Didn’t get a penalty fine

[WesternLancer]

what happened is i was in a rush bc i was running late for work, i had my phone in my hand and tapped the reader but the gates closed last second. the staff came up to me, i said i paid and looked over at another staff member for reassurance because my phone was on the reader. he said no i’d didnt pay, i said what do i do now? and walked over to tap my phone on the exit thinking it’ll stil take the £1.75 payment. i didn’t want to extend my arm over and pay from the entrance barriers incase that’s violating rules or not the correct way to go about the matter.

A member of staff told me to come to the side in which he asked for ID i said no but i got my bank card, took down my details, at first i wasn’t honest because i didn’t feel comfortable giving it but once he told me we legally have to take this down i felt more comfortable as he does have that authority and gave it to him.
i said to him how can i resolve this issue. he said just wait for the letter to explain your side of the story you should be good if the payment went though.

24 hours later looking at my statement the payment didn’t go through however i had no intention to tailgate or fare evade, on numerous occasions i had made an effort to pay and tailgating was just the product of my payment not going through due to me not holding my phone on the reader long enough etc.

obv this is really embarrassing and despite it not being intentional i understand where they are coming from. you think i can get an out of court settlement bc an offense was committed by accident,
considering my actions demonstrated right intentions with me tapping my phone and going back to tap the barrier despite it being the exit and constantly asking how can i resolve this and remaining compliant through all of this. i’m 19 btw if age plays a factor and never been in trouble with TFL Before

The point you need to convince them of was that you were not deliberately attempting to evade the fare - so a brief bit of context about being in a hurry and not realising the tap had not worked / payment not taken etc is probably worth including.

 

[yorkie]

Just a gentle reminder for posts to be directly relevant to the original poster's query; we welcome any spin-off discussions arising from dispute matters to be posted in dedicated threads

 

[Brissle Girl]

The point you need to convince them of was that you were not deliberately attempting to evade the fare - so a brief bit of context about being in a hurry and not realising the tap had not worked / payment not taken etc is probably worth including.

Unless the station was unusually busy so that passengers were queuing at the gateline to enter (unlikely in my experience of Hayes & Harlington), the inspector may have observed the OP following someone very closely through with a clear intent to tailgate. If that’s the case, and only the OP will know this, then trying to convince them of something when the evidence suggests otherwise may not be helpful to their case.

 

[smithjackson]

Unless the station was unusually busy so that passengers were queuing at the gateline to enter (unlikely in my experience of Hayes & Harlington), the inspector may have observed the OP following someone very closely through with a clear intent to tailgate. If that’s the case, and only the OP will know this, then trying to convince them of something when the evidence suggests otherwise may not be helpful to their case.

yeh it was fairly busy that day and i was behind waiting for my turn to walk through, what evidence can they have against me to prove i was tailgating? in all fairness it can be classed as tailgate technically but was intentional

 

[Pushpit]

yeh it was fairly busy that day and i was behind waiting for my turn to walk through, what evidence can they have against me to prove i was tailgating?

A successful scan would be on the server, so if the revenue protection staff saw you apparently tailgating and there's no registered scan, then you are in a difficult place in terms of explaining that. There are screens, lights and bleeps which all give you clues as to whether you scanned correctly or not. There may also be CCTV. If you had tried again, carefully, well it would only have taken a few extra seconds but would have clarified your status, to both you and the staff. But the fact is that revenue protection staff see tailgaters all the time, and can see from demeanour and approach whether it's about to happen. Though they can get things wrong, they are human, I suspect they don't often make mistakes. Moreover your stance after being challenged wouldn't give the impression of someone who had just misfumbled your ticket and keen to sort it out.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

what happened is i was in a rush bc i was running late for work, i had my phone in my hand and tapped the reader but the gates closed last second. the staff came up to me, i said i paid and looked over at another staff member for reassurance because my phone was on the reader. he said no i’d didnt pay, i said what do i do now? and walked over to tap my phone on the exit thinking it’ll stil take the £1.75 payment. i didn’t want to extend my arm over and pay from the entrance barriers incase that’s violating rules or not the correct way to go about the matter.

