Advice with Travel Incident Report because of expired Railcard

[kttt99]

Hi all,
I am writing to seek advice and clarification regarding an incident that occurred on November 18 during my travel from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly.

On that day, I was travelling with an advance single ticket discounted with a 16-25 railcard. When the officer inspected my ticket, that's when I realized that my railcard had expired on September 30. The reason for my mistake was that I am an international student that just stayed in the UK for a year; I just moved to a new city, and I have rarely travelled by train since then. Also, my Railcard is in the Trainline app that I never use to buy train tickets, so I forgot to check on the date of it.

When informed about the issue, I cooperated fully with the officer. I also immediately renewed my Railcard upon realizing its expiry. However, I was issued a report, with the officer clarifying that this was not a fine but a formal record of the incident. I was advised to await a letter outlining further steps.

This is my first time encountering such a situation, and I assure you that it was unintentional. While I am prepared to cover any costs associated with an out-of-court settlement, I am concerned about the potential timeline. My visa is valid only until the end of January 2025, and due to personal reasons, I am planning to return to my home country permanently in December.

Given these circumstances, I would like to inquire about the following:

1. Is it possible to expedite the resolution of this matter to ensure it is settled before my planned departure?
2. If the process is not completed before I leave the UK, can I handle the resolution from abroad, and if so, what steps would I need to take?

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and would be grateful for your guidance on how to address this matter appropriately.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to your response.

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi.

I expert the resident experts will be here later today. It would be helpful for them if you could post the paperwork you were given, please. Cover up your personal details and any reference numbers.

 

[SussexMan]

The reason for my mistake was that I am an international student that just stayed in the UK for a year

I suspect that the problem is that you have stayed in the UK for more than a year - which is how the railcard expired (unless you bought it before you arrived). There are many similar threads on this forum and no reason why you won't be able to settle this with the Train Operating Company. Read the advice in some of the other threads. I would have expected that you will get a letter before the end of January but others here may give you the contact details of the relevant company. Which train company spoke to you?

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,
I am writing to seek advice and clarification regarding an incident that occurred on November 18 during my travel from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly.

On that day, I was travelling with an advance single ticket discounted with a 16-25 railcard. When the officer inspected my ticket, that's when I realized that my railcard had expired on September 30. The reason for my mistake was that I am an international student that just stayed in the UK for a year; I just moved to a new city, and I have rarely travelled by train since then. Also, my Railcard is in the Trainline app that I never use to buy train tickets, so I forgot to check on the date of it.

When informed about the issue, I cooperated fully with the officer. I also immediately renewed my Railcard upon realizing its expiry. However, I was issued a report, with the officer clarifying that this was not a fine but a formal record of the incident. I was advised to await a letter outlining further steps.

This is my first time encountering such a situation, and I assure you that it was unintentional. While I am prepared to cover any costs associated with an out-of-court settlement, I am concerned about the potential timeline. My visa is valid only until the end of January 2025, and due to personal reasons, I am planning to return to my home country permanently in December.

Given these circumstances, I would like to inquire about the following:

1. Is it possible to expedite the resolution of this matter to ensure it is settled before my planned departure?
2. If the process is not completed before I leave the UK, can I handle the resolution from abroad, and if so, what steps would I need to take?

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and would be grateful for your guidance on how to address this matter appropriately.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to your response.

Which train company are you dealing with, do you know?

If it went to court then I think you can’t deal with it from abroad if you were required to attend court.

However with help from here it ought to be possible to avoid court. So the key is ideally to see if the railway company will deal with things by e mail. They usually use hard copy post but I expect we can give you advice on how to try and sort this out by email and avoid it going to court.

Were you stopped and questioned onthe train or at a station?

Do you know the train company that stopped you? It could have been one of several. If you are not sure can you state the time of the train or even what colour the train was.

Can you upload a copy of the report you were issued with on the day? Cover up any personal details like your name and reference number etc.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@kttt99. Welcome to the forum. If this was a one-off incident, and investigation of your ticket purchasing history doesn't show previous instances of you having bought (and presumably used) any other railcard discounted tickets since your railcard expired a couple of months or so ago, reckon you'll get asked to pay the full, undiscounted Anytime Day Single fare from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly (= £18.40) plus, maybe, a £100 administration fee added on top of this.

