Need advice on a incident that happened yesterday

[Sarps32]

Hello everyone im looking for genuine advice. Today I have boarded the train (run by WMT) without a valid ticket as I was late to my meeting and thought I would buy it on the train. When the ticket investigator asked me 30 seconds after I boarded the train I said I’m trying to get one right now. Later he said you should have done that before while i was explaining I was late to a meeting. While he was telling me this i have bought the ticket and showed it to him he scanned and said show me your railcard. I got scared that he would cancel my railcard so I did not show him at first. After he said that was all I need i said sorry there is my railcard, but he walked off and did not scan it and I had to get off the train. He did not ask for my address or my name. This whole thing happened in 2 minutes and i was only going for a stop, as he walked off, and I was rushing to get to a meeting I couldn’t ask him what will happen next. I do understand I failed to show my ticket at first and made it worse by not showing my railcard (which I do have one).

My question is will I get prosecuted, or will they try to settle it first as this is my first offence. Furthermore, how will they contact me as they don’t have my address.

My other question is will they falsely accuse me of buying discounted tickets before using a railcard as I have failed to show this time (All of my previous journeys have been bought using a valid railcard which I do still have) Thanks to anyone helping.

 

[Haywain]

My other question is will they falsely accuse me of buying discounted tickets before using a railcard

Falsely? You've given good reason to believe that you are buying discounted tickets without possessing a railcard, so such an accusation is hardly unwarranted.

 

[Sarps32]

Falsely? You've given good reason to believe that you are buying discounted tickets without possessing a railcard, so such an accusation is hardly unwarranted.

I am aware of this, I should have just shown my railcard in the beginning. When they accuse me of this via email or by post If i prove that I have a valid railcard and also had a railcard in my previous trips would this be okay. Or do you think whats done is done. Thank you

 

[Pushpit]

Welcome to the forum.

WMT isn't my favourite train operating company in their handling, but they do usually sort things out without going to court, so long as you engage with them. It's not for sure they will contact you, but I think there is a high chance they will, relying on the data from your scanned ticket to contact you. They will probably search your other purchases, and because of the badly handled railcard situation they may make a quite ludicrous first letter to you, threatening all sorts of things, some of which will be untrue.

There are 3 problems here
- not buying a ticket before you boarded. That's simply a crime, and WMT could prosecute for this - but normally this ends as an out of court settlement
- not showing the railcard upon a reasonable request
- therefore theoretically not having the railcard valid for your ticket. By the sounds of it, this actually is not a real problem, and can be resolved.

So hold on for a letter from WMT, it could take nearly six months but their digital fraud team is going like the clappers at the moment so it will probably be in a few weeks from now. This is likely to end up with an out of court settlement proposal in the £150-£200 area, once you've cleared up historic railcard ticketing.

When the letter comes in, share it here after redacting personal data, and we can help you with the reply.

It is very important that you henceforth follow the byelaws and buy your ticket, with the correct railcard, before getting on a train. Or use a ticket machine. Being late or in a rush isn't a defence.

 

[Sarps32]

Welcome to the forum.

WMT isn't my favourite train operating company in their handling, but they do usually sort things out without going to court, so long as you engage with them. It's not for sure they will contact you, but I think there is a high chance they will, relying on the data from your scanned ticket to contact you. They will probably search your other purchases, and because of the badly handled railcard situation they may make a quite ludicrous first letter to you, threatening all sorts of things, some of which will be untrue.

There are 3 problems here
- not buying a ticket before you boarded. That's simply a crime, and WMT could prosecute for this - but normally this ends as an out of court settlement
- not showing the railcard upon a reasonable request
- therefore theoretically not having the railcard valid for your ticket. By the sounds of it, this actually is not a real problem, and can be resolved.

So hold on for a letter from WMT, it could take nearly six months but their digital fraud team is going like the clappers at the moment so it will probably be in a few weeks from now. This is likely to end up with an out of court settlement proposal in the £150-£200 area, once you've cleared up historic railcard ticketing.

When the letter comes in, share it here after redacting personal data, and we can help you with the reply.

It is very important that you henceforth follow the byelaws and buy your ticket, with the correct railcard, before getting on a train. Or use a ticket machine. Being late or in a rush isn't a defence.

Thank you so much for your valuable insight, it at least eases me a little bit. I will definitely share the letter when they contact me and will not get on the train without a ticket even when im in rush. Hope you have a great day

 

[AlterEgo]

Did the inspector actually see your railcard? If you delay showing them it they may suspect you’ve bought it on board the train.

 

[Sarps32]

Did the inspector actually see your railcard? If you delay showing them it they may suspect you’ve bought it on board the train.

I did show him my rail card at the end but he couldn’t scan it/ didn’t had time to scan as i had to get off the train. It was my railcard and i deeply regret not showing it in the beginning to him.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I did show him my rail card at the end but he couldn’t scan it/ didn’t had time to scan as i had to get off the train. It was my railcard and i deeply regret not showing it in the beginning to him.

When did you purchase the railcard?

 

[Sarps32]

When did you purchase the railcard?

