trains8642
New Member
Hi everyone,
I need some help and advice. I have been trying to manage my anxiety about this and thought I could reach out here to get some advice and hopefully calm my nerves - it seems like a really helpful community. Below is an explanation of the incident, a draft letter and some questions. I have not received the letter yet but I’m writing this to try and help myself, and make sure that my approach and tone is correct, based on the research I've done across forum posts here.
The incident
On 12/05/24, I arrived at London Waterloo from Fratton and passed through the ticket gate. However, my friend approached a Southwestern revenue protection officer as the ticket gate was not letting him through with his ticket. The officer was sure that my friend had to buy a new ticket because the current one my friend had was not valid, and took my friend to the ticket machine. Myself and another friend went to them and helped demonstrate that my friend’s ticket was valid. After that, the revenue protection officer asked to see my ticket too. I dutifully showed my ticket on the Trainline app and he then asked to check my railcard. As I found my railcard, I realised that it had been expired for just under a month (since 13/04/24). I was shocked and sure that I must have renewed it without realising or remembering (I have had an extremely stressful past 2 months, which I briefly explain below), and checked my emails but I did not find any railcard confirmation, I had forgotten to renew it. It was a complete accident.
The officer proceeded to report me, and I handed over all my details. He also checked past journeys on my Trainline app and took a photo. When he did that, I realised, I have made a total of 4 journeys (London-Fratton and Fratton-London [which were the same ticket as an off-peak open return], London-Gatwick airport and Gatwick airport-London) in the past month whilst my railcard was expired (I was travelling abroad for work purposes, hence I had to go to Gatwick airport). I offered to pay a penalty and buy a new ticket - but he said we have to follow the process and I need to wait for a letter to arrive, which I understood.
I take full responsibility for this. I have been extremely stressed and distracted by my work in the past 2 months, it’s been very overwhelming and I lost track of things going on in my personal life. I completely forgot to check my railcard before my journeys. I have also dropped the habit of checking my railcard since I had a valid railcard for 3 years straight. I also had a 1 year railcard before that too. In the past 4 years I’ve had no issues with my railcard or train tickets generally.
Draft letter (I have highlighted text in read for phrasing I'm unsure about and suggested an alternative in the questions below)
Dear Prosecution Manager,
Please read my statement below regarding case reference: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 12/05/2024, I travelled from Fratton station to London Waterloo station. At Waterloo, I passed through the ticket gate. My friend, however, could not pass through the ticket gate and approached a revenue protection officer to ask for assistance. The officer believed my friend's ticket to be invalid and took him to the ticket machine to purchase a new ticket. I went to the officer and my friend, and helped demonstrate that my friend’s ticket was valid. The officer proceeded to ask me for my ticket, which I dutifully showed. On the ticket, the railcard (16-25) discount was applied and so the officer asked me to show my railcard. I found my railcard and, upon showing him, I realised it had been expired for a month (since 13/04/24). I proceeded to check my emails as I was shocked that I hadn’t renewed my railcard, however I realised I had forgotten to renew my railcard. The officer proceeded to report the incident, I gave all my details and offered to pay a full penalty and buy a new ticket; the officer stated that we have to follow the process, which I understand.
I accept full responsibility for my errors. During the last half of March, April and the first half of May, I have been extremely stressed due to work reasons and, as a result, have been heavily disorganised in my personal life. I forgot to check my railcard for this journey, and the past 3 journeys (London-Fratton, London-Gatwick and Gatwick-London). Regarding the London-Gatwick and Gatwick-London journeys, I was travelling abroad from Gatwick Airport for work purposes, and again, I was really distracted by work and preparing for plane travel, and was very disorganised for everything else.
I should have checked that my railcard was in date before each journey. I fell out of the habit of checking my railcard before my train journeys as I have had a valid 3 year 16-25 railcard. I deeply regret my disorganisation which has led to this incident. This was an honest mistake, it’s the first time anything like this has happened to me: I have had 2 railcards spanning 4 years (Railcard 1: number and Railcard 2: number) with no issues. Please accept my apology for this.
I bought a new railcard as soon as I could (1 year, 26-30), on the first morning after the incident (13/05/2024). I have also set 2 reminders on my calendar (7 May 2025 and 11 May 2025) which are near the date of expiry of my new railcard (12 May 2025), so that I renew it and a repeat of this incident does not happen again. My new railcard number is XXXXXXXXXXXX. I will also take extra care and caution to check my railcard before each and every journey going forward.
I hope that this matter can be resolved between us without any court action. I would like to pay the full fare of each journey (London-Fratton open return, London-Gatwick, and Gatwick-London) and I would like to cover the expense incurred to you and your team as a result of this investigation.
Thank you for reading my statement and I await your response.
Kind regards, XXXXXXXX
Questions
I need some help and advice. I have been trying to manage my anxiety about this and thought I could reach out here to get some advice and hopefully calm my nerves - it seems like a really helpful community. Below is an explanation of the incident, a draft letter and some questions. I have not received the letter yet but I’m writing this to try and help myself, and make sure that my approach and tone is correct, based on the research I've done across forum posts here.
