Multiple Short Faring - Second Incident (Years Apart)

[trimpaths]

I was questioned by a train conductor in London Bridge on XXX date coming from Stone Crossing Station to Farringdon and I gave my details with regards to the incident on Southeastern and was reported for alleged fare evasion. The letter I recieved from Southeastern the Prosecution Manager invited me to respond by making any comments about the incident before the matter is proceeded further for a potential authorised prosecution.

The incident that occurred on that day was that I did not purchase any ticket for his journey Stone Crossing Station to Farringdon Station when stopped at London Bridge. After being questioned by the train conductors/security, I was asked to show my trainline app history and eventually told them that I have been short faring tickets and was only paying for tickets part way of the journey to avoid paying the full ticket and has been doing so for 2 months with a total of but not limited to x16 short fare tickets.

This is the second incident I have been caught short faring - the first was a couple of years ago and I paid an Out of Court payment. I know there's no excuse but because I moved further out of London (on top of moving costs/increase rent etc) I was short faring to make ends meet and because of this dumb decision, I may be prosecuted and I regret it immensely.

It was stupid, and I am very sorry for what has happened. I am now committed to never do this again and gave been paying full journey tickets since the incident.

I undoubtedly want to settle this out of court and I am willing to offer to pay any costs for each fare/administrative cost in dealing with this matter.

Below is a copy of the letter I sent to SouthEastern.

Do you guys have any advice?



"Dear Prosecution Manager,

I am writing in response to your letter regarding the alleged fare evasion incident on XXX date where I was questioned at London Bridge Station for short faring my journey from Stone Crossing to Farringdon Station. I would first like to sincerely apologise for my actions and any inconvenience caused. I deeply regret my behaviour and understand the seriousness of the situation.

Upon reflection, I have realised the gravity of failing to pay the correct fare and fully appreciate that my actions were wrong. I will ensure that I purchase full, valid tickets for each of my journeys and I have learned a valuable lesson and am fully committed to complying with Southeastern’s fare rules moving forward.

I understand that I have been reported for not paying the full fare for multiple journeys, and I take full responsibility for this lapse in judgement. I would like to offer to settle the outstanding fares and cover any reasonable administrative costs that Southeastern has incurred in handling this matter.

I respectfully ask for your consideration in resolving this matter without the need for court proceedings. I would be grateful for the opportunity to settle this out of court and ensure that such a mistake is never repeated.

Thank you for your understanding and for giving me the opportunity to address this.

Yours sincerely,
XXX"

I have attached a copy of the letter to the link below:

https://imgur.com/a/KDjtStL

I will be fully open to hear any advice this helpful community has for my stupid decision to short fare multiple journeys.

And I will keep everyone updated to the investigation with the final results to help those in a similar position.

Thanks in advance - I'm grateful for any help!

 

[John R]

…and am fully committed to complying with Southeastern’s fare rules moving forward

Is typical AI gobbledegook, I’m afraid.

I’ll let others comment on the chances of southeastern letting you avoid prosecution a second time.

 

[Grvrdvicdr]

I’ll be very surprised if you don’t get prosecuted. As they will easily be able to see that you’ve been stopped for this before and evidently not learned your lesson…

 

[FatContr0ller]

The railway will instantly think that they gave you a chance to rectify your behaviour by letting you settle the last time, and now you've done the same thing again.

You're going to need lottery winning luck for them not prosecute this time.

 

[dosxuk]

As others have said, the question Southeaster will be asking is "if an out-of-court settlement wasn't sufficient to stop them doing this again in the recent past, what good will it do this time?" - your letter will do nothing to answer that question.

If it has taken a second time of being caught for you to "understand the gravity of failing to pay the correct fare" - and that you fully admit to have done this on multiple other occasions between being caught the first and second time, then clearly you agree the first out-of-court settlement did nothing to dissuade you from continuing this behaviour.

If you have not already sent your reply, I would throw it away and start again from an entirely different, far more genuinely apologetic, angle. If you have already sent it, then you're in the realms of hoping they return asking for more information rather than just sending a summons.

 

[Titfield]

This may well be a case where engaging the services of a solicitor will be beneficial.

I sometimes get a vague impression that where someone has evaded fares on a number of occasions, a TOC is more inclined to offer a settlement where a solicitor is involved partly because it demonstrates the person is taking the matter very seriously indeed, partly because of the costs incurred in engaging a solicitor and partly because the solicitor will inevitably warn the person as to the consequences of such actions (almost a form of "in loco parentis").

