Travelled without a valid railcard and gave inaccurate details

[rose1234]

I’ve made a massive mistake, I’m an absolute idiot and I understand what the potential worst outcome of this may be but could some please let me know what’s the best course of action is?

Basically my railcard expired a few months ago and I stupidly bought an open return with a railcard without thinking. A train inspector (GWR) asked to see my railcard and I panicked and said I couldn’t access it bc I was using a back up phone as my phone was stolen (hoping she’d let me off), but instead she said I could fill out a form with her which will be reviewed, and then I’d receive a letter asking for proof of my railcard. I assumed it was a fine and panicked so when she asked for details I gave an old address, a parents surname I’m not registered with (but that parent paid for the ticket on their card if that makes any difference) and the dob slightly off (one digit). I suddenly realised the interview was more serious, she had a body cam and I think it was an interview under caution. I think the woman felt bad so she didn’t charge me for a new ticket and printed me one to use so I wouldn’t be stopped again. After 10 mins or so I realised I messed up bad and I went over to her and asked what if I’ve remembered incorrectly about my railcard and it’s actually expired and she replied it’s too late the interview was already submitted. I asked if I should buy a new ticket just incase and she said it’s best to just wait until I get my letter. I panicked and bought a new full price ticket anyway and used that for the rest of the trip. I don’t know if that was even worth doing? (All these tickets were bought on my Trainline app and totalled £110 now)

I just don’t know what to do. My mum thinks I should just wait and see if they send a letter to the old address and go from there but I’m worried it will get thrown away bc I’m not close with anyone who still lives there. Apparently it takes up to 6 months for it to be sent? I’m worried if they do send a penalty notice i’ll accidentally miss the 21 days to pay.

Should I phone the prosecution department once a month to check if they’ve sent a letter and then collect or do I wait a few weeks and call to ask them to update the address they have on file? Surely that’s allowed as people move house etc all the time?

I’ve read they can prosecute and fine up to £1000 for giving false info but I’ve read on a few forums where people have given completely made up names and addresses and corrected it over the phone it doesn’t seem to get brought up if they pay the penalty/settlement? Should I try update my details asap or wait?

Sorry this is super long - basically my plan is to just pay the penalty fine straight up if they offer it.

If they ask for more information, I’ll say something along the lines of I genuinely thought my railcard was valid but realised after I made a mistake and apologise profusely and say how it’s not an excuse for being disorganised but I’ve had a stressful few months due to personal matters (would elaborate properly). And ask if it’s possible to settle this with a penalty or settlement to stop it going further?

Is that the best thing to do?

I think since my railcard has expired I may have bought 3 other tickets which I’m obviously happy to pay for too if they look into it. I keep seeing on forums people warning of the absolute worst outcomes but am I right that they usually tend to prosecute repeat offenders or those who owe lots of money/avoid paying fines? Is it true GWR will only take people to court as a last resort? Can someone please give me a realistic outcome, I haven’t been able to sleep I’m so stressed about going to court and getting a criminal record.

 

[ikcdab]

You are correct that you have committed two offences. Not having a valid ticket and not giving your correct details. If you do nothing, then the chances are that you won't get the correspondence and that the train company will eventually track you down and you will get a criminal conviction.
The best thing now is for you to contact GWR and correct your contact details. That should be straightforward as I guess she gave you a printout of some sort. Once you have done that, you just need to wait for them to write to you. Come back here when they do and take it from there.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

The best thing now is for you to contact GWR and correct your contact details.

You may find it helpful to have a look at GWR's Revenue Protection policy at https://www.gwr.com/-/media/gwr-sc-...Revenue-Protection-Policy-January-2023-v2.pdf. Right at the back, it says

If you aren’t happy with the way we are handling your case, or you have any details you think will help, please email our Prosecutions department at [email protected] If you do not contact us, you may not have the chance to talk about your case before you go to court.

