Used wrong railcard

[Rosemary]

I am writing in reference to a court notice I received on the 4th of June 2025. I travelled with the wrong railcard.

On the date in question, I was travelling by train from Farringdon to Welwyn Garden City when I was approached by inspectors who asked to see my ticket and identification. I fully cooperated and provided both without hesitation. It was then brought to my attention that I had travelled using a railcard for which I was not eligible.

The railcard had been obtained with the assistance of a course mate, as I was unfamiliar with the application process and the various types of UK railcards. At the time, I genuinely did not realise that the card I was using was restricted to a specific age group.
I would also like to emphasise that I have never intentionally evaded paying for travel. I have always made it a point to purchase a valid ticket before boarding any train. This incident was an unfortunate and unintended error. Since then, I have taken extra care to ensure I pay the correct fare for every journey.

At the time of the incident, I asked if I could settle the matter immediately by paying a fine, but I was informed that I would need to wait for further communication. Unfortunately, I never received any correspondence. I followed up by calling the customer service line on the 27th of February at 13:09 and again on the 21st of March at 11:13 on 03300950327 and 03450264700 but I was only advised to hold for assistance. I did not receive any resolution or instructions, and was later surprised to receive a court order. I am now left till Tuesday the 24th of June 2025 to plead guilty or not. What do I do? Please I need your candid advice on how to go about this.

 

[AlterEgo]

I am writing in reference to a court notice I received on the 4th of June 2025. I travelled with the wrong railcard.

In what way was it “wrong”? What railcard did you have, and which one did you claim you had?

On the date in question, I was travelling by train from Farringdon to Welwyn Garden City when I was approached by inspectors who asked to see my ticket and identification. I fully cooperated and provided both without hesitation. It was then brought to my attention that I had travelled using a railcard for which I was not eligible.

The railcard had been obtained with the assistance of a course mate, as I was unfamiliar with the application process and the various types of UK railcards.

So you actually have your own railcard? This was bought for you? And it had your name (and photo) on it?

 

[WesternLancer]

I am writing in reference to a court notice I received on the 4th of June 2025. I travelled with the wrong railcard.

On the date in question, I was travelling by train from Farringdon to Welwyn Garden City when I was approached by inspectors who asked to see my ticket and identification. I fully cooperated and provided both without hesitation. It was then brought to my attention that I had travelled using a railcard for which I was not eligible.

The railcard had been obtained with the assistance of a course mate, as I was unfamiliar with the application process and the various types of UK railcards. At the time, I genuinely did not realise that the card I was using was restricted to a specific age group.
I would also like to emphasise that I have never intentionally evaded paying for travel. I have always made it a point to purchase a valid ticket before boarding any train. This incident was an unfortunate and unintended error. Since then, I have taken extra care to ensure I pay the correct fare for every journey.

At the time of the incident, I asked if I could settle the matter immediately by paying a fine, but I was informed that I would need to wait for further communication. Unfortunately, I never received any correspondence. I followed up by calling the customer service line on the 27th of February at 13:09 and again on the 21st of March at 11:13 on 03300950327 and 03450264700 but I was only advised to hold for assistance. I did not receive any resolution or instructions, and was later surprised to receive a court order. I am now left till Tuesday the 24th of June 2025 to plead guilty or not. What do I do? Please I need your candid advice on how to go about this.

Welcome

Is this with Thameslink?

Please post a copy of the court paper work with your personal details obscured on every relevant page.

You will get good advice here.

Whilst you must not miss the court paperwork deadline I think the general advice here would be to plead not guilty as this will defer the case to a later date so it could be heard in person (ie you go to court which won’t happen if you plead guilty to the SJPN)

That buys you time to urgently contact the railway company in writing to request an out of court settlement and the prosecution be withdrawn. An out of court settlement will cost less than allowing this to go to court.

We can help you with what to write.

Contacting customer services was a waste of time. They have nothing to do with this really so that was basically a fob off.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:12 ==

Ref the actual incident chances are if it went to court you would be found guilty since it is a strict liability offence so no intention to evade has to be proven. Similar to speeding. You don’t have to have it proven that you intended to break the speed limit to be guilty if you are caught breaking the speed limit.