 

[kttt99]

Thank you all for your kind response. Please see below my report. I think the company was Northern Railway.

@kttt99. Welcome to the forum. If this was a one-off incident, and investigation of your ticket purchasing history doesn't show previous instances of you having bought (and presumably used) any other railcard discounted tickets since your railcard expired a couple of months or so ago, reckon you'll get asked to pay the full, undiscounted Anytime Day Single fare from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly (= £18.40) plus, maybe, a £100 administration fee added on top of this.

Thank you. I am more than willing to pay the required costs to resolve this matter. However, I would like to seek further advice on how to proceed, as I may need to return to my home country soon. Because of this issue, I have not yet booked my flight, as I am uncertain about when I will receive the letter

Which train company are you dealing with, do you know?

If it went to court then I think you can’t deal with it from abroad if you were required to attend court.

However with help from here it ought to be possible to avoid court. So the key is ideally to see if the railway company will deal with things by e mail. They usually use hard copy post but I expect we can give you advice on how to try and sort this out by email and avoid it going to court.

Were you stopped and questioned onthe train or at a station?

Do you know the train company that stopped you? It could have been one of several. If you are not sure can you state the time of the train or even what colour the train was.

Can you upload a copy of the report you were issued with on the day? Cover up any personal details like your name and reference number etc.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you all for your kind response. Please see below my report. I think the company was Northern Railway.


Thank you. I am more than willing to pay the required costs to resolve this matter. However, I would like to seek further advice on how to proceed, as I may need to return to my home country soon. Because of this issue, I have not yet booked my flight, as I am uncertain about when I will receive the letter

Thanks - OK so we know this is Northern Trains your are dealing with - they may be prepared to sort the matter out in exchange for what they call one of their 'Fixed Penalty Notices' which is basically a £100 payment plus the cost of the correct fare, which when paid means there will be no court prosecution.

Whilst we usually advise people to wait until they get a letter from the Railway Company (in this case Northern) and then respond to it - it may be worth helping you with a letter at this stage that tries to pre-empt things because you are going aboard. We can help you with a draft of that letter. You could then get that drafted up over the weekend, checked here and posted & e-mailed to them on monday to see if it works to move things on.

Keep the original of that report slip you have uploaded (or a copy with the ref numbers on it that you can always access) safe

Also
If you do leave the UK soon, is there someone who can monitor your post at the address you gave them after you have left, that you would trust to open any post for you, scan it and send it to you by e-mail?

You can also set up a Royal Mail postal redirect service to another address in the UK (or an address abroad, but it costs quite a bit to have post redirected abroad and it will also take a while to reach you, and it's usually necessary to reply to their letters quickly - eg in 14 days at most for example.

Also - after you leave the UK will you still have access to a payment method that would allow you to easily pay northern trains in the UK with £ sterling? (ie will you be keeping a UK bank account for example, if you have one now that is).

 

[kttt99]

Thanks - OK so we know this is Northern Trains your are dealing with - they may be prepared to sort the matter out in exchange for what they call one of their 'Fixed Penalty Notices' which is basically a £100 payment plus the cost of the correct fare, which when paid means there will be no court prosecution.

Whilst we usually advise people to wait until they get a letter from the Railway Company (in this case Northern) and then respond to it - it may be worth helping you with a letter at this stage that tries to pre-empt things because you are going aboard. We can help you with a draft of that letter. You could then get that drafted up over the weekend, checked here and posted & e-mailed to them on monday to see if it works to move things on.

Keep the original of that report slip you have uploaded (or a copy with the ref numbers on it that you can always access) safe

Also
If you do leave the UK soon, is there someone who can monitor your post at the address you gave them after you have left, that you would trust to open any post for you, scan it and send it to you by e-mail?

You can also set up a Royal Mail postal redirect service to another address in the UK (or an address abroad, but it costs quite a bit to have post redirected abroad and it will also take a while to reach you, and it's usually necessary to reply to their letters quickly - eg in 14 days at most for example.

Also - after you leave the UK will you still have access to a payment method that would allow you to easily pay northern trains in the UK with £ sterling? (ie will you be keeping a UK bank account for example, if you have one now that is).