(my italics for emphasis)

That sounds like the email address to contact them on to give your proper details. At this point, that's all you should do: it makes most sense for them to think about what you have done and decide how they want to take it forward before you start giving them reasons or excuses for what you did.

 

[John R]

Agree with the above two posters - get in touch, using the reference number on the MG11 you should have been given, give them your correct details, and leave it at that.

You are very unlikely to be prosecuted, to put your mind at rest on that point. These things are almost always sorted out by means of an out of court settlement, provided you are cooperative when written to, apologise, promise to be more careful in future, and ask very nicely for a settlement. The cases we see where the rail company still moves to prosecution are typically where there was some sort of aggressive behaviour shown during the incident, or where the letter written is not appropriate (ie it blames the rail company in some way - we've seen a couple of those).

 

[Fawkes Cat]

The cases we see where the rail company still moves to prosecution are typically where there was some sort of aggressive behaviour shown during the incident, or where the letter written is not appropriate (ie it blames the rail company in some way - we've seen a couple of those).

Prosecution also follows if the railway company can't make contact - so it's important that the OP does give GWR their correct address and so on.

 

[WesternLancer]

Prosecution also follows if the railway company can't make contact - so it's important that the OP does give GWR their correct address and so on.

I agree - I feel sure that the single biggest reason for cases that go through to prosecution is people who do not respond to the letters sent from the railway company and the case just gets automatically escalated to court and in many cases the person concerned only gets to be aware when it's far too late, they've been prosecuted and the court bailiffs (who are good at this as we occasionally see people asking for advice about it) eventually find them and they end up with things like attachment of earnings orders or threats of seizures of possessions for the court debt, or it comes up on a DBS check relating to a job application or some such. All avoidable if the person concerned had engaged with the railway company constructively to start with.

This will result from people who
a) give false address details
or
b) bury head in sand and hope the above just won't happen

So contacting GWR to give correct address details is the start of the process the OP can use to avoid being prosecuted.

A very simple message / e-mail / letter along the lines of the below is what I think should be sent:

Dear Sir / Madam

[Insert ref from paperwork given on the day]

I was stopped and questioned about my rail ticket on x date at y place and given the above reference number

I would like to correct the address I gave. My correct postal address for correspondence about this is:

I can also be contacted by e-mail on:

My correct full name is:

My date of birth is:

Yours etc

 

[John R]

And correct the name and DoB too, for completeness.

 

[WesternLancer]

And correct the name and DoB too, for completeness.

ah yes, good point. Have adjusted my suggested wording

 

[rose1234]

Thanks so much everyone for the advice and the email template. I’m going to email now using it and hope for the best

When I receive a letter I’ll upload on here before responding. I didn’t get an MG number btw unless she didn’t give me the right slip, I just have one with an ‘FG’ number and my original ticket number if that means anything? I’ll put both in my email anyway.

Again thanks everyone, and if it wasn’t clear I promise to never get myself in this situation ever again!!

I agree - I feel sure that the single biggest reason for cases that go through to prosecution is people who do not respond to the letters sent from the railway company and the case just gets automatically escalated to court and in many cases the person concerned only gets to be aware when it's far too late, they've been prosecuted and the court bailiffs (who are good at this as we occasionally see people asking for advice about it) eventually find them and they end up with things like attachment of earnings orders or threats of seizures of possessions for the court debt, or it comes up on a DBS check relating to a job application or some such. All avoidable if the person concerned had engaged with the railway company constructively to start with.

This will result from people who
a) give false address details
or
b) bury head in sand and hope the above just won't happen

So contacting GWR to give correct address details is the start of the process the OP can use to avoid being prosecuted.

A very simple message / e-mail / letter along the lines of the below is what I think should be sent:

Dear Sir / Madam

[Insert ref from paperwork given on the day]

I was stopped and questioned about my rail ticket on x date at y place and given the above reference number

I would like to correct the address I gave. My correct postal address for correspondence about this is:

I can also be contacted by e-mail on:

My correct full name is:

My date of birth is:

Yours etc