Long term fare evasion resolved

[ignorant2024]

I’m sharing my story to shed some light and offer some hope to people who may be in the same position as me.

Two weeks ago, I was stopped at London Bridge and caught short faring between my home in Sussex to London over the last couple of years, cautioned and provided with the dreaded MG11 slip. I was instantly mortified at my stupidity and spent days panicking. Not eating, not sleeping and thinking the worst. Hindsight is a beautiful thing… I wish I had never done it. I spent some time on these forums. There are a lot of stories like mine but not a lot of end results, so I wanted to share mine to provide some peace of mind on what action to take.

I sought the advice of a solicitor who thought it could be resolved. Honesty is essential: I traced all the journeys I had short fared or ‘sandwiched’ which amounted to around 150 trips and £3000. They were detailed in a spreadsheet showing the journey paid for versus the journey made, with the cost and shortfall for both. The solicitor then spoke to the prosecutor and today I had my case settled and closed.

It is not worth risking your future or mental health for. I now realise how stupid my decisions were to short fare and it is safe to say I will never do it again.

Reflecting on the last two weeks has been important. It is a crime, but if you’re honest and are genuinely apologetic, it will more than likely be ok. An expensive mistake but one that will not be repeated.

If you want to manage it yourself then follow the advice of the forum experts, if you want to feel even more reassured, go to a solicitor who knows how to deal with these cases at a small cost in comparison to the stress, worry and anxiety this can cause. And pass the message on to others who may be doing this and get them to stop.

I wish you luck and hope this brings some peace.

 

[Brissle Girl]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Are you willing to name the solicitor you used, and the fee they charged? Also, do you know the basis on which the out of court settlement was calculated - GTR tends to be less penal than other train companies in how it calculates some settlements?

 

[richw]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Are you willing to name the solicitor you used, and the fee they charged? Also, do you know the basis on which the out of court settlement was calculated - GTR tends to be less penal than other train companies in how it calculates some settlements?

All in 2 weeks which included a bank holiday weekend. Something seems amiss here to get all of the above in that timeframe. I’m sceptical of the genuineness of the original post.

 

[ignorant2024]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Are you willing to name the solicitor you used, and the fee they charged? Also, do you know the basis on which the out of court settlement was calculated - GTR tends to be less penal than other train companies in how it calculates some settlements?

I used Manak Solicitors. The settlement amounted to over £3500. I paid £725 in fees in total. It was with Southeastern. The fares I paid were taken off the total sum.

 

[ignorant2024]

All in 2 weeks which included a bank holiday weekend. Something seems amiss here to get all of the above in that timeframe. I’m sceptical of the genuineness of the original post.

It is genuine. My letter is attached. The speed was down to me acting quickly to reduce the stress and anxiety it caused. I contacted the solicitor before the letter arrived. As I stated in the post, I want to help others who may be in the same position and provide reassurance.

 

[Hadders]

Thanks for sharing details of your case with us.

Many people think that a solicitor is able to negotiate a more favourable outcome than 'doing it yourself' but this isn't normally the case. What a solicitor can often do is 'fast track' a case but this obviously comes at a significant cost in addition to the cost of the settlement.

 

[ignorant2024]

Thanks for sharing details of your case with us.

Many people think that a solicitor is able to negotiate a more favourable outcome than 'doing it yourself' but this isn't normally the case. What a solicitor can often do is 'fast track' a case but this obviously comes at a significant cost in addition to the cost of the settlement.

This is the route I chose to get the problem under control quickly. I have a lot at stake so I paid for the reassurance and swift resolution. Others may want to manage themselves, which is equally fine if they feel confident to do so.

 

[Brissle Girl]

I used Manak Solicitors. The settlement amounted to over £3500. I paid £725 in fees in total. It was with Southeastern. The fares I paid were taken off the total sum.

Thank you. I’m not sure that Southeastern usually offset fares paid, in which case the solicitors may have helped you there (and so earned their fee!).

 

[AlterEgo]

£3500 is an exorbitant sum for this sort of advice. I wonder how much of their time this case took?

 

[Brissle Girl]

£3500 is an exorbitant sum for this sort of advice. I wonder how much of their time this case took?

The fees were £725, which doesn’t seem unreasonable for a few hours work.

