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 Upon being caught, the inspector pointed out that my railcard was out of date and had been for 3 months.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.

 

[Crawleytown123]

Hi all,

Thank you all for your help, it was all really appreciated.

To give you all some context, I sent a letter back last week and have just received this email in my inbox and am really unsure how to proceed. Have any of you ever come across an email like this?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

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

I have just posted an update below, do you have any thoughts / advice please?

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.

I have just posted an update below, do you have any thoughts / advice please?

 

[AlterEgo]

Hi all,

Thank you all for your help, it was all really appreciated.

To give you all some context, I sent a letter back last week and have just received this email in my inbox and am really unsure how to proceed. Have any of you ever come across an email like this?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


I have just posted an update below, do you have any thoughts / advice please?

Post 7 contains the correct advice. This is how you should respond.

 

[Rich McLean]

Hi all,

Thank you all for your help, it was all really appreciated.

To give you all some context, I sent a letter back last week and have just received this email in my inbox and am really unsure how to proceed. Have any of you ever come across an email like this?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


I have just posted an update below, do you have any thoughts / advice please?


I have just posted an update below, do you have any thoughts / advice please?

It does mention previous offences. It will be a hefty out of court settlement or a day in court

 

[Crawleytown123]

Post 7 contains the correct advice. This is how you should respond.

Would it be worth reaching out to a solicitor at this stage?

 

[AlterEgo]

Sounds like due to the number of times you have done it, they appear to be taking it to court instead.

That is not what the letter is saying and it is not what will happen. The company settles every time. This is their standard letter. The OP has to be honest in their reply though.

 

[30907]

First,

Sounds like due to the number of times you have done it, they appear to be taking it to court instead.

I don't think that's what the letter says.

First I would check that GTR received your original reply, just in case the follow-up letter was sent automatically after N days.

Second I would reply acknowledging that there have been previous occasions, confirming that you would still be grateful for the opportunity to settle out of court, and asking for some further detail so that you can check your records.

Perhaps meanwhile you could upload a copy of your original reply.

 

[Rich McLean]

Apologies, post edited

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,

Thank you all for your help, it was all really appreciated.

To give you all some context, I sent a letter back last week and have just received this email in my inbox and am really unsure how to proceed. Have any of you ever come across an email like this?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


I have just posted an update below, do you have any thoughts / advice please?


I have just posted an update below, do you have any thoughts / advice please?

Thanks for the upload - I've not much to add to the post from @AlterEgo and @30907 which is good advice - this is not a letter saying they have decided to prosecute, but it is a letter saying that they know you have done this on multiple occasions so you must address that in your response (if you you want to get it sorted in writing rather than attend an interview or discuss it with them - and it's usually better to try to sort things in writing because you can plan more carefully exactly what to say in a letter whereas a discussion can start going down routes it might not be best to go down)

With that in mind you need to include something like 'I regret that I have done this on other occasions and I am anxious to co-operate with you in order to pay the fares that I owe'

you can also ask them for a breakdown which you can then check against your own records because it's possible that some things they think may be journeys you made without tickets might be legitimate- they typically send a spreadsheet out for people to check - so you could include eg 'in order to help with your investigation please could you send me a list of travel where you believe I may not have had a correct ticket and I will do my best to check this against my own records if that would be of help' - or some such wording.

 

[Crawleytown123]

First,

I don't think that's what the letter says.

First I would check that GTR received your original reply, just in case the follow-up letter was sent automatically after N days.

Second I would reply acknowledging that there have been previous occasions, confirming that you would still be grateful for the opportunity to settle out of court, and asking for some further detail so that you can check your records.

Perhaps meanwhile you could upload a copy of your original reply.

Thank you for your help. I have pasted a copy of my previous reply below:

Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing today in response to the incident that occurred on Thursday 30th January at Three Bridges Station (Reference).

On that date, I travelled from London Victoria to Three Bridges station but did not purchase a full ticket. Instead, I purchased a ticket from London Victoria to Clapham Junction and then a ticket from Gatwick Airport to Three Bridges. This meant I did not have a full fare for most of my journey. Upon speaking to the ticket inspector, I realised my railcard was out of date and therefore invalid. This was an honest mistake and as the Trainline app automatically adds a railcard onto a purchase I had presumed, which in hindsight was incredibly foolish, that my railcard was still valid. I purchased a new railcard instantly so I now have a valid one.

