"caught" paying lower fare with railcard I don't have

[mazz]

I am so embarrassed. I was travelling with WMR/TWM into Birmingham, where I was supposed to change platforms for a Dudley train. One way. I paid for this via Uber. I got to the gates and a load of inspectors were there, the one guy scanned my ticket and asked to see my railcard. I said "I don't have a railcard". To my dismay, the ticket says 26-30 railcard. I've never ever purposely tried to get off on train costs. Not even when it's night and there's nobody around and I'm only going a few stops away. The last time I had my ticket checked was probably about 8 years ago, yet I've still paid every single time.

I had no idea there was a railcard attached to my Uber. I don't even know how it came up on there. At first I thought it was a mis-click, but the fact that it was the exact railcard I'd use, the 26-30 railcard, I kind of remember my friend telling me about a deal on railcards, he told me because I had just received a job offer which required a fair bit of train travel. All I can think of, is that I tested the prices by inputting a railcard, and then left it on there and forgot. I've discovered that the past few journeys a railcard has been added onto it, around about the same time my friend told me about the deal on railcards. I'm convinced this is what happened. I have ADHD so my memory of these things and the carelessness I take with things is terrible.

At the time I told them it must have been an app mistake, now I believe human error, but either way it was a mistake, not on purpose, and now I face prosecution. I have a job that requires updates on my DBS, I can't afford a criminal record, I would never risk my career for the sake of a 30p discount. Now I'm terrified I risked my career because of a stupid mistake. What are the likely next steps? The lady took all my details and told me I would get a letter in the post. Is this going to be a letter asking me for my side, then probably issuing a fine, or am I likely to get prosecuted and get a record? That's just not an option for me.

 

[antharro]

> Is this going to be a letter asking me for my side, then probably issuing a fine, or am I likely to get prosecuted and get a record? That's just not an option for me.

Yup. They'll write to you, usually threatening prosecution and giving you a chance to explain yourself. If you cooperate then there's a good chance you'll walk away with paying the full outstanding fare plus an admin charge of £100-150.

However. You need to be absolutely honest; is this the ONLY time that you've done this? You need to look back through your ticket purchasing history and see if other tickets have been purchased. If there are other occasions then they may address this in the letter and you'll need to prepare yourself for paying for those journeys too.

 

[mazz]

> Is this going to be a letter asking me for my side, then probably issuing a fine, or am I likely to get prosecuted and get a record? That's just not an option for me.

Yup. They'll write to you, usually threatening prosecution and giving you a chance to explain yourself. If you cooperate then there's a good chance you'll walk away with paying the full outstanding fare plus an admin charge of £100-150.

However. You need to be absolutely honest; is this the ONLY time that you've done this? You need to look back through your ticket purchasing history and see if other tickets have been purchased. If there are other occasions then they may address this in the letter and you'll need to prepare yourself for paying for those journeys too.

Thanks, that seems to be the consensus. I've just been panicking that I will end up prosecuted over a stupid mistake and the potential adverse effect on my career. I guess all I can do is wait for now.

I looked back, I think it's been for the last 5 rides. The last one that didn't have a railcard applied was before the message from my friend telling me about the offer. I genuinely do not remember doing it but I must have added it to check the prices of fairs, only explanation! If I add up those fairs it's probably less than £15, however. As long as they don't fine me £150 for each instance it happened I am okay with paying the extra fairs. I just can't believe what a blunder I made.

 

[antharro]

Your worst case (while still settling out of court) would be paying for each of those journeys at the full, single, no-discount rate, plus the admin fee.

One other thing you can do while you're waiting for the letter is look to see if you can apply for a railcard. There are several railcards, which you can read up on here: https://www.railcard.co.uk/ . If one is available to you and you'd get real benefit from using it, then get it now. You can then state on your reply letter that you've purchased a railcard to help with travel costs and to help ensure you're always paying the correct price for your travel.

Otherwise, nothing you can do now but sit back and wait for the letter. It might take them a while to get around to you - they have six months to take this to court (that's the legal cut-off), so expect a letter any time in that period. Do try and put it out of your mind if you can; you're definitely not going to prison, it's highly unlikely this will go to court, and everyone makes mistakes sometimes!

 

[mazz]

Your worst case (while still settling out of court) would be paying for each of those journeys at the full, single, no-discount rate, plus the admin fee.

