Fare Evasion - Threatened with Prosecution (Urgent Please Help)

[Crawleytown123]

Hi all,



I’m new to this forum and have been looking through everyone’s different situations and thought I would post my own as I am looking for some guidance. On January 30th, I was stopped at my local station (Three Bridges) and caught by the inspectors for having a “short-ticket”. I work near Victoria so that day I bought a ticket from Victoria to Clapham Junction and then Gatwick Airport to Three Bridges. After being caught, I gave all my details and admitted to buying the short-ticket. Upon being caught, the inspector pointed out that my railcard was out of date and had been for 3 months. I was totally unaware of this as my Trainline app automatically adds my Railcard onto the tickets so I presumed (in hindsight very foolish of me) that my Railcard was in date. With the man I was dealing with, I was completely honest about everything and fully cooperated. On Thursday last week I recieved a letter in the post with the headline that they intend to prosecute.



Prior to this, from June 2023 to July 2024 I was doing purchasing short tickets both to and from work 3 days per week. The letter I have been sent in the post is only asking me about the 30th January incident however I feel like they would surely be able to look at my account and see that I have done this before. Am I correct in thinking that? I was never caught doing this so technically the 30th January was my first offence, however from reading other posts it seems they will try and get me for this too.



I feel terrible about the situation, it was pure stupidity and immaturity to continue doing this for so long and I am happy to face the consequences of my actions but I am unsure how to proceed. I do not want to get a criminal record and would ideally like an out of court settlement but am unsure if this will be a possibility for my situation. In everyone’s opinion would it be worth getting a solicitor? I haven’t written a response to the letter yet as unsure what to include so any thoughts on that would also be helpful.



Any advice would be super helpful, thank you in advance.



Happy to provide further information if I’ve missed anything out.

 

[Greyman1]

GTR are nearly always keen to deal with things as an out of court settlement.
Respond to the letter honestly and let them come back to you. I would avoid "giving" them any further information about your fares you have potentially evaded, but they will definitely go to trainline and ask for your purchase history.

 

[Johny]

GTR are nearly always keen to deal with things as an out of court settlement.
Respond to the letter honestly and let them come back to you. I would avoid "giving" them any further information about your fares you have potentially evaded, but they will definitely go to trainline and ask for your purchase history

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,



I’m new to this forum and have been looking through everyone’s different situations and thought I would post my own as I am looking for some guidance. On January 30th, I was stopped at my local station (Three Bridges) and caught by the inspectors for having a “short-ticket”. I work near Victoria so that day I bought a ticket from Victoria to Clapham Junction and then Gatwick Airport to Three Bridges. After being caught, I gave all my details and admitted to buying the short-ticket. Upon being caught, the inspector pointed out that my railcard was out of date and had been for 3 months. I was totally unaware of this as my Trainline app automatically adds my Railcard onto the tickets so I presumed (in hindsight very foolish of me) that my Railcard was in date. With the man I was dealing with, I was completely honest about everything and fully cooperated. On Thursday last week I recieved a letter in the post with the headline that they intend to prosecute.



Prior to this, from June 2023 to July 2024 I was doing purchasing short tickets both to and from work 3 days per week. The letter I have been sent in the post is only asking me about the 30th January incident however I feel like they would surely be able to look at my account and see that I have done this before. Am I correct in thinking that? I was never caught doing this so technically the 30th January was my first offence, however from reading other posts it seems they will try and get me for this too.



I feel terrible about the situation, it was pure stupidity and immaturity to continue doing this for so long and I am happy to face the consequences of my actions but I am unsure how to proceed. I do not want to get a criminal record and would ideally like an out of court settlement but am unsure if this will be a possibility for my situation. In everyone’s opinion would it be worth getting a solicitor? I haven’t written a response to the letter yet as unsure what to include so any thoughts on that would also be helpful.



Any adviceeyter would be super helpful, thank you in advance.



Happy to provide further information if I’ve missed anything out.

You need to look at some other threads first to see the guidance on how to reply to the letter you have received. These get your draft checked here.

Look at threads involving GTR Southern and Thameslink

 

[AndroidBango]

Maybe delete your trainline account.

what if u delete your train line account?

It's not going to delete a history of fare evasion, and makes it look like you have something to hide.

 

[WesternLancer]

Maybe delete your trainline account.

what if u delete your train line account?

They can still access it. Deleting it probably draws attention to your actions.

 

[Titfield]

From the advice which expert forum member @Hadders gives in cases such as this, adapted for your circumstances.

Travelling without a ticket that covers your full journey is a criminal offence and GTR are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. Generally speaking most Train Operating Companies are normally reasonable to deal with and will normally offer an out of court settlement in cases like this as long as you co-operate with them, and haven't come to their attention before.

What happens next is they will write to you saying they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you. This letter can take some weeks to arrive due to the number of cases in progress at any one point in time.

I suggest a short, concise reply that mentions:

- 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 the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

If you are offered an out of court settlement expect to have to pay the outstanding fares at the full Anytime rate, with no credit given for the invalid tickets you purchased in addition to an admin fee, typically £150. GTR will search your online ticket purchasing history to see if you have done this before and if this indicates you have done this before they will factor in the cost of these journeys into the settlement fee.

Paying a settlement might feel like paying a fine but technically it isn't. Only a court can impose a fine as a punishment upon conviction so you don't want to pay a fine, you want to pay a settlement!

When the letter from GTR arrives post a redacted copy of it in this thread, along with your draft reply, and forum members will proof read it for you.

Do not use AI to write the letter as such letters invariably sound insincere. You do not have to give or explain the reasons for shortfaring as it is understood to be saving money for one reason or another.

 

[AlterEgo]

Maybe delete your trainline account.

what if u delete your train line account?

Then you look guilty. Of course they retain the data for six years, so it makes no difference.

 

[Haywain]

Maybe delete your trainline account.

what if u delete your train line account?

Aside from other comments that would ensure that you have less sight of your ticket buying history than the train company. How to put yourself at a major disadvantage, and not a good idea at all.

 

[Hadders]

Maybe delete your trainline account.

what if u delete your train line account?

This is very poor advice. Deleting the account doesn't delete the information that Trainline can see but it does mean you no longer have access to your own transaction history.