Please help- panic and gave false details and ran.

[Nivea12]

Hi all,

First of all, let me preface this with an acknowledgement of my own stupidity

I am really nervous about what happened- any help would be really appreciated.

I bought two tickets for a train due 10 mins after the one I boarded, thinking worst case if there’s a revenue protection officer, he’ll let me off cause the ticket was the same price and all. Boy was I wrong.

This was an e-ticket- which she scanned and has a record of

She said it’s a penalty. Asked for details. I gave fake name. And an old adress (which I can still access)

Train stopped so I got off, she wanted my friends details, because I had two tickets of course and they had not had the chance to give details

Once the train stopped, I walked off, with my friend, they did not give their details at all. so there was two of us, both the tickets were on my phone and only I gave my details.

She followed me and gave me a really hard time about what I was doing, saying all these different laws and it made me panic more and run more.

I realise I should have just taken it on the chin, I thought a penalty fare was £150+, I was worried I would have no money left as a student.

I realise how serious this is.

I am just looking for advice on what to do now.

My main concerns are

1) being pursued for false details

2) what happens to my friend?

3) are they linking that e-ticket to my real name and realising there’s a mismatch?

4) can I just pay the fine, if it comes through to my old address, under false details?

5) I really don’t know what to do. Any help is so appreciated.

6) should I reach out to Northern Rail first, before they inevitably get me?

7) how likely are they to get me through the (wrong) trainline ticket which I presented?

Was northern rail line

 

[randyrippley]

How recently was this?

Your avatar address says "India". I take it that is incorrect?

 

[Nivea12]

How recently was this?

Your avatar address says "India". I take it that is incorrect?

Hi,

This was not too long ago. Couple weeks

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,

First of all, let me preface this with an acknowledgement of my own stupidity

I am really nervous about what happened- any help would be really appreciated.

I bought two tickets for a train due 10 mins after the one I boarded, thinking worst case if there’s a revenue protection officer, he’ll let me off cause the ticket was the same price and all. Boy was I wrong.

This was an e-ticket- which she scanned and has a record of

She said it’s a penalty. Asked for details. I gave fake name. And an old adress (which I can still access)

Train stopped so I got off, she wanted my friends details, because I had two tickets of course and they had not had the chance to give details

Once the train stopped, I walked off, with my friend, they did not give their details at all. so there was two of us, both the tickets were on my phone and only I gave my details.

She followed me and gave me a really hard time about what I was doing, saying all these different laws and it made me panic more and run more.

I realise I should have just taken it on the chin, I thought a penalty fare was £150+, I was worried I would have no money left as a student.

I realise how serious this is.

I am just looking for advice on what to do now.

My main concerns are

1) being pursued for false details

2) what happens to my friend?

3) are they linking that e-ticket to my real name and realising there’s a mismatch?

4) can I just pay the fine, if it comes through to my old address, under false details?

5) I really don’t know what to do. Any help is so appreciated.

6) should I reach out to Northern Rail first, before they inevitably get me?

7) how likely are they to get me through the (wrong) trainline ticket which I presented?

Was northern rail line

FYI a Penalty fare if issued is £50 + a new correct ticket if paid promptly. Apart from being let off it’s the least worst punishment available.

But you won’t get one of those now. If you were not issued a penalty on the spot you will be being reported for investigation potentially.

You need to presume they can trace you. At least by e mail from your ticket purchase as they scanned your ticket. You probably also need to regularly check the old address you gave for post.

They may not be able to do anything regarding your friend if no details were taken about them.

 

[Nivea12]

FYI a Penalty fare if issued is £50 + a new correct ticket if paid promptly. Apart from being let off it’s the least worst punishment available.

But you won’t get one of those now. You need to presume they can trace you. At least by e mail from your ticket purchase. You probably also need to regularly check the old addresses you gave for post.

Yeah that’s the plan I reckon.

Just wait and see what comes through.

should I reach out first or just wait and see?

 

[WesternLancer]

Yeah that’s the plan I reckon.

Just wait and see what comes through. I have no address linked to my trainline but I guess they can get it from my bank.

should I reach out first or just wait and see?

The usual advice is wait and see. Unless there are other issues linked to it eg employment status or visa renewal for example, where any prosecution were that to happen might have more serious consequences as a result of a possible court fine and criminal record.

 

[Nivea12]

The usual advice is wait and see. Unless there are other issues linked to it eg employment status or visa renewal for example, where any prosecution were that to happen might have more serious consequences as a result of a possible court fine and criminal record.