A member of staff told me to come to the side in which he asked for ID i said no but i got my bank card, took down my details, at first i wasn’t honest because i didn’t feel comfortable giving it but once he told me we legally have to take this down i felt more comfortable as he does have that authority and gave it to him.
i said to him how can i resolve this issue. he said just wait for the letter to explain your side of the story you should be good if the payment went though.

24 hours later looking at my statement the payment didn’t go through however i had no intention to tailgate or fare evade, on numerous occasions i had made an effort to pay and tailgating was just the product of my payment not going through due to me not holding my phone on the reader long enough etc.

obv this is really embarrassing and despite it not being intentional i understand where they are coming from. you think i can get an out of court settlement bc an offense was committed by accident,
considering my actions demonstrated right intentions with me tapping my phone and going back to tap the barrier despite it being the exit and constantly asking how can i resolve this and remaining compliant through all of this. i’m 19 btw if age plays a factor and never been in trouble with TFL Before

Just to be clear, this only happened the once? you mention numerous occasions you made an effort to pay. Have you made any other journeys that you didn't pay for, and tailgated ?

 

[smithjackson]

Just to be clear, this only happened the once? you mention numerous occasions you made an effort to pay. Have you made any other journeys that you didn't pay for, and tailgated ?

i meant that day i make multiple attempts to try pay like going back and tapping my card even if it was on the exit, i tapped the phone on my reader even if it didn’t go through. just today i was in a rush and it didn’t register, should’ve just taken a couple seconds to double check it’s processed but in the mist of the moment as your running late for work you don’t think straight. i do hold accountability and do take full responsibility for what has happened. to clarify it wasn’t my intention but it was perceived as that. how can i go about this?

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

i meant that day i make multiple attempts to try pay like going back and tapping my card even if it was on the exit, i tapped the phone on my reader even if it didn’t go through. just today i was in a rush and it didn’t register, should’ve just taken a couple seconds to double check it’s processed but in the mist of the moment as your running late for work you don’t think straight. i do hold accountability and do take full responsibility for what has happened. to clarify it wasn’t my intention but it was perceived as that. how can i go about this?

Rush or no rush, you really need to make sure your payment goes through, the fact you have had done it again today is showing you aren't really taking this seriously. If you had been stopped for 2nd time today you would be in a world more trouble than you already are. It is up to you to take the second or two it take to ensure your tap in and out are registered.

 

[smithjackson]

Rush or no rush, you really need to make sure your payment goes through, the fact you have had done it again today is showing you aren't really taking this seriously. If you had been stopped for 2nd time today you would be in a world more trouble than you already are. It is up to you to take the second or two it take to ensure your tap in and out are registered.

bro what do you mean second time? read my scenario again i was stopped in the morning once and the morning only, during the morning i had the intentions to pay by tapping my phone however it didn’t go through (i take responsibility i should’ve waited and taken a few seconds extra but in the mist of things i was more concerned about being late for work and wasn’t thinking straight)

it then came across as tailgating. i went back and tapped my card again once everyone said i didn’t pay but tapped it on the exit, remained cooperative and kept asking how can i resolve the matter.

The point you need to convince them of was that you were not deliberately attempting to evade the fare - so a brief bit of context about being in a hurry and not realising the tap had not worked / payment not taken etc is probably worth including.

Thanks for the advice i’m going to try, how can i get these points across with the correct language.

