Awaiting letter from GTR (1st time offence)

[steven_lak]

Hi folks,
I was totally in the wrong here, but it's the first time I've had this issue so I'm looking for some details.

Context:
I was caught at the gates on the route Stevenage to City Thameslink about 4 weeks ago. I had paid a discounted fare.
My railcard expired a few months prior and I have purchased tickets this way many times since then with Thameslink. Never long trips probably saving about 3-10 quid per trip.
At the time of getting caught I was happy to pay any fine, I fessed up as soon as I knew there was no way around it and I gave my address. I wasn't provided with an option to pay the extra though as the inspector didn't seem tied to Thameslink.
I'm happy to pay any fine and admin fee that comes my way.

Questions:
How long do these letters usually take to arrive? I'm moving house soon and will need to forward all mail to this new address.
Also, how concerned should I be that they'll investigate my history since my expired railcard? How do they trace this? Cross-reference my email on trainline?
Given its GTR, how likely is this to go to court? I'll be as cooperative and apologetic as necessary, of course.
My main concern is getting something on my criminal record, so I'll avoid that at all costs, as it could have career implications for me

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hi folks,
I was totally in the wrong here, but it's the first time I've had this issue so I'm looking for some details.

Context:
I was caught at the gates on the route Stevenage to City Thameslink about 4 weeks ago. I had paid a discounted fare.
My railcard expired a few months prior and I have purchased tickets this way many times since then with Thameslink. Never long trips probably saving about 3-10 quid per trip.
At the time of getting caught I was happy to pay any fine, I fessed up as soon as I knew there was no way around it and I gave my address. I wasn't provided with an option to pay the extra though as the inspector didn't seem tied to Thameslink.
I'm happy to pay any fine and admin fee that comes my way.

Questions:
How long do these letters usually take to arrive? I'm moving house soon and will need to forward all mail to this new address.
Also, how concerned should I be that they'll investigate my history since my expired railcard? How do they trace this? Cross-reference my email on trainline?
Given its GTR, how likely is this to go to court? I'll be as cooperative and apologetic as necessary, of course.
My main concern is getting something on my criminal record, so I'll avoid that at all costs, as it could have career implications for me

Welcome to the forum.

The good news is that as long as GTR are certain that you won't offend again (n.b. this requires rather more sincerity than ' I'll be as cooperative and apologetic as necessary, of course') they will probably let you settle out of court for the fares you should have paid plus an admin fee.

The bad news is that you may have to wait to hear from the railway: it looks as if the railway are checking your records (which will take time) and likely will find about your history of evasion ((which will cost money). You may have to wait for a bit more than six months from the date you were caught.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

You may have to wait for a bit more than six months from the date you were caught.

Is that timescale (i.e. more than six months) now fairly typical?

 

[steven_lak]

Welcome to the forum.

The good news is that as long as GTR are certain that you won't offend again (n.b. this requires rather more sincerity than ' I'll be as cooperative and apologetic as necessary, of course') they will probably let you settle out of court for the fares you should have paid plus an admin fee.

The bad news is that you may have to wait to hear from the railway: it looks as if the railway are checking your records (which will take time) and likely will find about your history of evasion ((which will cost money). You may have to wait for a bit more than six months from the date you were caught.

Ok, the money side is fine. I reckon I have about 15 fares that were illegitimately discounted. Happy to amend them.

What sort of language is required to convince them that I won’t offend again?

Also, I leave the country in roughly 4 months for good. I’m starting a new career path in healthcare in my home country (EU), which is why I want this dealt with outside of court. But that puts me in a tricky position as if the letter comes after that time it will be tricky to deal with.

Don’t they have a deadline of 6 monyhs from the offence to prosecute?

Also, my draft letter. Assuming they don’t request I admit to any previous misdoings

I am writing regarding the incident that took place on [date] where I was found travelling with a ticket purchased using a railcard discount, despite not holding a valid railcard.





I want to sincerely apologise for this. I now understand that this was a serious error on my part. At the time, I did not fully appreciate the rules and consequences regarding railcard use, but I take full responsibility and recognise that my actions were wrong.





