Used discounted ticket without Railcard

[tuygjk467]

Good morning guys I am in need of some honest advise and what to expect before i receive my letter in few days.

Yesterday morning I was on an Avanti train from Birmingham to Preston as my ticket was an advanced ticket single and I had used the 26-30 railcard, please bear in mind I have been using this discounted fare since the 4th of March 2026 and I usually travel 2 weekends in a month from Preston to Birmingham to and fro.

The train was scheduled for 9am and I had to be in Preston earlier so I got on the 7am train and the ticket lady scanned my ticket and realised I was supposed to have taken the 9am and she asked for my railcard which I do not have and told her my Mrs paid for my ticket then she proceeds to collecting my details and mentioned I would receive a letter in 21 days and I should respond to the letter then she said I would only just have to pay the fare diffence plus any admin fees.

However, out of fear I gave her an invalid email address but the other details she asked for were correct. I know that I have committed a serious offence with using the discounted railcard without having one and I would like to understand what I am up against as I frequently travel to birmingham for the weekends. I have just also purchased my tickets for the weekend without using the discounted 26-30 railcard. I have learnt my lessons and will never use it. I need some advise on how to prepare my response when the letter arrives.

Also is there a need to call the number on the slip she gave me to update my email address?

 

[Haywain]

she proceeds to collecting my details and mentioned I would receive a letter in 21 days

Were your correct name and address taken? If so, it is unlikely that you will be emailed in the first instance and there would be no need to correct your email address yet.

 

[Coleridge]

I have just also purchased my tickets for the weekend without using the discounted 26-30 railcard. I have learnt my lessons and will never use it.

If you're under 30, it would be cheaper - a lot cheaper - to buy a railcard and continue buying discounted tickets.

 

[tuygjk467]

Were your correct name and address taken? If so, it is unlikely that you will be emailed in the first instance and there would be no need to correct your email address yet.

Yes my correct name and address were taken.

 

[Haywain]

Yes my correct name and address were taken.

In which case it is my view that you should just wait for a letter to arrive - unless you would prefer to be contacted by email, of course. You can then correct the email address as part of your response.

 

[WesternLancer]

Good morning guys I am in need of some honest advise and what to expect before i receive my letter in few days.

Yesterday morning I was on an Avanti train from Birmingham to Preston as my ticket was an advanced ticket single and I had used the 26-30 railcard, please bear in mind I have been using this discounted fare since the 4th of March 2026 and I usually travel 2 weekends in a month from Preston to Birmingham to and fro.

The train was scheduled for 9am and I had to be in Preston earlier so I got on the 7am train and the ticket lady scanned my ticket and realised I was supposed to have taken the 9am and she asked for my railcard which I do not have and told her my Mrs paid for my ticket then she proceeds to collecting my details and mentioned I would receive a letter in 21 days and I should respond to the letter then she said I would only just have to pay the fare diffence plus any admin fees.

However, out of fear I gave her an invalid email address but the other details she asked for were correct. I know that I have committed a serious offence with using the discounted railcard without having one and I would like to understand what I am up against as I frequently travel to birmingham for the weekends. I have just also purchased my tickets for the weekend without using the discounted 26-30 railcard. I have learnt my lessons and will never use it. I need some advise on how to prepare my response when the letter arrives.

Also is there a need to call the number on the slip she gave me to update my email address?

are you aged between 26-30 and thus eligible for that Railcard? If so I would suggest buying one asap - it's something you can then say to Avanti in due course that you have pro actively done about this - thus illustrating that you have taken steps to legitimately reduce the cost of your travel and learned from what has happened.

In general terms the advice often given here will help you know what to expect from this point and what to do when you are contacted - have a read over this if you have not seen it on other threads.

I would not take it as guaranteed that what you were told on the train by the inspector will be how this will be handled - ie it may be longer than 21 days before you hear from them, and it may well be that they want more money than the different between what you paid and what you should have paid (see relevant sections below)

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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 probably 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 ) 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.

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Note that an Anytime Single from Birmingham to Preston is £52.50
You need to be prepared for them to ask for that for each one way trip you took

eg 6 months x 2 weekends per month x £52.50 x 2 (for there and back) = £1,260.00 + and admin fee of c£150

and if you have been doing this sort of evasion with other train companies they will find that too if they look, and seek to charge you for that travel too

In preparation for what is to come you should check your ticket buying records on line and list out for your private use every journey you have made like this, where you can not provide evidence of a railcard being held relating to a discounted ticket - no need to post the info here - then total that up and work out the sort of money you are going to need to pay them if they offer an out of court settlement, and start saving that up or working out how you can legitimately raise those funds.

You might want to change who you buy tickets from but do not delete any existing on line ticket buying accounts as that puts you ate the disadvantage of not being able to access the info when they will still be able to access it