Hwar25
New Member
I received the below letter from Govia Thameslink setting out their intention to prosecute me for travelling without a valid ticket.
I was travelling from St Albans to Farringdon with a 16-25 railcard discount applied without actually having a valid railcard. The discount had been saved into my Trainline app from when I did have a railcard and I had never disapplied it. My railcard was expired and I had not thought to renew it. I have made all journeys since then with it applied despite not having a valid railcard. I realise that this is a massive oversight and that I should have made sure that my railcard was renewed.
A Revenue Protection Inspector asked to see my railcard at the barriers at Farringdon and I told him that I did not have a copy on my phone. I was travelling to London for a job interview and wanted to get through the barriers quickly as I was worried that being held up would make me late for the interview. I explained this to him and offered to pay the full ticket price, but he declined. He asked whether I did actually have a railcard and I said that I did, but after a while I told him that I thought that it may now be expired (which it obviously was, significantly). He was talking to me for around 10 minutes, and I was getting increasingly agitated because I needed to get to my job interview. He took my details and then let me through the barrier.
A prosecution would be damning to my career given the industry I work in. I know I have made a big mistake and am very keen to settle this issue.
I really do not want this to go to court. I have drafted the below response based on previous advice on the forum and would appreciate people’s thoughts on it.
‘On XXX I made a journey from St Albans to Farringdon using an eticket on Trainline with the 16-25 railcard applied. At Farringdon, a Revenue Protection Inspector asked me to produce my railcard and I was unable to do so as I did not have a copy on my phone. He asked if I actually had a railcard and I said that I did. However, at this point I realised that my railcard had probably expired. I told this to the inspector and offered to pay the full ticket price for my mistake, but he declined and took my details.
After having my details taken, I checked my railcard and it had indeed expired. The 16-25 railcard discount was saved into my Trainline app and I had never disapplied it. I realise that this was a serious oversight, and I immediately purchased a new 16-25 railcard for subsequent travel so that this does not happen again. I take full responsibility for not ensuring that my railcard was renewed before purchasing my train ticket.
I am very eager to settle this matter amicably outside of court. I am fully committed to cooperating and resolving the issue promptly and I am more than happy to pay the outstanding fare for the journey as well as the administrative costs that you have incurred in dealing with the matter.
I am very sorry for the trouble caused. I appreciate the importance of adhering to Govia Thameslink’s rules and regulations when travelling and that travelling with an invalid ticket causes significant costs to the rail industry. As set out, I have purchased a new 16-25 railcard and will ensure that any relevant railcards remain in date so to purchase valid tickets in the future.
I look forward to hearing from you and resolving the matter promptly.
Yours sincerely’
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. This is quite a stressful situation, and I would like to resolve it as quickly as possible. Thank you in advance.
I was travelling from St Albans to Farringdon with a 16-25 railcard discount applied without actually having a valid railcard. The discount had been saved into my Trainline app from when I did have a railcard and I had never disapplied it. My railcard was expired and I had not thought to renew it. I have made all journeys since then with it applied despite not having a valid railcard. I realise that this is a massive oversight and that I should have made sure that my railcard was renewed.
A Revenue Protection Inspector asked to see my railcard at the barriers at Farringdon and I told him that I did not have a copy on my phone. I was travelling to London for a job interview and wanted to get through the barriers quickly as I was worried that being held up would make me late for the interview. I explained this to him and offered to pay the full ticket price, but he declined. He asked whether I did actually have a railcard and I said that I did, but after a while I told him that I thought that it may now be expired (which it obviously was, significantly). He was talking to me for around 10 minutes, and I was getting increasingly agitated because I needed to get to my job interview. He took my details and then let me through the barrier.
A prosecution would be damning to my career given the industry I work in. I know I have made a big mistake and am very keen to settle this issue.
I really do not want this to go to court. I have drafted the below response based on previous advice on the forum and would appreciate people’s thoughts on it.
‘On XXX I made a journey from St Albans to Farringdon using an eticket on Trainline with the 16-25 railcard applied. At Farringdon, a Revenue Protection Inspector asked me to produce my railcard and I was unable to do so as I did not have a copy on my phone. He asked if I actually had a railcard and I said that I did. However, at this point I realised that my railcard had probably expired. I told this to the inspector and offered to pay the full ticket price for my mistake, but he declined and took my details.
After having my details taken, I checked my railcard and it had indeed expired. The 16-25 railcard discount was saved into my Trainline app and I had never disapplied it. I realise that this was a serious oversight, and I immediately purchased a new 16-25 railcard for subsequent travel so that this does not happen again. I take full responsibility for not ensuring that my railcard was renewed before purchasing my train ticket.
I am very eager to settle this matter amicably outside of court. I am fully committed to cooperating and resolving the issue promptly and I am more than happy to pay the outstanding fare for the journey as well as the administrative costs that you have incurred in dealing with the matter.
I am very sorry for the trouble caused. I appreciate the importance of adhering to Govia Thameslink’s rules and regulations when travelling and that travelling with an invalid ticket causes significant costs to the rail industry. As set out, I have purchased a new 16-25 railcard and will ensure that any relevant railcards remain in date so to purchase valid tickets in the future.
I look forward to hearing from you and resolving the matter promptly.
Yours sincerely’
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. This is quite a stressful situation, and I would like to resolve it as quickly as possible. Thank you in advance.
