gave wrong origin station when purchasing a ticket

Hi all.
So last night I made a massive error of judgement when arriving at Cardiff Station. It was extremely busy due to a concert in the stadium, no one knew what was going on and I just wanted to get out so I stupidly lied about the station I had travelled from.
I got on the train at a small station with no barriers and intended to purchase the ticket on the train which i usually do but no one came around so knew I had to purchase the ticket when arrived. I got talking to girls on the train from Bridgend and they were before me in the queue. When I was asked where I had travelled from I stupidly gave the same answer of Bridgend even tho I had boarded at llansamlet, I don't even know why but I did. Before I knew what was happening I was taken to be questioned on where I had actually got on the train. I admitted I had boarded in llansamlet and held my hands up to my stupidity. However I also wrote yes to the question that I had intended not to pay the correct fare and stated I will take responsibility...... This is my first and last offence.
I'm looking for advice if this has happened to anyone else and if it will go to court. I am a nurse and extremely concerned I will end up with a criminal record which will effect my employment status given my career.
Thank you

The RCN may be able to help with specific advice in the context of nursing. This may be important to note - it refers to charge as well as conviction:

Royal College of Nursing said:

If you are a registered Nurse or Midwife, your NMC code (section 23.2) places an obligation on you to inform your employer about “any caution or charge against you, or if you have received a conditional discharge in relation to, or have been found guilty of, a criminal offence (other than a protected caution or conviction)”.

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https://www.rcn.org.uk/get-help/rcn-advice/police-cautions-convictions-and-criminal-procedures

Chloe said:

I'm looking for advice if this has happened to anyone else and if it will go to court. I am a nurse and extremely concerned I will end up with a criminal record which will effect my employment status given my career.
Thank you

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It seems to happen every time there is a major event (rugby, concert) in Cardiff.

The bad news, therefore, is that the railway takes a dim view of it.

Thank you for your comments. It was so busy we were moved around by members of staff told to go to several different places to purchase a ticket and due to my haste and poor judgement I made the situation worse.
I'm just hoping that due to my morals and values I hold my hands up when I know I'm wrong, and hope to just receive a fine and lesson learnt. However understand the possibility of prosecution which will unfortunately jepordise my career. The worst part is not knowing and having to wait for a letter.

Chloe said:

Thank you for your comments. It was so busy we were moved around by members of staff told to go to several different places to purchase a ticket and due to my haste and poor judgement I made the situation worse.
I'm just hoping that due to my morals and values I hold my hands up when I know I'm wrong, and hope to just receive a fine and lesson learnt. However understand the possibility of prosecution which will unfortunately jepordise my career. The worst part is not knowing and having to wait for a letter.

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There are more expert people on here, but my comments would be:

I know it's difficult but all you can really do is wait for the letter. When it arrives it may be worth posting on here to say what legislation they mention (as that affects the implications for you).

Reply offering apologies and an assurance that you've learnt your lesson and that it won't be repeated. You may consider whether to include a reference to having met up with a group from Bridgend and saying that in confusion - or it may be counterproductive and just seem like an attempt to justify your actions.

Offer to pay the fare due plus a contribution to the company's costs in investigating the matter.

Fingers crossed, they may agree to this as an administrative settlement (not a fine as such) in which case you are "in the clear" so to speak.

They may, however, choose to proceed to prosecution. As already mentioned short-faring (i.e. buying a ticket for a journey shorter than that actually taken) seems sadly common in South Wales, especially into Cardiff when there are events taking place and the railway is keen to discourage this. The other bad news is that short-faring involves intent which makes it a more serious offence.

Will it affect your career? Probably not for a single incident. But ponder that honesty and trustworthiness are important in nursing so any evidence of repeated offences could be serious.

Try not to worry. Wait for the letter. Come back for further guidance.

Take care.

Chloe said:

a criminal record which will effect my employment status given my career.

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Chloe said:

prosecution which will unfortunately jepordise my career.

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@Chloe, could you be more specific as to what information you have on this?

If you haven't seen it, this page may be useful, including the section on "Assessing the seriousness...":

Nursing and Midwifery Council said:

If the criminal offending took place in the nurse or midwife’s private life, and there’s no clear risk to patients or members of the public, then it is unlikely that we’ll need to take regulatory action to uphold confidence in nurses and midwives, or professional standards.

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https://www.nmc.org.uk/ftp-library/...llegations/criminal-convictions-and-cautions/

Also the references to charges and convictions here:

https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/registration/guidance-on-health-and-character.pdf

On the broader context, is there a good reason for @Chloe not to call the RCN before the letter comes?

Several threads on similar situations, but ultimately, short-faring is deliberate fare evasion, and it is taken very seriously by TfW. You may get the chance to settle, expect a three figure sum for this. But it's not uncommon for them to do a mass prosecution of fare evaders after big events.

