Man fined £2,500 by Southeastern Railway after raking up 161 unpaid journeys

A long-running saga that captivated Londoners has finally come to a disheartening end. After documenting his attempt to fight off a £2,500 fine from Southeastern Railway, the comedic culprit says “they’ve really got me”.

On August 8, 2025, TikTok user Michael Adjei shared that he finally succumbed to the hefty fine from Southeastern Railways after a months-long back and forth. Admitting defeat, Michael announced: “Southeastern won. I lost.”

“£2.5k left my account yesterday, I’m not happy. I’m broke, I’m officially bankrupt. They’ve really got me,” Michael said in the video. Despite the unhappy news, he could not seem to help expressing infectious humour about the situation.

“I mean honestly, I never thought I’d actually have to pay,” he admitted. “I lied and I lied and I said ‘Please, someone died I have to pay for a funeral. I said that I need money because I [have] to go to uni’. They did not accept [any] excuse.”

Michael first shared his predicament at the end of March 2025, showing a letter he received from Southeastern Railway notifying him of a £2,705 fine for “alleged fare evasion” and describes a then-recent incident in which Michael was stopped by a fare inspector and spoken to about his unpaid rail fares.

The letter cited Michael for taking a total of 161 unpaid rail journeys amounting to nearly £2,500. It also stated that if the amount was not paid, Southeastern would consider pursuing criminal prosecution.

At that point, Michael did what many university students in his situation would: he started a Go Fund Me campaign. The target goal of the campaign was £1,300 and entitled ‘Raise funds for urgent payment’.

In funny, down-to-earth videos, Michael continued to document his battle against the fine and share his thoughts on Southeastern. “Where did they get 161 charges from? They pulled that number from their train tracks, I’m telling you.”

He continued imploring TikTok users to donate to his campaign, which has a current total of just £55. “If all of you sent 1p, we’d be halfway there already.”

After emailing Southeastern, they reduced Michael’s original fine by £205 as a “gesture of goodwill”—essentially removing their incurred costs—and extending his deadline to pay. In a statement to The Mirror, Southeastern Railway’s Passenger Services Director David Wornham said: “In cases of deliberate fare evasion, we will always take action where it is in the public interest and to protect taxpayers’ money.

“The vast majority of people pay their way on our trains, and we work hard to ensure we treat our customers fairly and proportionately, especially in cases where there has been a genuine mistake," he continues. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has estimated annual revenue lost to fraud and ticketless travel is at least £350 to £400 million.

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Despite the unfortunate news for Michael, the latest video was widely received on TikTok, amassing over 400,000 views. It also led many to comment, sharing jokes and commiserations.

One TikTok user wrote “They would’ve had to imprison me” while another simply commented “I’m next”. But many also encourage Michael to be grateful the situation didn’t end worse.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get a criminal record mate,” wrote one user. Another concurred, offering some practical advice as well: “On the plus side you are SO lucky you didn’t end up with a criminal record because of this, you’ll eventually make the money back but a record? Even if spent you’ll always have it.

“[Please] use Rail UK forums, they have a lot of support for if you get caught, how to reply to letters from railway companies etc, [and] specialist solicitors.”

The Mirror has reached out to Michael for comment.

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