Train fare dodger caught and fined after posting audacious tips to skip paying

A brazen woman who shared tips online for dodging train fares has been slapped with a hefty fine after getting caught.

The cheeky woman was seen sharing her advice as she apparently "never pays full price" for a train ticket — including journeys from Tamworth, Burton and Derby. Boasting on social media, the unnamed woman said: "I never, ever, ever, ever pay full price for a train journey. I thought with prices going up I would share my tips with you."

However, an investigation was launched by East Midlands Railway and British Transport police after she shared multiple videos of her so-called "money-saving" tips. Authorities used the customer's travel history, CCTV and other surveillance techniques to uncover the extent of her fraudulent travel.

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It uncovered that she had racked up £5,500 in unpaid fares. Now, her advice has since landed her a £773 fine and a criminal record — so her advice isn't so savvy as it seems.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) surprisingly shared her TikTok posts, which included her top five fare-dodging tips. An EMR spokesperson said: "A fare evader who shared tips on TikTok on how to avoid paying for train journeys has been caught and fined."

"The fraudulent traveller shared numerous videos on her social media account boasting about how she avoided paying and urged her followers to do the same. A collaborative investigation between EMR and the British Transport Police lead to the successful prosecution of the fare evader under Regulation of Railways Act, with her receiving £773 fine and a criminal record."

EMR revealed that a regular fare dodger was nabbed at Derby station by its staff, leading to the recovery of thousands in unpaid fares. They stated: "The team at Derby station's gate line alerted its Fraud and Prosecutions team to a person who claimed to be crossing over to the Pride Park entrance but instead boarded a service."

Dave Meredith, customer services director at East Midlands Railway, said: "The vast majority of our customers always buy a ticket, and they understand that for the railway to successfully operate, improve, and secure investment, fares need to be paid for. However, there are some people who try and work the system and look for different ways to evade paying.

"Our revenue protection, fraud and security teams work both in uniform and plain clothes in order to monitor and catch fare evaders, whether they are travelling without a ticket, have a ticket for part of their journey or fraudulently travelling on a child's ticket.

"The impact of fare evasion is felt by our law-abiding fare paying customers and ultimately the taxpayer. It's indefensible for certain individuals to believe they're exempt from paying for our services, and as these cases show, our teams are across our network looking for people who think its ok to break the law."

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PC Lisa Scott-Savage, investigating officer for British Transport Police, said: "We're extremely pleased with the result in this case, which highlights the price of evading fares – hefty fines and a criminal record. It is the legitimate fare paying passengers who end up bearing the brunt of the cost of the dishonest people who think they can get away without paying."

EMR said its customers should 'buy their ticket from the ticket office, a ticket machine, or online'. The firm said: "If they are using pay as you go or a smartcard ticket, they should ensure they touch in to start their journey as required.

"If the ticket office is closed, customers will be able to buy at a ticket machine or online before they board a train. Customers who travel on East Midlands Railway (EMR) without a valid ticket can be fined £100 on top of the price of a single ticket."

* This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up Daily Star's editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected]

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