Letter below - shall I leave out the grovelling at the end?
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing regarding an offence I committed on 21st August 2019 travelling on a Southeastern Trains service between Shortlands and Herne Hill, with the final destination of my journey being Farringdon.
I did not have a valid ticket for all of this journey, as I had purchased a 7-day season ticket covering only London travel zones 1 and 2. I would like to apologise and express sincere contrition for travelling without the correct ticket for this journey; I would have bought a correct travel card covering zones 1 to 4 as I had done in the weeks leading up to this offence, however on this occasion I was unable to afford to buy this ticket so I bought a zones 1-2 travelcard in the hope that I would not be checked during this time and with the 23rd August being my next pay day I would then be able to afford to buy the correct ticket from that date onwards.
This is the only time that I have committed this offence due to the difficult circumstances that I have temporarily found myself in. The weekly travel cards that I have purchased prior to this incident, against my photocard number MZA7399, are for zones 1 to 4 - if it is possible for you to check and verify this you will find that to be the case.
I had anticipated that I might get caught for this and thought that I would be issued with a fine in the event of that happening, which I was prepared to pay because I would be able to afford it within a week. While I accept my responsibility for this offence I did not do this just to save myself money for the sake of it but because I genuinely couldn’t afford the correct ticket at the time.
I know that what I did was wrong and I am sincerely sorry for my dishonesty on this occasion. I have experienced personal difficulties in my life over the past year which resulted in being out of work temporarily and facing financial problems. Because of this I regrettably could not afford the cost of a zones 1 to 4 travel card for the week leading up to my next pay day, and having to travel between Bromley where I currently stay with my parents and my work in Farringdon and a second job I do in a restaurant in Knightsbridge I was faced with a problem and made a bad decision in trying to get away with using an invalid ticket for parts of the commute between these places.
Looking back now I realise that I should have asked for help from family or friends to cover the additional costs of travel, and I truly regret my decision-making with regards to this.
Due to my current financial situation, I have taken a second job working as a Kitchen Porter to supplement income I make working for a business research company. However, I am still struggling to get by as I pay off debts and having only quite recently returned to full-time employment. For this reason I made the wrong decision of attempting to use an invalid ticket for parts of my journey on the train network this past week.
I would like to pay my correct fare for the journeys I have made during this time when I am able to on Friday 23rd August when I get paid, and once again offer my deepest regret and apologies for this offence. I am beginning to get back on my feet with regards to addressing the personal problems that have affected my life recently and am now working again full time. I was fully compliant with the revenue officers who recorded this incident and was entirely cooperative, and I explained this situation to them.
Further to this I have a partner who currently lives in the United States, who I met when she lived in London. We are expecting a baby in less than 2 months’ time. I am hoping to be able to visit her and my new son in the United States later this year and hope to be able to visit while they live there before returning to London, hopefully early next year. If this offence which I have committed results in a criminal prosecution then I may not be able to visit the United States and I am extremely concerned about the prospect of not being able to visit my partner and our child. I take full responsibility for what I have done and will have to face the consequences whatever they may be, but I would like to ask you to please consider my circumstances when you decide how to proceed with my case.
I am deeply sorry for what I have done and am pleading with you to refrain from pursuing a criminal prosecution against me. Please can you show clemency in this case and allow me to pay back what I owe in the fares and any costs you deem necessary, but please can you not pursue a criminal prosecution against me. I am so sorry that I did this and failed to consider how serious the implications were. I promise that I will never do this again. I am terrified about the possibility that I will be unable to visit my partner and child in the United States as a result of this.
If I could be permitted to come and talk to someone about this in person and explain the situation that would be greatly appreciated. Please allow me a second chance and an opportunity to redeem myself for this offence, without having to suffer the most extreme consequences.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and once again I offer my sincere apologies and deepest regret. I know what I did was wrong and I am desperate for the opportunity to make up for it without losing the ability to visit my girlfriend and child. If there is anything I can do that will help my case then please let me know what that is.