 

[Fermiboson]

Forum members are, according to the forum rules, obliged to assume OP is telling the truth unless very compelling evidence exists otherwise. If OP isn’t telling the truth, they risk getting incorrect advice on their own peril.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

i meant that day i make multiple attempts to try pay like going back and tapping my card even if it was on the exit, i tapped the phone on my reader even if it didn’t go through. just today i was in a rush and it didn’t register, should’ve just taken a couple seconds to double check it’s processed but in the mist of the moment as your running late for work you don’t think straight. i do hold accountability and do take full responsibility for what has happened. to clarify it wasn’t my intention but it was perceived as that. how can i go about this?

bro what do you mean second time? read my scenario again i was stopped in the morning once and the morning only, during the morning i had the intentions to pay by tapping my phone however it didn’t go through (i take responsibility i should’ve waited and taken a few seconds extra but in the mist of things i was more concerned about being late for work and wasn’t thinking straight)

it then came across as tailgating. i went back and tapped my card again once everyone said i didn’t pay but tapped it on the exit, remained cooperative and kept asking how can i resolve the matter.


Thanks for the advice i’m going to try, how can i get these points across with the correct language.

The bold read to me as though you had done the same thing again today. Sorry if that wasn't the case.

 

[Haywain]

it then came across as tailgating. i went back and tapped my card again once everyone said i didn’t pay but tapped it on the exit, remained cooperative and kept asking how can i resolve the matter.

What you need to remember is that as far as TfL are concerned tailgating is fare evasion, and paying the fare afterwards does not alter that fact. How it came across to the TfL staff who stopped you is all that matters now. They almost always prosecute for fare evasion offences, so that is what you are likely to be facing.

 

[smithjackson]

The bold read to me as though you had done the same thing again today. Sorry if that wasn't the case.

sorry i should’ve been more specific my bad .

What you need to remember is that as far as TfL are concerned tailgating is fare evasion, and paying the fare afterwards does not alter that fact. How it came across to the TfL staff who stopped you is all that matters now. They almost always prosecute for fare evasion offences, so that is what you are likely to be facing.

right i completely understand, so when i receive the letter asking for my side of the story, what points should i highlight that would influence them to settle out of court. because i did have intentions to pay i tapped my phone on the reader it just didn’t register. though i did fare evade it was deliberate. how can i go about this situation, i’m trying to get an out of court settlement

A successful scan would be on the server, so if the revenue protection staff saw you apparently tailgating and there's no registered scan, then you are in a difficult place in terms of explaining that. There are screens, lights and bleeps which all give you clues as to whether you scanned correctly or not. There may also be CCTV. If you had tried again, carefully, well it would only have taken a few extra seconds but would have clarified your status, to both you and the staff. But the fact is that revenue protection staff see tailgaters all the time, and can see from demeanour and approach whether it's about to happen. Though they can get things wrong, they are human, I suspect they don't often make mistakes. Moreover your stance after being challenged wouldn't give the impression of someone who had just misfumbled your ticket and keen to sort it out.

thanks for this knowledge, i didn’t mean to tailgate so i can i get this point across?

 

[Pushpit]

thanks for this knowledge, i didn’t mean to tailgate so i can i get this point across?

Well at this stage - or rather once the letter comes in - you need to make the argument that there was no intent to avoid payment, but perhaps you can admit to being sloppy in your approach on this occasion? But now that you have received advice from other people (this forum!) you will undertake henceforth to be more diligent in making sure fares are fully paid (I don't know if there is something else you can do here, such as switch to a standard Oyster card, they seem to always work well. Or to use a weekly or capped fare such that you are guaranteed to pay the correct fare). One powerful piece of evidence is if you can show lots of properly charged fares on your bank account / Oyster dashboard - if you can show it really was a once-only event then that may have some impact.

However, even writing that out I don't find my own attempt at this to be very plausible, at the end of the day the onus is on you to make it work, not on TfL to accept a brief hover over the yellow pad. As things stand you evaded your fare. Unfortunately TfL do tend to prosecute, so I'm not optimistic. Occasionally they give a final warning instead, but I've not worked out the logic behind that. So may be it's a case of apologising as much as you can and making genuine attempts to pay all fares from now on.