 

[WesternLancer]

£3500 is an exorbitant sum for this sort of advice. I wonder how much of their time this case took?

Check post 4 carefully

I took it that £3.5k was the settlement paid for fares evaded. And solicitor fee was £750. If I have that correct.

 

[Haywain]

The fees were £725, which doesn’t seem unreasonable for a few hours work.

Which is very much par for the course with previous threads involving Manak.

 

[Titfield]

Which is very much par for the course with previous threads involving Manak.

Which if you look at the solicitors fees on the .gov.uk website seems to me to be very reasonable.

Solicitors' guideline hourly rates

Guideline figures for carrying out a summary assessment of court costs, listed by pay band and grade for different parts of the country.

www.gov.uk

Is it a small price to pay if it avoids a conviction?

Of course we do not know if solicitors are more likely to achieve an out of court settlement than a private individual.

 

[AlterEgo]

Check post 4 carefully

I took it that £3.5k was the settlement paid for fares evaded. And solicitor fee was £750. If I have that correct.

Ah yes apologies, I misread it as the other way around as I’d assumed the solicitor had obtained a lower settlement than the amount evaded.

 

[Snow1964]

What is not clear is if involving the solicitor was the reason for fast tracking, or if a person responding quickly with a list of over 100 journeys and offering the avoided £3000 was the reason for it being dealt with quickly.

I do not know how far back SouthEastern would normally look on a purchasing history, (or if they had even started looking by time customer contacted them), but maybe this was more than they expected to find, so made quick commercial decision to take the customers voluntary calculation.

We won't know if this could happen without the solicitor unless someone tries in the future and updates us. But maybe £3000 offered will normally be accepted, as it means staff can move onto next case to chase.

 

[ignorant2024]

What is not clear is if involving the solicitor was the reason for fast tracking, or if a person responding quickly with a list of over 100 journeys and offering the avoided £3000 was the reason for it being dealt with quickly.

I do not know how far back SouthEastern would normally look on a purchasing history, (or if they had even started looking by time customer contacted them), but maybe this was more than they expected to find, so made quick commercial decision to take the customers voluntary calculation.

We won't know if this could happen without the solicitor unless someone tries in the future and updates us. But maybe £3000 offered will normally be accepted, as it means staff can move onto next case to chase.

Southeastern reviewed all journeys I supplied, there were some in there that were not actually invalid (I was being overly cautious) so they were removed from the settlement.

The point I am making is if someone is in a similar position and wants a quick resolution, I would recommend this approach having personally gone through it. I am not here to debate how much the settlement was or could have been with or without a solicitor. Ultimately, I was in the wrong for doing it in the first place and now I have made it right.

 

[Brissle Girl]

I am not here to debate how much the settlement was or could have been with or without a solicitor.

Fully understood. I hope you can understand though why, in our desire to give the best possible advice to those reaching out to us, we sometimes debate the merits of using a solicitor. So when we get some very helpful information, as you've been very good to share here, it does tend to result in some further discussion on the subject.

We're certainly not questioning your judgement - it worked for you, and given both the potential cost of a settlement and the risk of prosecution, I can certainly understand why you chose to go down that route.

 

[Traveller14]

Hi, would you be able to share your spreadsheet, obviously hiding any information you do not want to share. I am interested in how you showed the data and ratios.

 

[Titfield]

What is not clear is if involving the solicitor was the reason for fast tracking, or if a person responding quickly with a list of over 100 journeys and offering the avoided £3000 was the reason for it being dealt with quickly.

I do not know how far back SouthEastern would normally look on a purchasing history, (or if they had even started looking by time customer contacted them), but maybe this was more than they expected to find, so made quick commercial decision to take the customers voluntary calculation.

We won't know if this could happen without the solicitor unless someone tries in the future and updates us. But maybe £3000 offered will normally be accepted, as it means staff can move onto next case to chase.

Yes we do not know with certainty the reason for very prompt resolution but if I was the member of staff at the TOC the appeal of low hanging fruit to bank £3K would be irresistible. Whilst staff may not be incentivised for results undoubtedly there will be some form of running total kept and to bank £3K quickly would both be good and a morale booster.

 

[optimuspr1me]

Hello,

Can I please ask - did Manak reach out to the TOC for you? Or did the letter arrive & then you worked through with Manak.

Thanks