Notice of Intention to Prosecute.

[Pari1048]

Hi,
I received a Notice of Intention to Prosecute by GTR for failure to provide a valid ticket upon inspection at Hatfield for inspection and verification of validity when asked to do so by an authorised person on 10 Feb 2025. “This letter is to inform you of your intention to take this case to Magistrates court. However the last page og this letter we give you the opportunity to tell us what happened from your point of view”
I am a student who travels between Stevenage and London every single day. I have records to prove a ticket being bought almost every single day.
However I have been stopped twice before, when going from Stevenage to Kings Cross because both the platforms have trains that go to London King’s Cross, I accidentally got on the wrong one. In a year of travelling this has only happened twice by genuine error, and I had tickets both times going from Stevenage to London, just invalid ones by mistake.
Now context for having no ticket. I always have a ticket going from London to Stevenage. Both stations have ticket barriers. I am aware of this and would not try to board the train without a ticket as I have made this trip a hundred times. . This particular week, I was using my iPad and not my phone due to losing my phone in morroco, and having no sim thus no data. I rushed to get on a train going to Stevenage from Finsbury park. Looking at Trainline i saw a ticket on there for the same day not realising it was from Stevenage to London not vice versa. Out of stress I must have forgotten to buy a ticket before hand at the library when connected to wifi, from London to Stevenage which has never happened before as I always buy tickets before boarding. I was stopped, had no valid ticket, and was told i would be given a letter.
Out of panic i immediately buy a ticket on the after the inspector leaves so I can tap out by connecting to the WiFi by standing near the first class cabin but this was bcs i had already been stopped by an inspector and needed to actually have a ticket to tap out at Stevenage as I always am required to do so.
I am rooting for an out of court settlement. How should I go about this?
It says I should reply to the address in writing as any submissions of migitation via the link will be disregarded. Should I be going to post this in person to make sure it delivers on time? I am a pharmacy student and can’t afford going to court. Will I be kicked out of uni for this?
I have a valid railcard 16-25 for the past two years. I am so careful about tickets that when I miss my train by a few mins I purchase an entirely new ticket, several times.
I am really scared. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[John R]

Just to pick up on your final point, it sounds as though you are unnecessarily booking new tickets when you don’t need to. Unless you have an Advance ticket, most tickets are not limited to a particular service, even if it looks like that when you book it online. In future if you are unsure then ask a member of staff before boarding.

 

[Pari1048]

Just to pick up on your final point, it sounds as though you are unnecessarily booking new tickets when you don’t need to. Unless you have an Advance ticket, most tickets are not limited to a particular service, even if it looks like that when you book it online. In future if you are unsure then ask a member of staff before boarding.

Thank you so much, I had no clue about this! Online it seems like you can only board the train at the exact time so that confused me a lot. I have bought double the amount of tickets for so many journeys I wish I knew this earlier

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,
I received a Notice of Intention to Prosecute by GTR for failure to provide a valid ticket upon inspection at Hatfield for inspection and verification of validity when asked to do so by an authorised person on 10 Feb 2025. “This letter is to inform you of your intention to take this case to Magistrates court. However the last page og this letter we give you the opportunity to tell us what happened from your point of view”
I am a student who travels between Stevenage and London every single day. I have records to prove a ticket being bought almost every single day.
However I have been stopped twice before, when going from Stevenage to Kings Cross because both the platforms have trains that go to London King’s Cross, I accidentally got on the wrong one. In a year of travelling this has only happened twice by genuine error, and I had tickets both times going from Stevenage to London, just invalid ones by mistake.
Now context for having no ticket. I always have a ticket going from London to Stevenage. Both stations have ticket barriers. I am aware of this and would not try to board the train without a ticket as I have made this trip a hundred times. . This particular week, I was using my iPad and not my phone due to losing my phone in morroco, and having no sim thus no data. I rushed to get on a train going to Stevenage from Finsbury park. Looking at Trainline i saw a ticket on there for the same day not realising it was from Stevenage to London not vice versa. Out of stress I must have forgotten to buy a ticket before hand at the library when connected to wifi, from London to Stevenage which has never happened before as I always buy tickets before boarding. I was stopped, had no valid ticket, and was told i would be given a letter.
Out of panic i immediately buy a ticket on the after the inspector leaves so I can tap out by connecting to the WiFi by standing near the first class cabin but this was bcs i had already been stopped by an inspector and needed to actually have a ticket to tap out at Stevenage as I always am required to do so.
I am rooting for an out of court settlement. How should I go about this?
It says I should reply to the address in writing as any submissions of migitation via the link will be disregarded. Should I be going to post this in person to make sure it delivers on time? I am a pharmacy student and can’t afford going to court. Will I be kicked out of uni for this?
I have a valid railcard 16-25 for the past two years. I am so careful about tickets that when I miss my train by a few mins I purchase an entirely new ticket, several times.
I am really scared. Any advice would be appreciated.

