29-05-2025
EXCLUSIVE Moment fare dodger finds out he owes TfL more than £3,500 after swerving fares for over a year using a 'card his friend gave him'
This is the moment a fare dodger was told he owes more than £3,500 in unpaid ticket costs after avoiding charges for over a year while using a 'card his friend gave him'.
The man had been using the bank card for over a year - despite having no money on it - when he was caught by TfL investigators at Surrey Quays station in London 's docklands.
While the card had been accepted by the ticket reader each time, it had later resulted in a payment failure.
This meant he was able to force the exit gates to open at a station without having to pay the TfL travel charge, racking up thousands of unpaid fees.
The unsuspecting man was snared on his way to work, with investigators able to trace his usual journey and identify him on CCTV.
After being taken in for an interview, the man claims he 'found' the card, before changing his mind and saying it was given to him by a friend.
But this does little to convince the officers, as they reveal he owes TfL an eye-watering £3,573 from more than 500 journeys taken in over a year.
The elaborate sting was captured in the latest episode of Channel 5 documentary 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law'.
The investigators tell the fare-dodger he had been using the bank card for over a year - despite having no money on it
The unsuspecting man was snared on his way to work, with investigators able to trace his usual journey and identify him on CCTV
TfL investigator Lisa and her colleague spotted the man just as he was exiting the barriers at Surrey Quays train station.
She asks the man to show her the card he used to tap out before asking where he got it. The man replies: 'No it's not mine, I found it.'
'Oh that's a whole different ball game now,' Lisa adds.
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 dodger then asks: 'Is it going to take a long time? I'm working,' to which Lisa replies: 'It's going to take as long as it takes.'
As she begins interviewing the man, Lisa tells him an investigation into the card shows that he had been using it illegally.
'At this point because of this card I do believe you have committed an offence, so at this point I am going to caution.'
Lisa continues questioning the man, asking where he got the card. He tells her it was given to him by a friend
'When you have been travelling to Surrey Quays everyday to go to work, do you know that you were not paying TfL for your travel?'
The man replies: 'My friend told me you can use this card for travelling.'
He goes on to admit that, after being shown evidence of his fare dodging, he has not paid his full fare for that morning's journey.
However, this is not the first time he has used the card and the total amount he owes seems to much larger than he initially thought.
'The next bit I am about to show you might be a bit of a shock,' Lisa tells the man.
'All of those journeys do add up to quite a bit.'
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.
Taken about by the amount, the fare dodger apologises for his actions.
'I'm so sorry about this one. My friend gave me this card.'
He goes on to sign a document admitting to dodging fares on more than 500 journeys.
This means his case will now be passed on to the TfL prosecution team, who will decide the next steps.
The man continues to apologise and tells Lisa he will now buy his own TfL card.
'I don't think I can see this guy reoffending again. I think he was quite surprised by the amount it had risen to and I think he has learnt his lesson. Fingers crossed.'
The second episode of the new series of Fare Dodgers last week saw a rail fare dodger finally caught by investigators after evading nearly £20,000 in ticket costs in one of Britain's biggest ever cases of its kind.
The offender had been paying for only a small part of his full journey from Surrey to London Waterloo, when he bought an e-ticket only from Vauxhall to Waterloo.
While this made his ticket much cheaper, the passenger was also using a 16-17 Saver Railcard he is not entitled to for a half-price discount which further reduced the price.
A South Western Railway revenue protection team identified him through CCTV and then eventually caught him in the act at Waterloo station to pursue a prosecution, after finding he had been evading an average of £35 each day going back to 2022.
