GWR expected letter for invalid ticket

[dianareel]

Hello,


I was stopped early April this year for buying an invalid ticket (child's ticket to be exact.) The staff member asked for my age, I panicked, lied and said 16. My actual age is 19 and I know this was incredibly stupid, I regret everything so much. I repeatedly offered to pay for the full fare and the staff member refused and instead asked for my address, full name and date of birth. I gave my correct address, my correct first name but used my mother's surname and ended up not having to write my d.o.b due to panicking so much I threw up in the toilet. He then asked for a guardian's name and phone number. I gave them my older sibling details. He said to expect a letter of having to pay for the initial fare and to take this as a warning as if I wasn't a minor I could be taken to court. He then handed me a small business card like paper that says "Reported for persecution what happens next." I am confused whether it will be a penalty fare as he explained there will be a simple letter that will require me to pay the initial train fee but then the card has made me extremely anxious.


It has been 5 weeks since this incident has happened. When might I expect the letter? What should I expect? Would the letter be written to me or to my guardian?



I'm hoping to avoid having to go to court and will be more than happy to pay whatever amount is deemed fit to keep everything out of court.

 

[island]

The train company has up to 6 months to process the case. Yours is one of hundreds they will be dealing with and you will have to wait your turn in the queue. You cannot speed it up.

It's a criminal offence to use a child ticket when you're aged 16 and up. It's also a criminal offence to give a false name. It's a further criminal offence to fail to give a date of birth if you are being issued a penalty fare (although it is not clear if the staff member was issuing a penalty fare and changed their mind, or went straight for a prosecution report). So that's 3 offences.

They may write to you directly, or to the guardian details you gave, or to "parents or guardians of" followed by your name. It seems that you are dealing with GWR, they will usually settle the matter out of court but will want a payment of £100-150 plus the full adult fare for the journey you made.

Going forward it's essential that you buy the correct ticket. You should consider purchasing a 16-25 Railcard if you are making regular train journeys, as this will give you 34% off most fares.

 

[Titfield]

When the letter arrives please post it here with any identifying details obscured (redacted) so that Forum Members may give advice.

In the meantime you may wish to research the advice @Hadders gives when composing a letter of response to the Train Operating Company. (use search facility on the top right of this page).

Please note the TOC will try and find your booking history through their own booking website and online retailers such as Trainline to build up a complete picture of any other occasions of not paying the appropriate fare. This may not preclude reaching an out of court settlement but it will make the cost of the settlement higher (the fares avoided and a higher administration charge).

When calculating the fares due TOCS usually charge the full anytime single fare without any discounts being applied. They may also disregard the value of the ticket you purchased because it was invalid. We say may also because we have seen cases where fares already paid have been taken into account. Likewise we have seen cases where off peak fares and similar have been charged rather than the anytime single.