Just to clarify, do you mean I can prepare a letter in advance and post it here for you all to help with reviewing, then post it next week to address my situation with the railway company? That would help a lot.

Yes, I still have my UK bank account when I go back to my country. Also, I can redirect my post to my friend's address, but I believe that I should do it before I leave the UK (in the case the situation has not been settled at that time).

Thank you again, and I will reach out to you when I finish drafting my letter. Have a nice weekend!

 

[WesternLancer]

Just to clarify, do you mean I can prepare a letter in advance and post it here for you all to help with reviewing, then post it next week to address my situation with the railway company? That would help a lot.

Yes. That’s what meant as I think that will help you as experts here can help you get the wording effective

Yes, I still have my UK bank account when I go back to my country.

Good

Also, I can redirect my post to my friend's address, but I believe that I should do it before I leave the UK (in the case the situation has not been settled at that time).

Yes. Set it up before you leave (see Royal Mail website - they need about a weeks notice anyway). Then test it works by sending a letter to yourself in the post addressed to the address you are leaving and see if that letter turns up at your friends address as it should do.

Thank you again, and I will reach out to you when I finish drafting my letter. Have a nice weekend!

 

[kttt99]

Hi all,

Please help me review the letter below. I plan to attach a copy of my renew railcard in the letter as well; is this workable? Thank you.

"Dear Sir/Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing regarding an incident that occurred on November 18, 2024, during my journey from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly.

On that day, I traveled with an advance single ticket purchased at a discounted rate using a 16-25 Railcard. When the ticket inspector reviewed my ticket, I realized that my Railcard had expired on September 25, 2023. This was an honest oversight on my part, and I deeply regret the mistake.

As background, I am an international student who has been in the UK for just over a year. I recently moved to a new city and have not used the rail service frequently. My Railcard is stored in the Trainline app, which I never use to purchase tickets. Unfortunately, this caused me to overlook the expiration date of the Railcard.

When informed of the issue, I fully cooperated with the officer and immediately renewed my Railcard as soon as I knew its expiry. The officer informed me that a report would be filed and that I should await further correspondence regarding the next steps.

I understand the seriousness of this matter and am committed to resolving it. I am prepared to pay any outstanding fare difference, administrative costs, or fines necessary to settle the case out of court.

However, I kindly request your assistance in expediting the resolution of this matter. My student visa is valid only until the end of January 2025, and I plan to return permanently to my home country in December 2024 due to personal commitments.

Given my situation, I would greatly appreciate it if my case could be processed before my planned departure. If this is not possible, I would like to understand whether it is feasible to handle the matter from abroad and what steps I would need to take in that scenario.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and assure you that I have learned a valuable lesson from this experience. I am committed to ensuring such a mistake does not happen again.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to your response."

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,

Please help me review the letter below. I plan to attach a copy of my renew railcard in the letter as well; is this workable? Thank you.

"Dear Sir/Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing regarding an incident that occurred on November 18, 2024, during my journey from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly.

On that day, I traveled with an advance single ticket purchased at a discounted rate using a 16-25 Railcard. When the ticket inspector reviewed my ticket, I realized that my Railcard had expired on September 25, 2023. This was an honest oversight on my part, and I deeply regret the mistake.

As background, I am an international student who has been in the UK for just over a year. I recently moved to a new city and have not used the rail service frequently. My Railcard is stored in the Trainline app, which I never use to purchase tickets. Unfortunately, this caused me to overlook the expiration date of the Railcard.

When informed of the issue, I fully cooperated with the officer and immediately renewed my Railcard as soon as I knew its expiry. The officer informed me that a report would be filed and that I should await further correspondence regarding the next steps.

I understand the seriousness of this matter and am committed to resolving it. I am prepared to pay any outstanding fare difference, administrative costs, or fines necessary to settle the case out of court.

However, I kindly request your assistance in expediting the resolution of this matter. My student visa is valid only until the end of January 2025, and I plan to return permanently to my home country in December 2024 due to personal commitments.

Given my situation, I would greatly appreciate it if my case could be processed before my planned departure. If this is not possible, I would like to understand whether it is feasible to handle the matter from abroad and what steps I would need to take in that scenario.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and assure you that I have learned a valuable lesson from this experience. I am committed to ensuring such a mistake does not happen again.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to your response."

