Money Moral Dilemma: I'm a rail worker – should I report my friend for dodging fares?

Ed264

I would ignore it. Your friend will get caught sooner than later and prosecuted, and you'll be satisfied that you played no role in that action.  

NBLondon

ambioni said:

Speak to him first about his behaviour before you do anything; is he struggling with money at the moment (as most of us are) or can he afford it but just doesn't want to pay? If you worked in any other industry and had a "friend" who was robbing your company you would report this to the company but as I said if they're a friend speak to them first

This....

There's also the question that if the friend is defrauding the actual company that the questioner works for, is there then an obligation to alert the appropriate dept. of their employer.    If the friend is bragging about it then perhaps tell then there's a crackdown coming.  Then if q decides to tip off the appropriate train co , they can deny being the cause of extra checks.

OwlishAgain

Making no comment on the dilemma, but to all the people saying it's taxpayers money, I don't believe that's actually the case. Rail companies are privately owned and sadly, some are even owned by other nation's (Norway's?) own state rail networks aren't they? 

tunde10

No need to report your friend. 

Many of us will do the same if we could get away with it easily. The truth is even if fare evading was at 0.00%, the train fares will still go up by the maximum available on an annual basis.

We have had an countless amounts of train strikes over the last 18 months. Did the train companies automatically issues refunds? Of course not, if you've weren't savvy enough to claim refunds, like many. They pocketed the money. Why is this not automatic?

So these companies are willing to shaft the customers when they can. So i have no morals against anyone doing it the other way round. Just be aware of the risk if you get caught..

badmemory

Just wondering what will happen when this person is finally caught, are you 100% sure he won't mention your name?  If he does will you keep your job?  Remember there is no honour among thieves.

cutler69

tunde10 said:

No need to report your friend. 

Many of us will do the same if we could get away with it easily. The truth is even if fare evading was at 0.00%, the train fares will still go up by the maximum available on an annual basis.

We have had an countless amounts of train strikes over the last 18 months. Did the train companies automatically issues refunds? Of course not, if you've weren't savvy enough to claim refunds, like many. They pocketed the money. Why is this not automatic?

So these companies are willing to shaft the customers when they can. So i have no morals against anyone doing it the other way round. Just be aware of the risk if you get caught..

bang on the money I'm still waiting for my refund from August even so my train was cancelled been over 6 weeks now 

Bellisima

Difficult one.  A slightly different fraud was my aunt who got a council house back in the 70s and 80s when she actually owned 2 houses that she rented out.  Made me feel sick but I couldn’t report her, even though it was a massive fraud.  She is now 94 and has dementia.  Not much help I know but reporting a friend or family member is not easy.

keithyno.1

No one likes a grass. If you report him, it might make you feel better in yourself in the short term, along the lines of you 'did the right thing.' 

But you'll definitely lose that friend if he finds out it was you that grassed him up. And he won't keep quiet about it either, he'll let everyone else know that it was you who reported him.

So while you might feel morally in the right, all your other friends will be wary of you and won't trust you an inch. Is that what you want for the rest of your life?

silverwhistle

All those saying don't grass or snitch; where do _you_ draw the line. You know a friend has murdered his wife, do you inform on him? If no, you obviously have no morals, if yes what other offences would you report and which wouldn't you?

I particularly dislike this current government and their venal ways and the fraud that they have enabled by their mates, but that doesn't mean I want to lower my own personal standards to theirs. To use a trivial example, just because the ground is covered in litter doesn't mean I add my share because 'everyone is doing it'. I once went back in to Lidl to pay for something because I'd missed passing something through the till and I found it in the bottom of my trolley when unloading it. I'd 'got away with it' in some peoples' terms but I have to live with myself, whether it's a large chain or a local shop.

The odd occasion would be easy enough to overlook, but this is regular, systematic planned fraud. Frankly I wouldn't want this person as a friend, particularly if they were defrauding my own organisation and putting me in a compromising situation to boot.

jedav

Your comment suggests that you might not share your "friend's" values.  Why would you be worried if reporting the fraud (not sure how you could do so without it being obvious to the friend) lost you such a friendship?