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Northern Fare Evasion Prosecution

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abbie01

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Hi, I was wondering if I could please have some advice.

On [.. ]I got on the train at [...]to go to [..]. No conductor came down the train and due to me being in a rush I didn’t have time to purchase a ticket at the station. When I arrived at [...] after some persuasion from my friend (over message) who said she had done it before I purchased a ticket from the ticket office from [...] instead of from [...] - the station where I had actually got on.

After buying the ticket I was met by a man wearing a fluorescent jacket who asked to see my ticket I showed him and he said he didn’t believe I had got on at that station as they had been carrying out an exercise today giving people who got on at that station slips of yellow paper. I then admitted in panic I got on at [...] as I thought I would get in less trouble for this than saying [...]as [...] is further away from [...] than [...] He then took my details and being honest when asked why I had bought the wrong ticket I said it was to ‘save money’. Something I assume will be used against me but I wanted to be honest.

He said they would then contact me back and I would have a chance to have my say. I have looked online and am now worried I face prosecution, I’m only 18 I don’t want a criminal record. I have never ever done this before I use the trains weekly to get to my part time job and always always buy the correct ticket, could I use this as evidence to help me. I have made one stupid mistake and I don’t want it to stay with me forever.

Would really appreciate any advice
 
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gray1404

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If this is the first time you have been in trouble with Northern, then it is highly likely they will write to you saying they are considering taking legal action against you and asking for your side of the story or anything you wish to offer in mitigation. At this point you will be able to respond to them admitting your mistake and error of judgement and ask if they would be willing to settle out of court. From cases we have seen on this forum, Northern are often willing to settle for around £80 to £100 plus the fare for the journey if it is a person's first time offence. Of course, it is totally up to Northern if they wish to make this out of court settlement to you but, for now, you cannot do anything until you hear something in the post. Hopefully they will write as described above.

A train company has 6 months to lay information before a court and it can take them a while to get in touch with you. Be sure to keep an eye on any mail arriving at the address you gave for the next 6 months so you don't miss anything sent to you.
 

abbie01

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If this is the first time you have been in trouble with Northern, then it is highly likely they will write to you saying they are considering taking legal action against you and asking for your side of the story or anything you wish to offer in mitigation. At this point you will be able to respond to them admitting your mistake and error of judgement and ask if they would be willing to settle out of court. From cases we have seen on this forum, Northern are often willing to settle for around £80 to £100 plus the fare for the journey if it is a person's first time offence. Of course, it is totally up to Northern if they wish to make this out of court settlement to you but, for now, you cannot do anything until you hear something in the post. Hopefully they will write as described above.

A train company has 6 months to lay information before a court and it can take them a while to get in touch with you. Be sure to keep an eye on any mail arriving at the address you gave for the next 6 months so you don't miss anything sent to you.
As my information was collected by a revenue protection officer, will this mean I am more likely to receive more serious punishment
 

gray1404

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I don't like it makes much difference who the information is collected by if one is to be reported for an offence, which is what it sounds like has happened here. All you can do now is wait for a letter to arrive and, fingers crossed, you will be given the option to give your side of events and you will be offered an out of court settlement.
 

johntea

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I would get ready to hold your hands up and apologise to Northern for lying (twice) about your origin station as that won't help your case much, I would also expect a settlement which hopefully you and your friend will learn from.
 

RunawayTrain

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I would get ready to hold your hands up and apologise to Northern for lying (twice) about your origin station as that won't help your case much, I would also expect a settlement which hopefully you and your friend will learn from.

