MG11 - how to proceed?

[cindya]

Hello,

I would like some advice on how to proceed. Firstly I want to preface that this is something I deeply regret and wish I had never begun in the first place in the hope to save some money. Instead of buying my usual season ticket to London, I have been buying separate tickets to simply get into my station and then one to get out of the station at London Bridge in attempt to save money. Today this morning I was caught on the train and handed over a weeks worth of these tickets to the inspector. I gave them all my correct details including my bank card and told them I had been doing this for a week. I actually have done this for a month. They issued me a MG11 and told me to wait until they get in contact with me.

I have read similar forums on here with similar situations but would like advice with how to proceed. I know it is most likely I will receive a letter asking me to provide my version of events, what would you recommend me write in this letter? I am really worried about this being taken to court and me getting a criminal record which I know I have completely caused this for myself but I’m so regretful and upset that I have done this. How likely is it that they will escalate this to court? Is a month worth of wrong tickets worthy of a fraud conviction? Does anyone know how much fines can be for this. Many thanks in advance

 

[yorkie]

Very briefly:

It's in the company's interest to settle out of court, so when they write to you, you could ask how much they require to settle.

If they won't settle, they would probably prosecute you under the Regulation of Railways Act, not the Fraud Act.

I'll leave it to others to provide a more detailed response.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello,

I would like some advice on how to proceed. Firstly I want to preface that this is something I deeply regret and wish I had never begun in the first place in the hope to save some money. Instead of buying my usual season ticket to London, I have been buying separate tickets to simply get into my station and then one to get out of the station at London Bridge in attempt to save money. Today this morning I was caught on the train and handed over a weeks worth of these tickets to the inspector. I gave them all my correct details including my bank card and told them I had been doing this for a week. I actually have done this for a month. They issued me a MG11 and told me to wait until they get in contact with me.

I have read similar forums on here with similar situations but would like advice with how to proceed. I know it is most likely I will receive a letter asking me to provide my version of events, what would you recommend me write in this letter? I am really worried about this being taken to court and me getting a criminal record which I know I have completely caused this for myself but I’m so regretful and upset that I have done this. How likely is it that they will escalate this to court? Is a month worth of wrong tickets worthy of a fraud conviction? Does anyone know how much fines can be for this. Many thanks in advance

Yes, wait for the letter from them (assume you gave accurate address details and you are not about to move house and you maybe checked they wrote address down correctly?) - but sounds like you want to come clean - find some other examples on here but start drafting your letter of regret, be honest about the duration (you have been doing it for a month) show remorse, ask if you can arrange to settle the matter with a full payment of what you owe and a sum to recognise their costs in looking in to this. No real point in including sob stories about it I suspect - just as you have not done so in your OP.

You can even post your draft on here for comment / advise when you have done it if that would help.

This is a common type of ticket fraud and is clearly pre-meditated by you by your own admission, so they could take it to court and you will be found guilty - but there is a reasonable chance they won't - so your objective should be to prevent it going to court, but of course you will have to expect to make a payment to them as I am sure you appreciate.

Oh, and if you are travelling daily still, get a season ASAP as it maybe helps show you have 'learned your lesson' and you may be able to work that in to your reply and state that you have now bought a season to make sure this does not happen again.

 

[cindya]

Thank you so much for your speedy response. I will definitely post a draft of my letter on here in due time. I am most worried about the court situation, and how likely this is compared to me just being able to settle it without court and paying a fine. I know it’s difficult to predict but in my head I’m thinking it’s 50/50. Such a silly mistake!

Very briefly:

It's in the company's interest to settle out of court, so when they write to you, you could ask how much they require to settle.

If they won't settle, they would probably prosecute you under the Regulation of Railways Act, not the Fraud Act.

I'll leave it to others to provide a more detailed response.

Thank you for your response