Penalty Notice for Unable to show rail card due to dead phone

[mani344]

I was travelling from Egham to Waterloo london on 9 May via South Western Railway. I purchased a discounted ticket using 16-25 rail card from Egham station ticketing counter. I showed my rail card from mobile and they issue me a discounted ticket. When I tried to exit at waterloo the barcode did not work out and I reached officer on duty he demanded rail card But unfortunately , I was unable to present due to dead phone. I represented him with my 18+ student oyestor card which was linked to my 16-25 rail card and he tapped it on a device and the discount appear. However, he refused to accept and issued me with the report for Prosecution along with this he kept my original ticket with him . He told me that SWR will contact you in regarding this matter. Today , I received penalty notice to pay 132.70 pounds including 12.70 as fare avoided and 120 as admin fees. Now they gave me two options Either to pay fine or go for court hearing . Regarding evidences , I have a ticket purchase receipt, a valid 16-25 card which is active from feb25- feb26. What should I do either write them formally that they should reconsider penalty before going for court hearing or should I pay the fine .

Thanks

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Please could you post the correspondence that you've received so the forum pros can have a look at it? Make sure you obscure your personal details and any reference numbers.

 

[tram21]

You should be able to use the 'forgotten railcard' policy, in which if you send your valid railcard you can cancel any fines recieved/ additional tickets booked when you forget your railcard once per year.

Please do send across correspondence.

 

[jfollows]

You should be able to use the 'forgotten railcard' policy, in which if you send your valid railcard you can cancel any fines recieved/ additional tickets booked when you forget your railcard once per year.

Absolutely, see https://assets.nationalrail.co.uk/e...3/National_Rail_Conditions_of_Travel_2024.pdf

8. Railcards
If you use a Railcard to purchase a discounted Ticket, you must carry the Railcard (and
have it available for inspection) when you travel. The Railcard must be within its period
of validity when you travel (in other words it should not have expired).

The Railcard may have additional restrictions which will apply to any Tickets you buy
when using it.

If you have a Railcard, you must ensure that the information on it can be read by rail
staff. On occasions this printed information may fade over time. If your Railcard starts
to become illegible for this reason, we will replace it without charge. This can be done at
any station with a Ticket office or through the Licensed Retailer from which it was
purchased.

When you buy a national Railcard the full terms and conditions will be provided. They
are also available from www.railcard.co.uk, and on request from all staffed Ticket
offices.

If you are travelling with a Railcard discounted Ticket and are unable to present the
Railcard when asked by the staff or authorised agents of a Train Company, you will be
treated as having joined a train without a valid Ticket and Conditions 9.1 – 9.5 will apply.

However, if you were unable to present the Railcard because you had forgotten to carry
it on that particular journey or mislaid it, the Train Company concerned will refund any
fare or Penalty Fare paid in accordance with Condition 10.

In order to claim such a refund, you will need to contact the customer service
department of the Train Company that charged you the additional fare or Penalty Fare,
providing the full details of your Railcard, together with the additional Tickets you have
purchased or any Penalty Fares notices. A maximum of one such claim will be considered
in any 12-month period.

 

[mani344]

Absolutely, see https://assets.nationalrail.co.uk/e...3/National_Rail_Conditions_of_Travel_2024.pdf

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 May 2025 ==

Thanks for your time I am now attaching the report for prosecution along with the penalty notice . Kindly guide me about next step about court hearing or otherwise.

 

[jfollows]

As in the letter you have posted, email your mitigation that you held a valid railcard when asked at Waterloo but were unable to show it, attach proof of your valid railcard to the email, quote the Conditions of Travel and request that the prosecution be cancelled under the ‘forgotten railcard’ policy, and assure them that you’ll ensure this won’t happen again, for example I suggest buying a power block for your phone.

 

[mani344]

As there is mentioned that I have to choose two option either to pay or court. I simply just present my side evidence in email and request prosecution cancellation under forgotten rail card policy. Do I need to select my choice right now or I just need to correspond?

As in the letter you have posted, email your mitigation that you held a valid railcard when asked at Waterloo but were unable to show it, attach proof of your valid railcard to the email, quote the Conditions of Travel and request that the prosecution be cancelled under the ‘forgotten railcard’ policy, and assure them that you’ll ensure this won’t happen again, for example I sugges buying a power block for your phone

 

[jfollows]

I don’t know what you mean, but you are invited in the letter to provide “mitigation” which is what you need to do - the reasons why you should not be prosecuted.

