Using job centre discount without having one

[Randomperson]

Hi all,

So i have a friend who brought a london 1-6 zone day travel card with the JCB discount but unfortunately left it at home on a day the ticket officer caught them, the officer offered my friend a chance to either pay the penalty fee or provide proof the the railcard, my friend choose the latter however, upon reaching home they realised they had lost the railcard which could make it seem like they are fare dodging and to make matters worse they told me that back in 2016/2017 they had to pay a penalty fare for using a standard ticket in classified first class carriage. So my friend is nervous what will happen when govia sends them a prosecution letter and if they will see that previous history. The tickets were purchased using the ticket machines and not online. Also if possible can the train company see if a customer has job centre discount card on them?

 

[methecooldude]

Hi all,

So i have a friend who brought a london 1-6 zone day travel card with the JCB discount but unfortunately left it at home on a day the ticket officer caught them, the officer offered my friend a chance to either pay the penalty fee or provide proof the the railcard, my friend choose the latter however, upon reaching home they realised they had lost the railcard which could make it seem like they are fare dodging and to make matters worse they told me that back in 2016/2017 they had to pay a penalty fare for using a standard ticket in classified first class carriage. So my friend is nervous what will happen when govia sends them a prosecution letter and if they will see that previous history. The tickets were purchased using the ticket machines and not online. Also if possible can the train company see if a customer has job centre discount card on them?

If your friend does indeed have a Jobcentre Discount Card, they should be able to get something from the Jobcentre to prove they are entitled to it and have been issued one, at the very least

 

[30907]

A penalty fare from way back is unlikely to have any impact.

 

[AlterEgo]

Hi all,

So i have a friend who brought a london 1-6 zone day travel card with the JCB discount but unfortunately left it at home on a day the ticket officer caught them, the officer offered my friend a chance to either pay the penalty fee or provide proof the the railcard, my friend choose the latter however, upon reaching home they realised they had lost the railcard which could make it seem like they are fare dodging and to make matters worse they told me that back in 2016/2017 they had to pay a penalty fare for using a standard ticket in classified first class carriage. So my friend is nervous what will happen when govia sends them a prosecution letter and if they will see that previous history. The tickets were purchased using the ticket machines and not online. Also if possible can the train company see if a customer has job centre discount card on them?

Do they, in fact, have a JobCentre Plus railcard? This is the most commonly abused discount. I’m afraid the train companies weren’t born yesterday and will want to see proof of entitlement.

 

[Randomperson]

Do they, in fact, have a JobCentre Plus railcard? This is the most commonly abused discount. I’m afraid the train companies weren’t born yesterday and will want to see proof of entitlement.

Yeahh i can imagine. So according to my friend they do, but out of curiousity if they didnt have one what would be the outcome?

 

[AndroidBango]

Yeahh i can imagine. So according to my friend they do, but out of curiousity if they didnt have one what would be the outcome?

Worst case scenario: prosecution.

More likely, after a bit of work: an expensive out of court settlement for the incorrectly discounted fares.

 

[Randomperson]

Worst case scenario: prosecution.

More likely, after a bit of work: an expensive out of court settlement for the incorrectly discounted fares.

Oh okay i see, and that bit of work is i presume is an apologies mitigating response i take it?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Dec 2023 ==

Worst case scenario: prosecution.

More likely, after a bit of work: an expensive out of court settlement for the incorrectly discounted fares.

Oh okay i see, and that bit of work is i presume is an apologies mitigating response i take it?

 

[AlterEgo]

Yeahh i can imagine. So according to my friend they do, but out of curiousity if they didnt have one what would be the outcome?

They could be prosecuted, but the more likely outcome is they’ll have to pay a significant sum of money to settle out of court.

So, if, “hypothetically”, your friend doesn’t - and never - had one, then choosing to lie about it and decline a £50 Penalty Fare was an even worse and stupider decision than merely travelling without entitlement to it.