This is my first time being in such a situation, and I can assure you it will never happen again. I have already stopped using any discounted tickets and am willing to pay any outstanding fare or reasonable administrative costs to settle this matter promptly.





I would be extremely grateful if you would consider resolving this without court action. I understand the importance of maintaining the integrity of the rail network and regret that my actions may have undermined that.





Thank you for your time and consideration.





Yours sincerely

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

I was caught at the gates on the route Stevenage to City Thameslink about 4 weeks ago. I had paid a discounted fare.

Exectly what ticket did you purchase and how was it invalid?

My railcard expired a few months prior and I have purchased tickets this way many times since then with Thameslink. Never long trips probably saving about 3-10 quid per trip.

At the time of getting caught I was happy to pay any fine, I fessed up as soon as I knew there was no way around it and I gave my address. I wasn't provided with an option to pay the extra though as the inspector didn't seem tied to Thameslink

When it comes to expired railcards train companies don't just issue a fine (or a Penalty Fare to give it the correct name). This is because nowadays they check ticket purchasing history to check how many times you've travelled with invalid tickets. They won't just allow you to pay the extra - if they did no-one would ever buy a railcard, you'd just chance it and pay the extra if challenged.

Where were you stopped? At Stevenage, City Thameslink or onboard the train?

I'm happy to pay any fine and admin fee that comes my way.

GTR are normally prepared to offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate wth them, and haven't come to their attention before.

How long do these letters usually take to arrive?

Normally a few weeks. I'm told GR has a bit of a backlog at the moment but I don't think they're in danger of going beyong six months.

I'm moving house soon and will need to forward all mail to this new address.

If you're moving I suggest arranging for your post to be redirected.

Also, how concerned should I be that they'll investigate my history since my expired railcard? How do they trace this? Cross-reference my email on trainline?

Train companies work with Trainline and other ticket retailers which is all perfectly legal as it's for the prevention and detection of crime. Will your Trainline ticket pourchasing history show ticketing irregularities, for example tickets purchased with an expired railcard, or anything else like short distance tickets to get through the barriers at either end of a long journey but leaving a gap in the middle not covered by a ticket.

Given its GTR, how likely is this to go to court? I'll be as cooperative and apologetic as necessary, of course.

As long as you co-operate GTR will probably offer you an out of court settlement but expect to have to pay the cost of all the fares evaded atthe full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid tickets you did purchase. In addition they will charge an admin fee, typically £150.

 

[WesternLancer]

Questions:
How long do these letters usually take to arrive? I'm moving house soon and will need to forward all mail to this new address.

Just on this you can sometimes work out timelines from other cases where people have asked for advice at every stage of the process and updated at the end

For example from last year that I noted:

- the person (OP) was stopped on or around 1 Nov 2024
- The OP got the letter from GTR / Thameslink on 21 Jan 2025
- The OP replied to that letter around 24 Jan 2025
- The OP was offered an Out of Court settlement and paid it on 12 March

Whole process took just over 4 months which included the Christmas holiday period.

eg https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/prosecution-from-govia-thameslink.282995/

But it is vital you receive the letter from them or it will automatically escalate to court so if you are going away you need a Royal Mail redirect (see Royal Mail website) in place, however, if you are going abroad such a redirect will be more expensive and could be slow - so you may want to redirect to a trusted UK address where someone can check your post and scan a copy of anything sent to you, if you can.

My advice on a redirect is when you have it set up post a letter to yourself to check it arrives at the redirection address and how quickly.

Assuming this is GTR you are dealing with if it gets to the date you are moving aboard permanently you could write or e-mail GTR with your new postal address (even if abroad) but ask them to communicate with you by e-mail - assume you have a reference number to quote.

Their address is

Prosecutions Department, Govia Thameslink Railway, Eastside Offices, Kings Cross Railway Station, London N1C 4AX.

Also here is an e-mail address for them that might be of help to you to inform them of your new postal address

email: [email protected] – This mailbox should not be used to discuss the case but is acceptable to give change of addresses on