Using 16-17 railcard instead of 16-25

[hellohihello]

Just got this email from Trainline

I’ve been using the 16-17 discount for my daily journeys since June 2024 when I have only have a valid 16-25 railcard - how do I respond???

And what to do moving forwards? I am so anxious right now I really don’t want to go court

 

[SussexMan]

how do I respond???

They presumably have no evidence that you have travelled using the tickets you have purchased. You may therefore not want to respond.

And what to do moving forwards?

I would hope you could have worked that one out. Selecting the correct railcard would be advisable - and maybe buying your tickets from a different retailer.

 

[AlterEgo]

Don’t respond, use another retailer, pay the proper fare.

 

[generalnerd]

If you are 16 - 17 I’d recommend buying the 16-17 railcard. It’s gets you a 50% discount on all fares (excluding first I believe) and is great value for money.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

The important principle here is that purchasing tickets is not illegal, but using a ticket that is invalid is illegal. Essentially, you've basically got two options here:

1. Co-operate with them, Trainline will be working in conjunction with the train company you use and they will offer you an out of court settlement which will be the cost of the all the invalid tickets purchased plus an admin fee, typicaly around £160. Pay and that will be the end of the matter.

2. It is highly unlikely that the train company has any evidence that you used the tickets, although we cannot be 100% certain of that. There is no requirement to provide proof of railcards retrospectively. If you take this course of action you will continue to receive threatening letters from Trainline threatening police involvement and prosecution for fraud for the forseeable future.

If you decide to go with option 2, which is what most forum members in this area will probably recommend, then DO NOT engage at all with the email. Do not reply, do not seek clarification. DO NOTHING. This is because any engagement could be seen as incriminating and fundamentally you are not required to incriminate yourself.

 

[hellohihello]

Welcome to the forum!

The important principle here is that purchasing tickets is not illegal, but using a ticket that is invalid is illegal. Essentially, you've basically got two options here:

1. Co-operate with them, Trainline will be working in conjunction with the train company you use and they will offer you an out of court settlement which will be the cost of the all the invalid tickets purchased plus an admin fee, typicaly around £160. Pay and that will be the end of the matter.

2. It is highly unlikely that the train company has any evidence that you used the tickets, although we cannot be 100% certain of that. There is no requirement to provide proof of railcards retrospectively. If you take this course of action you will continue to receive threatening letters from Trainline threatening police involvement and prosecution for fraud for the forseeable future.

If you decide to go with option 2, which is what most forum members in this area will probably recommend, then DO NOT engage at all with the email. Do not reply, do not seek clarification. DO NOTHING. This is because any engagement could be seen as incriminating and fundamentally you are not required to incriminate yourself.

Thanks for the clear response - my main concern here is to avoid any court proceedings or legal action. It seems like if I go with option 2 there is a chance of this happening?
From your experience on the website do these threats of police and courts usually end after a bit or is it something that will persist?
This was also an email, I don't think Trainline has access to my personal address

I am willing to pay a settlement but am also worried if I go for option 1 - is there a chance they could still take this to court instead of just settling? Given the almost year long history

Quote Reply

They presumably have no evidence that you have travelled using the tickets you have purchased. You may therefore not want to respond.



I would hope you could have worked that one out. Selecting the correct railcard would be advisable - and maybe buying your tickets from a different retailer.

Will definitely be purchasing correctly from now on ..
Was just wondering whether it'd be better to respond and settle something or ignore it

 

[hellohihello]

Don’t respond, use another retailer, pay the proper fare.

Will they escalate?

 

[Cuthbert]

Will they escalate?

Will they have proof that you travelled?
There is no law against buying an incorrect ticket only using it. And they have to prove you used it unless I am incorrect in that assumption.

Hadders and AlterEgo have given you options.

 

[185]

Will they escalate?

Will they tell the train company would be my concern.

 

[hellohihello]

Will they tell the train company would be my concern.

I think I’ve accepted that if I do reply this will most likely be the case

 

[AlterEgo]

They may do it anyway, in which case you can ignore the train company’s emails as well.

 

[island]

They may do it anyway, in which case you can ignore the train company’s emails as well.

Indeed.

I cannot stress this enough – unless you are stopped or detected whilst travelling, it is most unlikely that anyone has evidence that you used the tickets. They have to prove that to take a court case.

Don't reply. Don't engage.

Do stop using Trainline. Do make certain you buy the right ticket going forward.

 

[WesternLancer]

This was also an email, I don't think Trainline has access to my personal address

Just as a small aside - I would assume they can trace your personal address via the payment method that you use for an online ticket buying site - as I assume your bank card etc is linked to an address at some stage.

There is no data protection in all of this - this info can be shared for the purposes of dealing with crime, and fare evasion is a criminal offence in England.

I'm not commenting on whether they will continue to pursue you if you ignore these messages, as others have advised on that, but I expect your digital fingerprints lead ultimately to your front door.

 

[hellohihello]

Thanks for the clear response - my main concern here is to avoid any court proceedings or legal action. It seems like if I go with option 2 there is a chance of this happening?
From your experience on the website do these threats of police and courts usually end after a bit or is it something that will persist?
This was also an email, I don't think Trainline has access to my personal address

I am willing to pay a settlement but am also worried if I go for option 1 - is there a chance they could still take this to court instead of just settling? Given the almost year long history

Quote Reply


Will definitely be purchasing correctly from now on ..
Was just wondering whether it'd be better to respond and settle something or ignore it

Seems like the consensus is to just flat out ignore.. Does anyone have any advice on what I’ve said here?

 

[Egg Centric]

Seems like the consensus is to just flat out ignore.. Does anyone have any advice on what I’ve said here?

What do you mean by "better"? If you mean in any strategic legal sense - do not respond at all. If you want to clear your conscience or something then yes maybe it would be "better". But you will almost certainly regret it - the consequences for fare evasion are out of proportion to other similar offences. Instead clear it by donating to charity and putting up with the anxiety it's apparently causing you for up to a few years of nasty emails, potentially.

And for goodness sake behave scrupulously honestly now. If you are caught up to something then these offences (where there's currently bugger all chance of "getting" you) may well be linked back to you at that stage.

 

[Hadders]

Thanks for the clear response - my main concern here is to avoid any court proceedings or legal action. It seems like if I go with option 2 there is a chance of this happening?
From your experience on the website do these threats of police and courts usually end after a bit or is it something that will persist?
This was also an email, I don't think Trainline has access to my personal address

I am willing to pay a settlement but am also worried if I go for option 1 - is there a chance they could still take this to court instead of just settling? Given the almost year long history

Quote Reply


Will definitely be purchasing correctly from now on ..
Was just wondering whether it'd be better to respond and settle something or ignore it

Only you can decide what to do.

If you do ignore then your will almost certainly get further emails threatening all sorts of things. Also, be prepared that they could track your address down, it's not the hardest thing to do.