Can a failed contactless check lead to a trainline.com audit?

[omakase88]

As question above, my contactless card has been blocked by tfl and I can no longer use it to tap in/out. I have been using the same card to purchase tickets on trainline - will tfl now audit my trainline purchase history? I have not received any verbal/written notice of my card being blocked, I just tried it on contactless one day and it said 'error contact fl helpdesk'. And I have been continuing to buy tickets on trainline with this card on the app.

I called the tfl Helpdesk this morning and they advised me to create an online account for my card which I have not yet done.

 

[kacper]

They will not

 

[omakase88]

They will not

Hi thanks for replying - do you mind sharing how you know they will not check?

 

[AlterEgo]

As question above, my contactless card has been blocked by tfl and I can no longer use it to tap in/out. I have been using the same card to purchase tickets on trainline - will tfl now audit my trainline purchase history? I have not received any verbal/written notice of my card being blocked, I just tried it on contactless one day and it said 'error contact fl helpdesk'. And I have been continuing to buy tickets on trainline with this card on the app.

I called the tfl Helpdesk this morning and they advised me to create an online account for my card which I have not yet done.

Sounds like TfL might have realised you're not tapping in or out properly and accumulating lots of maximum fares.

They may, if they have a reasonable suspicion that this is part of wider (and quite predictable) misuse, liaise with ticket retailers to find out if you've been short faring or doughnutting. We have seen a couple of cases where this has happened at Stratford, the connoisseur's choice of this activity.

 

[ikcdab]

And if they were to audit your Trainline history, would they find anything?
If you think you are completely in the clear, then just carry on as suggested and all will be ok.
If you think they might have cause to question something in your history then you need to start buying the correct tickets now and sit tight and see what happens.

 

[swt_passenger]

As question above, my contactless card has been blocked by tfl and I can no longer use it to tap in/out. I have been using the same card to purchase tickets on trainline - will tfl now audit my trainline purchase history? I have not received any verbal/written notice of my card being blocked, I just tried it on contactless one day and it said 'error contact fl helpdesk'. And I have been continuing to buy tickets on trainline with this card on the app.

I called the tfl Helpdesk this morning and they advised me to create an online account for my card which I have not yet done.

If your contactless card isn’t registered to a TFL account surely they can’t have any direct means of contacting you, so that lack of notice should be as expected?

 

[omakase88]

And if they were to audit your Trainline history, would they find anything?
If you think you are completely in the clear, then just carry on as suggested and all will be ok.
If you think they might have cause to question something in your history then you need to start buying the correct tickets now and sit tight and see what happens.

Unfortunately I have been short faring on train journeys for a while now but this has been a massive wake up call for me and I am going to start purchasing the correct tickets. I am hoping that they cannot request my trainline history as I do not have a tfl account. This means that they have no further information on me aside from card details.

If your contactless card isn’t registered to a TFL account surely they can’t have any direct means of contacting you, so that lack of notice should be as expected?

Yes, just wondering if they would have a method to contact me when they don't have any of my details.

 

[swt_passenger]

Yes, just wondering if they would have a method to contact me when they don't have any of my details.

I suppose if they needed to all they could really do is write to your card issuer.

 

[kacper]

Hi thanks for replying - do you mind sharing how you know they will not check?

TfL don’t deal with travel irregularities outside of their system. If you get caught with a suspicious ticket on a national rail operator they will most definitely audit your ticket history

 

[ikcdab]

In theory yes they can track you down inasmuch as anyone can be tracked through use of card payments etc. Bit given the amount of fare evasion they have to track, I suspect that you will fall into the too difficult pile. Just heed the wakeup call very well.

 

[Starmill]

It's incredibly foolish to allow multiple maximum fares to be charged to your card. It can happen to anyone a handful of times, but not repeatedly on the same journey. Please make sure you touch in and out correctly, or have the correct ticket before boarding, in the future.

I suppose if they needed to all they could really do is write to your card issuer.

Indeed. Or they could pass information to the police, if they thought it were evidence of crime, who can then easily investigate card issuers. However as you suggested, these are quite unlikely things to be happening.

 

[Benjwri]

I think it is quite unlikely TfL will be auditing your Trainline history without having stopped you, not least because they normally do this through looking up what account bought a ticket or making you give them an email. Finding an account from a card number will be far more tricky as Trainline shouldn’t be storing anything more than the last 4 digits in a searchable format, so the chances of multiple matches are very high.

I would be far far more concerned about RPIs making an appearance at the station you have been using your card at with a CCTV photo of you, if there is a regular time you use it. It all really depends how many maximum charges. If you’ve done this a lot I would consider changing the station you are using at that end at least for a few months.

 

[Hadders]

It sounds as though TfL have blocked yoiur card because you've had multiple maximum fares charged (a maximum fare is typically charged when you touch in but don't touch out, or touch out without touching in).

It's highly unlikely that TfL will audit your Trainline history but be aware that if you've been purchasing a short distance ticket via Trainline at the other end of your journey to get through the barriers then this could well flag to the train company, regardless of what has happened with TfL. Just this week we have seen an example with Greater Anglia.

Travel Irregularity QS - Fraud Investigations

Hi I received an email & corresponding letter which I have attached. The email has come from Fraud Investigations. I have been travelling to stratford but buying a return ticket to a nearer station to home as there are no barriers at stratford. I use trainline to buy the ticket. I have never...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Deafdoggie]

I think it is quite unlikely TfL will be auditing your Trainline history without having stopped you, not least because they normally do this through looking up what account bought a ticket or making you give them an email. Finding an account from a card number will be far more tricky as Trainline shouldn’t be storing anything more than the last 4 digits in a searchable format, so the chances of multiple matches are very high.

I would be far far more concerned about RPIs making an appearance at the station you have been using your card at with a CCTV photo of you, if there is a regular time you use it. It all really depends how many maximum charges. If you’ve done this a lot I would consider changing the station you are using at that end at least for a few months.

It's perfectly legal, and common, to store whole card numbers. I don't know anywhere that only stores the last 4 digits.
We also store the customers name off the card, that is they haven't given us their name it's what is on the card.
More information is exchanged and stored than you seem to realise.

 

[Adam Williams]

It's perfectly legal, and common, to store whole card numbers. I don't know anywhere that only stores the last 4 digits.

It depends on a variety of factors.

Storing the entire PAN will require much more work from a PCI compliance perspective than just storing the last 4 digits.

It also depends on the payment provider. Some, like Stripe, simply refuse to disclose more than the last 4 digits and some generic information about the bank/card issuer.

If you buy a ticket on the forum's ticketing site, it will only ever see the last 4 digits.

 

[Starmill]

It's perfectly legal, and common, to store whole card numbers. I don't know anywhere that only stores the last 4 digits.
We also store the customers name off the card, that is they haven't given us their name it's what is on the card.
More information is exchanged and stored than you seem to realise.

Not every merchant is well placed to follow the card scheme rules (and now the law) for secure holding of all of that though are they? Of course your response could be that everyone should have that level of data security, but there we go I guess...