She failed to attend court because the papers had been sent to the wrong address and now fears she may have a criminal record.

Molly was prosecuted and fined £450 in her absence at court for failing to produce a card for her trip in May from St Albans to Luton Airport Parkway.

She claimed she had not uploaded her railcard to the app, but proved she had bought one by showing the ticket inspector the receipt.

The rail company, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) sent the court letters to the wrong address and never received them.

She says: “They got the house number wrong. He went to court without me being present and I was found guilty.”

Molly now owes £450 and does not know if she has a criminal record.

She rang the tribunal but they said they couldn’t tell her over the phone as that would count as legal advice and she would have to carry out a DBS check to find out.

GTR says it is offering passengers the option to send in their valid cards to stop the actions, adding that it has provided details to Molly on how to resolve the court order.