also bring civil court action to pursue debts they think you might owe them for 6 years - but that does not result in a criminal record -and it is the criminal record you have told us you wish to avoid having. So we need to give you some idea of how likely they might be to bring a criminal record

Can you possibly give us some idea of the dates, even a rough idea when you were caught?

If you were given a fine what do you mean? Do you mean a fine from a court? or (as I suspect) do you mean a Penalty fare (£100 but reduced to £50 if paid promptly), which technically isn't a fine but of course will feel like one - can you check your bank records to see if you paid it or not? - if you did not pay it then that can escalate too - we se occasions when these escalate to hundreds of pounds because people have ignored them - and eventually bailiffs will find you wanting that money.

The issue will be that potentially on line tickets will have been bought with a bank card that is linked back to a postal address so they have the ability - if they decide to do so - to find you

I know your mental health might make this more difficult to do but if at all possible you should try to go back through your records of ticket buying and bank statements to see what you may or many not have paid.

As I see it there are 2 options for you

- respond to their e-mail and apologise and seek to pay them what you owe / what they think you owe
or

- ignore their e-mail / letters and see what happens (which could vary)

What we can do is try to explain to you how best to do either of those things in a way that minimises consequences for you and / or what the pros and cons of doing either of them might be.
By consequences I mean things like court action / criminal record / civil court action / sums you may have to pay etc

Hope this might help you weigh things up.

the dates were between 01/01/2025 and 04/07/2025. This was nearly a year ago, so can they still prosecute?

 

[Sun Chariot]

The two month period was from around late may to early july.

the dates were between 01/01/2025 and 04/07/2025.

So - firstly - the six month time limit has expired for the Train Operating Company (TOC) to pursue a Criminal prosecution, for your fares-avoidance.
As Western Lancer explained back earlier in this thread, the TOC has up to 6 years to bring Civil Court action against you, to pursue debts they think you owe them. Their email to you, makes me sure this is what they're pursuing.


I'm still unclear of your quoted dates, highlighted in bold -
- Your reply to me, was that you travelled using a Child Single ticket (between Leeds and Manchester) for a 2-month period and caught twice.
- But - your same post quoted a 6-month period where you'd been stopped and caught for using a Child ticket. Your post 10 (with the same conversation point) quoted you had been caught twice).
Which is correct - travelling with Child tickets for 2 months? Or for 6 months?

Your reply also states that you "may" have travelled a few times between Leeds and London, using a Child ticket. If I have understood your reply, those London trips occurred during a longer time-window than your Leeds-Manchester Child Ticket trips; and you were not caught on any of those.

 

[Layla99]

So - firstly - the six month time limit has expired for the Train Operating Company (TOC) to pursue a Criminal prosecution, for your fares-avoidance.
As Western Lancer explained back earlier in this thread, the TOC has up to 6 years to bring Civil Court action against you, to pursue debts they think you owe them. Their email to you, makes me sure this is what they're pursuing.


I'm still unclear of your quoted dates, highlighted in bold -
- Your reply to me, was that you travelled using a Child Single ticket (between Leeds and Manchester) for a 2-month period and caught twice.
- But - your same post quoted a 6-month period where you'd been stopped and caught for using a Child ticket. Your post 10 (with the same conversation point) quoted you had been caught twice).
Which is correct - travelling with Child tickets for 2 months? Or for 6 months?

Your reply also states that you "may" have travelled a few times between Leeds and London, using a Child ticket. If I have understood your reply, those London trips occurred during a longer time-window than your Leeds-Manchester Child Ticket trips; and you were not caught on any of those.

my bad, It is a 6 month window from the dates i stated, however those were mainly intermittent journeys. the bulk of the offences was within 2 months where i made the same journey daily. it was within those 2 months that i was caught. Perhaps im being overly cautious, but do you think there’s any chance they could prosecute under the fraud act 2006 which would make the 6 month period redundant? the number of offences is what makes me worry they could.

 

[WesternLancer]

my bad, It is a 6 month window from the dates i stated, however those were mainly intermittent journeys. the bulk of the offences was within 2 months where i made the same journey daily. it was within those 2 months that i was caught. Perhaps im being overly cautious, but do you think there’s any chance they could prosecute under the fraud act 2006 which would make the 6 month period redundant? the number of offences is what makes me worry they could.

I think you need to post the e mails or letters you have had here in full for us to see. Just remove your name from them.

We need to see exactly what they are saying to you. Unfortunately you have repeatedly failed to be clear here on what you did with child tickets and are only now setting that out more clearly.

I assume the clock is ticking on whatever deadline they gave you.

The sooner you give us the information the sooner you will get advice to help you decide what to do!