 

[WesternLancer]

As there is mentioned that I have to choose two option either to pay or court. I simply just present my side evidence in email and request prosecution cancellation under forgotten rail card policy. Do I need to select my choice right now or I just need to correspond?

word up your reply as per the advice above (eg post#6) before you send it to them so people here can check it for you to make sure it is as clear t them as possible.

Use an apologetic tone in your draft eg

'I am am sorry that I was unable to show the Railcard on inspection at xxxx....because my phone battery had expired in the time since I bought the ticket at Egham station ticket office (where I showed the railcard using my phone at the ticket office as I purchased my ticket)'

then go on to the rest of the reply as suggested

address the question of the '2 options' you mention by saying eg

' I believe the Railcard T&Cs allow me to use the 'forgotten Railcard policy' in this case so I would be grateful if you could confirm that I do not have to make any additional payment nor that the matter would be pursued in court'

In due course they should reply and tell you they have closed the investigation with no further action (this assumes you have not been in their situation before in the last 12 months such that you have technically fouled the policy which as mentioned above allows you to forget / be unable to show a railcard once in a 12 month period - which I would take to mean a rolling 12 month period. Which going forward means you need to be 100% able to show it for the next 12 months every or any time it is asked for.

 

[mani344]

This is the drafted reply as correspondence to SWR . Members kindly suggest any changes or modification. Your cooperation is highly appreciated.
Dear SWR Prosecutions Department,


I am writing regarding the penalty notice (Ref: SWREMG________), received on 13 May 2025, relating to my journey from Egham to London Waterloo on 9 May 2025.


On the day of travel, I purchased a discounted ticket from the staffed counter at Egham station. I showed my valid 16–25 Railcard on my phone, which the staff member verified before issuing me the discounted fare. Unfortunately, upon arrival at Waterloo, my phone had run out of battery, so I was unable to present the Railcard at the time of exit.


I explained the situation and offered my 18+ Student Oyster card, which has my 16–25 Railcard linked to it, as an alternative means of verification. However, this was not accepted, and the officer informed me that a report would be submitted and that SWR would contact me in writing.


I am extremely sorry that I was unable to present my Railcard due to these unforeseen circumstances, and I will ensure I carry a power bank with me in the future. I wish to clarify that I was fully eligible to travel on the discounted fare, and I had no intention of fare evasion. This was an isolated and genuine mistake caused by my phone battery dying, and I sincerely regret any inconvenience caused. It will not happen again.


I believe that the Railcard Terms & Conditions allow me to use the 'forgotten Railcard policy' in this case. I would be grateful if you could confirm that I do not need to make any additional payment and that the matter will not be pursued in court.


For your reference, I have attached a copy of my valid 16–25 Railcard and the ticket purchase receipt for verification.


In light of the above, I respectfully request that you reconsider the penalty. I would be very grateful for your understanding.


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


Yours sincerely,

 

[John R]

We can always wordsmith these letters to death, but I think, using a catchphrase that will be familiar to some this weekend, it is Good to Go.

 

[WesternLancer]

This is the drafted reply as correspondence to SWR . Members kindly suggest any changes or modification. Your cooperation is highly appreciated.
Dear SWR Prosecutions Department,


I am writing regarding the penalty notice (Ref: SWREMG________), received on 13 May 2025, relating to my journey from Egham to London Waterloo on 9 May 2025.


On the day of travel, I purchased a discounted ticket from the staffed counter at Egham station. I showed my valid 16–25 Railcard on my phone, which the staff member verified before issuing me the discounted fare. Unfortunately, upon arrival at Waterloo, my phone had run out of battery, so I was unable to present the Railcard at the time of exit.


I explained the situation and offered my 18+ Student Oyster card, which has my 16–25 Railcard linked to it, as an alternative means of verification. However, this was not accepted, and the officer informed me that a report would be submitted and that SWR would contact me in writing.


I am extremely sorry that I was unable to present my Railcard due to these unforeseen circumstances, and I will ensure I carry a power bank with me in the future. I wish to clarify that I was fully eligible to travel on the discounted fare, and I had no intention of fare evasion. This was an isolated and genuine mistake caused by my phone battery dying, and I sincerely regret any inconvenience caused. It will not happen again.


