Misuse of brothers child oyster- Letter example

[shepardspies]

Hello- Would appreciate some advice Just putting the key information

From: Shenfield Station
To: Liverpool Street station
What happened: I tapped my little brothers oyster (Had been using for about 2 weeks). Stopped by TFL. Admitted my mistake, told to wait for a letter, got a letter asking if I am guilty or not.
Ideal outcome: I dont mind a fine, just don't wish to appear in court.

Below is my reply and some advice I aim to supply:
Evidence:
- My disability diagnosis
- My own student oyster
- Proof of monthly travel cards to show I will not do so again
- Evidence of being a young carer
- Evidence of a travel bursary I got from my Student Union after sharing my home situation

The Letter:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I would like to apologies if my writing style is in-cohesive, I am disabled and neurodivergent person, thus struggle with this.

Firstly I would like to give my most sincere apology for the incident that took place on Friday 15th July at 1:00pm. I planned to board the X train at X Station, X, to travel to X, X0pm. Upon arriving at X station, I tapped my little brothers oyster card and was stopped by TFL Staff. I admitted my actions to the workers and asked if there was a way to pay for my fare. I was told to wait for a letter from yourselves. I apologized to the workers for making such a decision, and gave all the required details that were asked for.

I am so ashamed and embarrassed about this, as I have never broken the law in my life, and I now fully understand the seriousness and severity of my actions. I apologise profusely for my actions in this case. I pride myself on my integrity and honesty and I feel shameful for my moment of very poor judgement. I am the sole income earner for my single parent family as well as the sole full time young carer for my disabled and wheelchair bound brother. My family are reliant on universal credit and my earning to support my brother’s health expenses. I am a disabled (neurodivergent) student myself who claims bursary and disabled student allowance to support myself. If this matter were to escalate further into court, it would lead me to losing my job as I am required to have a clean record, thus a criminal conviction would be devastating.

Moving forward from this incident I have applied for the University of Arts Hardship Fund to help financially support my needs, including travel, and have been accepted. I have now purchased monthly travelcards on top of my student oyster to ensure this incident will not occur again (See Attached).

I wish to apologise to the member of staff concerned and to TFL, I am just so sorry for my actions and the inconvenience caused to all involved. I am happy to make immediate payment of the unpaid fare and all the reasonable costs that my actions have caused and avoid a criminal record thereby allowing me to protect my good name. I would be happy to do this promptly. I have never been in trouble with the law in the past and I am very sorry that my error of judgment has lead to this situation now.

I sincerely hope that you will accept my offer. I am now fully aware of the rules relating to the TFL passes and tickets and can assure you that I will always ensure to hold a valid oyster card of my own on any future journeys (See attached).I would appreciate your consideration and I sincerely hope that you can show some leniency in this matter with an out of court settlement.

Thank you very much for your time


Three main questions
1. Reassurance- What I did is extremely wrong and I understand - I will never do this again!
2. Unsure if there is anything I should change from the letter
3. Do I claim this to be a 'oh just chose the wrong oyster as I carry both' vibe or a 'I chose to use that oyster it was wrong'
- bare in mind I have been using it for 2 weeks

@Hadders You seem very experienced and I would really appreciate any advice

 

[L401CJF]

Hi,
Experts will be along in due course, but regarding your last point - don't lie. I wouldn't admit to using it for 2 weeks, just fail to mention it - but dont say "used the wrong card by accident". Best to assume they would be able to use cctv for its previous use or similar. If you lie saying you used it once by mistake then they figure out you've used it for 2 weeks it won't do any favours!

 

[30907]

I fear that much of what you have written will be wasted on TfL (though it might gain sympathy from a magistrate, if it gets that far, which one hopes it won't)

Your disability is irrelevant, unless (for example) it prevents your understanding why your action was wrong (not just illegal). Likewise your role as carer, except that it may explain why you carry someone else's Oyster card.

OTOH saying that you now have an Oyster travelcard is a good idea, as it shows changed behaviour - much more use than repeated apologies.

You need to keep the letter short (less than a side of A4) and follow Hadders' general advice about what they are looking for.

There is no need to attach evidence, though you could say that you are happy to supply it if requested.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but loads of people cheat the fares system and TfL hear plenty of sob stories.

 

[Hadders]

Try and get the letter down to one side of A4. Remember that the person reading at TfL reads hundreds of these letters. The main points you need to get across are:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

It's ok to mention your disability and the impact it might have on others but I wuldn't labour either of these points. The main thing you want to get across in your reply is that you made an error of judgement, you are sorry for what has happened and you want to take responsibility and put things right.

Regardsing you third point don't say you chose the wrong Oyster card, that really isn't believable - you knew exactly what you were doing. I would not mention previous occasions in your reply unless the letter asks you about previous occasions, or suggests they have evidence that you have used the card on previous occasions.

 

[AlterEgo]

I would be very careful about mentioning your disability in mitigation. What do you hope it’ll achieve? Neurodivergent people aren’t predisposed to dishonesty and you should be careful about how you frame that.

