Millions of pounds in refunds have been returned to individuals wrongly convicted of train fare evasion, but many may still not know they are eligible. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed that train companies have repaid prosecution costs and compensation, while the government has returned fines and victim surcharges. New data shows nearly £5 million has been distributed so far, covering court fees, costs, and penalties. However, over half of those who paid their fines have not yet claimed their money, leaving £2.6 million in financial penalties unclaimed. This situation stems from a major 2024 court ruling that overturned more than 48,000 criminal convictions. Judges determined that train operators had used the fast-track Single Justice Procedure (SJP) — a system allowing magistrates to handle certain minor cases privately — to prosecute fare evasion cases unlawfully. Notification letters were sent to those wrongly convicted, but the MoJ has faced criticism for not doing enough to locate every affected individual. Penelope Gibbs, director of Transform Justice, a campaign group that obtained the data through a Freedom of Information request, said the government should make greater efforts to inform people that their convictions have been nullified. She noted that the MoJ has no clear idea of how many victims are aware of the ruling and emphasized that compensating only a small number of people is not enough. The scale of the issue came to light in August 2024, when chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled that six test cases of fare evasion prosecutions were invalid. He found that these cases had been brought through the SJP, which is only allowed for specific offenses approved by Parliament. Goldspring concluded that lawmakers had not intended for fare evasion to be handled through this process. The MoJ has used last-known addresses to notify all 48,222 affected individuals that their convictions from 2018 to 2023 have been quashed. Of those, 23,510 had paid their original fines, but only 10,339 have claimed their repayments. The MoJ says it is continuing to reach out to those wrongly convicted, but it has not detailed how it plans to track down people who have moved in the years since their convictions. Eight train companies — including Northern, Avanti West Coast, and Great Western Railway — were found to have pursued invalid prosecutions, often citing fare evasion under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which is not on the approved list of offenses for the SJP. The scandal led to apologies from the train companies and triggered a government review of how fare evasion is handled. It also increased pressure on the government to reform the SJP system, which has faced criticism for allowing magistrates to handle cases quickly without proper oversight. The government is currently reviewing the system and has promised to announce reforms soon.