More generally don’t panic about this. There is guidance here on how to handle this situation and how to reply. Experts here will help you. This will avoid the matter going to court if you follow the advice almost certainly.

And I’m sure you won’t get kicked off your university course.

That’s not to say it’s not serious but it should be possible to resolve.

 

[Pari1048]

Notice of Intention to Prosecute

DRAFT:

Dear Fare Evasion Manager,
I am writing in response to the letter I received on xxxx, regarding notice of intention to prosecute, incident dated xxxx, reference xxxx.

I would first like to offer my sincere apologies. Please be assured that this was a mistake I will not repeat. I appreciate being given a chance to explain my side of things and my own misunderstanding and confusion for what occurred that day.
I travelled both from Stevanage to London in the morning, and from London to Stevenage later in the day. As I live in Stevenage, and am a university student that travels to my University (situated in London) a lot, this is a route that I have taken countless times with valid tickets. I am well aware that both stations have ticket barriers, and would not under any circumstance try to board the train, to my knowledge, without a ticket. The week commencing the xx I was using my iPad instead of my phone as my primary tech as I had just lost my phone and therefore sim abroad in Morocco. I had no sim or data to travel with . On my way home, I rushed to get on the train going to Stevenage from Finsbury Park. Looking at Trainline, I saw a ticket on there for the same day (xxxx), not realising it was from Stevenage to London and not vice versa. As I was under a lot of stress from academics and from losing my phone in the previous week, I foolishly forgot to buy a ticket beforehand from London to Stevange, when I had WiFi at my University library.
I was then stopped whilst in the train, and when not being able to provide a valid ticket I gave my details and was told that I would be given a letter regarding this.
This was all caused by a genuine mistake on my behalf, and I apologise profusely for my confusion, I have since learnt from my mistake and ensure that every time I do travel I have a valid ticket on me for the correct route so that this does not occur again.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to be able to resolve this matter without the need for court action. I'm prepared to pay the appropriate fare amount, plus any additional administrative cost you feel is important. I deeply regret that my confusion resulted in this, and I would love to be able to settle this instead, especially as it was a genuine mistake.

Thank you so much, once again, for allowing me to say my point of view. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Xxxx

 

[Pari1048]

More generally don’t panic about this. There is guidance here on how to handle this situation and how to reply. Experts here will help you. This will avoid the matter going to court if you follow the advice almost certainly.

And I’m sure you won’t get kicked off your university course.

That’s not to say it’s not serious but it should be possible to resolve.

Thank you for the reassurance- it means a lot. I have my exams going on right now so getting this letter in the midst of 6 exams is terrifying.
I look forward to advice from experts.

 

[ikcdab]

Thank you so much, I had no clue about this! Online it seems like you can only board the train at the exact time so that confused me a lot. I have bought double the amount of tickets for so many journeys I wish I knew this earlier

You can also refund unused tickets

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,
I received a Notice of Intention to Prosecute by GTR for failure to provide a valid ticket upon inspection at Hatfield for inspection and verification of validity when asked to do so by an authorised person on 10 Feb 2025. “This letter is to inform you of your intention to take this case to Magistrates court. However the last page og this letter we give you the opportunity to tell us what happened from your point of view”
I am a student who travels between Stevenage and London every single day. I have records to prove a ticket being bought almost every single day.
However I have been stopped twice before, when going from Stevenage to Kings Cross because both the platforms have trains that go to London King’s Cross, I accidentally got on the wrong one. In a year of travelling this has only happened twice by genuine error, and I had tickets both times going from Stevenage to London, just invalid ones by mistake.
Now context for having no ticket. I always have a ticket going from London to Stevenage. Both stations have ticket barriers. I am aware of this and would not try to board the train without a ticket as I have made this trip a hundred times. . This particular week, I was using my iPad and not my phone due to losing my phone in morroco, and having no sim thus no data. I rushed to get on a train going to Stevenage from Finsbury park. Looking at Trainline i saw a ticket on there for the same day not realising it was from Stevenage to London not vice versa. Out of stress I must have forgotten to buy a ticket before hand at the library when connected to wifi, from London to Stevenage which has never happened before as I always buy tickets before boarding. I was stopped, had no valid ticket, and was told i would be given a letter.
Out of panic i immediately buy a ticket on the after the inspector leaves so I can tap out by connecting to the WiFi by standing near the first class cabin but this was bcs i had already been stopped by an inspector and needed to actually have a ticket to tap out at Stevenage as I always am required to do so.
I am rooting for an out of court settlement. How should I go about this?
It says I should reply to the address in writing as any submissions of migitation via the link will be disregarded. Should I be going to post this in person to make sure it delivers on time? I am a pharmacy student and can’t afford going to court. Will I be kicked out of uni for this?
I have a valid railcard 16-25 for the past two years. I am so careful about tickets that when I miss my train by a few mins I purchase an entirely new ticket, several times.
I am really scared. Any advice would be appreciated.

