A performer was left picking up a £1,100 bill after she used an expired railcard 30 times due to a “human mistake”. Tash Bacarese-Hamilton is calling for a change in the rules, saying she received no warning that her railcard had expired and there were no alerts or emails advising her to renew it.
The 22-year-old paid the bill to avoid court proceedings but believes a simple alert could have prevented the entire situation. Tash told how she was travelling from a funeral in Leicester to London St Pancras on an East Midlands Railway [EMR] service on October 14 when her £40 ticket, purchased via the Trainline App, was inspected.
She said she was shocked to find out that the railcard she used for a discounted fare had expired in April. She claimed the inspector showed “no compassion” when she tried to explain what had happened.
However, East Midlands Railway said they could have prosecuted Tash and said travelling without a valid card could lead to “a criminal conviction and/or a criminal record”. And they said but they had offered to “settle out of court” after an investigation found Tash had used the expired card on 30 separate journeys.
The hefty bill came as a result of them charging her for all of them at once. EMR stated that for the railway system to improve and operate successfully, the conditions surrounding railcards must be adhered to, reports Wales Online.
Tash from Wimbledon in South London, recounted the ordeal she experienced during her rail journey. She shared: “I was already crying when I got on the train as I had just come from a funeral.”
She added that the situation worsened when the ticket inspector approached her: “The ticket inspector came around and I showed him my ticket and he asked to see my railcard. When I pressed on to open my railcard it said it was expired. I knew this was bad and at that moment I just kept thinking ‘this can’t be happening’.
“This was the last thing I needed. I had such an awful day. I was just apologising. I think anyone that was actually trying to skive would have a whole story at this point but I was just apologising as it was a genuine mistake.
“The inspector took a closer look at it and said the railcard had expired in April. I don’t know how I didn’t realise this but I never got a notification or email telling me it was due to expire.”
Tash said she was “really apologetic” and told the inspector I needed some assistance. While he did this I renewed my railcard because I travel a lot and need it. The assistant came and saw that I had just bought a new railcard. Surely they want everyone to renew their railcard when they know they are expired.
“He then switched up and said because I now had a renewed railcard, he could let me off. But then he said the decision wasn’t down to him but the inspector. They had the option to let me off and a bit of empathy and compassion wouldn’t have gone amiss. The inspector then turned around and said he’s not going to let me off.”
At Kettering Station, where she had a train connection, Tash was questioned on what had happened and informed they would get back to her within a month. Tash, who is also a video editor, continued trip to London St Pancras but said she was worried about what would happen next.
Telling of her stressful experience, Tash said: “I felt like I was innocent as I didn’t have any bad intentions and they were accusing me of being a criminal. It was a lot, especially after the day I had had.”
Tash said she went home then three weeks later got an email with the decision. She said: “It was such a build-up for three weeks. The first week I was on edge.
“The second week I thought maybe it was a bit of a scare and they weren’t going to do anything but then when the email came through, it started off with the word fraud and my heart stopped. It said if I didn’t pay, I was facing court and a criminal record.”
“This was a shock. How can one human mistake lead to a criminal record if I don’t pay this outstanding fine. I was annoyed and frustrated and I wanted to speak to someone.”
After being hit with a penalty notice on October 28th, Tash had 21 days to pay or face court and potentially receive a criminal record. She said she tried to appeal the decision with EMR but was unsuccessful.
Tash added: “EMR told me I could pay in instalments but there would be an added cost for this. I asked how they had calculated the fine. Over these months I was in a musical so I was travelling a lot as we were on tour all over the UK.
“I was doing big trips and they said they calculated the full fare of all the trips I did without the railcard discount and got the £1,100 fine. Firstly when I was doing those trips, I was still paying £40 or £50 for the tickets so I am basically having to pay double for what I have already paid.”
Since settling the fine, Tash has continued to seek a partial refund from EMR. She’s now keen to raise awareness about her “human mistake” to prevent others from suffering the same fate and is urging Trainline to update their app to alert users of expired railcards before ticket purchase.
Tash said: “I paid because the last thing I wanted was to go to court and get a criminal record. It was awful to pay. I worked so hard to earn this money and it was such a huge amount for one human mistake.
“I’m a performer, and so the money is not steady, and all this money was what I had earned on my UK musical tour.” I had worked so hard for this money and it was a kick in the teeth. I want to get this story out and reach as many people as possible so they [Trainline] rethink their system.”
The performer believes a minor adjustment to the railcard system would make a significant difference. “It is very easy for an app to be changed and for railcards to have a code so this could be entered in the system and then this would then flag if your railcard is expired or not before purchase of the ticket.”
She added: “This would also stop the people using railcards [who don’t have them] to bunk trains on purpose. They wouldn’t be able to anymore as they don’t have a code. The whole system is just wrong. “.
In response to concerns, the Department for Transport has initiated a review of train companies’ approaches to suspected fare evasion, including the clarity of passenger terms and conditions. Meanwhile, East Midlands Railway emphasized the necessity of enforcing railcard conditions to safeguard taxpayer-funded revenue.
“Travelling on an out-of-date and invalid railcard discount could amount to an offence under the Fraud Act 2006, the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, and the Railway Byelaws. If found guilty, this could lead to a criminal conviction and/or a criminal record.”
“Following an internal investigation, we have identified that the passenger in question made 30 journeys with an invalid 16-25 railcard discount applied. However, we have offered the customer the option to settle out of court and provide payment for the fares of the journeys taken between May and October.”
Trainline said it intentionally kept the purchase and storage of the Railcard product separate from the process of buying tickets, to retain customer flexibility. For example customers can renew their Railcard from another retailer or a train operator, or buying a ticket for somebody else who does have a Railcard.
They said if a customer has bought their Railcard through them, when it approaches expiry they advise them by email and app push notification, to let them know in good time that they need to renew it. A Trainline spokesperson said: “Trainline is a ticket retailer and is not responsible for checking tickets on trains or issuing fines. We are always clear in our ticket search when a Railcard discount is being applied to a purchase.”