 

[trimpaths]

As others have said, the question Southeaster will be asking is "if an out-of-court settlement wasn't sufficient to stop them doing this again in the recent past, what good will it do this time?" - your letter will do nothing to answer that question.

If it has taken a second time of being caught for you to "understand the gravity of failing to pay the correct fare" - and that you fully admit to have done this on multiple other occasions between being caught the first and second time, then clearly you agree the first out-of-court settlement did nothing to dissuade you from continuing this behaviour.

If you have not already sent your reply, I would throw it away and start again from an entirely different, far more genuinely apologetic, angle. If you have already sent it, then you're in the realms of hoping they return asking for more information rather than just sending a summons.

Very good point, thank you.

Can I ask how you would write the letter for this incident from a more genuinely apologetic angle?

By being more genuinely apologetic which I want to express greatly have added more to this case without sounding like a victim or expressing a sob story?

You're absolutely right, I fear that since this isn't my first incident, I am in no doubt accountable for my actions. It is not a mistake but I made the decision to short fare and I feel devasted to have done it.

"if an out-of-court settlement wasn't sufficient to stop them doing this again in the recent past, what good will it do this time?" - your letter will do nothing to answer that question.

Do you mind expanding more on this point because it's a strong point - what can I do to prove to them that I will never do anything like this again?

 

[John R]

Maybe use a solicitor to negotiate on your behalf?

 

[trimpaths]

This may well be a case where engaging the services of a solicitor will be beneficial.

I sometimes get a vague impression that where someone has evaded fares on a number of occasions, a TOC is more inclined to offer a settlement where a solicitor is involved partly because it demonstrates the person is taking the matter very seriously indeed, partly because of the costs incurred in engaging a solicitor and partly because the solicitor will inevitably warn the person as to the consequences of such actions (almost a form of "in loco parentis").

Thanks for your advice @Titfield

This is very helpful and I am exploring my options for engaging with a solicitor pending the response I recieve.

 

[SuspectUsual]

doing so for 2 months with a total of but not limited to x16 short fare tickets.

So that’s the total but not the total? I think you need a bit more clarity

 

[dosxuk]

Do you mind expanding more on this point because it's a strong point - what can I do to prove to them that I will never do anything like this again?

You need to talk about what you are doing to make sure you never do this again. How being caught a second time is making you re-evaluate your life choices. Are you genuinely remorseful for doing this, or is it just about getting caught? And go into some detail - don't make it an epic, and don't portray yourself as a victim or poor-lost-soul - but you will need to provide a decent level of explanation of how you ended up choosing to make the same "dumb decision".

You will need to throw yourself absolutely at their mercy to avoid a court case. That is not going to come from sending a nice email with a few "I've learnt my lesson" platitudes thrown in. Put yourself in their position - what would it take to convince you that someone doing the same thing doesn't need to be taken to court? You're going to have to offer some clear explanation of what made you decide to go back to short-faring, and how those circumstances won't ever come up again. When you finish writing - read it back and ask yourself "would I let this person off?".

There is no simple answer to your problem - no "do this one thing and you'll be let off" solution.

 

[ikcdab]

My usual advice is to write as if you were speaking to the person in the same room. Just use everyday language.
I think it will be useful to refer the the previous occasions.
"I was caught short faring a year ago and I am very sorry that I did not learn my lesson then and that it has happened again. I am truly sorry about this and with the possibility of prosecution I have really learned the lesson this time."

 

[AlterEgo]

"if an out-of-court settlement wasn't sufficient to stop them doing this again in the recent past, what good will it do this time?" - your letter will do nothing to answer that question.

Well quite, it does leave you with almost nothing left to write because you have shown yourself to be habitually and repeatedly dishonest. in these circumstances I'd probably be looking for a solicitor and not saying anything myself to the train company.

 

[Haywain]

what can I do to prove to them that I will never do anything like this again?

You can't prove that, so the question is what you can say that might make them believe that you won't and whether they should believe you.

 

[trimpaths]

You need to talk about what you are doing to make sure you never do this again. How being caught a second time is making you re-evaluate your life choices. Are you genuinely remorseful for doing this, or is it just about getting caught? And go into some detail - don't make it an epic, and don't portray yourself as a victim or poor-lost-soul - but you will need to provide a decent level of explanation of how you ended up choosing to make the same "dumb decision".