It’s your responsibility to ensure you have a valid ticket and railcard at the moment you step on board a train I’m afraid.

This is why pleading not guilty now buys time to get the court action withdrawn to avoid a guilty verdict. The railway are often or usually happy to do this at an early stage but for whatever reason earlier post to you that would have given you the chance to request it wasn’t sent or perhaps never reached you.

 

[Rosemary]

The train ticket and the One given to me by the officer

 

[Hadders]

We need to see redacted copies of the court paperwork, please.

 

[Rosemary]

Welcome

Is this with Thameslink?

Please post a copy of the court paper work with your personal details obscured on every relevant page.

You will get good advice here.

Whilst you must not miss the court paperwork deadline I think the general advice here would be to plead not guilty as this will defer the case to a later date so it could be heard in person (ie you go to court which won’t happen if you plead guilty to the SJPN)

That buys you time to urgently contact the railway company in writing to request an out of court settlement and the prosecution be withdrawn. An out of court settlement will cost less than allowing this to go to court.

We can help you with what to write.

Contacting customer services was a waste of time. They have nothing to do with this really so that was basically a fob off.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:12 ==

Ref the actual incident chances are if it went to court you would be found guilty since it is a strict liability offence so no intention to evade has to be proven. Similar to speeding. You don’t have to have it proven that you intended to break the speed limit to be guilty if you are caught breaking the speed limit.

It’s your responsibility to ensure you have a valid ticket and railcard at the moment you step on board a train I’m afraid.

Thank you so much , yes it was Thameslink. Please is there an email or contact number i can call so we discuss in details. Meanwhile, I will plead not guilty as advised to buy more time.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you so much , yes it was Thameslink. Please is there an email or contact number i can call so we discuss in details. Meanwhile, I will plead not guilty as advised to buy more time.

They will not discuss this with you by phone. And they do not accept’mitigation’ by e mail if it is GTR / thameslink.

You need to be writing to them which you can prepare with help here over weekend and post next day delivery on Monday.

 

[AlterEgo]

Thank you so much , yes it was Thameslink. Please is there an email or contact number i can call so we discuss in details. Meanwhile, I will plead not guilty as advised to buy more time.

Do not call them. Handle all correspondence in writing or by email.

Please answer the questions upthread I asked, and tell us where you were travelling from and to, and where you were stopped. This will be important because the forum can help you write a letter to avoid being prosecuted, but we need to know the details.

 

[WesternLancer]

Keep copies of everything inc what you send to court

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:23 ==

You can also wait till Monday to post court papers next day delivery from a post office and still meet court deadline which gives you the weekend to get your ducks in a row with help from here

But do respond to @AlterEgo questions and also upload court papers here before you rush to post them this morning for example.

 

[Rosemary]

We need to see redacted copies of the court paperwork, please.

 

[Rosemary]

Do not call them. Handle all correspondence in writing or by email.

Please answer the questions upthread I asked, and tell us where you were travelling from and to, and where you were stopped. This will be important because the forum can help you write a letter to avoid being prosecuted, but we need to know the details.

I was travelling from Farringdon to Welwyn Garden City and I was stopped at Welwyn Garden City (my stop)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:33 ==

I was travelling from Farringdon to Welwyn Garden City and I was stopped at Welwyn Garden City (my stop)

I entered Elizabeth line from acton mainline to Farringdon and then from Farringdon I changed train to Welwyn Garden City

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:39 ==

In what way was it “wrong”? What railcard did you have, and which one did you claim you had?


So you actually have your own railcard? This was bought for you? And it had your name (and photo) on it?

Yes please

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:40 ==

They will not discuss this with you by phone. And they do not accept’mitigation’ by e mail if it is GTR / thameslink.

You need to be writing to them which you can prepare with help here over weekend and post next day delivery on Monday.

Ok, thank you.i need guidance on what to do please

 

[WesternLancer]

I was travelling from Farringdon to Welwyn Garden City and I was stopped at Welwyn Garden City (my stop)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:33 ==


I entered Elizabeth line from acton mainline to Farringdon and then from Farringdon I changed train to Welwyn Garden City

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:39 ==


Yes please

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:40 ==


Ok, thank you.i need guidance on what to do please

What is the exact name of the Railcard you have?