 

[smithjackson]

Well at this stage - or rather once the letter comes in - you need to make the argument that there was no intent to avoid payment, but perhaps you can admit to being sloppy in your approach on this occasion? But now that you have received advice from other people (this forum!) you will undertake henceforth to be more diligent in making sure fares are fully paid (I don't know if there is something else you can do here, such as switch to a standard Oyster card, they seem to always work well. Or to use a weekly or capped fare such that you are guaranteed to pay the correct fare). One powerful piece of evidence is if you can show lots of properly charged fares on your bank account / Oyster dashboard - if you can show it really was a once-only event then that may have some impact.

However, even writing that out I don't find my own attempt at this to be very plausible, at the end of the day the onus is on you to make it work, not on TfL to accept a brief hover over the yellow pad. As things stand you evaded your fare. Unfortunately TfL do tend to prosecute, so I'm not optimistic. Occasionally they give a final warning instead, but I've not worked out the logic behind that. So may be it's a case of apologising as much as you can and making genuine attempts to pay all fares from now on.

understood, thanks for your advice i’ll definitely take it into account. it is my fault i should’ve just waited a few more seconds who cares if i was running late now this has caused me too many problems. i’ll definitely be apllying for a 16+ oyster that’ll show them in serious in changing my ways and any ideas on how i can provide evidence of me paying in the past however i don’t use my card for some days, it’s my cousin and whatever he does with my card is his responsibility, so i don’t want them to look into my bank history incase he’s done his own thing

 

[Fawkes Cat]

. i’ll definitely be apllying for a 16+ oyster that’ll show them in serious in changing my ways and any ideas on how i can provide evidence of me paying in the past however i don’t use my card for some days, it’s my cousin and whatever he does with my card is his responsibility, so i don’t want them to look into my bank history incase he’s done his own thing

A couple of points from this:

If you are sharing a pay as you go Oyster or a bank card, there's nothing wrong with that, although as you have pointed out, it will make it difficult to explain what is your travel and what is your cousin's. So it would be easier if you and your cousin had a card each.

But it's different if it's an Oyster with a season ticket on it, or an Oyster specifically for one person to use (which I guess will have their name and maybe picture on it). It's against the rules to share those: if that's what you and your cousin have been doing then you MUST stop now: from what we see here TfL take that sort of thing seriously and will always prosecute. So don't give any further chances to be caught if that's what you have been doing.

Basically, get your own card, and one for your cousin. It will at least save you hassle, and may also stop you breaking the rules.

 

[smithjackson]

A couple of points from this:

If you are sharing a pay as you go Oyster or a bank card, there's nothing wrong with that, although as you have pointed out, it will make it difficult to explain what is your travel and what is your cousin's. So it would be easier if you and your cousin had a card each.

But it's different if it's an Oyster with a season ticket on it, or an Oyster specifically for one person to use (which I guess will have their name and maybe picture on it). It's against the rules to share those: if that's what you and your cousin have been doing then you MUST stop now: from what we see here TfL take that sort of thing seriously and will always prosecute. So don't give any further chances to be caught if that's what you have been doing.

Basically, get your own card, and one for your cousin. It will at least save you hassle, and may also stop you breaking the rules.

we’ll said thanks man, i just spoke with the tfl staff, they said if it’s your first time they tend to give a fine or let you off with a warning but prosecution is if you have a previous history with the tfl

 

[FenMan]

we’ll said thanks man, i just spoke with the tfl staff, they said if it’s your first time they tend to give a fine or let you off with a warning but prosecution is if you have a previous history with the tfl

The TfL staff who told you this are trained to avoid confrontations that could easily get out of control. But, those staff members are not responsible for taking the decision on the next steps - they just file a report of the incident back to those who do take the decisions.

There is plenty of evidence on this forum that TfL are far more likely to decide to prosecute instead of giving a warning, so you must not assume you're in the clear.

If you receive a letter from TfL (which is likely, in my opinion) then post a copy on here, with your details redacted, so you can receive the best advice on your next steps.