 

[Layla99]

I think you need to post the e mails or letters you have had here in full for us to see. Just remove your name from them.

We need to see exactly what they are saying to you. Unfortunately you have repeatedly failed to be clear here on what you did with child tickets and are only now setting that out more clearly.

I assume the clock is ticking on whatever deadline they gave you.

The sooner you give us the information the sooner you will get advice to help you decide what to do!

Here’s the email they sent me, it’s the only one they’ve sent. I’m not sure what incident they’re actually referring to when they quote the date 2nd march, it’s worded weirdly because i was not on a train that day nor did i buy a ticket.

 

[Sun Chariot]

do you think there’s any chance they could prosecute under the fraud act 2006 which would make the 6 month period redundant? the number of offences is what makes me worry they could.

My understanding is the below Acts are enforceable for what you've told us so far:

The "Act" for older debts is usually the Limitation Act 1980. In the eyes of the law, a train ticket is a contract. If you travel without paying, you have breached that contract.
This Act allows a creditor (the TOC) up to six years to start legal proceedings to recover a "simple contract debt." They can apply to the County Court (Small Claims Court) for a Money Claim.

You were issued at least one Penalty Fare Notice (PFN). Check back on your bank account or your payment cards - you need to know if you paid that Penalty Fare Notice:
Post 10: one interaction i was given a fine [Penalty Fare Notice] which im not sure i paid, this was for being caught with a child ticket, another interaction i also got caught with a child ticket and just left the station without giving my details
The debt is treated as a civil debt, then The Railways (Penalty Fares) Regulations 2018 - Regulation 12 (and subsequent amendments) - clarifies that an unpaid penalty fare is recoverable as a civil debt. Because it is a civil matter, the TOC can pass the debt to private debt collection agencies or pursue a County Court Judgment (CCJ) long after the six-month criminal prosecution window has expired.

I reiterate Western Lancer's most recent point: if we are to have any chance of guiding you on your options, we need you to tell us a clear, complete and honest set of facts.

Here’s the email they sent me, it’s the only one they’ve sent. I’m not sure what incident they’re actually referring to when they quote the date 2nd march, it’s worded weirdly because i was not on a train that day nor did i buy a ticket.

That's the date the incident was internally communicated to the team who sent you that email. The date of your being stopped by Revenue Protection, was likely a few days prior.

 

[Layla99]

My understanding is the below Acts are enforceable for what you've told us so far:

The "Act" for older debts is usually the Limitation Act 1980. In the eyes of the law, a train ticket is a contract. If you travel without paying, you have breached that contract.
This Act allows a creditor (the TOC) up to six years to start legal proceedings to recover a "simple contract debt." They can apply to the County Court (Small Claims Court) for a Money Claim.

You were issued at least one Penalty Fare Notice (PFN). Check back on your bank account or your payment cards - you need to know if you paid that Penalty Fare Notice:
Post 10: one interaction i was given a fine [Penalty Fare Notice] which im not sure i paid, this was for being caught with a child ticket, another interaction i also got caught with a child ticket and just left the station without giving my details
The debt is treated as a civil debt, then The Railways (Penalty Fares) Regulations 2018 - Regulation 12 (and subsequent amendments) - clarifies that an unpaid penalty fare is recoverable as a civil debt. Because it is a civil matter, the TOC can pass the debt to private debt collection agencies or pursue a County Court Judgment (CCJ) long after the six-month criminal prosecution window has expired.

I reiterate Western Lancer's most recent point: if we are to have any chance of guiding you on your options, we need you to tell us a clear, complete and honest set of facts.


That's the date the incident was internally communicated to the team who sent you that email. The date of your being stopped by Revenue Protection, was likely a few days prior.

Apologies for making my story so confusing, i’ve written down exactly what happened from what I remember:

I likely used a child ticket a few times with Transpennine Express from the dates 01/01/2025-31/05/2025. If i had to estimate, i’d say maybe around 10 times, although these times are not listed on the list they gave me in the email detailing the journeys i took. From the dates 01/06/2025-05/07/2025, I was buying a single child ticket from Leeds to Salford Central and then Salford Central back to Leeds everyday Monday - Friday. Sometimes I would buy this direct, other times I would try and skip some of the journey, for example buying a ticket from Leeds to Huddersfield, and then Manchester Victoria to Salford Central, as I did not need to get through the barriers at Victoria. I was stopped on the 24/06/2025 as they questioned me having a child ticket, I believe I gave them a fake address and therefore did not pay and never got the penalty fare notice. I was stopped again on 03/07/2025. He said i couldn’t be under 16 as I had piercings, took me off the train at Huddersfield and questioned me, i believe his body cam was on. I think I gave him a fake name or address? I honestly can’t remember whether I gave him my details, he said ‘you can’t get away with just getting a child ticket’ and i was like ‘i usually do’ (stupid I know and that’s definitely come back to bite me). I then said ‘what are you going to do if i just leave’ and he said ‘nothing but i can call the police’ so i just left. Those are both incidences that I was caught and what I can remember to the best of my ability. 97 sounds like quite a lot, and the list they gave me only accounts for 33 journeys that I made.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Mar 2026 ==

I think you need to post the e mails or letters you have had here in full for us to see. Just remove your name from them.