Well ideally I’d love to avoid a court fine or criminal record

When or if they reach out to me, I’ll try and settle it and own up. Hoping they don’t come after me for false name and leaving when the officer was still trying to talk to me and get more details

Such a nightmare this

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Which train company are you dealing with?

You're potentially in a bit of trouble here. Having an invalid ticket is the least of your worries, more concerning is giving false details and running off. Failing to give your details when asked is a criminal offence in itself.

Your details can be obtained if your ticket was scanned so all you can do is wait and see if you are contacted. If you are then come back to this thread and post a redacted copy of the letter in this thread and we will be able to assist in how to reply.

Based on what you've said the train company is entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court should they decide to do so. Based on what you've said if this does happen you would be found guilty and would have to pay a fine based on your income, surcharge, compansation for the fare avoided and a contribution to the train company's court costs. In addition you would have a criminal record.

What you want, if at all possible, is to get the train company to offer you an out of court settlement. This means you pay the train company a sum of money and in return they agree not to prosecute in the magistrates court. Paying an out of court settlement might seem like paying a fine but technically it isn't (only a court can impose a fine as a punishment upon conviction). You won't have a criminal record if the matter is dealt with via an out of court settlement.

If you were just dealing with the ticketing issue then I'd say you would almost certainly be offered a settlement, as long as you co-operate with the train company when they write to you. The issue you've got is that you gave false details and ran off. This will make it harder to obtain a settlement, although probably not impossible depending on which train company you're dealing with. Note that if you are offered a settlement you will need to be in a position to pay it in full within a few days of it being offered.

What I've said above also applies to your friend but it's unlikely they will be traced given you purchased their ticket.

 

[Nivea12]

Hi, thankyou so much for your reply

It’s northern rail

I understand a settlement may be unlikely, but if I am contacted I will co-operate happily.

Surely they will settle if I co-operate- why would they take me to court when I can pay? If they do contact me, I will own the fact I should not have run off and given false details.

It really was pure panic, I have never done that.

I really could not imagine going to court

 

[WesternLancer]

Well ideally I’d love to avoid a court fine or criminal record

When or if they reach out to me, I’ll try and settle it and own up. Hoping they don’t come after me for false name and leaving when the officer was still trying to talk to me and get more details

Such a nightmare this

Well. You made the wrong call at the time but it’s too late now. If you apologise, co operate, be honest with your details name etc I suspect you have a good chance of avoiding it going to court.

Will you be able to check that postal address for letters for some time to come? Potentially up to 6 months.

 

[Nivea12]

Hi

Well. You made the wrong call at the time but it’s too late now. If you apologise, co operate, be honest with your details name etc I suspect you have a good chance of avoiding it going to court.

Will you be able to check that postal address for letters for some time to come? Potentially up to 6 months.

Hi,

Again, thanks for your help.

I should be able to check that adress yes.

The woman knew I was giving false details though cause I walked off basically

So…

Will they even try send it to the fake adress I gave? Or just get it through my online ticket.

I have been wondering that.

 

[Hadders]

Surely they will settle if I co-operate- why would they take me to court when I can pay?

Putting the ticketing issue to one side you gave false details and you ran off. This is against the law, and if you break the law you are liable to be prosecuted.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi

Hi,

Again, thanks for your help.

I should be able to check that adress yes.

The woman knew I was giving false details though cause I walked off basically

So…

Will they even try send it to the fake adress I gave? Or just get it through my online ticket.

I have been wondering that.

You need to prepare for either method they try to contact you by. Failure to respond means it goes in the cases to prosecute pile almost inevitably. This is why it’s vital you get whatever they send. Check e mail spam folder too.

 

[Hadders]

Moderator Note - we have two threads about the same issue so I have merged everything into this thread to avoid confusion and keep everything in one place.

 

[Nivea12]

You need to prepare for either method they try to contact you by. Failure to respond means it goes in the cases to prosecute pile almost inevitably. This is why it’s vital you get whatever they send. Check e mail spam folder too.

That makes sense.

Will have to wait and see.

I am gutted, feel like such an idiot honestly.

You need to prepare for either method they try to contact you by. Failure to respond means it goes in the cases to prosecute pile almost inevitably. This is why it’s vital you get whatever they send. Check e mail spam folder too.

Gotcha

I’ll make sure to check constantly

 

[reb0118]

Nothing is certain but here is one possible scenario:-

1) You are contacted via the details you provided.

2) You do not respond to the correspondence because you are not aware due to the details being "false".

2) As you have not responded you are processed for prosecution and in due course are prosecuted & convicted in your absence.

3) Being unaware, you do not respond to the requirement to pay your fine - that you received upon being convicted.

4) A warrant will be made out for your arrest and efforts will be made to trace your whereabouts.