 

[Rosemary]

I was travelling from Farringdon to Welwyn Garden City and I was stopped at Welwyn Garden City (my stop)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:33 ==


I entered Elizabeth line from acton mainline to Farringdon and then from Farringdon I changed train to Welwyn Garden City

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:39 ==


Yes please

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:40 ==


Ok, thank you.i need guidance on what to do please

I have Network Railcard but travelled eith 20-30 rail card

 

[WesternLancer]

I have Network Railcard but travelled eith 20-30 rail card

Railcards | Digital Railcard and Prices - Railcard

Official retailer of Railcards by National Rail. With a Railcard you can save up to 1/3 off rail travel. There is a Railcard for everyone.

www.railcard.co.uk

This link gives the list of railcards. I didn’t think there is a 20-30 railcard.

 

[Rosemary]

Railcards | Digital Railcard and Prices - Railcard

Official retailer of Railcards by National Rail. With a Railcard you can save up to 1/3 off rail travel. There is a Railcard for everyone.

www.railcard.co.uk

This link gives the list of railcards. I didn’t think there is a 20-30 railcard.

He said it was that age range he selected when he was purchasing the ticket. For me, I got to know i have a Network Railcard from the officers. They opened it and showed it to me.

 

[WesternLancer]

He said it was that age range he selected when he was purchasing the ticket. For me, I got to know i have a Network Railcard from the officers. They opened it and showed it to me.

So you were travelling with a ticket discounted with a railcard discount for railcard you do not in fact possess I would conclude.

In the meantime please now see if you can upload the court papers you have received with your personal details blanked out.

 

[Rosemary]

So you were travelling with a ticket discounted with a railcard discount for railcard you do not in fact possess I would conclude.

In the meantime please now see if you can upload the court papers you have received with your personal details blanked out.

Yes, I travelled with a discounted ticket. 26 -30 sorry. I will upload the court papers as soon as I get home.Thank you so much

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes, I travelled with a discounted ticket. 26 -30 sorry. I will upload the court papers as soon as I get home.Thank you so much

Thanks.

Yes people can then look over court papers to help you get them ready to send back to the court on Monday.

So I suspect you are actually guilty of what they are probably accusing you of. At this stage if you plead not guilty the idea is you get more time to prevent it going to court at all by seeking to request an out of court settlement which means if agreed the court are not involved in the end.
If successful you would then have to pay for a new ticket plus probably about £150 in their admin costs for investigating all this etc

Thus is less than if it went to court and involves no criminal record.

 

[AlterEgo]

You need to write to them and ask to settle out of court. You should apologise for selecting the wrong railcard - the Network Railcard isn’t valid before 10am and in another thread you’ve posted your documents in it can be seen you were stopped before then. The company will consider you selected another railcard discount when purchasing to avoid this restriction.

 

[alholmes]

Have you received any other letters from GTR Thameslink before the court papers? It’s very unusual for the first communication to be from the court. If so, did you reply to the earlier letters or ignore them?

what you need to try and do is persuade GTR Thameslink to offer you an out-of-court settlement, and drop the prosecution. You’ll need to carefully draft a letter to them, there are many examples on the forum already, apologising for what you’ve done and requesting that they offer a settlement. But it’s important, if you do not receive a settlement before the court deadline then you must complete and return the court papers on time.

 

[WesternLancer]

Have you received any other letters from GTR Thameslink before the court papers? It’s very unusual for the first communication to be from the court. If so, did you reply to the earlier letters or ignore them?

what you need to try and do is persuade GTR Thameslink to offer you an out-of-court settlement, and drop the prosecution. You’ll need to carefully draft a letter to them, there are many examples on the forum already, apologising for what you’ve done and requesting that they offer a settlement. But it’s important, if you do not receive a settlement before the court deadline then you must complete and return the court papers on time.

With the court papers deadline being Tuesday it is almost certain the op will not get a settlement before then given the settlement request needs to be sent by post.

