Hello. I used my sisters railcard with a photo of me on it from a journey from York to Newcastle. I have just been on a transpennine train and the conductor asked me for ID when showing the railcard. He has now taken photos and said I will get a letter and my sister will also get a letter. I’m really worried about the outcome. I understand it’s a fraudulent act, especially because I changed the railcard. I haven’t got a letter yet. What should I expect?
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Using someone else’s railcard
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Mcr Warrior
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Welcome to the forum. You can expect to have to pay a fair sum of money to TPE to resolve the matter. TPE will consider that you didn't have a valid ticket for your recent journey and will ask you to pay for an undiscounted Anytime Day Single for same, which from Newcastle to York is £37.10. TPE will likely also add a three figure investigation and admin fee on top of this. Complicating factor will be if you've used the moody railcard to routinely buy and then travel with any other inappropriately discounted rail tickets. Easy enough to check if you've booked your tickets online and then left a big digital trail. That could prove be costly. Good luck in sorting!
notmyrealname
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They can take you to court, yes, but most of the cases here settle out of court the way that Mcr Warrior has described.
Mcr Warrior
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Yes, but it's more likely that they (TPE) will be able to join the dots and so determine that these various previous railcard discounted journeys also weren't made with a valid, in date, railcard and so ask you for a lot more £££. Thinking that it probably would have been much easier/cheaper to have bought your own railcard?!
Willie Bee
Member
Speaking as somebody who has plenty of life experience (clue : I have a senior railcard) .. every year I buy a calendar which is hung in the bedroom.
Important dates are highlighted, with notes, such as when my railcard expires. My wife's card is also included.
Anything else is added as required.
I'm probably too old to be considering online / phone calendars, but anyway the £3 price of the traditional calendar is cheaper than a fine.
Years ago, buying mobile phones often had cashback deals, needing 3rd, 6th, 9th & 12th bill being posted off to get cashback .. the calendar was useful then too.
Oh yes, I mark on it my trips away, with countdowns too
Important dates are highlighted, with notes, such as when my railcard expires. My wife's card is also included.
Anything else is added as required.
I'm probably too old to be considering online / phone calendars, but anyway the £3 price of the traditional calendar is cheaper than a fine.
Years ago, buying mobile phones often had cashback deals, needing 3rd, 6th, 9th & 12th bill being posted off to get cashback .. the calendar was useful then too.
Oh yes, I mark on it my trips away, with countdowns too
Why would your sister buy a railcard and not use it? Perhaps it would have been better if she had bought one for you as a Christmas present?
At a guess, one of them is eligible by age and the other is not.
Hi everyone,
I’m really worried and would appreciate some advice as I have got myself into a situation.
I was stopped while travelling on a TransPennine Express service from York to Newcastle. I had bought a discounted ticket using my sister’s 16-25 Railcard even though I don’t have one myself. To try and get away with it I altered the railcard by putting a photo of me on it and used that when asked to show proof. He then started recording me and took photos etc. I explained I am on holiday from Australia and will be travelling back over the next few weeks.
Me and my sister have now received letters from TPE Prosecutions Department. The letters mention possible offences under the Railway Byelaws including “intent to defraud” and “transfer of a ticket.” It says they are considering criminal prosecution and that fines could be up to £1000 per offence if it goes to court. I am now back in Australia and really worried about how to navigate this overseas, especially if I am summoned to court!
I know this was so very wrong, and I regret it massively. I can’t believe I did something so stupid and I have been reflecting on it ever since! I plan to write back with a full apology admitting my mistake and to offer to pay the outstanding fare plus any admin costs to try to settle without it going to court.
Has anyone here had a similar experience with TPE in cases of altered railcards? Do they usually allow an out-of-court settlement, and if so, what kind of amounts are common? Or will I have to attend court?
Thank you for any guidance as I’m feeling extremely anxious about this.
I’m really worried and would appreciate some advice as I have got myself into a situation.
I was stopped while travelling on a TransPennine Express service from York to Newcastle. I had bought a discounted ticket using my sister’s 16-25 Railcard even though I don’t have one myself. To try and get away with it I altered the railcard by putting a photo of me on it and used that when asked to show proof. He then started recording me and took photos etc. I explained I am on holiday from Australia and will be travelling back over the next few weeks.
Me and my sister have now received letters from TPE Prosecutions Department. The letters mention possible offences under the Railway Byelaws including “intent to defraud” and “transfer of a ticket.” It says they are considering criminal prosecution and that fines could be up to £1000 per offence if it goes to court. I am now back in Australia and really worried about how to navigate this overseas, especially if I am summoned to court!
I know this was so very wrong, and I regret it massively. I can’t believe I did something so stupid and I have been reflecting on it ever since! I plan to write back with a full apology admitting my mistake and to offer to pay the outstanding fare plus any admin costs to try to settle without it going to court.
Has anyone here had a similar experience with TPE in cases of altered railcards? Do they usually allow an out-of-court settlement, and if so, what kind of amounts are common? Or will I have to attend court?
