Chiltern railways - Short tickets

[jbi123]

Hello,

On the 23/04/2024 I was stopped after boarding a train by a chiltern railway worker asking for my ticket. I had brought a valid ticket which he scanned but it was for the train behind me. He took my details down on a yellow form. which I provided my name and dob and address. he had spelt my name incorrectly and put July for my birthday when I had said June.

He said chiltern will be in contact with me asking why I had not purchased a valid ticket or why I had made this mistake.

After reading various threads online I believe they will try to access my Trainline account to see my purchasing history. I am going through financial issues (not looking for sympathy) and I had been struggling to even afford to get into work. I travel from dorridge to Birmingham moor street twice a week and for the last 2 years had brought 108 short tickets from tysely to Birmingham moor street.

Firstly since my details do not match will they find my account as I had given my truthful details but he recorded them incorrectly? The staff member also had no body cam.

Does anyone have any advice on if they will 100% find this.

Also does anyone know what will be coming next and can advise me I have read over lots of different threads and feel very anxious about the situation I know what I have done is wrong.

I will lose my job if I am convicted of any crime and will also lose my right to a green card in America as I am looking at relocating in the next 2 years for my job.

I have contacted a solicitor and have them on standby until I hear more.

Does anyone know what is coming to me and if I stand any chance of getting an out of court settlement I am still yet to receive any letter.

I have no criminal record and have never been caught on the train by inspectors before.

Does anyone know roughly how much the bill would be coming too for this if they do find all my ticket history

 

[30907]

Welcome to the forum (not that you want to be here!).

Regarding the incident on Tuesday, you say

bought a valid ticket which he scanned but it was for the train behind me

Do you mean it was an Advance ticket (specific train only)? Or that you bought it after boarding your train and so had to choose a later one?

Your answer will help us understand better.

As to the amount you might have to pay back: assume that it will be the Anytime Single fare from Dorridge for each one-way journey, with no allowance for the fares you paid from Tyseley. Add £100-odd which they will claim in admin costs, and you will have a worst-case scenario (short of prosecution).

Lastly, do engage with the train company, and be prepared to be persistent, as Chiltern (or their agents) are prone to play hard-to-get. And don't panic - the outcome may not be as bad as you fear.

 

[jbi123]

Welcome to the forum (not that you want to be here!).

Regarding the incident on Tuesday, you say

Do you mean it was an Advance ticket (specific train only)? Or that you bought it after boarding your train and so had to choose a later one?

Your answer will help us understand better.

As to the amount you might have to pay back: assume that it will be the Anytime Single fare from Dorridge for each one-way journey, with no allowance for the fares you paid from Tyseley. Add £100-odd which they will claim in admin costs, and you will have a worst-case scenario (short of prosecution).

Lastly, do engage with the train company, and be prepared to be persistent, as Chiltern (or their agents) are prone to play hard-to-get. And don't panic - the outcome may not be as bad as you fear.

I had brought the ticket after boarding the train so I had to purchase one for after as the train had already departed from my stop

I had brought the ticket after boarding the train so I had to purchase one for after as the train had already departed from my stop

Welcome to the forum (not that you want to be here!).

Regarding the incident on Tuesday, you say

Do you mean it was an Advance ticket (specific train only)? Or that you bought it after boarding your train and so had to choose a later one?

Your answer will help us understand better.

As to the amount you might have to pay back: assume that it will be the Anytime Single fare from Dorridge for each one-way journey, with no allowance for the fares you paid from Tyseley. Add £100-odd which they will claim in admin costs, and you will have a worst-case scenario (short of prosecution).

Lastly, do engage with the train company, and be prepared to be persistent, as Chiltern (or their agents) are prone to play hard-to-get. And don't panic - the outcome may not be as bad as you fear.

Thanks for coming back to me mate I am really worried about what to do and what’s going to happen I have never committed a crime or had a criminal record and I wouldn’t want to get one now when my career is only just starting to take off with what looks like a bright future

 

[30907]

I had brought the ticket after boarding the train so I had to purchase one for after as the train had already departed from my stop.

Thanks. So you committed the straightforward offence under the railway Byelaws of boarding the train without a valid ticket. Many people do that when they see the RPI coming, but by then it's too late.

Unfortunately, train companies have discovered that it is possible to check your purchase history, and reclaim money for the previous occasions when people have got away with it....

 

[CyrusWuff]

Also be aware that it could be around five months before you're contacted by Chiltern, based on other posts from people who've been stopped by them. It appears they have quite a backlog to work through.

 

[jbi123]

@Hadders
@Mcr Warrior
I can see you guys give out some of the best advice on the forum would you be able to give me some advice

@Brissle Girl
Would you please give me your advice also I see you on a few threads with some good advice

Also be aware that it could be around five months before you're contacted by Chiltern, based on other posts from people who've been stopped by them. It appears they have quite a backlog to work through.

Thanks mate I suppose that could work in my favour for cash flow be able to get the money there to pay a settlement the day it is offered or pay a court sum the day of the court

 

[Brissle Girl]

The advice will depend on what the letter says, so you need to wait for that. My hunch is that they will put two and two together and connect the short fares you refer to with the time you were stopped, and the fact that you bought a ticket after boarding (maybe when you saw the inspector?)

If they don't then I would confine your answer to the one occasion, but don't make any false statements, such as "it's the first time I've done this". If however they do connect it and ask a more open question relating to previous purchases then you need to be completely truthful if you are to stand any chance of avoiding prosecution.

But all you can do now is wait (and pay the correct fare going forward of course!).

 

[jbi123]

The advice will depend on what the letter says, so you need to wait for that. My hunch is that they will put two and two together and connect the short fares you refer to with the time you were stopped, and the fact that you bought a ticket after boarding (maybe when you saw the inspector?)

If they don't then I would confine your answer to the one occasion, but don't make any false statements, such as "it's the first time I've done this". If however they do connect it and ask a more open question relating to previous purchases then you need to be completely truthful if you are to stand any chance of avoiding prosecution.

But all you can do now is wait (and pay the correct fare going forward of course!).

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your comment and will take this into consideration and will be updating the thread as and when I hear more

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@jbi123. Did you provide the train company's member of staff with a correct and up-to-date postal address? (Presume that you're not planning on moving anytime soon, before the hoped for move mentioned upthread).

 

[jbi123]

@jbi123. Did you provide the train company's member of staff with a correct and up-to-date postal address? (Presume that you're not planning on moving anytime soon, before the hoped for move mentioned upthread).

Yeah I provided him my address. It was correct and he verified this

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

What you have described is large scale fare evasion. Unfortunately Chiltern are one of the more robust train companies when it comes to this sort of thing and it will be hard to keep this out of court.

Chiltern will research your online ticket purchasing history and will quickly be able to establish what you've been up to. They will then write to you asking for your version of events. When the letter arrives post a redacted copy of it in this thread and we will be able to advise next steps.

Do be aware that if you do manage to negotiate a settlement then you will need to be in a position to pay it in full within a few days of being offered.