 

[Rosemary]

Have you received any other letters from GTR Thameslink before the court papers? It’s very unusual for the first communication to be from the court. If so, did you reply to the earlier letters or ignore them?

what you need to try and do is persuade GTR Thameslink to offer you an out-of-court settlement, and drop the prosecution. You’ll need to carefully draft a letter to them, there are many examples on the forum already, apologising for what you’ve done and requesting that they offer a settlement. But it’s important, if you do not receive a settlement before the court deadline then you must complete and return the court papers on time.

Thank you so much for the replies. I didn't receive any letter from GTR Thameslink other than this court papers. I got worried and kept calling them bit was asked to hold on. Please can I get an email where I can send the appeal. And do I go ahead and plead not guilty as advised to buy me more time.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you so much for the replies. I didn't receive any letter from GTR Thameslink other than this court papers. I got worried and kept calling them bit was asked to hold on. Please can I get an email where I can send the appeal. And do I go ahead and plead not guilty as advised to buy me more time.

They don’t usually accept mitigation request by e mail. You need to be prepared to post this even if you try to e mail them as well. We can provide the postal and email address for their prosecutions office.

 

[Rosemary]

Thanks.

Yes people can then look over court papers to help you get them ready to send back to the court on Monday.

So I suspect you are actually guilty of what they are probably accusing you of. At this stage if you plead not guilty the idea is you get more time to prevent it going to court at all by seeking to request an out of court settlement which means if agreed the court are not involved in the end.
If successful you would then have to pay for a new ticket plus probably about £150 in their admin costs for investigating all this etc

Thus is less than if it went to court and involves no criminal record.

From the court.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 21:06 ==

We need to see redacted copies of the court paperwork, please.

I have forwarded the court paperwork

 

[Hadders]

For information you can use contactless (but not Oyster) between Acton Mainline and Welwyn Garden City, just touch in at Acton and touch out at Welwyn - no need to touch anywhere else en-route (note you cannot currently travel any further north than Welwyn Garden City using contactless).

What seems to have happened is you've been stopped with an invalid ticket and your details taken. GTR normally settle these sort of cases out of court but you're saying the first contact you had from GTR was the court papers (I'm going to assume they did write to you but for whatever reason you didn't receive it). You're now up against the deadline to enter your plea to the court.

I would plead NOT GUILTY when you return the court papers. As said above the court will arrange a trial date but this will be some weeks into the future. What this does is give you some time to write to GTR, tell them that you didn't receive any initial letter from them and ask if they will offer an out of court settlement and withdraw the court case. There is a risk involved here because if GTR refuse to offer an out of court settlement you would have to attend court but you could simply plead guilty on the day. You would be fined, this is normally reduced by a third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity but you'd probably not get the full discount.

You really need to send your letter to GTR asap but if you post a draft letter in this thread forum members will proof read it and help you get the wording right. Essentially you need to mention:

- Tell them that the court paperwork was the first letter you've received about the case
- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

 

[Rosemary]

For information you can use contactless (but not Oyster) between Acton Mainline and Welwyn Garden City, just touch in at Acton and touch out at Welwyn - no need to touch anywhere else en-route (note you cannot currently travel any further north than Welwyn Garden City using contactless).

What seems to have happened is you've been stopped with an invalid ticket and your details taken. GTR normally settle these sort of cases out of court but you're saying the first contact you had from GTR was the court papers (I'm going to assume they did write to you but for whatever reason you didn't receive it). You're now up against the deadline to enter your plea to the court.

I would plead NOT GUILTY when you return the court papers. As said above the court will arrange a trial date but this will be some weeks into the future. What this does is give you some time to write to GTR, tell them that you didn't receive any initial letter from them and ask if they will offer an out of court settlement and withdraw the court case. There is a risk involved here because if GTR refuse to offer an out of court settlement you would have to attend court but you could simply plead guilty on the day. You would be fined, this is normally reduced by a third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity but you'd probably not get the full discount.

You really need to send your letter to GTR asap but if you post a draft letter in this thread forum members will proof read it and help you get the wording right. Essentially you need to mention:

- Tell them that the court paperwork was the first letter you've received about the case
- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Thank you so much