You will need to throw yourself absolutely at their mercy to avoid a court case. That is not going to come from sending a nice email with a few "I've learnt my lesson" platitudes thrown in. Put yourself in their position - what would it take to convince you that someone doing the same thing doesn't need to be taken to court? You're going to have to offer some clear explanation of what made you decide to go back to short-faring, and how those circumstances won't ever come up again. When you finish writing - read it back and ask yourself "would I let this person off?".

There is no simple answer to your problem - no "do this one thing and you'll be let off" solution.

Hi @dosxuk,

Thanks again for your reply.

This is great and such solid advice - I am genuinely sorry for making the wrong choices again and I should(need) to emphasise this in my letter to Southeastern.

I went ahead and re-wrote my letter following your advice which can be found below. I know a lot of people have been suggesting to get a solicitor and I know it may come down to that.. I just want to do everything I can do show how truly sorry I am for making the same mistake because of life circumstances and express it in the best and genuine way that it will never happen again.

I also want to make sure those who are in the same position will learn from my experience because it's not worth getting yourselves into this situation when it is completely unnecessary and there are more legitimate ways of finding solutions to save money and it's definitely not short faring.

Here is the amended letter:

Dear Southeastern Prosecution Manager,

I am writing to you in a continued response to the letter I recieved with regards to the alleged fare evasion on Southeastern Railway in London Bridge on XXX date where I was questioned about short faring multiple journeys and I write with a heavy heart and deep sense of regret for my actions.

I have made a stupid decision of short faring and it has forced me to make deep reflections of my life choices. I have taken proactive steps never to repeat the stupid actions I have made and ensured that I have been paying full, valid tickets for all my journeys.

I am constantly reflecting on my misbehaviour to fully understand the underlying issues that led me to make such poor decisions, of which, there are no excuses but due to debt and financial issues, has caused considerable stress and lapse of judgement to follow the wrong path which I now fully understand never to repeat.

I know the weight of the impact of my actions not only on myself but also on those around me, especially the negative impact it has had for Southeastern Railway. I understand that trust is hard to rebuild, and I am willing to put in the effort to demonstrate that I have changed. I am committed to making amends and proving that I am capable of making better choices.

Again, I would like to offer to settle the outstanding fares and cover any administrative costs that Southeastern has incurred in handling this case.

Would it be possible if we can find a way to resolve this matter out of court and I fully regret my actions and will never repeat it again.

Thank you for your time to read this and for giving me the opportunity to respond to your letter.

Kindest regards,
Xxx

My usual advice is to write as if you were speaking to the person in the same room. Just use everyday language.
I think it will be useful to refer the the previous occasions.
"I was caught short faring a year ago and I am very sorry that I did not learn my lesson then and that it has happened again. I am truly sorry about this and with the possibility of prosecution I have really learned the lesson this time."

Thanks for the advice @ikcdab

 

[ikcdab]

I'll see what others say, but for me this does not work. What does this mean... " I am willing to put in the effort to demonstrate that I have changed. I am committed to making amends and proving that I am capable of making better choices."

What are you going to do? All they want you to do is to commit to paying the correct fare on the train. This is not some kind of long term partnership. It sounds like the thing you would say if you had cheated on a friend.

My suggestion:

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you in response to the letter I received with regards to the alleged fare evasion on Southeastern Railway in London Bridge on XXX date. I was questioned about short faring multiple journeys and I write with a deep sense of regret for my actions.

I made the stupid decision of short faring and the potential for prosecution has made me consider the results of my actions. There are no excuses, but debt and financial issues caused considerable stress and allowed the lapse of judgement. I have since never repeated the stupid actions I have made and ensure that I have been paying full, valid tickets for all my journeys.

I have reflected on my behaviour and I now fully understand the underlying issues that led me to make such poor decisions. I know the weight of the impact of my actions not only on myself but also on those around me, especially the negative impact it has had for Southeastern Railway. I understand that trust is hard to rebuild and I am now fully committed to always buying the correct tickets in future.

I would like to offer to settle the outstanding fares and cover any administrative costs that Southeastern has incurred in handling this case.

Please can we find a way to resolve this matter out of court and I fully regret my actions and will never repeat it again.

Thank you for your time to read this and for giving me the opportunity to respond to your letter.

Kindest regards,