Andyjs247
Member
My daughter and her sister travelled to Bristol from home in Bicester; this was on 3 June. She bought a return ticket to Bristol with the 16-25 railcard discount (the railcard being the digital version held in the railcard app on her phone).
Once in Bristol she went shopping and also upgraded her mobile phone, trading in the old one. On her return journey at Temple Meads station she asked a member of GWR staff what platform she needed for her train. They asked to see her ticket but at this point was unable to produce the railcard as it wasn't possible to access it via the app on her new phone. What happened then was that her return ticket was confiscated and she was issued with a zero fare ticket to Bicester in exchange to complete her journey along with a business card sized card entitled “Reported for prosecution - what happens next” explaining that GWR Prosecutions Department would be in touch via letter. She has since been able to re-download the Railcard app and has been able to use it as normal since. Ironically, her digital railcard has now expired this week.
Now, almost 12 weeks later she has at last received a response from GWR with a pre-court settlement offer. It has been reported that she travelled from Bicester to Bristol without a valid ticket or valid railcard. The letter is dated 22 August and she has until 12 September to respond. Advice please on how best to respond.
Once in Bristol she went shopping and also upgraded her mobile phone, trading in the old one. On her return journey at Temple Meads station she asked a member of GWR staff what platform she needed for her train. They asked to see her ticket but at this point was unable to produce the railcard as it wasn't possible to access it via the app on her new phone. What happened then was that her return ticket was confiscated and she was issued with a zero fare ticket to Bicester in exchange to complete her journey along with a business card sized card entitled “Reported for prosecution - what happens next” explaining that GWR Prosecutions Department would be in touch via letter. She has since been able to re-download the Railcard app and has been able to use it as normal since. Ironically, her digital railcard has now expired this week.
Now, almost 12 weeks later she has at last received a response from GWR with a pre-court settlement offer. It has been reported that she travelled from Bicester to Bristol without a valid ticket or valid railcard. The letter is dated 22 August and she has until 12 September to respond. Advice please on how best to respond.