railuser60
New Member
Hi there, just looking for some help/advice for a "Notice of Intended Prosecution" I have received from Chiltern Railways.
Approximately 3 months ago, I was coming back to university and used the return portion of an open return ticket. For context, this is a journey I have made many times before (made the full round trip at least 10+ times since September). Whilst I usually purchase singles this was the first time using the open return. I purchased an open return ticket the week previous to the incident on the 21st of febuary and it was used from LMS to LNY on the 21st and LMS to LNY on the 24th. On the return ticket from LMS to LNY that i used on the 24th it was written that it was valid until the 20th of march. On seeing this did not realise it meant single use until 20th of march and mistakenly thought i could use this again after the 24th (which i later did on the 3rd) since the validity was until the 20th of march. On the weekend of the alleged incident, I used a completely valid ticket booked weeks in advance departing from Coventry to Euston and then used the (seemingly invalid) return from LNY to LMS. The seemingly invalid ticket was shown to officers at the initial gate of my home station LNY and had met let through but got me stopped by officers at LMS. This was 2+ months ago so dont fully remember but believe they scanned the ticket and saw it was invalid. Afterwards they asked for railcard which i had but with bad connection i am not completely sure if i was able to show this to the officer. I was eventually let through after getting my address taken down. All these journeys were made through a completely valid railcard which I do have evidence of. Another thing is that I took the route of Elizabeth Line Langley => Reading then CrossCountry Reading => Leamington Spa however the notice of prosecution was given by chiltern railways. I have taken this and a similar route many times before with valid tickets and its the first time and had no intention of avoiding a rail fare. I would like to avoid prosecution or a courtroom in this issue and prefer it to be dealt with as smoothly as possible. Any advice with regards to how best to go about this (also in terms of how to write a potential letter etc). Attached i have the Notice of Intended Prosecution and the ticket i used. I have further evidence of my valid railcard and other valid tickets I have purchased when making that exact journey / route before.
Approximately 3 months ago, I was coming back to university and used the return portion of an open return ticket. For context, this is a journey I have made many times before (made the full round trip at least 10+ times since September). Whilst I usually purchase singles this was the first time using the open return. I purchased an open return ticket the week previous to the incident on the 21st of febuary and it was used from LMS to LNY on the 21st and LMS to LNY on the 24th. On the return ticket from LMS to LNY that i used on the 24th it was written that it was valid until the 20th of march. On seeing this did not realise it meant single use until 20th of march and mistakenly thought i could use this again after the 24th (which i later did on the 3rd) since the validity was until the 20th of march. On the weekend of the alleged incident, I used a completely valid ticket booked weeks in advance departing from Coventry to Euston and then used the (seemingly invalid) return from LNY to LMS. The seemingly invalid ticket was shown to officers at the initial gate of my home station LNY and had met let through but got me stopped by officers at LMS. This was 2+ months ago so dont fully remember but believe they scanned the ticket and saw it was invalid. Afterwards they asked for railcard which i had but with bad connection i am not completely sure if i was able to show this to the officer. I was eventually let through after getting my address taken down. All these journeys were made through a completely valid railcard which I do have evidence of. Another thing is that I took the route of Elizabeth Line Langley => Reading then CrossCountry Reading => Leamington Spa however the notice of prosecution was given by chiltern railways. I have taken this and a similar route many times before with valid tickets and its the first time and had no intention of avoiding a rail fare. I would like to avoid prosecution or a courtroom in this issue and prefer it to be dealt with as smoothly as possible. Any advice with regards to how best to go about this (also in terms of how to write a potential letter etc). Attached i have the Notice of Intended Prosecution and the ticket i used. I have further evidence of my valid railcard and other valid tickets I have purchased when making that exact journey / route before.
Last edited:
