Cheating with Eurail passes?

[clairem]

Can anyone give me advice about getting extra days out of a Eurail pass? I want to get a eurail selectpass to travel around France, Spain and Italy in the summer and think that I might need about 10 or more travel days, which is obviously more expensive that just buying the standard 5 days. I heard from some friends that it's really easy to cheat the Eurail system coz often there's no conductor so you can get away with "forgetting" to fill in a travel day. Also another friend told me that erasable ink is a good idea to be able to use 1 day twice. Does anyone have any experience with this and do you know what happens if you get caught? Someone told me that it's cheaper to pay the fine if you get caught than to buy the extra days up front, but I'm not sure whether this is good advice. Can anyone share their experiences?

[MuvverRussia]

Committing ticket fraud isn't the best thing to do. If you need a longer pass, buy one.

You may be able to get away with a shorter pass and then buy point-point tickets for some routes, although I'm not sure if that would work out any cheaper as I have no idea about your plans.

Oh, and if you're caught there's normally a fine in the region of USD50 or so (there may be pass implications as well). However, train companies can and do prosecute, so you could end up in serious trouble.

[LHR02]

The erasable ink might have worked years ago. These days the conductor punches through the date so it can not be used again. I traveled on a 1 month britrail and a 3 month consecutive pass as well as two different selectpasses and I never, ever was on a train that did not have a conductor come through and check...save for the slowest, most local routes that go from point A to point B. This is crazy to me.....if you can not afford to buy the pass you need then I question if you have the funds to go. If you are considering trying to 'cheat' the system then I must question your maturity.

As Muvver says...if you need a longer pass, buy it.

And I could be wrong, but memory says that if they catch you they can, and will, confiscate your pass leaving you out the funds and no recourse to get it back. It's just not worth it.

[zaal]

The travel agent I purchased my pass from made sure to let me know that the conductors have become wise to the eraseable ink routine. Probably why they started stamping through the pass when a day is used. She also told me that if I was caught cheating, they would rip up my pass without a second thought. Now how would that suck?

[Eagle]

clairem, it sounds like your "friends" gave you some really bad advice!!! I agree completely with the others -- it's a really BAD idea to try and cheat the Eurail system. Aside from the humiliation and inconvenience if you get caught, what does that say about your sense of ethics?

Many corporations these days are taking a "hard line" with respect to theft / fraud (and let's be honest, that's what it is), and if you happen to be the one they decide to "make an example of", your travel memories will NOT be happy ones. If they decide to prosecute, you could end up in Cells for awhile, an experience which you will not like (especially as the facilities in some other countries are not as "civilized" as those in North America. Finally, there's also the possiblity you might get "the boot" when the train reaches the next station, which will likely not be the one you wanted to go to.

Best advice would be to buy whichever rail pass you need for your trip, and have a great time!

[William Shitner]

Sheesh, you guys are all a bunch of stick-in-the-muds! Haven't you ever tried to get as much mileage as you can out of MUCH less money than you wish you had? Not all of us have rich parents to mooch off! I say there's no harm in trying if you cover your tracks. If for instance, the conductor stamps the day you've used eraseable ink on (which seems like the majority of the time), then you obviously can't re-use it. But if he doesn't....
Certainly not something to rely on but could make for a nice little bonus from time to time.

[WillTravel]

It's a bad idea to suggest this. Some people have had their passes confiscated for less, and then they are out the hundreds of dollars it cost. I don't think most people here are using their parents' money - most have to earn it, and it can takes ages to save up enough for a trip.

[Kim]

And it's not like this is a new idea, you will rarely find a time where your pass isn't stamped or punched. They are well aware of people trying to do it so really it's a non issue. I travelled for 7 months through Europe and don't remember a time where my pass wasn't checked. Maybe it happens but it's not a common practice. I'm all for saving money but I wouldn't count on bding able to do this.

[izzy]

This really upsets me...when you are traveling to another country, you are supposed to abide by the rules and customs of that country. It is so extremely disrespectful for you to go there as a GUEST and try and cheat their systems. I don't think that many of the users on this site use wealthy parents to pay for their trips......a mature person can save the money for their own trip AND not need to rely on theft or fraud to get by. This indifference toward the laws and customs of other nations is one of the things that give Americans a bad name, and as an American I don't appreciate it at all. The next time you think of doing something like this, imagine how you would feel if some one was visiting your home country for the first time and assumed that the rules didn't apply to them.

[sarahray85]

There is definitely no cheating the system. I just have to echo that. I bought a pass and they are VERY strict. If travelling after 7pm you must mark the next day's date. I accidentally put the day I had been treavelling and they told me it was too bad. I made a mistake and I had to pay for it. So I can only imagine that trying to cheat the system would be a bad idea.
I'm 20 and I pay for all of my own travel so I don't think it's fair to say that we're travelling on daddy's dime. I think that's pretty offensive and unthinking.

[wanderer]

If you take advice from reply#5 your gonna be reaaaaaal sorry.