It is unclear from the OP's account whether Northern know about the 2nd ('honest') lie, in that the OP hasn't actually said they informed Northern of the real origin station.
 

abbie01

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It is unclear from the OP's account whether Northern know about the 2nd ('honest') lie, in that the OP hasn't actually said they informed Northern of the real origin station.
No I did not inform them of the real origin station, should I mention this in my response when they contact me
 

abbie01

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Trust me the lesson has been well and truly learnt
I would get ready to hold your hands up and apologise to Northern for lying (twice) about your origin station as that won't help your case much, I would also expect a settlement which hopefully you and your friend will learn from.
 

abbie01

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Are they going to be likely to prosecute me or do you think they would accept an offer of an out of court settlement alongside a letter of sincere apology
 

ForTheLoveOf

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Are they going to be likely to prosecute me or do you think they would accept an offer of an out of court settlement alongside a letter of sincere apology
There's no way of guessing. Northern do often agree to settlements but who is to know what they will do in this case!
 

abbie01

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Does anybody have any advice of what to include or how to word my response letter to them once they contact me
 

Haywain

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Does anybody have any advice of what to include or how to word my response letter to them once they contact me
The following has been copied from another thread but does outline really well what you need to be saying, albeit adjusted for your own case.
I'd advise the following:
  • Keep it relatively short and to the point. Remember that if you are prosecuted, they could use this letter as evidence in court.
  • Apologise, explain, but don't excuse
  • Offer to settle

In terms of structure:
  1. State in a few sentences what happened - keep this bit factual and focus on the incident(s) mentioned in the letter
  2. Apologise - you've already in post 7 of this thread said that the decision was stupid and you didn't think it through or consider that you were travelling at a reduced fare. If that's the honest explanation, I'd phrase it in those terms.
  3. State that you now realise the seriousness of what you did; that you'll take more care in making such decisions in future. It might be worth at this point reaffirming that you were not intending to avoid any fares
  4. State that you'd like to settle the matter out of court if possible, and offer to pay the fare owed + any costs that have been incurred in the investigation
Hopefully that's an outline of key points without really feeding you the lines!
 

30907

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Wait till the letter comes, which may be some time.
Keep your reply short, with no sob-story (I'm not suggesting you'd do this...).
Admit that you told a lie, and you realise that was wrong.
You realise that you should have bought before travelling and that the railway loses a lot of money through fare evasion.
You are very sorry and undertake not to evade the correct fare again.
It is your first offence and wonder if Northern would be willing to settle out of court to cover the fare and their expenses.

I am honestly not sure about mentioning Pannal if the letter doesn't. You don't need to incriminate yourself but (1) your address may be a giveaway and (2) the reason you gave about saving money doesn't hold water when the difference in single fares is 20p!

Meanwhile don't panic. The very worst that can happen is a fine and a conviction that will be spent after 12 months.

Haywain has beaten me to it!
 

gray1404

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I would agree too that the OP does not need to incriminate themselves further by admitting to something Northern does not already know about. The current situation is that you are waiting for them to write to you in relation to the incident. Northern do tend to do this. You can do nothing until that letter arrives. There is a chance they may, in their first letter, actually invite you to settle the matter. They may also write to ask for your account of events. At that point you can come back to this post and receive assistance in drafting a letter.
 

abbie01

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They asked me in the letter for my side of the story which I have tried to keep brief while apologising for my actions
 

cuccir

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Yes, your letter is suitable - to the point and apologetic.
 

wildcard

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My advice ( on your letter ) is not to repeat the lie you got on at Horsforth but no need to say it was Pannal either. So something along the lines of "When in actual fact I boarded a train from a station further way "
 

abbie01

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My advice ( on your letter ) is not to repeat the lie you got on at Horsforth but no need to say it was Pannal either. So something along the lines of "When in actual fact I boarded a train from a station further way "
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Darandio

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My advice ( on your letter ) is not to repeat the lie you got on at Horsforth but no need to say it was Pannal either. So something along the lines of "When in actual fact I boarded a train from a station further way "

The intention here is for @abbie01 to settle this matter. Being deliberately evasive and cryptic probably isn't going to help.
 

najaB

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I am unsure wether admitting I actually got on at Pannal will only worsen my chances of an out of court settlement, do you think it would be best to come all clean though?
If there's the slightest chance that they could find out then it's better to be honest now than to try and explain away another lie. Especially one in writing, rather than one made in the heat of the moment.
 

Western Sunset

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Not wishing to sound too negative, but if I were a TOC I would be monitoring sites such as this to see if any people were asking advice about particular ticketing infringements. The OP has given out quite a lot of specific information that Northern might piece together.
 
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