5) Details from your purchasing account in conjunction with the "false" address you gave - an address that you previously lived at - will be combined with other information to trace you.

6) This may or may not be successful.

So, this comes down to your attitude to risk and reward. If you come clean, contact Northern Rail and explain the situation, then there is a high likelihood that you can resolve this situation without court action (so no prosecution and conviction). There will be a financial penalty - but much less than a fine & associated court costs.

Alternatively, pop your head in the sand and hope that your case ends up in the "too difficult to sort" tray. However, there will always be that niggling doubt that the situation may catch up with you and bite you on the bum.

Food for thought.

 

[gray1404]

When you booked the tickets were you logged onto an online account or did you check out as a guest? In other words did you register enough personal details? What payment method did you use?

 

[Hadders]

When you booked the tickets were you logged onto an online account or did you check out as a guest? In other words did you register enough personal details? What payment method did you use?

Checking out as a guest or via an account makes no difference.

 

[Nivea12]

Hi, thankyou so much for your reply

It’s northern rail

I understand a settlement may be unlikely, but if I am contacted I will co-operate happily.

Surely they will settle if I co-operate- why would they take me to court when I can pay? If they do contact me, I will own the fact I should not have run off and given false details.

It really was pure panic, I have never done that.

I really could not imagine going to court

Nothing is certain but here is one possible scenario:-

1) You are contacted via the details you provided.

2) You do not respond to the correspondence because you are not aware due to the details being "false".

2) As you have not responded you are processed for prosecution and in due course are prosecuted & convicted in your absence.

3) Being unaware, you do not respond to the requirement to pay your fine - that you received upon being convicted.

4) A warrant will be made out for your arrest and efforts will be made to trace your whereabouts.

5) Details from your purchasing account in conjunction with the "false" address you gave - an address that you previously lived at - will be combined with other information to trace you.

6) This may or may not be successful.

So, this comes down to your attitude to risk and reward. If you come clean, contact Northern Rail and explain the situation, then there is a high likelihood that you can resolve this situation without court action (so no prosecution and conviction). There will be a financial penalty - but much less than a fine & associated court costs.

Alternatively, pop your head in the sand and hope that your case ends up in the "too difficult to sort" tray. However, there will always be that niggling doubt that the situation may catch up with you and bite you on the bum.

Food for thought.

Understood.

What if I just reply to the letter under the fake details?

Checking out as a guest or via an account makes no difference.

Yeah I have also read this.

Was through Apple Pay and a trainline account- pretty certain they can track me if they want to

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Understood.

What if I just reply to the letter under the fake details?

If you gave fake details, how will you get the letter? It will go to the address that you gave - and don't live at

 

[Gloster]

What if I just reply to the letter under the fake details?

Don’t. That is a pretty good way to heavily increase the chances that the matter will go to court. You will almost certainly have to give your correct identity at some point and your lack of candour will count heavily against you. Others will probably confirm, but admitting your correct identity and address at the earliest opportunity is unlikely to weigh the balance more than marginally against you.

 

[Nivea12]

Nothing is certain but here is one possible scenario:-

1) You are contacted via the details you provided.

2) You do not respond to the correspondence because you are not aware due to the details being "false".

2) As you have not responded you are processed for prosecution and in due course are prosecuted & convicted in your absence.

3) Being unaware, you do not respond to the requirement to pay your fine - that you received upon being convicted.

4) A warrant will be made out for your arrest and efforts will be made to trace your whereabouts.

5) Details from your purchasing account in conjunction with the "false" address you gave - an address that you previously lived at - will be combined with other information to trace you.

6) This may or may not be successful.

So, this comes down to your attitude to risk and reward. If you come clean, contact Northern Rail and explain the situation, then there is a high likelihood that you can resolve this situation without court action (so no prosecution and conviction). There will be a financial penalty - but much less than a fine & associated court costs.

Alternatively, pop your head in the sand and hope that your case ends up in the "too difficult to sort" tray. However, there will always be that niggling doubt that the situation may catch up with you and bite you on the bum.

Food for thought.

If you gave fake details, how will you get the letter? It will go to the address that you gave - and don't live at

Hey mate,

It’s my old address, I can still access it

Don’t. That is a pretty good way to heavily increase the chances that the matter will go to court. You will almost certainly have to give your correct identity at some point and your lack of candour will count heavily against you. Others will probably confirm, but admitting your correct identity and address at the earliest opportunity is unlikely to weigh the balance more than marginally against you.

Okay that’s interesting.

If that’s the case- why am I not just reaching out to Northern Rail now?

