Penalty fares
Got a question about Southeastern penalty fares or what happens if you travel without a ticket? Find the answers here…
Got a question? We can help...
- Travel without a valid ticket
- Can't produce an appropriate railcard on a discounted ticket
- Travel in First Class accommodation with a Standard Ticket
- Are aged 16 or over, travelling using on a child-rate ticket
- Continue your journey past your ticket destination
We’ve discovered an administrative error that resulted in some passengers issued with a penalty fare being overcharged.
This error only affected a small proportion of the penalty fares we issued between April 2018 and July 2019. The fares were issued for the correct reason - to passengers travelling without a valid ticket - but the amount charged was incorrect.
This error followed changes to penalty fares legislation in April 2018, and an error was made in the guidance issued to train operating companies on how these fares should be calculated.
We’ve written to affected passengers with the appropriate refund due to them.
If you haven’t been contacted and believe you were affected, please contact us using our online Contact Us form, or call us on 0345 322 7021.
All our stations have Ticket Vending Machines, though some may be card-only.
You can check ticket office opening times in the online station information.
Don't forget you can also buy your ticket online before you get to the station.
- 1st time – full refund of the fare paid
- 2nd time – full refund of the fare paid less a £10 administration fee
- 3+ times – no further refunds paid in any 12-month period
- Visiting a Southeastern ticket office
- Sending a cheque or postal order to the payment address on the notice (with the notice included). Please do not send cash through the post
- Paying online by clicking here