My friend was caught fare evading by a the man checking tickets on an XC train a few weeks ago. The man was wearing a body cam and my friend admitted he was going to a further stop. He was told this was fraud and was then allowed to buy a full ticket without any details being taken. He used his debit card to pay. Is there a chance/how big is the chance that anything will happen to him as he has been worried about it since. The worker never mentioned being passed on to the prosecution department.
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Fare evasion no details taken
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If they gave no details I can’t see how they can take any further action. If they bought the correct ticket then I’m fairly confident that the matter is closed. I hope they are aware of the serious consequences of what they have done and are aware they may not be lucky next time.
After he did it he started doing a lot of research into fare evading as a whole and has learnt significantly more about the rules on trains. It was his first and last time.
I don’t think I’m actually that surprised. The general opinion by many is that the consequences of doing so can’t be that bad. They certainly don’t consider that riding a train from say Retford to York first thing is the morning is as bad as taking £33.70 worth of stuff from a shop.
I don’t think it’s particularly clear of the consequences that take place if you commit this and I’m not surprised that my friend thought it would only entail a fine and personally I didn’t realise the seriousness of it until he discussed it with me
Bletchleyite
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Probably because it's actually not. It's more like pirating £33.70 worth of DVDs or music - that doesn't make it OK (it clearly isn't), but the clear difference is that the railway hasn't lost a physical item that it can't then sell to someone else. A fare dodger travelling on a train does not prevent the TOC selling a ticket to someone else, whereas if you take a bar of chocolate the shop no longer has it to sell.
(I tend to use this to answer those who say "[software/music/movie] piracy is theft" - er, no, it's not - it's still an offence and morally wrong too but it categorically is not theft).
This is a very valid comment.
gray1404
Established Member
The train company is not entitled to ask the bank to hand over the details of the cardholder to them. Therefore your friend can be confidant they will not hear anything further. I do not quite agree that your friend should have been told they were committing fraud. Rather it is a possible fare evasion.
So they boarded with a valid ticket but were going to a further stop. I was once in this position on a XC service. En-route I decided to actually go a stop further to Bournemouth. I asked the train Manager if I could pay for the extra stop. She gladly sold me an excess, not a new ticket. So I just paid the difference in fare. However, I asked for this before my current ticket expired.
So they boarded with a valid ticket but were going to a further stop. I was once in this position on a XC service. En-route I decided to actually go a stop further to Bournemouth. I asked the train Manager if I could pay for the extra stop. She gladly sold me an excess, not a new ticket. So I just paid the difference in fare. However, I asked for this before my current ticket expired.
OT, but since the OP has his answer...
As someone who works in the software business, having someone deriving benefit from my work without compensating me for all the effort* certainly feels like theft to me. Especially since our software isn't used directly by end users but rather by other businesses which provide services to end users, generating a profit for themselves.
*Not me personally since I work in support rather than development, but the principle still stands.
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Automation programming in theatre takes hours (days and weeks in reality) to make, program , edit and test.
It’s just a series of automated cues with a potential of tens of thousands of edits per cue. With a copy of that data someone can run the show without me and save money. That would also feel like theft to me.
It’s just a series of automated cues with a potential of tens of thousands of edits per cue. With a copy of that data someone can run the show without me and save money. That would also feel like theft to me.
If TOCs don't take details, it is next to impossible for any penalty fare/unpaid fare notice to be taken forward. In accordance with data protection laws, the footage on the body camera should be wiped providing your friend did not use abusive language or threaten the inspector at the end of their shift.
It is not worth their time and effort as they would have to have an extensive investigation. They would have to identify you, ask for data protection to verify it's you etc. which is a can of worms. Even when they identify you, you may have a reasonable explanation as to why you didn't have a ticket and which would not stack up in court. For a £500 fine let's, it's not even worth the administrative costs.
There are enough people who are daft enough to deliberately ignore fine letters/provide false details to deal with for TOCs to go after and increase £20 penalty fares/£80 unpaid notices in court.
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....sorry @js1000 , do you know by chance what happens if ppl ignore letters ? Or miss letters as they provided temporary accommodation address which they won't be able to have access to by the time letter arrives?
swt_passenger
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People who have ignored all letters in the hope they’ll give up sometimes post here - usually some time after they’ve been found guilty in their absence in the local magistrates’ court. Usually with a big fine based on an assumed average income.
Not really a good plan to ignore letters especially if they have your correct details, because the law assumes you got the post...
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