This is the moment a university law student cries “my life is finished” after being caught travelling without a valid rail ticket, before attempting to talk his way out of a fare dodging fine.
The man, whose identity was kept confidential, was approached by a revenue protection officer from South Western Railway at the footbridge of Clapham Junction Station in south London.
But the fare dodger secretly bought an e-ticket in front of inspector Sam Veitch before claiming it was purchased on the train and that he “forgot to tap in”.
Mr Veitch told the law student: “Look at this. This ticket was bought at 16:13. It is now 16:14. Our trains are quick, but you haven’t come to Clapham in less than a minute.”
The man, who was wearing a black coat, Adidas tracksuit bottoms and Air Jordan trainers, told Mr Veitch his “phone’s a bit slow” so he could panic-buy the ticket.
In most cases, commuters must purchase a ticket before boarding any train, or face the prospect of a fine.
The fare dodger said he “panicked” when approached Mr Veitch and asked him: “Is there another way to do this?”
Mr Veitch then asks the law student for his name, address and date of birth. But the man tells Mr Veitch to “hurry up” and admits he was "nervous".
The fare dodger promised he would speak to the British Transport Police after failing to provide a form of identification.
However, the law student then shuffles away as Mr Veitch tells him: “Just wait here, buddy. Excuse me, where are we going?”
After being pulled by officers, the man admits that the address he provided is actually that of his parents,
He then revealed why he did not want to co-operate with Mr Veitch, saying: “I don't want to get a criminal record, genuinely. I study law at uni. Are you reporting me?”
Mr Veitch replies: “All I'm doing is writing down the facts of what's happened, that's and then we work out what we're going to do.”
Sadiq Khan is driving a proud city into the ground.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) May 29, 2025
Lawbreaking is out of control.
He's not acting. So, I did.👇 pic.twitter.com/MZSVQ3Sdak
The fare dodger says: “Brother please, I'm panicking… I don't fare evade, I do actually pay for trains.
“I know what it means. It happened to my cousin, he got a criminal record, they took him to court. It's going to happen to me. My life is finished.”
It was later revealed the law student was referred to prosecutors. However, his case was closed after no prior wrongdoing was found and he paid a fine.
The incident is the latest to feature in the popular Channel 5 programme Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law, which next airs on Monday at 9pm.
Last month, The Standard revealed that fare evasion costs Transport for London an estimated £190 million each year.
Sadly, it is passengers abiding by the law who have to swallow any price rises needed to plug the shortfalls.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick raised the issue at the end of May with a viral video stunt confronting fare dodgers at Stratford Station, using the moment to attack Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
