Hi all,
Posting here for help / advice and mutual support really.
I was caught using my fathers Freedom pass in June. I was going from Mile End to Liverpool Street on a Saturday afternoon and was caught at Liverpool Street. I felt like they knew to expect me but I can't be sure - they said there was a special light which shows when a high value pass like a Freedom pass is shown.
What happened next was interesting and I believe does make a difference so is worth people knowing.
As I used the card to tap out, I was approached and asked to provide the card I had just used. There was a plain clothes police officer (perhaps British Transport Police) with a body cam nearby too, I assume in case people cause trouble. Naturally, chancing my luck, I shared a credit card and hoped they wouldn't notice - mistake 1. They knew I had the Freedom pass and were willing to wait for me to provide it. Not providing it from the outset was immediately recorded. There were some cursory questions and gathering of personal information (all of which was noted almost verbatim) but the two questions I recall and believe made the most difference were i) how long have you been using this and ii) did you know you aren't a valid user of this. I answered honestly to both, for i) I had been using it a few weeks and said at least, but he recorded 4 weeks on the second, I said yes (and he explained you would have to say that as there's a photocard).
Nothing happened for a while but then I received a letter from TFL. This letter came surprisingly quick - a few days or so. It's very standard and I believe many people here have shared their version of it. I did however get in touch with a solicitor and I will share the advice he gave. It was paid for and whilst I am sharing it, it doesn't substitute paying for advice specific to your case.
I should also highlight here that a Freedom pass is a high value card to TFL and as a result, I believe they can be extra tough on these cases. I also used this for c. 10 weeks in the end and totted up about 100 journeys, which was another factor which didn't go in my favour.
1. Calculate and workout the full extent of 'abuse'. This meant itemising all journeys where the incorrect pass was used, and showing the cost you should have paid. It's quite complex to do this and worth using your bank statements to help.
2. Trying to highlight honesty and a low likelihood of re-offence.
3. Sharing any exceptional circumstances (e.g. mental health, job risk, financial dependents).
4. Showing a willingness to pay for the foregone fares.
For the above, I got letters from my counsellors and GP highlighting mental health concerns (which were very serious), gathered bank statements to show I had two financial dependents, showed a mortgage statement to show I could lose my house if I lost my job and sought relevant character references.
All of this was collated with help from the solicitor and a cover letter written, which referred to some of the clauses in the policy/byelaws.
After about 8 weeks after the letter was submitted, I received a response from TFL saying that they reject my request and mitigating circumstances and that they 'may' move forward with legal proceedings. They didn't refer to much of my letter/evidence though said that profession can't be accounted for as that would otherwise result in discrimination. They also touched on the time period and volume of journeys, which made me question whether they have an ability to investigate / verify the information you submit, which I believe they do as they said I used it for less time but with a higher total value, which I can't really work out how to check.
The solicitor said this was all but certain to happen but also that there was very little they could now help with, which I think is fair and honest. Whilst I might have wanted to blame them, the responsibility is always on me and they can only represent the facts as they stand.
I wanted to ask if anyone had been through the next stage. I understand there's a court summons as part of this process but in front of a Magistrate who is less likely to be forgiving than a judge.
Has anyone gone through this and can you advise on what the process is and whether anything can make a difference at this stage?
Posting here for help / advice and mutual support really.
I was caught using my fathers Freedom pass in June. I was going from Mile End to Liverpool Street on a Saturday afternoon and was caught at Liverpool Street. I felt like they knew to expect me but I can't be sure - they said there was a special light which shows when a high value pass like a Freedom pass is shown.
What happened next was interesting and I believe does make a difference so is worth people knowing.
As I used the card to tap out, I was approached and asked to provide the card I had just used. There was a plain clothes police officer (perhaps British Transport Police) with a body cam nearby too, I assume in case people cause trouble. Naturally, chancing my luck, I shared a credit card and hoped they wouldn't notice - mistake 1. They knew I had the Freedom pass and were willing to wait for me to provide it. Not providing it from the outset was immediately recorded. There were some cursory questions and gathering of personal information (all of which was noted almost verbatim) but the two questions I recall and believe made the most difference were i) how long have you been using this and ii) did you know you aren't a valid user of this. I answered honestly to both, for i) I had been using it a few weeks and said at least, but he recorded 4 weeks on the second, I said yes (and he explained you would have to say that as there's a photocard).
Nothing happened for a while but then I received a letter from TFL. This letter came surprisingly quick - a few days or so. It's very standard and I believe many people here have shared their version of it. I did however get in touch with a solicitor and I will share the advice he gave. It was paid for and whilst I am sharing it, it doesn't substitute paying for advice specific to your case.
I should also highlight here that a Freedom pass is a high value card to TFL and as a result, I believe they can be extra tough on these cases. I also used this for c. 10 weeks in the end and totted up about 100 journeys, which was another factor which didn't go in my favour.
1. Calculate and workout the full extent of 'abuse'. This meant itemising all journeys where the incorrect pass was used, and showing the cost you should have paid. It's quite complex to do this and worth using your bank statements to help.
2. Trying to highlight honesty and a low likelihood of re-offence.
3. Sharing any exceptional circumstances (e.g. mental health, job risk, financial dependents).
4. Showing a willingness to pay for the foregone fares.
For the above, I got letters from my counsellors and GP highlighting mental health concerns (which were very serious), gathered bank statements to show I had two financial dependents, showed a mortgage statement to show I could lose my house if I lost my job and sought relevant character references.
All of this was collated with help from the solicitor and a cover letter written, which referred to some of the clauses in the policy/byelaws.
After about 8 weeks after the letter was submitted, I received a response from TFL saying that they reject my request and mitigating circumstances and that they 'may' move forward with legal proceedings. They didn't refer to much of my letter/evidence though said that profession can't be accounted for as that would otherwise result in discrimination. They also touched on the time period and volume of journeys, which made me question whether they have an ability to investigate / verify the information you submit, which I believe they do as they said I used it for less time but with a higher total value, which I can't really work out how to check.
The solicitor said this was all but certain to happen but also that there was very little they could now help with, which I think is fair and honest. Whilst I might have wanted to blame them, the responsibility is always on me and they can only represent the facts as they stand.
I wanted to ask if anyone had been through the next stage. I understand there's a court summons as part of this process but in front of a Magistrate who is less likely to be forgiving than a judge.
Has anyone gone through this and can you advise on what the process is and whether anything can make a difference at this stage?