We need to see exactly what they are saying to you. Unfortunately you have repeatedly failed to be clear here on what you did with child tickets and are only now setting that out more clearly.

I assume the clock is ticking on whatever deadline they gave you.

The sooner you give us the information the sooner you will get advice to help you decide what to do!

Apologies for making my story so confusing, i’ve written down exactly what happened from what I remember:

I likely used a child ticket a few times with Transpennine Express from the dates 01/01/2025-31/05/2025. If i had to estimate, i’d say maybe around 10 times, although these times are not listed on the list they gave me in the email detailing the journeys i took. From the dates 01/06/2025-05/07/2025, I was buying a single child ticket from Leeds to Salford Central and then Salford Central back to Leeds everyday Monday - Friday. Sometimes I would buy this direct, other times I would try and skip some of the journey, for example buying a ticket from Leeds to Huddersfield, and then Manchester Victoria to Salford Central, as I did not need to get through the barriers at Victoria. I was stopped on the 24/06/2025 as they questioned me having a child ticket, I believe I gave them a fake address and therefore did not pay and never got the penalty fare notice. I was stopped again on 03/07/2025. He said i couldn’t be under 16 as I had piercings, took me off the train at Huddersfield and questioned me, i believe his body cam was on. I think I gave him a fake name or address? I honestly can’t remember whether I gave him my details, he said ‘you can’t get away with just getting a child ticket’ and i was like ‘i usually do’ (stupid I know and that’s definitely come back to bite me). I then said ‘what are you going to do if i just leave’ and he said ‘nothing but i can call the police’ so i just left. Those are both incidences that I was caught and what I can remember to the best of my ability. 97 sounds like quite a lot, and the list they gave me only accounts for 33 journeys that I made.

 

[WesternLancer]

Here’s the email they sent me, it’s the only one they’ve sent. I’m not sure what incident they’re actually referring to when they quote the date 2nd march, it’s worded weirdly because i was not on a train that day nor did i buy a ticket.

OK - thanks for that copy -

this e-mail clearly reads to me that you were stopped and questioned some time before 2 March 2026 - the question is how long before 2 March 2026 did that happen?

But
You seem to be telling us that you were not stopped and questioned about your ticket in the 6 months prior to that date. Are you 100% sure of that?

As @Sun Chariot implies this is the sort of letter they send to people who have been stopped relatively recently - but maybe they have adopted it for people stopped ages ago too. We don't see that many TPE cases on here so hard to know if they are doing that (by contrast we see lots of cases from Greater Anglia where they do this routinely - trawl their info on past cases or just suspicious ticket buying and accuse people of evasion and threaten them with court action on the basis that people will juts pay up - or some of them will. We see similar from West Midlands Railway)

And if it were Great Western Railway I would confidently expect them to escalate this and threaten you with civil court action, and actually commence civil court action (we have seen several cases of this with GWR, where detailed help and advice has been given from the forum, but in each case the passenger concerned has not let it go to court but settled before then so we have never seen someone come here and report back to us after going the whole way through to civil court action - which is a bit of a shame as we don't know how that then plays out from the passengers point of view. The help from the forum has resulted in the initial demands for money being reduced by GWR before civil action commenced - on some cases reduced quite significantly - but the circs of that will depend on the evasion concerned - eg railcard evasion is different from child ticket use related evasion in terms of the argument you can put to the railway company)

If TPE are doing this (taking civil action) then as mentioned they have 6 years in which to do it - so you may or may not find them doing that at some future point

Your specifically ask about the chances of them prosecuting you under the Fraud Act -I'll stand corrected by others with a longer or better memory of things but I don't think we have ever seen anyone come to this forum asking advice because they are actually being prosecuted by a railway company under the Fraud Act - Railway companies seem to routinely use that wording in threatening letters / e-mails but I don't think we have seen it. Does not mean it never happens, but I think if it does it is rare.

So I think we are back to you making a choice on whether to
- engage with them at this stage (with our help)#
or
- file it, do nothing, and see what their next move is

This depends on your appetite for risk I suppose (risk of court action this is) - from what you are telling us the greatest risk would be Civil Court action, if they took court action - that would be my hunch - I can not of course predict what they will do. Or they might do nothing if you do not reply to them in any way.

