Chiltern Railway Fair Evasion

[ra3aad]

Hello all,

I'm looking to get some advice on why its taking so long for Chiltern to respond despite having a solicitor

On 8th July I was stopped at London Marylebone for having a short fare ticket and they took my details down

On the 11th July I had officially instructed a solicitor to represent me to get the case settled before going to court and I risk a criminal record

It has now been 35 days but still no settlement reached and my solicitor is asking for more money if I want to get updates.

Should I be concerned?

In total it was 40 tickets that I travelled with and this was return tickets so technically it was 80 journeys without a valid ticket (Short fares or using railcard) and I gave the details to my solicitor so could this be the reason?

Since the day I have hardly been sleeping and am scared for my future so any help would be great

 

[John R]

Chiltern could take up to the end of the year to respond and still be in time to prosecute, so you need to be patient. They are probably investigating your previous ticketing history, and given what you say about how many times you have done this, that will inevitably take some time.

 

[ra3aad]

Chiltern could take up to the end of the year to respond and still be in time to prosecute, so you need to be patient. They are probably investigating your previous ticketing history, and given what you say about how many times you have done this, that will inevitably take some time.

Thank you I really appreciate the reply

The problem is that I am moving home at the end of September so will of course let my solicitor know but will risk delay in receiving the letter if they send to the wrong address

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@ra3aad. Welcome to the forum. As you'll appreciate, this *could* work out expensively. An Anytime Day Single, if from Aylesbury to London Marylebone is currently £20.90 each way (or £19.90 if the journey was before early March 2024). Eighty such journeys will add up to ballpark £1600.

In addition, Chiltern will possibly add on a three figure sum towards their admin and investigation costs. And there'll be the solicitors fees to settle as well. Chance, however, that they may be able to offset the fares you've already paid against what's due to Chiltern. Not guaranteed though. Reckon this will probably cost you North of two grand. Good luck!

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you I really appreciate the reply

The problem is that I am moving home at the end of September so will of course let my solicitor know but will risk delay in receiving the letter if they send to the wrong address

With moving home set up a Royal Mail address forwarding for your post a few days before you move - see the Royal Mail website for how to do this - it's important as vital you get anything they send to you as you clearly appreciate.

More generally it's not in your interests to hassle Chiltern to get back to you really - so best let sleeping dogs lie, and if your solicitor would be charging you more for chasing it up that sounds liken another reason not to chase it up.

 

[ra3aad]

@ra3aad. Welcome to the forum. As you'll appreciate, this *could* work out expensively. An Anytime Day Single, if from Aylesbury to London Marylebone is currently £20.90 each way (or £19.90 if the journey was before early March 2024). Eighty such journeys will add up to ballpark £1600.

In addition, Chiltern will possibly add on a three figure sum towards their admin and investigation costs. And there'll be the solicitors fees to settle as well. Chance, however, that they may be able to offset the fares you've already paid against what's due to Chiltern. Not guaranteed though. Reckon this will probably cost you North of two grand. Good luck!

Thank you for the reply

Yes I did the same calculation and came to the same figure

I have accepted responsibility for my mistake so I just have to pay my penalty and would prefer it to criminal record