You Ignored the BVG Fine. Here's What Actually Happens Next

The Official Rule

Getting an elevated fare notice after a BVG or S-Bahn Berlin ticket check and deciding to just sit on it, on the theory that it’s a one-off and not worth the hassle, is an understandable instinct. It’s also one that sets off a specific, escalating chain of consequences worth understanding before that first notice sits in a drawer for too long.

By the time an unpaid elevated fare has already gone unanswered for its first 14 days, it’s typically already moved to Riverty, the debt collection firm BVG and S-Bahn Berlin both use, and the total has already crossed roughly 90 euros, as covered in this project’s companion page on real versus fake ticket inspectors. What happens from there is the part worth knowing before deciding to ignore Riverty’s own letters too.

Whether every added fee at that stage is actually owed is genuinely disputed rather than settled. rug-anwaltsblog.de’s legal analysis of BVG and S-Bahn Berlin’s collection process argues that collection agencies sometimes skip the formal written Mahnung step the law actually requires before adding their own fees, and that some of the resulting charges run higher than what a comparable legal claim would justify. That’s a real argument worth raising if you’re contesting a specific demand, not a guarantee that ignoring the letter makes the underlying debt disappear, and it’s still worth engaging with Riverty directly rather than letting things drift toward a court order.

One detail is genuinely more specific for Berlin than the vague “you get reported after so many times” rule people repeat. Legal guidance on fare evasion in Berlin states plainly: “Die BVG stellt grundsätzlich nur Strafanzeige nach §265a StGB gegen Personen, die im Zeitraum von zwei Jahren mindestens drei Vorgänge von erhöhtem Beförderungsentgelt haben,” meaning BVG generally only files a criminal complaint against someone with at least three separate elevated-fare incidents within a two-year window. The same source adds an important caveat directly afterward: this isn’t a number worth relying on as a safe cushion, it’s BVG’s own internal policy rather than a statutory guarantee, it can change, and S-Bahn Berlin, a genuinely separate operator owned by Deutsche Bahn, isn’t bound to follow BVG’s specific threshold at all.

If it does escalate into a criminal matter, the exposure is real, though prosecution isn’t automatic. Section 265a of the Criminal Code, Erschleichen von Leistungen, carries a fine or up to a year in prison in the worst case, and broader legal guidance on fare evasion confirms prosecution generally proceeds only once a complaint is actually filed, not automatically the moment a rule is broken. None of that changes the separate, purely civil side of things: the underlying debt for the original fine stays legally collectible for three years, so simply waiting it out isn’t a way to make the obligation vanish.

What Real People Say

The recurring theme in accounts of this process is how much faster the jump from “I’ll get to it eventually” to “now Riverty is involved and the number has grown” happens than people expect. There’s rarely a pause built into the process to check whether someone genuinely intends to pay later, the letters keep coming on their own schedule regardless. People who’ve been through it consistently describe the point right after the first Riverty letter as the real decision moment, engaging with it directly, even just to flag a genuine dispute or ask about a payment arrangement, tends to head off the more expensive and stressful stages that follow.

On the “how many times before it’s reported” question specifically, the useful correction people who’ve actually looked into BVG’s own stated policy make is that three incidents within two years is a real, documented number for BVG, not an urban myth, but it’s also not something to treat as three free passes, since policy can tighten and S-Bahn Berlin runs its own separate rules.

Step by Step

1. Don’t let the first elevated fare notice sit unanswered. Left unpaid past 14 days, it typically moves to Riverty and the total has already grown past 90 euros by that point.
2. If a letter from Riverty arrives, engage with it directly, even contacting them to set up a payment arrangement or flag a genuine dispute is better than letting it lapse further.
3. Understand that further non-payment risks a formal court Mahnverfahren, with real court costs and the possibility of Zwangsvollstreckung, not just another letter.
4. Don’t treat “BVG only reports after three times” as a safe cushion to use up, it’s BVG’s own documented policy, not a legal guarantee, and it doesn’t apply to S-Bahn Berlin at all.
5. If your case has already reached Inkasso or a court order, get individual advice rather than assuming either full liability for every fee charged or that you can dismiss the claim by waiting.

Compliance Note

This page explains the general escalation process and legal exposure for unpaid BVG and S-Bahn Berlin elevated transport fees, current as of mid-2026. It is not legal advice. Specific fees, timelines, and enforcement policy can change and depend on your individual case, confirm your specific situation with the relevant transport operator, a Verbraucherzentrale, or a legal advisor.