One other thing you can do while you're waiting for the letter is look to see if you can apply for a railcard. There are several railcards, which you can read up on here: https://www.railcard.co.uk/ . If one is available to you and you'd get real benefit from using it, then get it now. You can then state on your reply letter that you've purchased a railcard to help with travel costs and to help ensure you're always paying the correct price for your travel.

Otherwise, nothing you can do now but sit back and wait for the letter. It might take them a while to get around to you - they have six months to take this to court (that's the legal cut-off), so expect a letter any time in that period. Do try and put it out of your mind if you can; you're definitely not going to prison, it's highly unlikely this will go to court, and everyone makes mistakes sometimes!

You're a star, thankyou. I definitely will get a railcard, it'll help me now because I'll be travelling a little further for work until I can save up and get a place over there, which is not likely until I know what fines I have to pay! I'll add that I have purchased a railcard in my letter back.

Yeah, not much I can do at the moment. I know prison isn't on the cards I am just hoping for an out of court settlement. Thanks for everything.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If I add up those fairs it's probably less than £15, however. As long as they don't fine me £150 for each instance it happened I am okay with paying the extra fairs.

Engage with the process and pay up promptly, if/when asked to do so, and it should just be the one (three figure) admin fee, plus the full, undiscounted, Anytime Day Single fare for each and every occasion when they reckon you've bought/used inappropriately discounted tickets. (Have you said what these journeys were?) A day return, however, might well be charged as 2 x singles.

 

[Hadders]

Just to add that when the letter comes from WMR post a copy of it in this thread (but do redact any personal details before doing so), along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

 

[mazz]

Engage with the process and pay up promptly, if/when asked to do so, and it should just be the one (three figure) admin fee, plus the full, undiscounted, Anytime Day Single fare for each and every occasion when they reckon you've bought/used inappropriately discounted tickets. (Have you said what these journeys were?) A day return, however, might well be charged as 2 x singles.

Will do, thankyou! Upon looking at the journeys, these were short trips. I recon around £20 worth of trips.

Just to add that when the letter comes from WMR post a copy of it in this thread (but do redact any personal details before doing so), along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

I will do that, although I have already drafted a response if you could take a look?

Dear sir/madam

I am embarrassed and ashamed by this situation. Upon being asked for a railcard, I was shocked to realise that my Uber e-ticket had a railcard attached to the ticket. When speaking to the ticketing staff, I insisted that it must have been an error of the app, as I have never had a railcard and did not remember ever adding one. However, I have since recalled an instance of me attempting to input a railcard in the app to check the discount amount. I recently started a new job which requires regular train or bus travel and I looked into deals on railcards, and I added this to check what kind of discounts I would get to see if it was worth getting. The only explanation I can think of is that this stayed on my app so that when I booked further travel, it kept this as an option. It is absolutely not obvious on the Uber app that a railcard has been added, and I genuinely had no idea until I was pulled aside that this was on there.

I have a job that requires a clean record and I would never risk jeopardising my career for a small discount on train tickets. I have never attempted to fare dodge and this was a genuine mistake. However, I accept that carelessness is no excuse, and I am fully accountable for my actions. I am willing to accept any fines associated with this incident and hope to settle this out of court, if possible.

Sincerely...


- I am aware it seems overly apologetic and as though I am making excuses, but I just can't help myself from explaining the situation. But part of me feels as though they will be harder on me, assuming I am trying to shift responsibility by making up a story, but it's the truth. Completely overthinking this whole situation and will be glad when it's over!

Update, I got a letter, it was from TIL on behalf of TFW, not WMR. They just asked for a partial payment of their admin fee and the fare, it came to £85. No threat of prosecution or anything like that, just an option to pay or send them an explanation for mitigation. I paid the fine to be done with it, since it was a mistake regardless of the fact it was an accident. Just happy it's over!

 

[antharro]

That's a great outcome! Thanks for coming back to let us know. Don't forget to get a railcard if there's one that applies to you!

 

[6Gman]

Update, I got a letter, it was from TIL on behalf of TFW, not WMR. They just asked for a partial payment of their admin fee and the fare, it came to £85. No threat of prosecution or anything like that, just an option to pay or send them an explanation for mitigation. I paid the fine to be done with it, since it was a mistake regardless of the fact it was an accident. Just happy it's over!

Just to point out that it isn't legally a fine but an agreement between yourself and the railway company. As such it keeps your record free of any legal process.