A woman is warning railcard users after being threatened with a criminal record if she didn't cough up £1,100 fine despite buying a train ticket - as her card was out of date.

Tash Bacarese-Hamilton had been traveling home from a funeral in Leicester to London St Pancras on an East Midlands Railway [EMR] service on October 14th when her ticket was checked.

The 22-year-old was stunned to discover her railcard had expired in April so tried to explain to the inspector she had not been notified about her out-of-date railcard and this was a simple 'human mistake'.

However, she claims EMR staff showed no 'compassion' to her situation and was told she would receive no leniency and would receive a penalty notice.

Tash was then hit with a £1,100 fine via email three weeks later Tash was then hit with a £1,100 fine via email three weeks later (Image: Kennedy News/@Tasha.bh)

Tash was then hit with a £1,100 fine via email three weeks later and was told if she didn't pay she would face court and a criminal record.

The performer said when she had purchased the £40 train fare through the Trainline App, she added on her 15-25 railcard before paying to get her discounted rate.

She has now paid the £1,100 penalty to avoid a criminal conviction but says the penalty was a 'slap in the face' for an honest 'human error'.

However East Midlands Railway suggested the whopping four-figure bill did indeed show leniency as travelling without a valid card could result in 'a criminal conviction and/or a criminal record', but they offered to 'settle out of court'.

They said an investigation revealed Tash had used the card while out of date on 30 separate trips and hit her with the bill for all of them at once.

EMR said for the railway to improve and operate successfully the conditions around railcards need to be followed.

Tash is now raising awareness of her railcard experience and claims Trainline needs to change their booking system and will now avoid EMR services at all costs.

Tash, from Wimbledon in London, said: "I was already crying when I got on the train as I had just come from a funeral.

"The ticket inspector came around and I showed him my ticket and he asked to see my railcard. When I pressed on to open my railcard it said it was expired.

"I knew this was bad and at that moment I just kept thinking 'this can't be happening'.

"This was the last thing I needed. I had such an awful day. I was just apologising.

"I think anyone that was actually trying to skive would have a whole story at this point but I was just apologising as it was a genuine mistake.

"The inspector took a closer look at it and said the railcard had expired in April.

"I don't know how I didn't realise this but I never got a notification or email telling me it was due to expire.

"I was really apologetic and told the inspector I needed some assistance. While he did this I renewed my railcard because I travel a lot and need it.

"The assistant came and saw that I had just bought a new railcard. Surely they want everyone to renew their railcard when they know they are expired.

"He then switched up and said because I now had a renewed railcard, he could let me off. But then he said the decision wasn't down to him but the inspector.

"They were both there chatting and it's apparent that they found the situation funny. It felt like they were laughing in my face. The way they were looking at me and saying things sarcastically.

"They had the option to let me off and a bit of empathy and compassion wouldn't have gone amiss. The inspector then turned around and said he's not going to let me off."

At Kettering Station where Tash had to change trains, she was made to relay her side of the story to the EMR inspector and was told they would be in touch within a month.

The part-time video editor then was able to continue her journey to London St Pancras but spent the next few weeks anxiously awaiting a penalty notice.

Tash said: "He [the EMR inspector] starts off by saying everything I say or do will be given as evidence.

"I felt like I was innocent as I didn't have any bad intentions and they were accusing me of being a criminal. It was a lot, especially after the day I had had.

"I began to really cry at this point. I said I wasn't in the right headspace as I had come from a funeral.

"He said we could stop but if I did stop and leave, I wouldn't be able to say my side of the story and I wouldn't have a say.

"Everything would be written from their point of view and if I walked away, they would just fine me. I felt like I had no choice.

"I went home and then three weeks later I got an email. It was such a build up for three weeks. The first week I was on edge.

"The second week I thought maybe it was a bit of a scare and they weren't going to do anything but then when the email came through, it started off with the word fraud and my heart stopped.

"It said if I didn't pay, I was facing court and a criminal record.

"This was a shock. How can one human mistake lead to a criminal record if I don't pay this outstanding fine. I was annoyed and frustrated and I wanted to speak to someone."

After receiving her penalty email on October 28th, Tash was given 21 days to pay instead of facing court and a criminal record.

She says she had contacted EMR on several occasions to try and appeal the fine but it was not successful.

Tash said: "EMR told me I could pay in installments but there would be an added cost for this.

"I asked how they had calculated the fine. Over these months I was in a musical so I was travelling a lot as we were on tour all over the UK.

"I was doing big trips and they said they calculated the full fare of all the trips I did without the railcard discount and got the £1,100 fine.

"Firstly when I was doing those trips, I was still paying £40 or £50 for the tickets so I am basically having to pay double for what I have already paid."

Since paying the fine, Tash says she is continuing to contact EMR to try and get some of the money refunded.

She is now raising awareness of her 'human mistake' to stop it from happening to anyone else and wants Trainline to change their app so it flags expired railcards before a ticket is purchased.

Tash said: "I paid because the last thing I wanted was to go to court and get a criminal record.

"It was awful to pay. I worked so hard to earn this money and it was such a huge amount for one human mistake.

"What made it worse is that they didn't seem to care and they were happy that this had happened. It was a slap in the face.

"I'm a performer and so the money is not steady and all this money was what I had earnt on my UK musical tour.

"I had worked so hard for this money and it was a kick in the teeth.

"I want to get this story out and reach as many people as possible so they [Trainline] rethink their system.

"It is very easy for an app to be changed and for railcards to have a code so this could be entered in the system and then this would then flag if your railcard is expired or not before purchase of the ticket.

"This would also stop the people using railcards [who don't have them] to bunk trains on purpose. They wouldn't be able to anymore as they don't have a code.

"The whole system is just wrong. "

In a press release this week, the Department for Transport said The Transport Secretary has commissioned a review into the way train companies tackle suspected fare evasion.

This will include how clear terms and conditions are for passengers and how they are communicated, as well as when prosecution is an appropriate step.

National Rail declined to comment.

An East Midlands Railway spokesperson said: "For the railway to operate successfully, improve, and secure investment, fares need to be paid, and the conditions around railcards need to be followed. We have a duty to protect revenue – which is ultimately taxpayers' money.

"Travelling on an out-of-date and invalid railcard discount could amount to an offence under the Fraud Act 2006, the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, and the Railway Byelaws. If found guilty, this could lead to a criminal conviction and/or a criminal record.

"Following an internal investigation, we have identified that the passenger in question made 30 journeys with an invalid 16-25 railcard discount applied.

"However, we have offered the customer the option to settle out of court and provide payment for the fares of the journeys taken between May and October."

Trainline said they  intentionally keep the purchase and storage of the Railcard product separate from the process of buying tickets, to retain customer flexibility. For example customers can renew their Railcard from another retailer or a train operator, or buying a ticket for somebody else who does have a Railcard. 

They said if a customer has bought their Railcard through them, when it approaches expiry they advise them by email and app push notification, to let them know in good time that they need to renew it.

A Trainline spokesperson said: "Trainline is a ticket retailer and is not responsible for checking tickets on trains or issuing fines. We are always clear in our ticket search when a Railcard discount is being applied to a purchase."