Stansted - expired railcard - prosecution? - please help me

[railcardhelp]

Hey everyone. I am really freaking out, having multiple panic attacks because I don’t know what is going to happen. I travelled from Liv street to Stansted airport and as I was getting off the train I realised I couldn’t find my railcard anywhere. I had a 2021-2022 one which expired in 2022 but couldn’t find my 2023-2024 one. I bought a new one before leaving the platform and went to scan my ticket and got pulled aside. I explained I have a 2021-2022 expired railcard on my app but my 2023-2024 one is missing and to avoid any issues I therefore bought a new one. He said if I did this before I bought my ticket it would’ve been fine. He interviewed me under caution and said they’d write to me via letter. I left and then 15 min later managed to find the 2023-2024 one. I came back and showed him my 2023-2024 railcard. Unfortunately it expired in Jan 2024 but I told him to please use this on the file as I genuinely had thought it was valid until I couldn’t find it. I’m a lawyer and I’m terrified, I’m moving jobs too. I’m so scared, what do you think will happen? Do you think I could have a criminal record? I’ll lose everything. Please, if you can give me any help or guidance I’d appreciate it. I have been having constant panic attacks since.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hey everyone. I am really freaking out, having multiple panic attacks because I don’t know what is going to happen. I travelled from Liv street to Stansted airport and as I was getting off the train I realised I couldn’t find my railcard anywhere. I had a 2021-2022 one which expired in 2022 but couldn’t find my 2023-2024 one. I bought a new one before leaving the platform and went to scan my ticket and got pulled aside. I explained I have a 2021-2022 expired railcard on my app but my 2023-2024 one is missing and to avoid any issues I therefore bought a new one. He said if I did this before I bought my ticket it would’ve been fine. He interviewed me under caution and said they’d write to me via letter. I left and then 15 min later managed to find the 2023-2024 one. I came back and showed him my 2023-2024 railcard. Unfortunately it expired in Jan 2024 but I told him to please use this on the file as I genuinely had thought it was valid until I couldn’t find it. I’m a lawyer and I’m terrified, I’m moving jobs too. I’m so scared, what do you think will happen? Do you think I could have a criminal record? I’ll lose everything. Please, if you can give me any help or guidance I’d appreciate it. I have been having constant panic attacks since.

It seems to me that you probably want to avoid this matter going to court, with the risk that you will be convicted: from what you say, that could be very damaging to your career.

It’s not your choice over whether it goes to court, but in our experience here you can minimise the chance by co-operating with the railway to make sure that they can recover all the fares that they should have been paid (plus their expenses) and reassuring them that you won’t break the rules again.

That will mean being fully honest with them and with yourself. As things stand at the moment, your story suggests a remarkable run of bad luck (you only realised you couldn’t find your railcard on arrival at a station which checks tickets on the way out! When you did find your railcard it was out of date!) and you may want to consider how a hostile party (like the railway) might read assertions like that without supporting evidence.

So follow the advice that you would no doubt give a client in a potentially contested situation:

- note down the facts now while they’re still clear in your head
- gather the supporting evidence
- wait for the railway to be in touch so you can size the problem
- respond appropriately to satisfy them without going to court

 

[Brissle Girl]

Even in the worst case scenario I very much doubt that a conviction for an out of date railcard would ruin your career (I am in a similarly tightly regulated profession fwiw), as it is clearly an accident, rather than premeditated fraudulent behaviour.

However, as a lawyer, I would really expect you to have a much greater attention to detail (in terms of both the railcard being expired and not being able to have it to hand before travelling) both at work and in your personal life.

 

[Pushpit]

If you are struggling with panic attacks - which is a normal but unpleasant bodily reaction to stress or anxiety - then have a look at the NHS (and NHS Scotland) web pages for panic attacks, there are a number of things you can do to mitigate this, some of which fall into the category of self help. However also bear in mind you may want to see a clinician since panic attacks can sometimes be mistaken for something more serious, such as epilepsy, and it's not unusual to get a late diagnosis of this.

I doubt this will cut much ice with you, but while this is certainly a problem that needs your utmost attention, it is extremely unlikely that it will have a damaging impact on your career. If you are in the legal profession I'm sure you are aware of colleagues with far more serious convictions for things like drink driving on their record - the SRA's usual response is to impose a stiff financial sanction but the solicitor is free to practice.

As it happens the usual (but not guaranteed) outcome is reaching an out of court settlement, with a financial penalty in the £200 area. This is on condition you respond to the letter from the Train Operating Company quickly and honestly. But by all means reach out for more advice here, once the letter has arrived.

This also shall pass away.

 

[Haywain]

I'm sure you are aware of colleagues with far more serious convictions for things like drink driving on their record - the SRA's usual response is to impose a stiff financial sanction but the solicitor is free to practice.

Drink driving may be a lot more serious, but it doesn't carry any implications of dishonesty (whether it should or not is another matter), which is why it tends to be seen differently alongside other motoring offences.

 

[Pushpit]

Drink driving may be a lot more serious, but it doesn't carry any implications of dishonesty (whether it should or not is another matter), which is why it tends to be seen differently alongside other motoring offences.

Yes, arguably there is a bit of double standards here that motoring offences are sometimes given leeway in middle class life, and perhaps they shouldn't. But to be fair to the SRA, they do regard drink driving as both a reckless activity and breaching professional standards in terms of respect for the law. I doubt the railcard expiry issue will be regarded as reckless, even if a bit careless. One recent (January 2024) drink-driving case involved someone being fined £2,000 by the courts (including the victim surcharge) but sanctioned £10,000 by the SRA, moreover they would have sanctioned him for £16,000 had he not co-operated with the SRA. The point is that an expired railcard is unlikely to be fatal to someone's career.

 

[JBuchananGB]

There really is no need to panic. This is a routine matter for the Greater Anglia prosecution office. They deal with dozens every day. They will look at your ticket purchasing history, work out all the invalid tickets you have used since your railcard expired, then write to you to ask for your response. If you write back apologetically, using guidance readily found in this forum, they will probably invite you to make an out of court settlement to pay for all the journeys made at the full Anytime Singe fare, plus a charge for their admin.

 

[railcardhelp]

Hey everyone. Thank you for your help and words. I really appreciate it. I will let you know as soon as I hear from them and what they say. Really sucks that this happened but I guess we just wait. Do you think the fact that I replaced my rail card counts for anything?

 

[Pushpit]

Do you think the fact that I replaced my rail card counts for anything?

Personally I would say that it mitigates the possible perception that you were intent on evading the fare, and it certainly helps to demonstrate that you won't be repeating this mistake for the next year at least. Unfortunately I doubt it is a massive help, and there are at least a few people in this forum who think the rail companies are seeing this as a lucrative revenue source rather than doing the right thing by their customers. Particularly at Stansted.

 

[Brissle Girl]

Personally I would say that it mitigates the possible perception that you were intent on evading the fare, and it certainly helps to demonstrate that you won't be repeating this mistake for the next year at least. Unfortunately I doubt it is a massive help, and there are at least a few people in this forum who think the rail companies are seeing this as a lucrative revenue source rather than doing the right thing by their customers. Particularly at Stansted.

Though the “Stansted issue” is not railcard related, but due to the non-acceptance of contactless or Oyster, and the number being caught out.