 

[ComUtoR]

Which gate did you use ?

 

[smithjackson]

Just received this letter in the mail. how do i proceed with the process?

i’m guessing i write a letter explaining what happened. should i ask for an out of court settlement or any fees to pay for?

and should i email it to them?

can someone just break down how i’m supposed to go about this please

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Just received this letter in the mail. how do i proceed with the process?

i’m guessing i write a letter explaining what happened. should i ask for an out of court settlement or any fees to pay for?

and should i email it to them?

can someone just break down how i’m supposed to go about this please

I'd firstly ask what the facts are and what you are being accused of. It lacking in a lot of detail that letter.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I'd firstly ask what the facts are and what you are being accused of. It lacking in a lot of detail that letter.

Although it is the standard letter that TfL issue.

 

[Hadders]

Just received this letter in the mail. how do i proceed with the process?

i’m guessing i write a letter explaining what happened. should i ask for an out of court settlement or any fees to pay for?

and should i email it to them?

can someone just break down how i’m supposed to go about this please

This is the standard verification that TfL send to people. It is your opportunity to give your version of events before they decide how to proceed. My usual advice is to mention the following points in your reply:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

You can find examples of letters sent by other people if you search through other threads in this section of the forum.

Do bear in mind that TfL do not normally give out of court settlements, the normal outcome is a prosecution under the TfL Byelaws althugh in some limited circumstances they do issue a final warning. Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

If you post a copy of your proposed reply in this thread forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

 

[smithjackson]

This is the standard verification that TfL send to people. It is your opportunity to give your version of events before they decide how to proceed. My usual advice is to mention the following points in your reply:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

You can find examples of letters sent by other people if you search through other threads in this section of the forum.

Do bear in mind that TfL do not normally give out of court settlements, the normal outcome is a prosecution under the TfL Byelaws althugh in some limited circumstances they do issue a final warning. Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

If you post a copy of your proposed reply in this thread forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

This is my response in which i will print out and staple together. would appreciate any feedback.

This letter is regarding the incident that occurred on 25 April. I was running late to work and was in a rush- it was busy at the Hayes and Harlington station that day, people where queueing up.

I continued walking and tapped my phone on the reader and the gates closed on me last second. A member of staff approached me saying you just went through that, I responded with I paid.

I looked over to the other member of staff for reassurance, but he said I didn’t pay. I was confused because I had tapped my card but clearly it did not register. I said, “what should I do now” and walked over to the exit barriers and tapped my card, the staff member said, there’s no point.

I thought it doesn’t matter if it exit or entrance, it will still take the same payment out. was now aware obviously didn’t make a difference however i didn’t want to extend my arm over and pay from the entrance barriers in case not the correct way to go about the matter.

A staff told me to come to the side in which he asked for ID, I said no I haven’t got ID apart from my bank card, he took down my details, at first i wasn’t honest because i didn’t feel comfortable giving it, but once he told me we legally have to take this down, i felt more comfortable as he does have that authority and gave it to him.

We had a friendly encounter; I was compliant and didn’t make his job difficult.

i said to him how can i resolve this issue. he said just wait for the letter to explain your side of the story and check your statement for the payment.

24 hours later looking at my statement the payment didn’t go through however i had no intention to tailgate or fare evade.

I like to sincerely apologise to the anyone in the TFL team which I have caused an inconvenience too, it was never my intention to fare evade. I understand the severity of the offence and would take full accountability and responsibility.

This is a really embarrassing matter, and I’m truly disappointed in my actions, I went back to the same station a couple days later asking for information on why my card didn’t go through etc.

I now know I must hold it for 3 seconds; I tapped it for a second because I was in a rush, Please forgive me, i was so focused on making in on time for work my mind was all over the place, However going forward, I am now aware of what needs to be done- I will wait for the gates to fully close and hold my card for 3 seconds.

I understand this process costs the TFL, hence why I am offering to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter and would be keen to settle the matter without the need for court action.