I believe that the Railcard Terms & Conditions allow me to use the 'forgotten Railcard policy' in this case. I would be grateful if you could confirm that I do not need to make any additional payment and that the matter will not be pursued in court.


For your reference, I have attached a copy of my valid 16–25 Railcard and the ticket purchase receipt for verification.


In light of the above, I respectfully request that you reconsider the penalty. I would be very grateful for your understanding.


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


Yours sincerely,

I would be specifically quoting the relevant T&C para as @jfollows quoted above. I would not get into the business about showing another type of card as it confuses things a bit.

Can you also include the actual ticket you had (or only the receipt if the ticket got taken by gates / staff)? if you have it then I would include it (but keep a copy for your own records)

So your reply might look like below - includes some minor additions that hopefully you can spot:

do see what others think before you send this off as there might be better suggestions!

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

Dear SWR Prosecutions Department,


I am writing regarding the penalty notice (Ref: SWREMG________), received on 13 May 2025, relating to my journey from Egham to London Waterloo on 9 May 2025.


On the day of travel, I purchased a discounted ticket from the staffed counter at Egham station. I showed my valid 16–25 Railcard on my phone, which the staff member verified before issuing me the discounted fare. Unfortunately, upon arrival at Waterloo, my phone had run out of battery, so I was unable to present the Railcard at the time of exit.


I explained the situation and offered my 18+ Student Oyster card, which has my 16–25 Railcard linked to it, as an alternative means of verification. However, this was not accepted, and the officer informed me that a report would be submitted and that SWR would contact me in writing.


I am extremely sorry that I was unable to present my Railcard due to these unforeseen circumstances, and I will ensure I carry a power bank with me in the future. I wish to clarify that I was fully eligible to travel on the discounted fare, and I had no intention of fare evasion. This was an isolated and genuine mistake caused by my phone battery dying, and I sincerely regret any inconvenience caused. It will not happen again.


I believe that the Railcard Terms & Conditions indicate that the 'forgotten Railcard policy' would apply in this case. As detailed in the National Rail Conditions of Travel Part C, Section 8 (parts 8.5 - 8.7) including "However, if you were unable to present the Railcard because you had forgotten to carry it on that particular journey or mislaid it, the Train Company concerned will refund any fare or Penalty Fare paid in accordance with Condition 10." and as also explained in the FAQs section of the Railcard website.

I would be grateful if you could confirm that I do not need to make any additional payment as detailed in your letter and that the matter will not be pursued in court.

For your reference, I have attached a copy of my valid 16–25 Railcard and the ticket purchase receipt for verification.

In light of the above, I respectfully request that you reconsider the request for payment and any penalty. I would be very grateful for your understanding.

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

Yours sincerely,

 

[nesw]

The OP might want to remove the officers badge number from the report for prosecution.

 

[AlterEgo]

The OP might want to remove the officers badge number from the report for prosecution.

Why?

 

[jfollows]

I would be specifically quoting the relevant T&C para as @jfollows quoted above. I would not get into the business about showing another type of card as it confuses things a bit.

Can you also include the actual ticket you had (or only the receipt if the ticket got taken by gates / staff)? if you have it then I would include it (but keep a copy for your own records)

So your reply might look like below - includes some minor additions that hopefully you can spot:

do see what others think before you send this off as there might be better suggestions!

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

Thank you, I think this and your previous post are extremely helpful and @mani344 would be well advised to incorporate your suggestions in their response. Rail companies normally don’t want to prosecute unnecessarily, and good evidence of a valid railcard should be enough to get them to withdraw from prosecution.

 

[Hadders]

Moderator Note - discussion about the potential consequences of a mobile phone running out of battery and being able to show railcards/etickets has been split into a new thread to avoid this thread going off-topic.

Discussion About Potential Issues Showing a Railcard or E-ticket of a Mobile Phone Runs Out of Charge

Moderator Note - split from: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/penalty-notice-for-unable-to-show-rail-card-due-to-dead-phone.286338/#post-7287870 I find it odd that at no point did SWR inform you of the forgotten railcard policy... Is there a systematic issue we could uncover and reverse...

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