TikTok: Fare dodger who urged followers not to buy train tickets is caught and fined

A fare dodger who posted tips on TikTok about how to avoid paying for train journeys has been caught and fined more than £700.

The woman, who has not been named, made social media videos boasting about not buying rail tickets and urged her followers to do the same. But her videos have now landed her a criminal record after police and train operators tracked her down and prosecuted her under the Regulation of Railways Act.

The fraudulent traveller recorded numerous clips of herself talking about dodging fares in Derby, Tamworth and Burton-upon-Trent and Crewe.

She urged viewers to sit near toilets to be able to quickly hide from ticket inspectors, pretend their phone had died or to buy a ticket for a cheaper, and nearer, stop. The woman also bragged about how she never paid full price to travel and regularly did not buy a ticket at all.

She also suggests pretending to have missed your stop and added: "Overall, if you get smart with it there's a couple of ways to beat the train company. I would highly advise anybody not to pay."

She was prosecuted for fraud and fined £773 following a joint investigation by East Midlands Railway (EMR) and British Transport Police (BTP) last month.

PC Lisa Scott-Savage, of 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.”

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."

East Midlands Railway warned customers who travel without a valid ticket can be fined £100 on top of the price of a single ticket.