That e-mail says they attached a list of the 97 journey's - it would be possible for you to add up what the sum of all that travel amounts to - depending on how big that is will probably influences them to the extent they might action civil court action to get the debt - if it's not much money they might not think it's worth the work to do it - but if it's a large sum they might think it is worth that work. No one here is going to know what threshold they regard as worth taking civil court action to secure that money

I'm sure there would be some forum members who would say 'don't do anything' just wait and see what happens. Advancing the argument that they should have stopped you and reported you for prosecution for travel with a child ticket at the time, not messed about with a Penalty Fare, and they missed their chance to do that at the time.


== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Mar 2026 ==

That's the date the incident was internally communicated to the team who sent you that email. The date of your being stopped by Revenue Protection, was likely a few days prior.

I would agree with you that normally it would indeed be something that happened a little while before e- tho the usual practice of railway companies seems to be to state the actual date the person was stopped in their letters.

But the OP here is saying they have not been stopped and questioned recently (ie caught red handed evading) - IIRC they mentioned being stopped between Jan and July 2025 (post #22)

so the wording TPE are using could be interpreted as meaning at any stage in the past - ie certainly over the crucial 6 months ago

Don't you think?

I'm reading the 1st para of the upload by the OP in post #26 carefully - I can't easily cut and paste it here, but have a read of that para in the upload and see what you think.

 

[Layla99]

OK - thanks for that copy -

this e-mail clearly reads to me that you were stopped and questioned some time before 2 March 2026 - the question is how long before 2 March 2026 did that happen?

But
You seem to be telling us that you were not stopped and questioned about your ticket in the 6 months prior to that date. Are you 100% sure of that?

As @Sun Chariot implies this is the sort of letter they send to people who have been stopped relatively recently - but maybe they have adopted it for people stopped ages ago too. We don't see that many TPE cases on here so hard to know if they are doing that (by contrast we see lots of cases from Greater Anglia where they do this routinely - trawl their info on past cases or just suspicious ticket buying and accuse people of evasion and threaten them with court action on the basis that people will juts pay up - or some of them will. We see similar from West Midlands Railway)

And if it were Great Western Railway I would confidently expect them to escalate this and threaten you with civil court action, and actually commence civil court action (we have seen several cases of this with GWR, where detailed help and advice has been given from the forum, but in each case the passenger concerned has not let it go to court but settled before then so we have never seen someone come here and report back to us after going the whole way through to civil court action - which is a bit of a shame as we don't know how that then plays out from the passengers point of view. The help from the forum has resulted in the initial demands for money being reduced by GWR before civil action commenced - on some cases reduced quite significantly - but the circs of that will depend on the evasion concerned - eg railcard evasion is different from child ticket use related evasion in terms of the argument you can put to the railway company)

If TPE are doing this (taking civil action) then as mentioned they have 6 years in which to do it - so you may or may not find them doing that at some future point

Your specifically ask about the chances of them prosecuting you under the Fraud Act -I'll stand corrected by others with a longer or better memory of things but I don't think we have ever seen anyone come to this forum asking advice because they are actually being prosecuted by a railway company under the Fraud Act - Railway companies seem to routinely use that wording in threatening letters / e-mails but I don't think we have seen it. Does not mean it never happens, but I think if it does it is rare.

So I think we are back to you making a choice on whether to
- engage with them at this stage (with our help)#
or
- file it, do nothing, and see what their next move is

This depends on your appetite for risk I suppose (risk of court action this is) - from what you are telling us the greatest risk would be Civil Court action, if they took court action - that would be my hunch - I can not of course predict what they will do. Or they might do nothing if you do not reply to them in any way.



== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Mar 2026 ==


I would agree with you that normally it would indeed be something that happened a little while before e- tho the usual practice of railway companies seems to be to state the actual date the person was stopped in their letters.

But the OP here is saying they have not been stopped and questioned recently (ie caught red handed evading) - IIRC they mentioned being stopped between Jan and July 2025 (post #22)

so the wording TPE are using could be interpreted as meaning at any stage in the past - ie certainly over the crucial 6 months ago

Don't you think?

I'm reading the 1st para of the upload by the OP in post #26 carefully - I can't easily cut and paste it here, but have a read of that para in the upload and see what you think.

I think I will draft a response to them and post it on here, if that’s okay, i do really appreciate your help. Btw, I am 100% i have not been stopped by Transpennine express in the last 6 months. In fact, I have purposefully avoided going on trains up North for the exact reason of wanting things to settle down.