I am very remorseful about my action and I am filled with regret as it was incredibly naive to not consider the full consequences of these actions. That being said, I take full responsibility for what I have done and recognise that it is unacceptable and is wrong. This whole ordeal has been an eye-opening experience for me and I am now fully aware of the seriousness of the matter. I am sincerely sorry for my actions and decision and can categorically guarantee that I have learnt from this and it will never happen again.

If you would be so kind, I would be truly grateful if you would allow me to settle this matter without the need of going to court. I am more than happy to pay any outstanding fares and any administrative costs that you have incurred by investigating this matter.

To conclude, I cannot put into words how deeply sorry I am for my actions and how much I regret them on a daily basis. I really appreciate you allowing me to write to you and thank you for considering an out of court settlement.

Yours sincerely,

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you for your help. I have pasted a copy of my previous reply below:

Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing today in response to the incident that occurred on Thursday 30th January at Three Bridges Station (Reference GT

On that date, I travelled from London Victoria to Three Bridges station but did not purchase a full ticket. Instead, I purchased a ticket from London Victoria to Clapham Junction and then a ticket from Gatwick Airport to Three Bridges. This meant I did not have a full fare for most of my journey. Upon speaking to the ticket inspector, I realised my railcard was out of date and therefore invalid. This was an honest mistake and as the Trainline app automatically adds a railcard onto a purchase I had presumed, which in hindsight was incredibly foolish, that my railcard was still valid. I purchased a new railcard instantly so I now have a valid one.

I am very remorseful about my action and I am filled with regret as it was incredibly naive to not consider the full consequences of these actions. That being said, I take full responsibility for what I have done and recognise that it is unacceptable and is wrong. This whole ordeal has been an eye-opening experience for me and I am now fully aware of the seriousness of the matter. I am sincerely sorry for my actions and decision and can categorically guarantee that I have learnt from this and it will never happen again.

If you would be so kind, I would be truly grateful if you would allow me to settle this matter without the need of going to court. I am more than happy to pay any outstanding fares and any administrative costs that you have incurred by investigating this matter.

To conclude, I cannot put into words how deeply sorry I am for my actions and how much I regret them on a daily basis. I really appreciate you allowing me to write to you and thank you for considering an out of court settlement.

Yours sincerely,

OK - so their response to that earlier reply you sent is indeed because they have investigated your purchase records and found other evasion which you did not admit to initially (as per advice on this forum) so now want to engage with you about that. We've seen this before on other threads. They think this goes back until 2021 - which is earlier than you indicated in your original post.

Draft up a reply which essentially focuses on addressing the other evasion - also of course it's not 100% clear that they did get your previous response so you can reference it or enclose it as per good advice in post #15

 

[AlterEgo]

Thank you for your help. I have pasted a copy of my previous reply below:

Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing today in response to the incident that occurred on Thursday 30th January at Three Bridges Station (Reference GTREMG000844185).

On that date, I travelled from London Victoria to Three Bridges station but did not purchase a full ticket. Instead, I purchased a ticket from London Victoria to Clapham Junction and then a ticket from Gatwick Airport to Three Bridges. This meant I did not have a full fare for most of my journey. Upon speaking to the ticket inspector, I realised my railcard was out of date and therefore invalid. This was an honest mistake and as the Trainline app automatically adds a railcard onto a purchase I had presumed, which in hindsight was incredibly foolish, that my railcard was still valid. I purchased a new railcard instantly so I now have a valid one.

I am very remorseful about my action and I am filled with regret as it was incredibly naive to not consider the full consequences of these actions. That being said, I take full responsibility for what I have done and recognise that it is unacceptable and is wrong. This whole ordeal has been an eye-opening experience for me and I am now fully aware of the seriousness of the matter. I am sincerely sorry for my actions and decision and can categorically guarantee that I have learnt from this and it will never happen again.

If you would be so kind, I would be truly grateful if you would allow me to settle this matter without the need of going to court. I am more than happy to pay any outstanding fares and any administrative costs that you have incurred by investigating this matter.

To conclude, I cannot put into words how deeply sorry I am for my actions and how much I regret them on a daily basis. I really appreciate you allowing me to write to you and thank you for considering an out of court settlement.

Yours sincerely,

You need to directly address the allegations that you did this from 2021, as per their letter. You say you did this from 2023. Is that correct?

 

[Crawleytown123]

You need to directly address the allegations that you did this from 2021, as per their letter. You say you did this from 2023. Is that correct?

Apologies, I should have been clearer. The letter which you are replying to was my initial reply to the notice of prosecution letter which I sent last week.

In regards to the allegations, I was continuously doing it from 2023 until 2024 however there will have been several one off instances in the years before this which I imagine they are referencing when they say it started in 2021.