The incident
On 12/05/24, I arrived at London Waterloo from Fratton and passed through the ticket gate. However, my friend approached a Southwestern revenue protection officer as the ticket gate was not letting him through with his ticket. The officer was sure that my friend had to buy a new ticket because the current one my friend had was not valid, and took my friend to the ticket machine. Myself and another friend went to them and helped demonstrate that my friend’s ticket was valid. After that, the revenue protection officer asked to see my ticket too. I dutifully showed my ticket on the Trainline app and he then asked to check my railcard. As I found my railcard, I realised that it had been expired for just under a month (since 13/04/24). I was shocked and sure that I must have renewed it without realising or remembering (I have had an extremely stressful past 2 months, which I briefly explain below), and checked my emails but I did not find any railcard confirmation, I had forgotten to renew it. It was a complete accident.
The officer proceeded to report me, and I handed over all my details. He also checked past journeys on my Trainline app and took a photo. When he did that, I realised, I have made a total of 4 journeys (London-Fratton and Fratton-London [which were the same ticket as an off-peak open return], London-Gatwick airport and Gatwick airport-London) in the past month whilst my railcard was expired (I was travelling abroad for work purposes, hence I had to go to Gatwick airport). I offered to pay a penalty and buy a new ticket - but he said we have to follow the process and I need to wait for a letter to arrive, which I understood.
I take full responsibility for this. I have been extremely stressed and distracted by my work in the past 2 months, it’s been very overwhelming and I lost track of things going on in my personal life. I completely forgot to check my railcard before my journeys. I have also dropped the habit of checking my railcard since I had a valid railcard for 3 years straight. I also had a 1 year railcard before that too. In the past 4 years I’ve had no issues with my railcard or train tickets generally.
Draft letter (I have highlighted text in read for phrasing I'm unsure about and suggested an alternative in the questions below)
Dear Prosecution Manager,
Please read my statement below regarding case reference: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 12/05/2024, I travelled from Fratton station to London Waterloo station. At Waterloo, I passed through the ticket gate. My friend, however, could not pass through the ticket gate and approached a revenue protection officer to ask for assistance. The officer believed my friend's ticket to be invalid and took him to the ticket machine to purchase a new ticket. I went to the officer and my friend, and helped demonstrate that my friend’s ticket was valid. The officer proceeded to ask me for my ticket, which I dutifully showed. On the ticket, the railcard (16-25) discount was applied and so the officer asked me to show my railcard. I found my railcard and, upon showing him, I realised it had been expired for a month (since 13/04/24). I proceeded to check my emails as I was shocked that I hadn’t renewed my railcard, however I realised I had forgotten to renew my railcard. The officer proceeded to report the incident, I gave all my details and offered to pay a full penalty and buy a new ticket; the officer stated that we have to follow the process, which I understand.
I accept full responsibility for my errors. During the last half of March, April and the first half of May, I have been extremely stressed due to work reasons and, as a result, have been heavily disorganised in my personal life. I forgot to check my railcard for this journey, and the past 3 journeys (London-Fratton, London-Gatwick and Gatwick-London). Regarding the London-Gatwick and Gatwick-London journeys, I was travelling abroad from Gatwick Airport for work purposes, and again, I was really distracted by work and preparing for plane travel, and was very disorganised for everything else.
I should have checked that my railcard was in date before each journey. I fell out of the habit of checking my railcard before my train journeys as I have had a valid 3 year 16-25 railcard. I deeply regret my disorganisation which has led to this incident. This was an honest mistake, it’s the first time anything like this has happened to me: I have had 2 railcards spanning 4 years (Railcard 1: number and Railcard 2: number) with no issues. Please accept my apology for this.
I bought a new railcard as soon as I could (1 year, 26-30), on the first morning after the incident (13/05/2024). I have also set 2 reminders on my calendar (7 May 2025 and 11 May 2025) which are near the date of expiry of my new railcard (12 May 2025), so that I renew it and a repeat of this incident does not happen again. My new railcard number is XXXXXXXXXXXX. I will also take extra care and caution to check my railcard before each and every journey going forward.
I hope that this matter can be resolved between us without any court action. I would like to pay the full fare of each journey (London-Fratton open return, London-Gatwick, and Gatwick-London) and I would like to cover the expense incurred to you and your team as a result of this investigation.
Thank you for reading my statement and I await your response.
Kind regards, XXXXXXXX
Questions
- Do I have real risk of going to prison? I’m very anxious about this, I've seen this wording appear on a few letters on here. This is the first time anything like this has happened.
- Is the draft letter clear and concise? I'm concerned it's on the wordier and more convoluted side of things.
- Regarding the red text, is this necessary to explain or can I just say that "I found my railcard and, upon showing him, I realised it had been expired for a month (since 13/04/24) and realised I had forgotten to check and renew my railcard."
- Is this better to send as an email or letter? (I don’t know if I’ll get the option, but I’ve seen it on past letters)
- Should I contact a solicitor?
- Should I provide proof from my workplace that I have been very busy? I understand that it’s better to keep this first letter concise - and any follow up letter can involve mitigating circumstances.
- I have undiagnosed ADHD and OCD which has contributed to my disorganisation and intense focus on work. My therapist who was a specialist in ADHD from years ago was very sure I had it, but I never pursued a clinical diagnosis so I have no way to prove it, so I suppose it's not worth mentioning.
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