September 2024, It is still valid for 4 more months

 

[Tetchytyke]

September 2024, It is still valid for 4 more months

You'll need to wait for the letter. When it comes, you will need to explain the situation and send them evidence of your railcard, so make sure you keep a copy of it.

As you didn't buy a ticket before boarding they have you on that, but they will likely have a starting assumption that you didn't have a railcard at all, so it should make your life easier to be able to prove that you did have a railcard.

 

[Sarps32]

You'll need to wait for the letter. When it comes, you will need to explain the situation and send them evidence of your railcard, so make sure you keep a copy of it.

As you didn't buy a ticket before boarding they have you on that, but they will likely have a starting assumption that you didn't have a railcard at all, so it should make your life easier to be able to prove that you did have a railcard.

Thank you so much for the answer. I will be able to prove that i had a railcard when this incident happened, and for all the previous trips I have made. But what happens if the letter comes in 5 months when my railcard has ended. Would that be a problem.

 

[Spaceship323]

Very unlikely they will wait 5 months to contact you (see post #4) as legally they only have 6 months from the date of the offence and will want your side of the story first, so don't worry

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Thank you so much for the answer. I will be able to prove that i had a railcard when this incident happened, and for all the previous trips I have made. But what happens if the letter comes in 5 months when my railcard has ended. Would that be a problem.

Very unlikely they will wait 5 months to contact you (see post #4) as legally they only have 6 months from the date of the offence and will want your side of the story first, so don't worry

And even if the railcard has expired when you come to discuss things with WMT, the question that they will want answering is 'did you have a railcard which was valid at the time of travel?' From what you have told us, the answer to that is 'yes' - so hang on to the railcard (pop it in a drawer after expiry if it's a physical card, if it's online take a picture of it on your phone before it expires) so you have it to hand when/if the railway ask to see it.

 

[Tetchytyke]

But what happens if the letter comes in 5 months when my railcard has ended.

You will be expected to demonstrate that you had a valid railcard at the time you claimed the railcard discount. So make sure you keep a copy of the railcard.

 

[gray1404]

You may not even be contacted by them as they did not take your name and address. There is a possibility they could potentially obtain this from the ticket scan but that is not guaranteed so you would just have to wait and see I'm afraid.

 

[Sarps32]

And even if the railcard has expired when you come to discuss things with WMT, the question that they will want answering is 'did you have a railcard which was valid at the time of travel?' From what you have told us, the answer to that is 'yes' - so hang on to the railcard (pop it in a drawer after expiry if it's a physical card, if it's online take a picture of it on your phone before it expires) so you have it to hand when/if the railway ask to see it.

And even if the railcard has expired when you come to discuss things with WMT, the question that they will want answering is 'did you have a railcard which was valid at the time of travel?' From what you have told us, the answer to that is 'yes' - so hang on to the railcard (pop it in a drawer after expiry if it's a physical card, if it's online take a picture of it on your phone before it expires) so you have it to hand when/if the railway ask to see it.

Yes I took a screenshot of my railcard and also took a screenshot of the email that confirms i bought a railcard. Thank you

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jun 2025 ==

You may not even be contacted by them as they did not take your name and address. There is a possibility they could potentially obtain this from the ticket scan but that is not guaranteed so you would just have to wait and see I'm afraid.

Thats what I was also thinking, the customer service for WMT told me that if they did not ask for your adress and name take it as a warning. However after reading many posts on the forum I think there is a high chance they will, as the ticket has my name via the trainline app. They might be able to track my adress somehow and if not probably email me.

 

[WesternLancer]

I am aware of this, I should have just shown my railcard in the beginning. When they accuse me of this via email or by post If i prove that I have a valid railcard and also had a railcard in my previous trips would this be okay. Or do you think whats done is done. Thank you

They can not cancel a valid railcard

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jun 2025 ==

Yes I took a screenshot of my railcard and also took a screenshot of the email that confirms i bought a railcard. Thank you

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jun 2025 ==


Thats what I was also thinking, the customer service for WMT told me that if they did not ask for your adress and name take it as a warning. However after reading many posts on the forum I think there is a high chance they will, as the ticket has my name via the trainline app. They might be able to track my adress somehow and if not probably email me.

You can not rely on what customer services say.

But you will get help sorting this out here to achieve the best or least worst result.

 

[AlterEgo]

Yes I took a screenshot of my railcard and also took a screenshot of the email that confirms i bought a railcard. Thank you

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jun 2025 ==


Thats what I was also thinking, the customer service for WMT told me that if they did not ask for your adress and name take it as a warning.

Customer services aren’t related to the prosecutions department. They can, and may, contact you just off the back of an e-ticket scan.

 

[Sarps32]

They can not cancel a valid railcard

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jun 2025 ==


You can not rely on what customer services say.

But you will get help sorting this out here to achieve the best or least worst result.

Yes, I realised they do not advise you anything relating to this problem. And thanks again for the reassurance, I will post the email when it comes.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Jun 2025 ==

Customer services aren’t related to the prosecutions department. They can, and may, contact you just off the back of an e-ticket scan.

Yeah I am also expecting them to contact me through my email that I registered to trainline. Hopefully it will be sorted after the email as this is a first time offence for me and a genuine mistake. Thanks