Have a look at some other threads involving GTR Thameslink and you will see the general advice given on how to respond to the letter you have received.

Several threads will have some general advice clearly set out on how to approach drafting a response from forums member @Hadders. Have a look for that so you can draft up a reply to ask if they will consider allowing you to resolve the matter without court proceedings.

And yes your reply must be sent via hard copy post. Use tracked post from a local post office so you can prove it was delivered if you need to. Keep a copy of what you send.

Seperatly if you are making this journey every day in term time then have you considered a season ticket? That could well be cheaper than you are paying now, could well allow travel on any train and prevent exactly the sort of problem you have said have happened to you previously where you have made a mistake and not had a valid ticket.

 

[Pari1048]

Have a look at some other threads involving GTR Thameslink and you will see the general advice given on how to respond to the letter you have received.

Several threads will have some general advice clearly set out on how to approach drafting a response from forums member @Hadders. Have a look for that so you can draft up a reply to ask if they will consider allowing you to resolve the matter without court proceedings.

And yes your reply must be sent via hard copy post. Use tracked post from a local post office so you can prove it was delivered if you need to. Keep a copy of what you send.

Seperatly if you are making this journey every day in term time then have you considered a season ticket? That could well be cheaper than you are paying now, could well allow travel on any train and prevent exactly the sort of problem you have said have happened to you previously where you have made a mistake and not had a valid ticket.

Hi,
Thank you for the reply. I posted a draft on here but have not got any responses from users yet. Do you know if every post usually gets answers ?
Also does the letter have to be handwritten or typed?
Thank you

 

[ikcdab]

Your explanation doesn't quite work with me. On the one hand you say you looked at your iPad and mistook the ticket you saw, but then on the other hand you say you forgot to but a ticket beforehand.
Are you saying that you forgot to buy the ticket while you were at the library, went to the station, looked at your iPad and saw the Stevenage to London ticket and thought it was the correct one? How did you get past the barriers at Finsbury Park without the valid ticket?
Am I misunderstanding this? For me, the story doesn't make sense.

 

[John R]

The explanation is rather long and confusing, and I suspect an investigator won’t particularly pay much attention to it. And if they do, as noted above, it feels inconsistent, which may not work in your favour.

Better to cut it out and simply apologise for not having a valid ticket.

 

[jfollows]

I agree, cut down your response.

Essentially they want to see that you recognise your error and that you won’t repeat it.

The reasons behind your error are of little interest to them. The offence is the same whether intentional or not.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,
Thank you for the reply. I posted a draft on here but have not got any responses from users yet. Do you know if every post usually gets answers ?
Also does the letter have to be handwritten or typed?
Thank you

Thanks - my apologies, I hadn't noticed your draft when I posted that.

In terms of mechanics of responding: the general advice here is that if you can type and print a response it is easier for them to read which is important - ensure your ref number, address, name and date of birth are on your separate printed response (so the case can be matched up if paperwork gets separated at their end - as your draft indeed sets out) then also send back their letter filled in but in the relevant area write 'please see attached response'.

Keep copies of everything / every page for your records.

Then post it to them using tracked postage so you can prove they received it if you ever need to. Get that from a laic post office (you probably don't need the much more expensive guaranteed next day delivery service that they will typically offer you when you go to the post office, but it's up to you).

Your draft:
I see others have made a few points now, which I agree with.

