I gave what I think was good advice quite some way up this thread. You've now given us a bit more information, so I can refine it a bit.
As I understand it, the position is this:
- you made a train journey from Totnes to Exmouth
- there was a long queue for the ticket machine at Totnes and you would have missed your train by the time you got to the front of the queue, so you didn't get a ticket
- at some point during your journey (or at the end of it) GWR found that you didn't have a ticket, so they took your name and (your mum's) address
- they then wrote to you to ask you to pay £106 to settle the matter
- you didn't agree that this was an appropriate settlement and have written further to them (and I think they have written back to you)
- GWR have now said that they have done some more research and believe that you should actually pay rather more than £2000 to settle this matter.
- you intend to get back in touch with GWR on Monday (for anyone coming late to this thread: it started on a Friday, and I write today on Saturday, so Monday is the next working day).
If I've got this right, then please read on for my thoughts. If I've got it wrong then please say and let's see if there is anything to change in the advice we give.
The place to start is where you are in law with the Totnes to Exmouth journey. The relevant law is railway byelaw 18(1). What the byelaw says is this:
18. Ticketless travel in non-compulsory ticket areas
(1) In any area not designated as a compulsory ticket area, no person shall enter any train for the purpose of travelling on the railway unless he has with him a valid ticket entitling him to travel.
(source -
https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/media/1058/railway-byelaws.pdf: but the same byelaws apply to GWR)
It's worth reading this really closely: the byelaw doesn't say anything about not intending to pay the right fare: it just says that the traveller must have a valid ticket with them.
In your case, I think you accept that you didn't have a ticket when you got on the train at Totnes. You could have got a ticket at Totnes but didn't, so you have broken the byelaw. If GWR take you to court, you will be found guilty and will have to pay a fine, plus compensation (the train fare that wasn't paid), plus court costs, plus (possibly) prosecution costs. Realistically, this will come to more than £106.
You'll see that I don't say anything about whether the law is right or whether this is fair. And that's because it doesn't matter: the law is the law, and you are expected to abide by it. If you think that the law is wrong then you probably need to take it up with your MP - but that won't change anything in time for you not to lose this case at court. I know that this sounds harsh, but that's how things are.
So to summarise, if GWR end up taking you to court, you will lose and they will win. That means that you are not in a strong position to negotiate with them. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't negotiate - but that you may not be able to close this matter off for no more than the train fare.
When I last wrote, I suggested that the threat of £2,000 was mainly a tactic from GWR to get you to agree over the £106. I still think that, and (if I read the thread correctly before) one of the pieces that you have deleted said something about the £2,000 offer being open until some time in late February. So you do have a little time to negotiate, and even if I'm wrong about the £2,000 being tactical then if you're in touch with the railway on Monday (at the beginning of February) you will still have time to try another approach.
So this is my suggestion for what you should say to GWR on Monday:
- you should explain that having talked to people who know about these things (i.e. this forum) you now realise that you were wrong to travel from Totnes without buying a ticket
- now that you know that you were wrong, you will never do this again. You are also very sorry for all the inconvenience you have caused GWR
- so in the circumstances you wonder if it would be possible to settle for the £106 previously quoted
When you do this (whether you write, email or phone) you need to be very polite, and very apologetic. As I say, you are not in a strong position because if GWR take you to court they will win, and you need to try and prove to them that you won't make the same mistake again.
With a bit of luck, at this point GWR will agree: you will have to pay them the £106 but that will be the end of the matter. But what if they don't agree? At that point (and not before)
- go on to mention the alleged twenty journeys.
- Make it clear that you disagree with this as you have never made the journeys in question
- ask for details of the journeys that GWR think you made, as you will be producing evidence that you did not make the journeys
Again, you should continue being polite and apologetic. Remember that GWR can still take you to court and will win. But you need to show that if GWR want anything more than the £106 they will have to meet all the requirements of the law - and that includes them proving, beyond all reasonable doubt, that you made those journeys without the right tickets.
Again, I would hope that at this point GWR will agree to settle for £106. If they don't, insist on them providing details of the journeys that they allege you haven't paid for. At that point you will need to look at each alleged journey and see what evidence you can find to show that GWR are wrong. We may be able to help with how you should do this, so if necessary ask us again.
In short - I don't see any way that you can resolve this without paying less than £106. But by being polite and apologetic to GWR, and making sure that they know that you won't make the same mistake again, I hope that GWR will agree to that settlement.