What I will never understand, is why that whenever a short-farer tries it on, they claim to have come from a barriered station. Or indeed, what is so hard about being honest and saying where you actually came from. There is a huge problem with attitude towards buying tickets in South Wales, which is why we end up with the heavy-handed Green Gestapo. (aka TIL)

some bloke said:

On the broader context, is there a good reason for @Chloe not to call the RCN before the letter comes?

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I'd wait. There's always a small chance (1-2%) that, for example, the file is lost and Chloe never hears from Transport for Wales. It's worth waiting until she knows what she's dealing with.

6Gamn's advice is correct. I'd give the full story, as here: mention you were with a group from Bridgend, but don't present this as an excuse.

The previous train company, Arriva Trains Wales, were one of the more likely companies to prosecute. But Transport for Wales (which has run the services since October 2018) may have a different approach!

cuccir said:

I'd wait. There's always a small chance (1-2%) that, for example, the file is lost and Chloe never hears from Transport for Wales. It's worth waiting until she knows what she's dealing with.

6Gamn's advice is correct. I'd give the full story, as here: mention you were with a group from Bridgend, but don't present this as an excuse.

The previous train company, Arriva Trains Wales, were one of the more likely companies to prosecute. But Transport for Wales (which has run the services since October 2018) may have a different approach!

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Not from what has been reported on here since then, or from local stories. They are being as uncompromising as ATW.

Thank you. I will be completely honest with them and just hope for the best.

Chloe said:

So last night I made a massive error of judgement when arriving at Cardiff Station. It was extremely busy due to a concert in the stadium, no one knew what was going on and I just wanted to get out so I stupidly lied about the station I had travelled from.

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The question you need to be able to provide a satisfactory answer to is what you hoped to achieve by naming a station closer to Cardiff than the one you actually boarded at? How would this have made the station less busy, or helped you to get out of the station any faster?

The OP should wait for the letter first. At this stage there is no need to advise the regulatory body of the matter, because no charge has been brought and the company are still investigating the matter.

Sometimes the company are amenable to a settlement, usually in the low three figures, to avoid court. However, while this is possible in your case, consider that every time there's a major event in Cardiff the company catches a large number of liars who try to diddle them out of money (many of whom find their way to this forum, all with the same story - Bridgend is one of the favourites). The company's strategy for these days appears to be prosecuting the offenders and make the results the subject of a press release, in the hope of changing the pernicious culture of fare evasion in South Wales.

In the meantime, wait for the letter. There is a small chance the company cannot proceed with the matter on a technical note or loss of paperwork.When they get in touch again, come back here and people can advise you on the next step.

AlterEgo said:

The OP should wait for the letter first. At this stage there is no need to advise the regulatory body of the matter, because no charge has been brought and the company are still investigating the matter.

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Just for clarity the suggestion was that the OP might seek advice from her trade union (which could be the RCN* though some nurses are members of a more "conventional" union - Unison?). The regulatory body is the NMC (Nursing & Midwifery Council) and they clearly have no role unless and until the matter is concluded.

* Although the name - Royal College of Nursing - gives the impression of something else the RCN is primarily a trade union.

6Gman said:

Just for clarity the suggestion was that the OP might seek advice from her trade union (which could be the RCN* though some nurses are members of a more "conventional" union - Unison?). The regulatory body is the NMC...

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Thanks @6Gman - yes, the suggestion is about advice from the union, because @Chloe was concerned about effects on her career and made a couple of statements about that.

Those effects might be different from effects of regulatory action by the NMC, which would hopefully not apply given the paragraph from them quoted above. Maybe one consequence could be on how employers see a job application, and the union may be able to clarify usual practice.

Perhaps the decision whether to contact the union before a letter might depend on how concerned @Chloe is, and what information she already has about possible effects of a conviction. This is one of the things that people pay unions for - with confidential advice there may be little downside.

@Chloe, train companies have six months from the alleged offence to start legal proceedings. Usually they send a letter asking for the passenger's point of view - it can be a long time before they send a letter.

6Gman said:

The regulatory body is the NMC (Nursing & Midwifery Council) and they clearly have no role unless and until the matter is concluded.

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The NMC's role would begin at the time of a charge; they and the employer would need to be told "as soon as you can" - paragraph 23.2:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/code/read-the-code-online/

We might think that the NMC means "charge" to also cover being "requisitioned" by a summons.

Thank you for all your advice.
I have been in contact with the NMC and fortunately given the nature of the conviction (if prosecuted) it is not relevant to my line of work as does not affect my competence to nurse.
I will keep my fingers crossed and wait for the letter to arrive.
Many thanks