Hi - I've suggested some amends below - I hope these are clear to you. I am assuming you have not as yet had a formal letter from them so if that is the case include the ref number off the slip you were given at the time and enclose a copy of it. You need to explain why you are doing that up front in the letter hence my amendments / suggested addition.


--------------------------------------

"Dear Sir/Madam,

Your Ref: [insert ref off the slip you were given]

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing regarding an incident that occurred on November 18, 2024, during my journey from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly when I was unable to show a valid Railcard.

I understand that I would usually be expected to wait to hear from you in writing about this. However, I am not a UK citizen and expect to be leaving the country soon so I am writing in the hope that this matter can be resolved before I leave the UK, or if that is not possible, by e-mail instead of by post.

On that day in question, I traveled with an advance Advance single ticket purchased at a discounted rate using a 16-25 Railcard. When the ticket inspector reviewed my ticket, I realized realised that my Railcard had expired on September 25, 2023. This was an honest oversight on my part, and I deeply regret the mistake. I had no intention to deliberately fail to pay the correct fare.

As background, I am an international student who has been in the UK for just over a year. I recently moved to a new city and have not used the rail service frequently. My Railcard is stored in the Trainline app, which I never use to purchase tickets. Unfortunately, this caused me to overlook the expiration date of the Railcard.

When informed of the issue, I fully cooperated with the officer and immediately renewed my Railcard as soon as I knew the old one had expired (copy enclosed). its expiry. The officer informed me that a report would be filed and that I should await further correspondence regarding the next steps.

I understand the seriousness of this matter and am committed to resolving it. I am prepared to pay any outstanding fare difference and administrative costs, or fines necessary to settle the case out of court.

However, I kindly request your assistance in expediting the resolution of this matter. My student visa is valid only until the end of January 2025, and I plan to return permanently to my home country in December 2024 due to personal commitments.

Given my situation, I would greatly appreciate it if my case could be considered processed before my planned departure. If this is not possible, I would like to understand whether it is feasible to handle the matter from abroad and what steps I would need to take in that scenario.

After xx [insert a date when you might fly home eg end of term date] December 2024 my postal address will be: [detail postal address in your home country]
My e-mail address is: xxxx@xxxx and I will be able to receive e-mail when I leave the UK
My telephone number outside of the UK will be:

Please be aware that post may take a long time to reach this address, so if communication can be by e-mail I would be most grateful.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and assure you that I have learned a valuable lesson from this experience. I am committed to ensuring such a mistake does not happen again.

I would be most grateful if this matter could be resolved without the need for court action.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to hearing from you in due course. "your response.

Yours faithfully

------------------------------

Then print, sign and send this with a copy of proof of your new Railcard, a copy of that slip you were given and send it tracked postage to that address from a post office, so you know it has reached them. Keep copies of everything for your own records.

My amends are designed to make it easy for them to communicate with you after you leave the UK, make it clear to them when you will leave, and also ask them if they will settle the matter without the court route they could potentially take. I hope this helps

I think your explanation of why you had the wrong ticket is perfectly clear if they read it properly, and makes it clear it was not deliberate fare evasion, but I have added that point.

I hope this helps

 

[Hadders]

Your draft says the railcard expired in September 2023. I assume you mean 2024? Otherwise this wouldn't be consistent with your claim to have onnly been in the UK for just over a year.

 

[WesternLancer]

Don’t forget to check your e mail spam after you supply them with an email address.

 

[kttt99]

Hi - I've suggested some amends below - I hope these are clear to you. I am assuming you have not as yet had a formal letter from them so if that is the case include the ref number off the slip you were given at the time and enclose a copy of it. You need to explain why you are doing that up front in the letter hence my amendments / suggested addition.


--------------------------------------

"Dear Sir/Madam,

Your Ref: [insert ref off the slip you were given]

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing regarding an incident that occurred on November 18, 2024, during my journey from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly when I was unable to show a valid Railcard.

I understand that I would usually be expected to wait to hear from you in writing about this. However, I am not a UK citizen and expect to be leaving the country soon so I am writing in the hope that this matter can be resolved before I leave the UK, or if that is not possible, by e-mail instead of by post.