My suggestions - you must be confident that any changes you make are true as if you lie it will seriously risk not getting a settlement. Better to say nothing than to say a lie

a) you are saying this was a mistake in your second para. If it's true I'd suggest adding something like 'please be assured I never had any intention to deliberately evade paying the fare'

b) Your third para, your explanation, I also think is longer than it needs to be and they probably don't care so much for the reasons you got this wrong. As others have mentioned it's not clear to me if you had a ticket (but it was booked for travel in the wrong defection to the train you were on) or if you had forgotten to buy a ticket at all for that trip because you were confused by having lost your device. So going into all that is confusing so perhaps rephrase it but I appreciate you are seeking to give an explanation but it might be possible to significantly edit this down eg to something like:

' I regularly travel from Stevenage to London and return to commute to my place of study. I typically book tickets on line using my phone. Unfortunately I recently lost my phone so was using a different device. On the occasion concerned I was using a different device and failed to purchase a ticket correctly. I apologise for this error. '

c) As I mentioned, if it works financially you could get a season ticket or a flexi season ticket - and if so you could mention that as it would be something you can show you have done to prevent the problem happening again. You can buy a season ticket for a week and any time longer - it does not have to start on a Monday and is valid 7 days, or you can buy them for longer periods at the pro rata price, or cheaper if longer period eg over a month - eg up until the end of this term, so it can end on a particular date I believe, or next term you could have one for the full term. The best way to check this out would be to go and ask at the ticket office at Stevenage. If you bought one you could say eg
'I have taken action to prevent this problem happening again by buying a season ticket for my travel - the season ticket reference number is xxxxx (or attach a copy)' .
However, if a season isn't the right deal for you financially you don't need to do this, but a season ticket means you don't have to think about booking correct tickets every day and ought to be cheaper, depending on how many days a week you need to go to London.

d) if you have time available before sending it off you could post a second draft if you think any further comment might be of help.

Hope this feedback helps

 

[Pari1048]

Your explanation doesn't quite work with me. On the one hand you say you looked at your iPad and mistook the ticket you saw, but then on the other hand you say you forgot to but a ticket beforehand.
Are you saying that you forgot to buy the ticket while you were at the library, went to the station, looked at your iPad and saw the Stevenage to London ticket and thought it was the correct one? How did you get past the barriers at Finsbury Park without the valid ticket?
Am I misunderstanding this? For me, the story doesn't make sense.

Yup. The ticket I saw was Stevenage to london, not london to Stevenage. I forgot to buy the correct ticket and thought the one I bought earlier in the day was the right one.
The barriers at Finsbury Park were open so I rushed to get on but this is usually never the case.

@WesternLancer how likely do you think an out of court settlement is? I have received two penalties before but those were for another reason because I got on the wrong train. They also did not mention these in the letter.
Also thank you for advice with the season tickets. Do you know if railcards can be applied to them, I have one.
Thank you

 

[WesternLancer]

Yup. The ticket I saw was Stevenage to london, not london to Stevenage. I forgot to buy the correct ticket and thought the one I bought earlier in the day was the right one.
The barriers at Finsbury Park were open so I rushed to get on but this is usually never the case.

@WesternLancer how likely do you think an out of court settlement is? I have received two penalties before but those were for another reason because I got on the wrong train. They also did not mention these in the letter.
Thank you

I think it's highly likely you will get a settlement - which is why I think keep your response simple. If they don't accept your request to settle then you can go back with the evidence of the ticket confusion using your purchase records for example, if you need to do so.

What I do think however is that previous penalties are not a good look (since they don't check tickets that often on these trains in my experience) - which suggest you need to be a lot more careful going forwards - hence why I'm suggesting you actively consider a season ticket if you find getting this right difficult. That prevents all the issues with wi fi access / lost devices / muddled bookings / buying before boarding issues etc etc.

I know when I was a student I certainly would not have wanted to pay 2 penalty fares on different occasions and then also be negotiating for out of court settlement in one year which will cost even more than Penalty Fares (so total of £250+ that could have been saved by being more careful. If you are ever in doubt about your ticket then go to the ticket office and ask - it's not like you are travelling to / from unstaffed stations where there is no one for you to check things with.

 

[ikcdab]

Youu cannot use a standard Railcard on a season ticket because season tickets are already heavily discounted. Also season tickets can be used at any time, but most railcards have a time restriction.

 

[Haywain]

If:

I am well aware that both stations have ticket barriers, and would not under any circumstance try to board the train, to my knowledge, without a ticket.