Please don’t ask us to advise you to lie. This is deeply unwise, you must not tell even more lies on top of your dishonest behaviour. You may however choose to withhold parts of your reply to TfL as you’ve a right not to incriminate yourself. Don’t mention the length of misuse. That’s for them to detect. Don’t do their job for them!

 

[Titfield]

I would be very careful about mentioning your disability in mitigation. What do you hope it’ll achieve? Neurodivergent people aren’t predisposed to dishonesty and you should be careful about how you frame that.

Please don’t ask us to advise you to lie. This is deeply unwise, you must not tell even more lies on top of your dishonest behaviour. You may however choose to withhold parts of your reply to TfL as you’ve a right not to incriminate yourself. Don’t mention the length of misuse. That’s for them to detect. Don’t do their job for them!

I agree with @AlterEgo re mentioning the disability.

Your reply as drafted is extremely thorough and comprehensive however, and I apologise if this causes some upset, it seems somewhat difficult to reconcile the statement you have made (its cogency outlining your circumstances and the actions you have taken subsequent to being caught) and the behaviour you engaged in.

I am happy to make immediate payment of the unpaid fare and all the reasonable costs that my actions have caused and avoid a criminal record thereby allowing me to protect my good name. I would be happy to do this promptly.

I can understand why you have put this but it does seem somewhat at odds with the circumstances.

I think an abbreviated letter with less detail may be better. I am just concerned that the person reading this (and having to make a decision on the outcome) may be less sympathetic the more they read.

 

[shepardspies]

Thank you all for the feedback - I have redrafted and typed up the below. Thanks again

Dear Sir or Madam,

Firstly I would like to give my most sincere apology for the incident that took place on XX 15th July at XXX. I planned to board the XX Rail train at XX Station, X:00, to travel to XX, XX0pm. Upon arriving at XX station, I tapped my little brothers oyster card and was stopped by TFL Staff. I admitted my actions to the workers and asked if there was a way to pay for my fare. I was told to wait for a letter from yourselves. I apologised to the workers for making such a decisions, and gave all the required details that were asked for.

I am so ashamed and embarrassed about this, as I have never broken the law in my life, and I now fully understand the seriousness and severity of my actions. I apologise profusely for my actions in this case. I pride myself on my integrity and honesty and I feel shameful for my moment of very poor judgement. Moving forward from this incident I have received for my university Hardship Fund to help financially support my travel. I have now purchased monthly travelcards on top of my student oyster and can assure you that I will always ensure to hold a valid oyster card of my own on any future journeys.

I carried the oyster as I am the full-time carer for my disabled and wheelchair bound younger brothers. I am the sole income earner for my single parent family, and if this matter were to escalate further into court, it would lead me to losing my job as I am required to have a clean record, thus a criminal conviction would be devastating. Being disabled myself, it would be hard to find new employment.

I wish to apologise to the member of staff concerned and to TFL, I am just so sorry for my actions and the inconvenience caused to all involved. I am keen to settle the matter without the need for court action and offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter. I sincerely hope that you will accept my offer and would be happy to supply evidence if requested.

Thank you very much for your time,

XXX

 

[30907]

Much better, but here are some amendments and deletions for you to consider. There is no need to "over-egg the pudding" with apologies.

I note that you are admitting that you deliberately used your brother's Oyster - do you wish to put that in writing?

Firstly I would like to give my most sincere apology for the incident that took place on XX 15th July at XXX. I planned to board the XX Rail train at XX Station, X:00, to travel to XX, XX0pm. Upon arriving at XX station, I tapped my little brothers oyster card and was stopped by TFL Staff. (I carried the oyster as I am the full-time carer for my disabled and wheelchair bound younger brothers.)

How many disabled brothers?! I've moved the sentence, don't put it in twice though.)

I admitted my actions to the workers and asked if there was a way to pay for my fare. I was told to wait for a letter from yourselves. I apologised to the workers for making such a decisions, and gave all the required details that were asked for.

I am so ashamed and embarrassed about this, as I have never previously broken the law in my life, and I now fully understand the seriousness and severity of my actions. I apologise profusely for my actions in this case. I pride myself on my integrity and honesty and I feel shameful for my moment of very poor judgement. Moving forward from this incident I have received for my university Hardship Fund to help financially support my travel. I have now purchased monthly travelcards on top of my student oyster and can assure you that I will always ensure to hold a valid oyster card of my own on any future journeys.

(I carried the oyster as I am the full-time carer for my disabled and wheelchair bound younger brothers.) I am the sole income earner for my single parent family, and if this matter were to escalate further into court, it would lead me to losing my job as I am required to have a clean record, thus a criminal conviction would be devastating. Being disabled myself, it would be hard to find new employment.

I wish to apologise to the member of staff concerned and to TFL, I am just so sorry for my actions and the inconvenience caused to all involved. I am keen to settle the matter without the need for court action and offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter. I sincerely hope that you will accept my offer and would be happy to supply evidence if requested.