On that day in question, I traveled with an advance Advance single ticket purchased at a discounted rate using a 16-25 Railcard. When the ticket inspector reviewed my ticket, I realized realised that my Railcard had expired on September 25, 2023. This was an honest oversight on my part, and I deeply regret the mistake. I had no intention to deliberately fail to pay the correct fare.

As background, I am an international student who has been in the UK for just over a year. I recently moved to a new city and have not used the rail service frequently. My Railcard is stored in the Trainline app, which I never use to purchase tickets. Unfortunately, this caused me to overlook the expiration date of the Railcard.

When informed of the issue, I fully cooperated with the officer and immediately renewed my Railcard as soon as I knew the old one had expired (copy enclosed). its expiry. The officer informed me that a report would be filed and that I should await further correspondence regarding the next steps.

I understand the seriousness of this matter and am committed to resolving it. I am prepared to pay any outstanding fare difference and administrative costs, or fines necessary to settle the case out of court.

However, I kindly request your assistance in expediting the resolution of this matter. My student visa is valid only until the end of January 2025, and I plan to return permanently to my home country in December 2024 due to personal commitments.

Given my situation, I would greatly appreciate it if my case could be considered processed before my planned departure. If this is not possible, I would like to understand whether it is feasible to handle the matter from abroad and what steps I would need to take in that scenario.

After xx [insert a date when you might fly home eg end of term date] December 2024 my postal address will be: [detail postal address in your home country]
My e-mail address is: xxxx@xxxx and I will be able to receive e-mail when I leave the UK
My telephone number outside of the UK will be:

Please be aware that post may take a long time to reach this address, so if communication can be by e-mail I would be most grateful.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and assure you that I have learned a valuable lesson from this experience. I am committed to ensuring such a mistake does not happen again.

I would be most grateful if this matter could be resolved without the need for court action.

Thank you for your time and understanding. I look forward to hearing from you in due course. "your response.

Yours faithfully

------------------------------

Then print, sign and send this with a copy of proof of your new Railcard, a copy of that slip you were given and send it tracked postage to that address from a post office, so you know it has reached them. Keep copies of everything for your own records.

My amends are designed to make it easy for them to communicate with you after you leave the UK, make it clear to them when you will leave, and also ask them if they will settle the matter without the court route they could potentially take. I hope this helps

I think your explanation of why you had the wrong ticket is perfectly clear if they read it properly, and makes it clear it was not deliberate fare evasion, but I have added that point.

I hope this helps

Sorry for the late reply. Thank you so much for your help. I will let you all know when there is any update.

Your draft says the railcard expired in September 2023. I assume you mean 2024? Otherwise this wouldn't be consistent with your claim to have onnly been in the UK for just over a year.

Oh sorry its my fault. My railcard expired in 2024.

Don’t forget to check your e mail spam after you supply them with an email address.

Sure. Thank you.

 

[WesternLancer]

Sorry for the late reply. Thank you so much for your help. I will let you all know when there is any update.


Oh sorry its my fault. My railcard expired in 2024.

Sure. Thank you.

Ok. Good luck with it. Head back if you need more advice.

 

[kttt99]

Hello everyone. I’m back after receiving their response. In the end, I only had to pay an additional 11 pounds, which I believe is the difference compared to the full ticket price. I really appreciate everyone’s effort in assisting me, and I’m glad the issue has been resolved smoothly. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

 

[antharro]

Thank you for getting back to us and letting us know the result. It's good to know and it'll be helpful for anyone else in your position! Have a Merry Christmas too.

 

[MrJeeves]

Hello everyone. I’m back after receiving their response. In the end, I only had to pay an additional 11 pounds, which I believe is the difference compared to the full ticket price. I really appreciate everyone’s effort in assisting me, and I’m glad the issue has been resolved smoothly. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

That sounds like a very good resolution!

Merry Christmas!

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello everyone. I’m back after receiving their response. In the end, I only had to pay an additional 11 pounds, which I believe is the difference compared to the full ticket price. I really appreciate everyone’s effort in assisting me, and I’m glad the issue has been resolved smoothly. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Glad it was sorted out promptly!