I would like to conclude by saying I’m sorry for what I have done and for what im making the team go through, I take full accountability for what has happened and can ensure you this will never happen again. I have got a clean criminal / TFL Record.

I understand my mistake and going forward I will make sure the gates are fully closed and hold my card for a minimum of 3 seconds.

 

[Pushpit]

Personally I think that's a good first draft, but perhaps a little long. Also the minutiae of what happened at the station probably isn't that relevant now. So I would cut out the paragraphs from "I continued...." to "I said to him....". Then start "I tapped my phone out, thinking that I had paid, but 24 hours later, looking at...." The second half seems good to me, perhaps adding at the end "I would be grateful if we can resolve this without a prosecution".

If you actually do have lots of correct tap in, tap out transactions that you can show via you bank statements, I would add that point (but perhaps not if you have incomplete transactions more than a trivial number of times in the past!).

 

[Haywain]

This is my response in which i will print out and staple together. would appreciate any feedback.

This letter is regarding the incident that occurred on 25 April. I was running late to work and was in a rush- it was busy at the Hayes and Harlington station that day, people where queueing up.

I continued walking and tapped my phone on the reader and the gates closed on me last second. A member of staff approached me saying you just went through that, I responded with I paid.

I looked over to the other member of staff for reassurance, but he said I didn’t pay. I was confused because I had tapped my card but clearly it did not register. I said, “what should I do now” and walked over to the exit barriers and tapped my card, the staff member said, there’s no point.

I thought it doesn’t matter if it exit or entrance, it will still take the same payment out. was now aware obviously didn’t make a difference however i didn’t want to extend my arm over and pay from the entrance barriers in case not the correct way to go about the matter.

A staff told me to come to the side in which he asked for ID, I said no I haven’t got ID apart from my bank card, he took down my details, at first i wasn’t honest because i didn’t feel comfortable giving it, but once he told me we legally have to take this down, i felt more comfortable as he does have that authority and gave it to him.

We had a friendly encounter; I was compliant and didn’t make his job difficult.

i said to him how can i resolve this issue. he said just wait for the letter to explain your side of the story and check your statement for the payment.

24 hours later looking at my statement the payment didn’t go through however i had no intention to tailgate or fare evade.

I like to sincerely apologise to the anyone in the TFL team which I have caused an inconvenience too, it was never my intention to fare evade. I understand the severity of the offence and would take full accountability and responsibility.

This is a really embarrassing matter, and I’m truly disappointed in my actions, I went back to the same station a couple days later asking for information on why my card didn’t go through etc.

I now know I must hold it for 3 seconds; I tapped it for a second because I was in a rush, Please forgive me, i was so focused on making in on time for work my mind was all over the place, However going forward, I am now aware of what needs to be done- I will wait for the gates to fully close and hold my card for 3 seconds.

I understand this process costs the TFL, hence why I am offering to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter and would be keen to settle the matter without the need for court action.

I would like to conclude by saying I’m sorry for what I have done and for what im making the team go through, I take full accountability for what has happened and can ensure you this will never happen again. I have got a clean criminal / TFL Record.

I understand my mistake and going forward I will make sure the gates are fully closed and hold my card for a minimum of 3 seconds.

I'm afraid that is far too long and quite possibly won't even be read in full.

 

[smithjackson]

got it, what do you think isn’t necessary information and something to remove.

Personally I think that's a good first draft, but perhaps a little long. Also the minutiae of what happened at the station probably isn't that relevant now. So I would cut out the paragraphs from "I continued...." to "I said to him....". Then start "I tapped my phone out, thinking that I had paid, but 24 hours later, looking at...." The second half seems good to me, perhaps adding at the end "I would be grateful if we can resolve this without a prosecution".