Thank you for any guidance as I’m feeling extremely anxious about this.
notmyrealname
Member
Hi, welcome to the forum.
Could you show us redacted copies of the letters please? And if you have written a draft letter for TPE, you could post that up as well so people here can review it and comment for you.
Could you show us redacted copies of the letters please? And if you have written a draft letter for TPE, you could post that up as well so people here can review it and comment for you.
WesternLancer
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Welcome. Be sure to get advice from here on wording before you write back to them with a view to trying to persuade them to settle this out of court rather than prosecute. Then get your draft wording checked.
It might help if you could upload copies of the letters you have received with your personal details and case ref numbers obscured to protect your confidentiality.
Have they written to you in Australia or e mailed? Not that this is critical.
Fawkes Cat
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While I can't directly help, it seems to me that there may be people here who can comment on
They sent the letter to my home address in the Uk. I have drafted this so far
I am writing in response to the notice I received on X X 2025 regarding the travel irregularity on X X 2025.
Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for using a railcard that was not mine and for altering the railcard. I now fully understand the seriousness of this and I acknowledge that it was a clear breach of your terms and conditions.
At the time, I had just returned to the UK for a short visit from Australia, and in all honesty I wasn't thinking clearly or considering the consequences of my actions. I made a very poor decision to use my sister's railcard, wrongly assuming it would not cause any harm. To make matters worse, I altered the railcard without her knowledge, which I now realise was a very serious and dishonest act.
I want to make it clear that although my sister was aware I was using her railcard, she did not know that I had altered it. The decision to alter it was mine alone, and she had no involvement or knowledge of this. I deeply regret both using and altering the railcard and I accept full responsibility for my actions.
Since the incident, I have taken time to reflect and fully acknowledge the seriousness of what I did. This was completely out of character and a mistake. One that I will never repeat.
Please be assured that I am truly remorseful and willing to take any necessary steps to make amends. If possible, I would be grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter without legal action, and I am willing to pay any administrative costs, fines, or fare differences incurred. I am currently back in Australia so my best form of contact is via email XX .
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Once again, I offer my sincere apologies for my actions and for any inconvenience caused to your staff.
Yours sincerely,
XX
I am writing in response to the notice I received on X X 2025 regarding the travel irregularity on X X 2025.
Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for using a railcard that was not mine and for altering the railcard. I now fully understand the seriousness of this and I acknowledge that it was a clear breach of your terms and conditions.
At the time, I had just returned to the UK for a short visit from Australia, and in all honesty I wasn't thinking clearly or considering the consequences of my actions. I made a very poor decision to use my sister's railcard, wrongly assuming it would not cause any harm. To make matters worse, I altered the railcard without her knowledge, which I now realise was a very serious and dishonest act.
I want to make it clear that although my sister was aware I was using her railcard, she did not know that I had altered it. The decision to alter it was mine alone, and she had no involvement or knowledge of this. I deeply regret both using and altering the railcard and I accept full responsibility for my actions.
Since the incident, I have taken time to reflect and fully acknowledge the seriousness of what I did. This was completely out of character and a mistake. One that I will never repeat.
Please be assured that I am truly remorseful and willing to take any necessary steps to make amends. If possible, I would be grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter without legal action, and I am willing to pay any administrative costs, fines, or fare differences incurred. I am currently back in Australia so my best form of contact is via email XX .
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Once again, I offer my sincere apologies for my actions and for any inconvenience caused to your staff.
Yours sincerely,
XX
Fawkes Cat
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This looks pretty good to me. I'd suggest that in the letter you send, you also include your Australian postal address: I would hope that in the circumstances TPE would be sensible enough to use email, but it's not good for you as the offender to apparently be trying to push TPE down one road.
Thank you so much. I will add that in too
notmyrealname
Member
I suggest you add a line in bold beneath 'Dear xx' with their reference number. You want to make their life as easy as possible; this way they can find your file without having to scan the letter for a reference.
To me that phrase suggests that what you did was a trivial matter. The rest of your draft clearly shows that you know it wasn't, so I suggest you delete it.
What evidence do they have against your sister?
Were you interviewed at the time or not? How much did you tell them?
"my sister was aware I was using her railcard" - Why do you write this?
"she did not know that I had altered it" - So how did she think you were going to use it, given that it had her name on it so self-evidently you couldn't use it?
The question must be whether or not they have sufficient evidence against your sister, given that the byelaw focus is on tickets (not railcards).
Given what they wrote, I'm wondering if you made some admissions at the time that are different from what you are now saying here.
Were you interviewed at the time or not? How much did you tell them?
"my sister was aware I was using her railcard" - Why do you write this?
"she did not know that I had altered it" - So how did she think you were going to use it, given that it had her name on it so self-evidently you couldn't use it?
The question must be whether or not they have sufficient evidence against your sister, given that the byelaw focus is on tickets (not railcards).
