GWR interview under caution - deeply frightened

[elligill]

Hi could you provide me some advice?

I was on a GWR train yesterday from Chippenham to London Paddington, the barriers were open and I tried to get my ticket through various websites on my phones but for whatever reason it wasn’t allow access.

The train was busy as reduced from 9 to 5 carriages so no opportunity to ask the train manager.

I got off to train at Paddington and in a reckless move made the choice to purchase a shorter fare from reading to Paddington so I could exit the barrier.

I was asked by a man to scan my ticket and then interviewed under caution which was less than 5 minutes. I was so upset with myself for this ridiculous reckless decision, I am now fearing I will end up in prison.

I cooperated and gave all my details and signed the notes whereby I admitted buying a shorter fare. What can I do here I am sick with worry albeit clearly my own wrongdoing.

Never have I done this before nor have the intention to act this way again. I rarely get the train these days and on this occasion it wasn’t my finest hour.

 

[island]

Why didn't you buy a ticket from the ticket machines or ticket office at Chippenham?

 

[elligill]

I should have but didnt

 

[WesternLancer]

I should have but didnt

You wont end up in prison unless there were significant extra circs (think assaulting staff who stopped you for example).

Unfortunately what you did is classic fare evasion behaviour re-enforced by the decision to short fare when you did buy a ticket so I don't think they will really believe that you tried to buy a ticket before boarding - even if you did.

Your objective should be to co-operate with them and seek to secure an out of court settlement instead of being prosecuted in court. This should be achievable with advice form here. Have a look at some other threads with GWR to get the idea of what to do

Also be aware they will search your online ticket buying records going back some time now to look for suspicious ticket purchases and they may ask you about them / seek payment for them if they find any.

have a read of this Revenue Protection Policy to get an idea of what to expect too

https://www.gwr.com/-/media/gwr-sc-website/files/revenue-protection-policy/GWR-Revenue-Protection-Policy-January-2023.pdf

 

[elligill]

You wont end up in prison unless there were significant extra circs (think assaulting staff who stopped you for example).

Unfortunately what you did is classic fare evasion behaviour re-enforced by the decision to short fare when you did buy a ticket so I don't think they will really believe that you tried to buy a ticket before boarding - even if you did.

Your objective should be to co-operate with them and seek to secure an out of court settlement instead of being prosecuted in court. This should be achievable with advice form here. Have a look at some other threads with GWR to get the idea of what to do

Also be aware they will search your online ticket buying records going back some time now to look for suspicious ticket purchases and they may ask you about them / seek payment for them if they find any.

have a read of this Revenue Protection Policy to get an idea of what to expect too

https://www.gwr.com/-/media/gwr-sc-website/files/revenue-protection-policy/GWR-Revenue-Protection-Policy-January-2023.pdf

Thank you. Have you had a recent examples? Just wondering how long it is currently taking to get a letter from GWR

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you. Have you had a recent examples? Just wondering how long it is currently taking to get a letter from GWR

its always hard to tell - depends on how many staff at work in the back office and how many evaders have been caught and paperwork to process etc. and some people who post for help never update when they get contacted (so if you can do that it will help the next person who asks the same question!), but think weeks not days I suspect.

You do have to be absolutely sure to check your post (and e-mail and spam in case they use that). It is vital that you receive their communication and reply to it if you want to avoid prosecution.

So assuming you gave the correct address you need to take steps for your post to be forwarded if you move house or for someone to check your post if you go away on holiday or if you are a student with a term time separate address where you might not be at xmas for example, if you gave that address.

 

[elligill]

Thank you very much. Yes absolutely have the full address, I provided my driving license. I will be waiting by the front door.

Do you think I should contact them myself before getting the letter?

 

[AlterEgo]

Thank you very much. Yes absolutely have the full address, I provided my driving license. I will be waiting by the front door.

Do you think I should contact them myself before getting the letter?

There’s no need to do this and can harm your case as they may not have even processed your details yet. So just wait for them to contact you.

 

[elligill]

There’s no need to do this and can harm your case as they may not have even processed your details yet. So just wait for them to contact you.