If you actually do have lots of correct tap in, tap out transactions that you can show via you bank statements, I would add that point (but perhaps not if you have incomplete transactions more than a trivial number of times in the past!).

i’m not going to show any previous statements because i share my bank card, i don’t want to hold responsibility for others but thanks for the feedback regarding the length of my paragraph. i will definitely try shortening it.

i wanted to create a clear image and provide context so they don’t come up with their own assumptions. i normally see people with a page and half. you think if it’s printed out it won’t look so lengthy.

 

[Pushpit]

i wanted to create a clear image and provide context so they don’t come up with their own assumptions. i normally see people with a page and half. you think if it’s printed out it won’t look so lengthy.

Yes, but (a) they know what happened at the station and (b) you admit to not paying, albeit you maintain you were being careless rather have an intent to deceive. They may be a bit interested in (b) but otherwise they are dealing with dozens of sob stories every day and don't care about (a). So you need to focus on
- no intent to evade payment
- will take more care in future so that it won't happen again
- you are sorry for what happen, accept responsibility
- can TfL kindly offer an out of court settlement.
Hence my advice to ditch the 6 paragraphs that I indicated in my previous post.

 

[smithjackson]

Received this letter in the mail, below is my response. need advice on what can be improved in my response.

This letter is regarding the incident that occurred on the 25th of April. I was running late to work and was in a rush- it was busy at the Hayes and Harlington station that day, people where queueing up.

I tapped my phone on the reader and the gates closed on me last second.
staff approached me in which I responded with I paid.

I looked over to the other member of staff for reassurance, but he said I didn’t pay. I was confused because I had tapped my card but clearly it did not register. I said, “what should I do now” and walked over to the exit barriers and tapped my card, the staff member said, there’s no point.

I thought it doesn’t matter if it exit or entrance, it will still take the same payment out. was now aware obviously didn’t make a difference however i didn’t want to extend my arm over and pay from the entrance barriers in case not the correct way to go about the matter.

A staff member asked for ID, I said no I haven’t got ID apart from my bank card, he took down my details, at first i wasn’t honest because i didn’t feel comfortable giving it, but once he told me we legally have to take this down, i felt more comfortable as he does have that authority and gave it to him.

We had a friendly encounter; I was compliant and didn’t make his job difficult.

i said to him how can i resolve this issue. he said just wait for the letter to explain your side of the story and check your statement for the payment.

24 hours later looking at my statement the payment didn’t go through however i had no intention to tailgate or fare evade.
I like to sincerely apologise to the anyone in the TFL team which I have caused an inconvenience too, it was never my intention to fare evade. I understand the severity of the offence and would take full accountability and responsibility.

This is a really embarrassing matter, and I’m truly disappointed in my actions, I went back to the same station a couple days later asking for information on why my card didn’t go through etc.

I now know I must hold it for 3 seconds; I tapped it for a second because I was in a rush,

Please forgive me, i was so focused on making in on time for work my mind was all over the place, However going forward, I am now aware of what needs to be done- I will wait for the gates to fully close and hold my card for 3 seconds.

I understand this process costs the TFL, hence why I am offering to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter and would be keen to settle the matter without the need for court action.

I would like to conclude by saying I’m sorry for what I have done and for what im making the team go through, I take full accountability for what has happened and can ensure you this will never happen again. I have got a clean criminal / TFL Record.

I understand my mistake and going forward I will make sure the gates are fully closed and hold my card for a minimum of 3 seconds.

 

[Titfield]

This is too long and over elaborate.

When describing what happened You just need to explain that you thought that the card had been presented correctly but unfortunately it had not been.

I dont think you realise that TfL's default policy is to take people to court. The only time they do not do this is when there are truly exceptional circumstances. Unfortunately yours are not truly exceptional.

You need to prepare yourself to be taken to court (either plead guilty or be found guilty) pay the fine, victim surcharge, costs etc and move on. Pleading guilty means the fine is less than pleading guilty and then being found guilty.

I know you dont want to hear this but your explanation they have heard thousands of times.

One other point - you say the gates closed on you but you must have gone through them.