Given what they wrote, I'm wondering if you made some admissions at the time that are different from what you are now saying here.
H
Hi thanks for your response. Yes I was videoed and interviewed at the time and he had a camera on. I said yes when asked ‘does your sister know you’re using her railcard?’. However nothing was asked or mentioned about the fact it had been altered at the time. And my sister genuinely did not know about it being altered so it is the truth. I was put on the spot at the time and I didn’t want to lie and make things worse. He asked me to open my phone’s settings to where it says my name, that’s how he found out my details
Hi everyone, I have received a fine of £70. However my sister has received an email stating ‘Where this is the case we normally seek to bring a criminal prosecution.’ I can’t believe it and I’m not really sure how to respond to this. Is it worth replying and apologising again? What usually happens at this stage? Thanks
WesternLancer
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I think @furlong 's post #20 is pertinent to this.
I think it would help if you posted a full copy of the e-mail your sister has received (with any personal details / ref numbers etc removed), which may include what they are specifically asking her, so that people can advise on the response or what to do / what options there are / what situation your sister is facing. The sentence you have quoted does not tell us very much...
I would assume she should be replying to this (not you), though of course you can help her with her drafting a reply. Assuming people here consider it needs a reply.
Until you have advice from here over the next few days she should probably not reply to it yet, and not acknowledge it in any way.
WesternLancer
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I can't recall seeing one of these types of messages before (but actively forged / tampered railcards don't come up here that often, though they do come up from time to time).
It looks to me like they are accusing your sister of colluding with you over this (and up thread i think you said you may have admitted that when stopped).
Hopefully people with expertise in this aspect will post some advice here.
You both also need to appreciate (and I suspect you do) the seriousness of this given it's an active fare evasion strategy - not some sort of mistake.
Depending on what advice you get here you may also need to start thinking about if you need the help of a solicitor about how to deal with this - if so there are a few firms that get mentioned on this forum from time to time who have relevant expertise in rail fare matters - you could get quotes - but legal help will cost more than £500 I would think.
Have you confided in close family about what has happened? If you feel able to do so it might be something you should do if you think they will support you with ways to try to resolve this.
It may be that TPE also want to obtains some money from your sister as some sort of out of court settlement for this, as well as from you (it's a surprisingly low amount that have asked you for if £70 in total). But I do think you need to consider advice from here on what your best next steps are.
Ultimately their e-mail does provide an opportunity for your sister to express deep regret and the desire to make amends (or to deny she had any knowledge of it but if that is a lie it would not be advisable to say that) - but that may also incriminate your sister in replying in that way - this is the problem as i see it.
Thank you for your response. Yes my sister sent me a screenshot of the railcard, and it was me who altered it- which I have admitted to in my response to them. I really do appreciate the seriousness of this and so does my sister.
Our close family is aware and we are working out how to respond.
It would much rather be settled through paying a fee/fines rather than court. The total I paid to settle was £74.60 for cost of the ticket and costs of handling the matter. Which I agree was surprisingly low when I received correspondence from TPE
Thank you again for your response
Our close family is aware and we are working out how to respond.
It would much rather be settled through paying a fee/fines rather than court. The total I paid to settle was £74.60 for cost of the ticket and costs of handling the matter. Which I agree was surprisingly low when I received correspondence from TPE
Thank you again for your response
WesternLancer
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Good that your have family support here
I hope experts (several of which had commented on your original post up thread) will pitch in on this latest development with things that you can consider.
Splitting hairs maybe. Although your sister sent you a copy of her railcard, did she know what you were going to do with it? Please answer truthfully - digging a deeper hole is not advisable.
She could have just sent you a copy so that you knew what sort of railcard you could get. But if she knew that you were going to use it fraudulently, that is a different matter.
She could have just sent you a copy so that you knew what sort of railcard you could get. But if she knew that you were going to use it fraudulently, that is a different matter.
Fawkes Cat
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I'm not going to purport to be an expert, but my feeling is that the railway would be looking to settle this out of court.
That's because I don't remember us seeing many (if any) attempts by the railway to prosecute for this offence. So bringing a prosecution will be new to the railway - and it seems to me that they may want just to bring the matter to an end where they know that the offence won't be repeated - as quickly and as cheaply from their point of view as possible.
If I'm right in my analysis above then the practical approach would be for your sister to write our more or less standard response i.e. accept responsibility, confirm that they understand why they were wrong, confirm that the offence won't happen again, and offer to cover the costs of the investigation. But you need to be aware that if my analysis is wrong then this approach would have the effect of providing evidence to the railway which they could use against your sister if they did take the matter to court.
For completeness, I think the offence that your sister has committed is under byelaw 22(2) of the railway byelaws (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railway-byelaws/railway-byelaws#travel-and-fares-1):
I imagine (but don't know) that there are other offences that could be used as well: surely the Fraud Act has something for enabling a fraud, or conspiring to defraud? If so, that won't be subject to the 6 month restriction on prosecution that applies to railway byelaw offences.
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