Thank you

 

[John R]

Just for future information, you must buy a ticket before boarding a train from Chippenham, and if the ticket office is open this is the easiest way to do so. Boarding and subsequently purchasing a ticket is not allowed, and that may well be why the various apps you tried would not let you purchase a ticket for the full journey - it knew the train had already left Chippenham.

This is important, as if you are offered an out of court settlement this time, you card will still be marked, and any subsequent offence may well be treated more harshly (ie by prosecution), especially as it is clear to them this time that you deliberately tried to evade paying the correct fare.

 

[elligill]

Hi

Have done lots of reading on forums and solicitor pages - I wasn’t given anything after the interview at the station is this typical for GWR?

I have a solictor saying they can intervene before the letter but not sure how this would work if I was given no report?

 

[gray1404]

If you were able to purchase a ticket from Reading then it would have been possible for you to purchase a ticket from your starting station. It is also a classic line on here that we read how people like to comment that they cooperated fully when they were stopped.

Anyway there is no point getting a solicitor involved at the stage and it will just be a waste of money. As you have already been advised you need to wait for the letter that you receive from the train company and hopefully they will offer you an out of court settlement. If they do not do this then you may be able to respond to them yourself requesting such.

GWR is one of the more pragmatic companies to deal with and there is a higher chance of this being offered to you if you have not come to their attention before. I would suggest that you wait for the letter and then post a retracted copy on here, i.e. no personal details, so we can advise you in your response. You may be waiting upto up to a few months for the letter.

There really isn't anything more we can help you with until you receive the letter. Moving forward you need to ensure you have a ticket for travel before boarding the train and do not come to their attention again.

 

[Hadders]

Your case is straightforward and I’d expect you will be offered a settlement by GWR as long as you co-operate with them.

Using a solicitor is a decision only you can make. A solicitor can’t change what has happened but what they can do is present your mitigation in a better way than you may feel able to do yourself. A solicitor can sometimes fasttrack a case.

Against that you have to consider that solicitors don’t come cheap and you will have to pay their fee in addition to GWR’s settlement fee. Even if you don’t get offered a settlement then you’d still have to pay the solicitor.

If it was me, I’d wait to see what GWR say in response to your reply to their initial letter. If they don’t offer a settlement that would be the point I’d be looking at using a solicitor.

 

[elligill]

Thank you - do GWR normally give you any report or information following the interview as I received nothing? I asked for a copy of notes but the gentleman said he couldn’t do that

Your case is straightforward and I’d expect you will be offered a settlement by GWR as long as you co-operate with them.

Using a solicitor is a decision only you can make. A solicitor can’t change what has happened but what they can do is present your mitigation in a better way than you may feel able to do yourself. A solicitor can sometimes fasttrack a case.

Against that you have to consider that solicitors don’t come cheap and you will have to pay their fee in addition to GWR’s settlement fee. Even if you don’t get offered a settlement then you’d still have to pay the solicitor.

If it was me, I’d wait to see what GWR say in response to your reply to their initial letter. If they don’t offer a settlement that would be the point I’d be looking at using a solicitor.

Do GWR go straight to prosecution as I was interviewed at station or do they send follow up letter?

 

[Hadders]

They don’t always give a receipt, and they don’t go straight to prosecution.

I’m out and about at the moment so can’t directly link to it but have a read of their revenue protection policy as this will answer most of your questions.

 

[Knoodlepot]

They don’t always give a receipt, and they don’t go straight to prosecution.

I’m out and about at the moment so can’t directly link to it but have a read of their revenue protection policy as this will answer most of your questions.

Penalties and enforcements | Great Western Railway

As a passenger on GWR services, you must travel with a valid train ticket. Read about our penalty and enforcement policies here.

www.gwr.com

At the bottom are links to RP policy, buy before you board policy and even the fraud policy

 

[Haywain]

do GWR normally give you any report or information following the interview as I received nothing?

Nothing rests on this. You committed an offence whether you were given any documents or not.

 

[elligill]

Hello again - does anyone know if there is a GWR backlog or anything?

 

[Haywain]

Hello again - does anyone know if there is a GWR backlog or anything?

It's only been a week! It can take several weeks before you receive a letter, you will just have to be patient.