A train passenger who faces a criminal record and hefty fine for using an out-of-date railcard 30 times has bemoaned the punishment is unfair.
The accused woman has racketed up a bill of £1,100 pounds for her misuse of the card but insists this was a human mistake and questioned why no one alerted her to the card expiring.
Tash Bacarese-Hamilton, 22, from Wimbledon in London, told of how she had already been crying when she got on the train having just come from a funeral but that her grief was compounded when the ticket inspector arrived.
An investigation then revealed Ms Bacarese-Hamilton had used the invalid card on 30 separate trips and so she was presented with a four-figure bill for each journey all at once.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) insists that in order for it to improve and operate successfully the rules around railcards must be followed.
But Ms Bacarese-Hamilton says the inspector showed her no compassion despite him offering to settle out of court as the rule-breaking could result in a criminal record.
Speaking to BristolLive, she said: I was already crying when I got on the train as I had just come from a funeral.
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 cant be happening".
Tash Bacarese-Hamilton, 22, from Wimbledon in London , told of how she had already been crying when she got on the train having just come from a funeral but that her grief was compounded
Penalty notice received by Ms Bacarese-Hamilton. An investigation then revealed Ms Bacarese-Hamilton had used the invalid card on 30 separate trips and so she was presented with a four-figure bill for each journey all at once
Penalty notice received by Ms Bacarese-Hamilton (continued). Ms Bacarese-Hamilton says the inspector showed her no compassion despite him offering to settle out of court
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 dont know how I didnt realise this but I never got a notification or email telling me it was due to expire.
I 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 wasnt down to him but the inspector.
They had the option to let me off and a bit of empathy and compassion wouldnt have gone amiss. The inspector then turned around and said hes not going to let me off.
The distressed train passenger had to change trains at Kettering Station where she explained what had happened to the EMR inspector who informed her they would be in touch within a month.
Ms Bacarese-Hamilton, a part-time video editor, was then was able to continue her journey to London St Pancras but spent the next few weeks anxiously awaiting a penalty notice.
She said: He [the EMR inspector] starts off by saying everything I say or do will be given as evidence. I felt like I was innocent as I didnt have any bad intentions and they were accusing me of being a criminal. It was a lot, especially after the day I had had.
A formal email notification detailing the fine. It reads: You were spoken to by an authorised member of staff regarding a journey you made between Leicester and London St Pancras
The distressed train passenger had to change trains at Kettering Station where she explained what had happened to the EMR inspector who informed her they would be in touch within a month
She said she began to really cry and added: I wasnt in the right headspace as I had come from a funeral. He said we could stop but if I did stop and leave, I wouldnt be able to say my side of the story and I wouldnt have a say
After receiving her penalty email on October 28, Tash was given 21 days to pay instead of facing court and a criminal record. She says she had contacted EMR on several occasions to try and appeal the fine but with no success
I began to really cry at this point. I said I wasnt in the right headspace as I had come from a funeral. He said we could stop but if I did stop and leave, I wouldnt be able to say my side of the story and I wouldnt have a say.
Everything would be written from their point of view and if I walked away, they would just fine me. I felt like I had no choice. I went home and then three weeks later I got an email. 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 werent 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 didnt 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 dont pay this outstanding fine. I was annoyed and frustrated and I wanted to speak to someone.
After receiving her penalty email on October 28, Tash was given 21 days to pay instead of facing court and a criminal record. She says she had contacted EMR on several occasions to try and appeal the fine but with no success.
She explained: 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 paying the fine, Ms Bacarese-Hamilton says she is continuing to contact EMR to try and get some of the money refunded. She is now raising awareness of her human mistake to stop it from happening to anyone else and wants Trainline to change their app so it flags expired railcards before a ticket is purchased.
The Department for Transport says the Transport Secretary has commissioned a review into the way train companies tackle suspected fare evasion
She 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.
What made it worse is that they didnt seem to care and they were happy that this had happened. It was a slap in the face. Im 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.
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.
This would also stop the people using railcards [who dont have them] to bunk trains on purpose. They wouldnt be able to anymore as they dont have a code. The whole system is just wrong.
In a press release this week, the Department for Transport said The Transport Secretary has commissioned a review into the way train companies tackle suspected fare evasion. This will include how clear terms and conditions are for passengers and how they are communicated, as well as when prosecution is an appropriate step.
BristolLive reports that National Rail declined to comment.
An East Midlands Railway spokesman said: For the railway to operate successfully, improve, and secure investment, fares need to be paid, and the conditions around railcards need to be followed. We have a duty to protect revenue – which is ultimately taxpayers money.
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 they keep 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.
A spokesman 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.
They added: 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.