Then how does that tie up with this:

On my way home, I rushed to get on the train going to Stevenage from Finsbury Park. Looking at Trainline, I saw a ticket on there for the same day (xxxx), not realising it was from Stevenage to London and not vice versa. As I was under a lot of stress from academics and from losing my phone in the previous week, I foolishly forgot to buy a ticket beforehand from London to Stevange,

You wouldn't under any circumstances board a train without a ticket, and yet that is exactly what you did, in spite of those barriers. How did you actually get on the platform?

 

[Pari1048]

Thank you so much for your advice. I have tried to implement this into my letter and just cut it down because I understand how it was confusing. I am wondering if this is too simple or do you guys think it is fine?


Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing in response to the letter I received on xxxx, regarding notice of intention to prosecute, incident dated xxxx, reference xxxx.

I would first like to offer my sincere apologies. I fully understand the seriousness of this issue and this is a mistake I will not repeat. I really appreciate being given a chance to explain my side of things for what occurred that day.

I regularly travel from Stevenage to London and return to commute to my place of study. I always buy tickets beforehand online using my phone. Unfortunately I had lost my phone and sim data so had to use a different device. On the occasion concerned I was using a different device and failed to purchase a ticket correctly. I apologise for this error.

I have learnt from my mistake and have taken action to prevent this problem happening again by buying weekly season tickets for my travel going forward- the season ticket reference number is xxxxx.

I would be very grateful for the opportunity to be able to resolve this matter without the need for court action. I'm prepared to pay the appropriate fare amount, plus any additional administrative cost you feel is important. I deeply regret my actions and would appreciate the possibility to be able to settle this instead.

Thank you so much for allowing me to say my point of view. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Xxxx

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you so much for your advice. I have tried to implement this into my letter and just cut it down because I understand how it was confusing. I am wondering if this is too simple or do you guys think it is fine?


Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing in response to the letter I received on xxxx, regarding notice of intention to prosecute, incident dated xxxx, reference xxxx.

I would first like to offer my sincere apologies. I fully understand the seriousness of this issue and this is a mistake I will not repeat. I really appreciate being given a chance to explain my side of things for what occurred that day.

I regularly travel from Stevenage to London and return to commute to my place of study. I always buy tickets beforehand online using my phone. Unfortunately I had lost my phone and sim data so had to use a different device. On the occasion concerned I was using a different device and failed to purchase a ticket correctly. I apologise for this error.

I have learnt from my mistake and have taken action to prevent this problem happening again by buying weekly season tickets for my travel going forward- the season ticket reference number is xxxxx.

I would be very grateful for the opportunity to be able to resolve this matter without the need for court action. I'm prepared to pay the appropriate fare amount, plus any additional administrative cost you feel is important. I deeply regret my actions and would appreciate the possibility to be able to settle this instead.

Thank you so much for allowing me to say my point of view. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Xxxx

this new draft looks much better to me.

if you can afford to wait before sending it you could see if there are other comments before tomorrow morning - if you want to post it tomorrow you need to get to a post office by early to mid afternoon to be sure to catch the collection time (post office / royal mail websites will probably tell you the post collection times each day nearest to you)

 

[Pari1048]

this new draft looks much better to me.

if you can afford to wait before sending it you could see if there are other comments before tomorrow morning - if you want to post it tomorrow you need to get to a post office by early to mid afternoon to be sure to catch the collection time (post office / royal mail websites will probably tell you the post collection times each day nearest to you)

The reply must be sent to Kings Cross Railway station, so is it okay if i go to a post office in Kings Cross since I am going to the library there to study for exams?
Thank you for all the help so far

The reply must be sent to Kings Cross Railway station, so is it okay if i go to a post office in Kings Cross since I am going to the library there to study for exams? Do they have a letter box? I have never posted a letter before so I'm confused on this.
Thank you for all the help so far

 

[WesternLancer]

The reply must be sent to Kings Cross Railway station, so is it okay if i go to a post office in Kings Cross since I am going to the library there to study for exams?
Thank you for all the help so far

In practice it won't matter what post office you use, so if that is convenient for you it would be fine. Do get the tracking service however.

This website will tell you where post office branches are if you don't already know one near the library you use.

Branch Finder | Post Office

Use the Post Office Branch Finder tool to find our where your nearest branch is and what services are available at your local branch.

www.postoffice.co.uk

I suspect you can not deliver your letter to the railway office in Kings Cross by hand however.

 

[Haywain]

I suspect you can not deliver your letter to the railway office in Kings Cross by hand however.

You can't deliver it to the relevant office and wouldn't benefit from tracking, so it's best not to try.