Hope this helps.

 

[WesternLancer]

You need to directly address the allegations that you did this from 2021, as per their letter. You say you did this from 2023. Is that correct?

I think that post you have quoted is the reply sent to GTRs original letter to the OP, not a suggested draft reply to the latest one received as posted in post #11. Asked the OP to post the original reply to see if they had said anything at that stage about anything other than the incident when they were stopped.

Although your point is valid for the next response required.

 

[Crawleytown123]

Hi all,

Please see below a draft of a response to the letter I attached in post #11. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


Good afternoon X,

I hope all is well and thank you for your email.

I am writing in a response to a letter I received today, 13th May 2025, via email about the ongoing investigation of fare evasion (Reference Num)

Before I respond to your letter directly, I just wanted to confirm that you received my first response back to this which was sent on 7th May which you should have recieved on the 8th May. Please let me know if you didn’t receive this for whatever reason.

Moving on to the point regarding the avoided fares from previous years, I acknowledge that this was the case and I want to express how truly sorry I am for my decisions. My actions can only be described as an idiotic set of choices spanning over a couple of years and for that I take full responsibility. I am bitterly disappointed in myself for avoiding these fares on multiple occasions and the sense of regret I feel cannot be put into words. I know this doesn’t make my actions acceptable, however I mean it when I say I have wholeheartedly learnt my lesson.

If you would allow me, I would be forever grateful if you would let us settle this matter without the need for court action. I am willing to co-operate fully and I am prepared to settle payments for any fares owed.

In order to assist you with the investigation, please could you send me a breakdown of the journeys where you believe I haven’t paid the entirety of the fare and I can check it against my personal records if you believe it would be of any use.

To conclude, I want to reiterate how deeply sorry I am for these continuous choices and I can categorically say I will never do it again. I want to thank you for letting me respond and for taking the time to read this. Please do not hesitate to ask ask me for anything and I thank you for the consideration of letting me settle this outside of court.

Yours sincerely,

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,

Please see below a draft of a response to the letter I attached in post #11. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


Good afternoon X,

I hope all is well and thank you for your email.

I am writing in a response to a letter I received today, 13th May 2025, via email about the ongoing investigation of fare evasion (Reference: xxxxx)

Before I respond to your letter directly, I just wanted to confirm that you received my first response back to this which was sent on 7th May which you should have recieved on the 8th May. Please let me know if you didn’t receive this for whatever reason.

Moving on to the point regarding the avoided fares from previous years, I acknowledge that this was the case and I want to express how truly sorry I am for my decisions. My actions can only be described as an idiotic set of choices spanning over a couple of years and for that I take full responsibility. I am bitterly disappointed in myself for avoiding these fares on multiple occasions and the sense of regret I feel cannot be put into words. I know this doesn’t make my actions acceptable, however I mean it when I say I have wholeheartedly learnt my lesson.

If you would allow me, I would be forever grateful if you would let us settle this matter without the need for court action. I am willing to co-operate fully and I am prepared to settle payments for any fares owed.

In order to assist you with the investigation, please could you send me a breakdown of the journeys where you believe I haven’t paid the entirety of the fare and I can check it against my personal records if you believe it would be of any use.

To conclude, I want to reiterate how deeply sorry I am for these continuous choices and I can categorically say I will never do it again. I want to thank you for letting me respond and for taking the time to read this. Please do not hesitate to ask ask me for anything and I thank you for the consideration of letting me settle this outside of court.

Yours sincerely,

migth be best to remove that GTR ref number from this draft placed up here (use the edit button)

 

[Crawleytown123]

migth be best to remove that GTR ref number from this draft placed up here (use the edit button)

Thank you, have edited it out.

 

[Brickz]

Thank you, have edited it out.

Might want to check post 19 as well

 

[Crawleytown123]

Might want to check post 19 as well

Good spot, thank you.

How do you think the draft of the letter looks? Any changes you’d make?

 

[Brickz]

Personally I have no experience in this side and am what I'd describe as new to the rail side of things but I have noticed that most of the normal people that give good advice have replied already.
Have noticed though to anyone that's replied to post 19 you may also need to edit your message as it show shows up

 

[WesternLancer]

Good spot, thank you.

How do you think the draft of the letter looks? Any changes you’d make?

Maybe last sentence adjust as they are not actually saying yet that they will let you settle out of court so your wording reads slightly presumptuous. Though I know that wasn’t your intention.

Perhaps I could end eg

‘ I would greatly appreciate a chance to resolve this without court action’

But it needs to be what you are happy with and your draft seems to cover the key points in my view.