Potential prosecution for travelling with expired railcard

[watejaka]

Hi all,

I have see a number of threads on this topic, but I wanted to see if anyone had any additional advice for my particular circumstances.

I was travelling on Greater Anglia services from London Liverpool Street to Stanstead airport at the end of December where I was stopped by a RPI. My railcard expired at the end of October (see extenuating circumstances below) and in the heat of the moment (context below) I refused to pay the fine. I gave my details to the RPI and then this month (March 2024), I got a letter from Greater Anglia asking for more information so they could make a decision.

Extenuating circumstances:
- At the beginning of November (two weeks after the expiry of my railcard, 6 weeks before the above event) had major life-saving open heart surgery
- Naturally trauma of the operation required extensive physical and mental recovery and I suffered some significant side effects that are recorded on my medical notes (hallucinations, intense pain etc) and was on strong painkillers at the time of the event (I have very little recollection of the event itself given the above)
- Due to the above I was obviously not focusing on my railcard expiring and no part of me thought to check at the time that it had expired

Other information:
- The trip above was not my first time traveling on the expired railcard. In total I had 8 journeys on the expired card over that short period (almost all between my home town and the hospital in London - and, of course, for none of which I was aware it had expired)
- At the gate once questioned I bought another full price ticket - which they refused to accept and asked me to refund (which I see if standard practice)
- I renewed my railcard immediately after

I am more than happy to pay a settlement covering the trip, the previous 8 journey's and the administrative costs, but I would (naturally) really really want to avoid court. How best can I respond to them to ensure this?

I have seen many people say that extenuating circumstances don’t matter as they have ‘heard them all before’ - but I think this (inc proof via medical records) means it is certainly something to mention?

Thank you

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Sad to say it, but the extenuating circumstances will almost certainly not be accepted as a reason for not checking your railcard was in date.
The railway would be entitled to wonder when you would have checked its validity, if you had not been challenged at Stansted.
One or two journeys? Maybe. But nine?
I do think it may be possible to keep this out of court, if you engage with the railway and follow the advice other more learned people than I will be along with shortly.

 

[WesternLancer]

I suspect the extenuating circs might not swing it - but I can see no reason not to mention them albeit in brief - along side the usually advised apology and steps you have taken to prevent the matter happening again (renewed railcard etc). The circs you mention won't make them more likely to prosecute I would have thought, so you are still aiming for the out of court settlement outcome which should be the objective of your letter to them.

As an aside (and apols as it's too late now) the on the spot penalty if it was a Penalty Fare - which I assume it was- is almost always the better option to take as it is cheaper and comes with rights of Appeal. But water under the bridge.

More broadly, I hope you are on the road to good health as it sounds like a tough health situation you faced.

Ref general content see the regular advice from @Hadders posts on many threads advising on content, but consider a brief mention of the extenuating circumstances and support it with the enclosed proofs you mention you have (in my view).

I am not sure whether you should mention the other instances or let them find out from their records. May depend on how much you want to be seen to be 'doing the right thing' perhaps.

 

[Skymonster]

While this doesn’t solve your immediate problem - for which good advice has already been given - put an entry in the calendar on your phone for the expiry of your new railcard. A railcard can be renewed 30 days before it expires without losing any validity, so put it in the calendar for expiry date minus 30 days - with an alert to highlight it. Do it now. Then you’ll just need to react when your phone pings in one or three years time, and you don’t need to remember or keep checking whether your card has expired.

[for example, I currently have a railcard that is valid for three years and three weeks because I renewed as soon as I could. I had set a calendar entry on my phone to remind me, and this even copied over to the new phone I got recently. I have already put an entry in the calendar three years hence for the the next railcard expiry, so I’m confident I won’t overlook it]

 

[fandroid]

I think that it's worth detailing your medical history around the time of the Railcard expiry and up to the time when you were stopped. The railway company will almost certainly want it's money back, but if they apply discretion they might also do two things to reduce the damage - they might drop the usual admin cost demand, and they might just ask for the fare difference. No guarantees. But giving them a reasonably full explanation, backed with evidence, should make them think twice about prosecuting.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

I am sorry to hear about your health issues. It's a shame you didn't pay the Penalty Fare at the time as that would have been the end of the matter. It's now going to be more expensive to keep this case out of court.

I suggest writing a short, concise reply covering the following points:

- 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

It might be worth mentioning your health issues but don't turn the letter into a 'sob story'.

Greater Anglia are usually prepared to offer an administrative settlement (commonly known as an out of court settlement) for people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. Expect this to cost around £150 plus the outstanding fare, with no credit given for the ticket you purchased.

A complication is that there are other journeys where you have travelled with the out of date railcard. Greater Anglia may well decide to audit your ticket purchasing history to discover this. If the letter they have sent only refers to the incident where you were caught then I would confine your reply to that incident only - you are not required to incriminate yourself. On the other hand, if the letter mentions the possibility of other cases then I would tell them about the other times where you travelled with the expired railcard.

If you upload a copy of the letter you've been sent and your draft reply forum members will be happy to proof read it for you. Do redact any personal detauls of case reference numbers before doing so.