Fare Dodger's Surprise: He Owes TfL Over £3,500!

Here’s the instance where a person who didn’t pay their fares found out they owe over £3,500 in unpaid ticket fees after evading charges for more than a year by using a card provided by a mate.

The individual had been utilizing the bank card for more than a year -- even though it had no funds -- before getting apprehended. TfL investigators at Surrey Quays station in London 's docklands.

Although the card was always approved by the ticket machine, it subsequently led to a payment decline.

This allowed him to make the exit barriers open at stations without paying the TfL travel fee, accumulating thousands of pounds in unpaid charges.

The man who had no idea what was happening got caught during his commute to work. Investigators managed to follow his typical route and spot him using surveillance footage.

Following his appearance for questioning, the fellow asserts he ‘discovered’ the card, but then recants and states it was handed over to him by a buddy.

However, this barely convinces the officers, who disclose he owes TfL a staggering £3,573 from over 500 trips made within a year.

The intricate operation was documented in the most recent episode of Channel 5’s documentary series 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law'.

TfL investigator Lisa and her colleague spotted the man just as he was exiting the barriers at Surrey Quays train station.

She requests the man to display the card he utilized for tapping out previously, then she inquires about its origin. The man responds, "It’s not mine; I stumbled upon it."

'That’s an entirely new scenario altogether,' Lisa says.

She then checks the card on her own scanner, which confirms her suspicions that the card is faulty.

'You see there it's failed? So me and you need to have a conversation. So I am going to ask you in for an interview.'

The fare evader subsequently queries, "Will this consume much time? I have work," and Lisa retorts with, "It will require whatever duration it requires."

When she starts questioning the man, Lisa informs him that an inquiry into the card reveals he has been misusing it.

'At this point be Because of this card, I think you've broken the law, so now I'm going to issue a warning.

Lisa proceeds with further inquiries, asking the man about the origin of the card. He informs her that a friend provided it to him.

When you've been commuting to Surrey Quays every day for work, did you realize that you weren’t actually paying TfL for your journey?

The fellow responds: "I was informed by my buddy that you can utilize this card for travel."

He then confesses that once presented with proof of his fare evasion, he hadn’t settled the complete amount for his trip that day.

This isn’t the first instance where he has utilized the card, and the overall sum he is supposed to pay appears significantly higher than what he originally anticipated.

'The part I'm going to show you next could come as quite a surprise,' Lisa informs the man.

'Those many trips certainly amount to quite a lot.'

She reveals the man has racked up £3,573 in unpaid TfL charges, which seems to hit him with a sense of disbelief.

'You have had that card for over a year and they have never been paid,' Lisa adds.

Impressed by the quantity, the fare evader regrets their behavior.

I apologize profusely for this situation. A pal of mine handed me this card.

He proceeds to sign a paper acknowledging his evasion of payments for over 500 trips.

This indicates that his case will now be handed over to the TfL prosecution team, who will determine the subsequent actions.

The gentleman keeps apologising and informs Lisa that he will purchase his own TfL card instead.

I doubt I'll witness him committing another offense anytime soon. He seemed rather shocked by how high the number climbed and I believe he’s taken the message to heart. Here’s hoping.

Last week’s second installment of the new series of Fare Dodgers featured a train fare evader who was ultimately apprehended by investigators after avoiding payment for tickets amounting to almost £20,000. This case ranks among the largest instances of such fraud in British history.

The individual had been covering just a portion of his complete trip from Surrey to London Waterloo, as he purchased an electronic ticket solely for the segment from Vauxhall to Waterloo.

Although this significantly lowered the cost of his ticket, the passenger was also utilizing a 16-17 Saver Railcard improperly, which provided an additional half-price reduction.

A South Western Railway revenue protection team spotted him via CCTV and ultimately apprehended him as he was committing the offense at Waterloo station, aiming for prosecution. They discovered that he had been avoiding payments averaging around £35 daily since 2022.

The third episode of 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law' is on Channel 5 on Monday, June 2 at 9pm.

Read more