training808
Member
Hi all - when I first accessed this forum, I found a lot of posts wouldn’t include the conclusion, so I thought I’d share my experience with WMR, so people in a similar situation can know what to expect and hopefully open up some discussion to the experienced members of the forum (who indirectly helped me with the knowledge you shared with others).
In May 2025 I was stopped at Walsall station (travelling from New Street), I produced my railcard, which I had fraudulently altered to say was active until July 2025, when it had expired in January. I acted oblivious to the inspectors, then reluctantly gave my details, but gave a fake address. The weeks waiting were extremely anxious, as I knew if they looked at my Trainline history, they would see my short faring into Birmingham, as well as my journeys completed without a valid railcard (of which there were hundreds) - my fare evasion was on an industrial, pre meditated scale and I would consciously fare evade. I accessed Reddit/this forum and realised that a criminal conviction was likely, due to the nature of my evasion.
2 weeks later, I receive an email (of which numerous users have posted the template) asking me to confirm if I was stopped and if I had anything to say. I responded and said yes I was stopped, I’m sorry, can I pay the fares back.
The company responded a day later saying they had actually found a three figure number of occurrences, I would need to provide evidence of a railcard over certain dates. I provided my railcard details which was valid for a year but had expired in Jan.
I then received another email, saying the company were happy to settle and said they had evidence of just over 100 instances, where I had short fared and travelled without a railcard. They couldn’t evidence if I had short fared or not (I obviously had) but I didn’t want to dispute this and paid the figure that was owed immediately.
I then received another email confirming the case was closed, since then I have been buying paper tickets and have renewed my railcard, it was a huge wake up call to me, as I work in a very sensitive sector where even a court appearance would have ramifications for my career.
Happy to open up discussion to the forum here for people who are under investigation or others who are interested. Hopefully this is helpful and reassures people who have committed lesser offences, that they are likely to just pay a settlement and will not need to attend court.
In May 2025 I was stopped at Walsall station (travelling from New Street), I produced my railcard, which I had fraudulently altered to say was active until July 2025, when it had expired in January. I acted oblivious to the inspectors, then reluctantly gave my details, but gave a fake address. The weeks waiting were extremely anxious, as I knew if they looked at my Trainline history, they would see my short faring into Birmingham, as well as my journeys completed without a valid railcard (of which there were hundreds) - my fare evasion was on an industrial, pre meditated scale and I would consciously fare evade. I accessed Reddit/this forum and realised that a criminal conviction was likely, due to the nature of my evasion.
2 weeks later, I receive an email (of which numerous users have posted the template) asking me to confirm if I was stopped and if I had anything to say. I responded and said yes I was stopped, I’m sorry, can I pay the fares back.
The company responded a day later saying they had actually found a three figure number of occurrences, I would need to provide evidence of a railcard over certain dates. I provided my railcard details which was valid for a year but had expired in Jan.
I then received another email, saying the company were happy to settle and said they had evidence of just over 100 instances, where I had short fared and travelled without a railcard. They couldn’t evidence if I had short fared or not (I obviously had) but I didn’t want to dispute this and paid the figure that was owed immediately.
I then received another email confirming the case was closed, since then I have been buying paper tickets and have renewed my railcard, it was a huge wake up call to me, as I work in a very sensitive sector where even a court appearance would have ramifications for my career.
Happy to open up discussion to the forum here for people who are under investigation or others who are interested. Hopefully this is helpful and reassures people who have committed lesser offences, that they are likely to just pay a settlement and will not need to attend court.
