Essex rail user issued staggering £10,000 fine by c2c for historic fare evasion

A rail user has been dealt a huge five-figure fine after being caught persistently evading fares since 2019. The customer, who has not been named, was fined £10,000 after being caught travelling through one of c2c's stations in London.

The person was asked to present their rail ticket to a revenue protection officer as part of a routine inspection. The customer did not have a valid ticket for the full length of the journey they had made and, on further investigation, it was found the customer had been making the same trip and cheating the system for nearly five years.

It comes as c2c sends a warning to fare evaders that they continue to have a successful crackdown on the practice across their network. Approximately £130,000 has been raised in fines and penalty payments so far this year - including the £10,000 historic fine.

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Operating in partnership with the British Transport Police, c2c’s Revenue Protection and Security Teams are out on the route, seven days a week – from first trains until last – working to catch and apprehend those who do not have a valid ticket for their journey. During 2023, the work of these teams led to over £315k being received in penalty fares and fines.

Iain Palmer, c2c’s Head of Revenue Protection & Security, said: “Fare evasion, whether deliberately or inadvertently, is a criminal offence and c2c will always look to prosecute those who attempt to cheat the system.

“We have recently increased the number of Revenue Protection officers patrolling our stations and trains, especially during the off-peak, and we now have more eyes and ears monitoring and closing in on customers who frequently travel without a valid ticket.”

Mr Palmer added: "Our work to crackdown on fare evasion isn’t just about catching and issuing penalty fares to customers who travel without a ticket, the intelligence provided by our digital sales channels and ticket barriers also help us identify those using c2c services without a valid ticket for the entirety of their journey.”

c2c offers a wide range of ticketing options to suit customers’ needs and travel patterns, and these are all available to purchase either online, in app, at ticket offices or from our ticket machines. There is absolutely no excuse for travelling on c2c without a ticket."

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