Any advice for 16 year old buying a child ticket?

[TheConfusedMan]

My daughters are looking to get some train tickets, one is 16 but young looking / sounding and wants to buy a child ticket, the other has a 16-17 saver so is sorted.
I know that at 16 she should be on an adult ticket, but they are organising this themselves. I'm not sure if I should be grumpy and make her get the correct ticket, or, just loosen up a little and let them get on with it as no ticket inspector is really going to go heavy on a young girl who has no ID to prove she is under 16 when she is travelling with an obviously older sister with all the correct cards and ID.

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

If you're asking whether a 16 year old should buy a child ticket, knowing that they are not entitled to one - I'm sorry, but your perception of how this situation plays out just isn't the reality.

It's an extremely common offence detected day in. It is a criminal offence- fraud in this instance as it is intentional - not just a minor ticketing matter.

Get the 16-17 Railcard for that daughter too, and it is an investment that will probably pay for itself over the year, as well as comply with the law.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Obviously the "right" thing for me to say would be to get them a 16-17 saver (or if they don't travel enough for it to be warranted then they don't need to).
I very rarely see guards contest child tickets, with the most that exists being a quickfire "what's your birthday" test which if pre-thought of can easily be passed.

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

Obviously the "right" thing for me to say would be to get them a 16-17 saver (or if they don't travel enough for it to be warranted then they don't need to).
I very rarely see guards contest child tickets, with the most that exists being a quickfire "what's your birthday" test which if pre-thought of can easily be passed.

The best test used to be:

"Are you under 18?"
"Yes"
"How old are you?"
"16 / 17"
"OK, so too old for a child ticket, here's a Penalty Fare/TIR"

 

[Bletchleyite]

My daughters are looking to get some train tickets, one is 16 but young looking / sounding and wants to buy a child ticket, the other has a 16-17 saver so is sorted.
I know that at 16 she should be on an adult ticket, but they are organising this themselves. I'm not sure if I should be grumpy and make her get the correct ticket, or, just loosen up a little and let them get on with it as no ticket inspector is really going to go heavy on a young girl who has no ID to prove she is under 16 when she is travelling with an obviously older sister with all the correct cards and ID.

I would definitely get her to get the correct ticket (or get a 16-17 Saver). You don't want to start your life with a criminal conviction.

 

[TheConfusedMan]

If you're asking whether a 16 year old should buy a child ticket, knowing that they are not entitled to one - I'm sorry, but your perception of how this situation plays out just isn't the reality.

It's an extremely common offence detected day in. It is a criminal offence- fraud in this instance as it is intentional - not just a minor ticketing matter.

Get the 16-17 Railcard for that daughter too, and it is an investment that will probably pay for itself over the year, as well as comply with the law.

Fair point, I'll just get her the railcard. Thanks.

I would definitely get her to get the correct ticket (or get a 16-17 Saver). You don't want to start your life with a criminal conviction.

Will do. The last train I was on had someone without the 16-17 card they'd claimed when they booked and they came so close to a world of pain.

 

[Gloster]

Make it quite clear that she should buy the correct ticket for her age. It sounds terribly old-fashioned and moralistic, but once she starts little fiddles like this she might slowly slip into more serious matters

There is also the more practical point that if she did get caught it might become, in the eyes of a sixteen year-old, seriously traumatic. Just read some of the posts in the Disputes & Prosecutions Forum to realise how panic stricken people several years older can become for even an inadvertent mistake…and this would not be an inadvertent mistake.

 

[TheConfusedMan]

The best test used to be:

"Are you under 18?"
"Yes"
"How old are you?"
"16 / 17"
"OK, so too old for a child ticket, here's a Penalty Fare/TIR"

Yep, she would fail the "What's your birthday test?" in a heartbeat. It would be like the bar scene from Hot Fuzz.

Make it quite clear that she should buy the correct ticket for her age. It sounds terribly old-fashioned and moralistic, but once she starts little fiddles like this she might slowly slip into more serious matters

There is also the more practical point that if she did get caught it might become, in the eyes of a sixteen year-old, seriously traumatic. Just read some of the posts in the Disputes & Prosecutions Forum to realise how panic stricken people several years older can become for even an inadvertent mistake…and this would not be an inadvertent mistake.

Yep, thanks. Will do. She would not cope in any way with getting in trouble.

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UPDATE: Ok, job done. 16-17 Saver card purchased. Potential life of criminality averterd for two more years.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

UPDATE: Ok, job done. 16-17 Saver card purchased. Potential life of criminality averterd for two more years.

You will need to renew/buy a new one a year from now, because the railcard is only valid for one year.

 

[TheConfusedMan]

You will need to renew/buy a new one a year from now, because the railcard is only valid for one year.

Cheers. I realised that as soon as I'd written it.

 

[fandroid]

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UPDATE: Ok, job done. 16-17 Saver card purchased. Potential life of criminality averterd for two more years.

You might find yourself buying a 16-25 Railcard for her in two years time!


The warnings are right. Once a bit of cheating is carried out, it can develop into a habit because it seems so easy, Although proper checks can be avoided for quite a long time, when one eventually happens it suddenly becomes a disaster, because there's a consistent history of defrauding the railway and it's really quite easy for them to check back.