The wrongful convictions of more than 48,000 people for fare-dodging were overturned back in 2024, but only 10,000 have claimed their refunds so far
Almost £5 million has been issued to victims of dodgy train fines, but thousands are still unaware they are owed their share of £2 million.
A 2024 ruling overturned the criminal convictions of more than 48,000 people who were wrongly convicted of fare-dodging.
According to the ruling, train companies illegally misused the fast-track Single Justice Procedure (SJP) to quickly prosecute fare-dodging.
Newly released Ministry of Justice information shows £4,900,096 has been repaid in fines, costs and court fees.
However, the figures also show that only half of those who were wrongly convicted have responded to their notification from the MOJ, with £2,603,463 yet to be repaid.
Following this revelation, the MOJ has been accused of not doing enough to help track down the scandal’s victims.
Penelope Gibbs, the director of campaign group Transform Justice, said: “The biggest miscarriage of justice in English and Welsh history has been compounded by the unwillingness of the state to find and compensate victims.
“The State should make every effort to ensure people know their criminal conviction is null and void”.
The issue was discovered in 2024 by chief magistrate Paul Goldspring, who found that six test cases of prosecutions were invalid because they’d been brought through the SJP.
He concluded MPs: “Didn’t envisage these offences being prosecuted through the Single Justice Procedure”.
So far the MOJ have contacted all affected people using their last known addresses, but only 10,339 of the 23,510 who were owed refunds responded to collect their repayment.
Eight train firms across the country: Northern, Transpennine, Avanti West Coast, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Ariva Rail Northern, Merseyside, Govia and C2C were all found to have brought prosecutions that were not approved under the SJP.
Train companies are paying back prosecution costs and compensation, while the Government has repaid fines and victim surcharges.
A Government spokesperson said: “While fare evasion should be tackled, the right process should always be followed”.
The scandal sparked a Government overhaul of how fare evasion is dealt with, and it is also reviewing the SJP system and has promised reform soon.