 

[WesternLancer]

Hey mate,

It’s my old address, I can still access it



Okay that’s interesting.

If that’s the case- why am I not just reaching out to Northern Rail now?

Because you have no case ref number for them to match up? you could reach out now but if you did, do no more in the written communication than to confirm your correct name and address.

It will remove the prospect of them not following it up though I would think.

However, I would agree with post #24 - just wait for them to contact you albeit in the false name you gave unless they have got a correct one from your on line payment details of course.

 

[Hadders]

What if I just reply to the letter under the fake details?

DO NOT DO THIS. This would just make matters much, much worse.

If that’s the case- why am I not just reaching out to Northern Rail now?

It’s better to wait until you get a letter from Northern and answer the questions they ask you. They deal with hundreds of cases at a time and you will have to wait for your turn to be contacted.

Reaching out to them might seem attractive but it could be counterproductive.

 

[TrainLover79]

Nothing is certain but here is one possible scenario:-

1) You are contacted via the details you provided.

2) You do not respond to the correspondence because you are not aware due to the details being "false".

2) As you have not responded you are processed for prosecution and in due course are prosecuted & convicted in your absence.

3) Being unaware, you do not respond to the requirement to pay your fine - that you received upon being convicted.

4) A warrant will be made out for your arrest and efforts will be made to trace your whereabouts.

5) Details from your purchasing account in conjunction with the "false" address you gave - an address that you previously lived at - will be combined with other information to trace you.

6) This may or may not be successful.

So, this comes down to your attitude to risk and reward. If you come clean, contact Northern Rail and explain the situation, then there is a high likelihood that you can resolve this situation without court action (so no prosecution and conviction). There will be a financial penalty - but much less than a fine & associated court costs.

Alternatively, pop your head in the sand and hope that your case ends up in the "too difficult to sort" tray. However, there will always be that niggling doubt that the situation may catch up with you and bite you on the bum.

Food for thought.

Checking out as a guest or via an account makes no difference.

Yeah but how would they find out who the person that actually committed the offence is ? I understand that they might trace the account and the bank details the tickets were bought from , but it doesn’t prove who actually traveled with those tickets. They would need a name not just the bank details.

 

[Hadders]

Yeah but how would they find out who the person that actually committed the offence is ? I understand that they might trace the account and the bank details the tickets were bought from , but it doesn’t prove who actually traveled with those tickets. They would need a name not just the bank details.

Don’t under estimate the ability of the train companies to investigate. There’s a huge amount of data available to them.

Giving false details to a railway official is bad enough but don’t risk a change for perverting the course of justice. Perverting the course of justice is very serious and you could go to jail for that.

 

[Nivea12]

Don’t under estimate the ability of the train companies to investigate. There’s a huge amount of data available to them.

Giving false details to a railway official is bad enough but don’t risk a change for perverting the course of justice. Perverting the course of justice is very serious and you could go to jail for that.

Guess we will have to see if I get a letter or e-Mail.

I’m still questioning if I should reach out first but. We will see.

Guess we will have to see if I get a letter or e-Mail.

I’m still questioning if I should reach out first but. We will see. I regret giving false details so much, just pure panic

 

[Hadders]

Guess we will have to see if I get a letter or e-Mail.

I’m still questioning if I should reach out first but. We will see.

They might not even write to you (unlikely but it has happened).

You don’t know what they’re going to say in their letter. They might only ask you about the ticketing irregularity.

The prosecutions office might not even have the report from the inspector yet, so contacting them at this stage could be premature.

Wait and see what they say in their letter, let us know when it comes and we can help to proof read your reply.

 

[Nivea12]

They might not even write to you (unlikely but it has happened).

You don’t know what they’re going to say in their letter. They might only ask you about the ticketing irregularity.

The prosecutions office might not even have the report from the inspector yet, so contacting them at this stage could be premature.

Wait and see what they say in their letter, let us know when it comes and we can help to proof read your reply.

Thankyou very much for all your help. It hasn’t gone unappreciated.

Let’s see what happens.

 

[AlterEgo]

Another vote for "wait and see if a letter arrives and what it says".

As others have said, giving false details (or refusing to give your own details) is in itself an offence, so you had better hope the company doesn't expend the resources to try and contact you. In reality, train companies kind of need to get a passenger's correct details at the time of the stop to have a good chance of making a case, as it is up to them to prove who committed the offence.

There is a good reason why the RPI tried to stop you; it is important for them to get you to talk and give over your details. if scanning the ticket was sufficient evidence on its own they wouldn't try to stop you.

You'll find your friend who ran away with you is certainly untraceable to the train company and will live to fight another day. Food for thought.