Yesterday I was taking a train from my town with Chiltern Railways into London. The barriers were open at my origin station, so I purchased a cheaper ticket fare whilst on the train only covering the cost of an outer London station to the London terminal
On arrival, the ticket inspectors at the gates promptly referred me to a fraud investigation officer. He essentially got me to confess on the spot what I had done- (under pressure I openly admitted I had paid for the cheaper fare to save a little bit of money). He then gave me an official caution, which I signed and during this caution I very stupidly said that "it was a mistake" and "I regret it" which he wrote down on the sheet.
The officer said that I will hear back from Chiltern regarding a possible prosecution. He said however, because I was courteous and honest with him he gave me the email for the Chiltern fraud investigations unit. He told me to email them, be honest about what I did and ask for an out of court settlement, and because it is my first offence they will probably be happy to do this.
I am a student who is soon going to be applying to jobs, and being prosecuted and having a criminal record would quite literally ruin my life and everything that I have worked so hard for. I have never been in trouble with the law before, and so I am of course distraught.
I would like some advice please- should I email the investigations unit and admit everything, or should I wait for a letter in the post before responding? Also, based off your knowledge of Chiltern (and other companies), how often do people in my circumstances get taken to court straight away, even for a first offence? At what point should I consider legal representation?
I would greatly appreciate any advice from the Railforum community. Thank you for your time.
P.S I apologise for not being specific about some of the stations, I am just worried that they might be monitoring these forums.
On arrival, the ticket inspectors at the gates promptly referred me to a fraud investigation officer. He essentially got me to confess on the spot what I had done- (under pressure I openly admitted I had paid for the cheaper fare to save a little bit of money). He then gave me an official caution, which I signed and during this caution I very stupidly said that "it was a mistake" and "I regret it" which he wrote down on the sheet.
The officer said that I will hear back from Chiltern regarding a possible prosecution. He said however, because I was courteous and honest with him he gave me the email for the Chiltern fraud investigations unit. He told me to email them, be honest about what I did and ask for an out of court settlement, and because it is my first offence they will probably be happy to do this.
I am a student who is soon going to be applying to jobs, and being prosecuted and having a criminal record would quite literally ruin my life and everything that I have worked so hard for. I have never been in trouble with the law before, and so I am of course distraught.
I would like some advice please- should I email the investigations unit and admit everything, or should I wait for a letter in the post before responding? Also, based off your knowledge of Chiltern (and other companies), how often do people in my circumstances get taken to court straight away, even for a first offence? At what point should I consider legal representation?
I would greatly appreciate any advice from the Railforum community. Thank you for your time.
P.S I apologise for not being specific about some of the stations, I am just worried that they might be monitoring these forums.