Out of court settlement

[bhzs_1234]

Hi,

I have stupidly got myself into a terrible situation and would appreciate any support as I await my letter from the Thameslink.

Around 8 months ago, I got an ok the spot that fine that I paid because I didn't have the right ticket and an expired Railcard. I paid the fine on the spot, but I was in a really bad place mentally due to bereavement and then completely forgot about renewing my Railcard.

Since then, I have continued to use my expired Railcard, and got fined again last week, but this time an incident was reported and also its been sent to investigation. This time I was caught for the expired Railcard and also because I purchased the ticket on the train, 4 minutes before the inspector scanned it (I got on by not buying the correct ticket).

During this time of him writing up my witness statement, I was in the middle of revising for my exam in a couple hours and honestly, I didn't really listen to much of what he was saying and just assumed he would give me a fine, and I mistakenly told him I got on at the wrong station (The actual stations are close and the price is practically the same, I just got confused because I interchange sometimes).


Now I am waiting anxiously for my letter to come through, I am scared because it's a second time offense, but the first time was an on the spot fine. I have also been using my Railcard discount and buying wrong fares every now and then.


Is there anything I can do proactively or do I just have to wait for them to write first? How long would it take for them to write to me? And what's the expected outcome?


On the day of this fine, I purchased the correct Railcard as well, and have been using it correctly buying the correct tickets since yo try show me remorse as well.


Any advice as of now would be great, and I can update once they write to me if I can't do anything now to get ahead.... Also tagging @Hadders as I have seen you're quite an expert here.

Thanks in advance for any help and info.

 

[Tevion539]

Well there’s nothing you really can do until you get the letter. You could buy a new railcard to prove to the TOC (if you’re still eligible for one) that you’re taking accountability to ensure it doesn’t happen again. I expect them to trawl your travel history.

 

[bhzs_1234]

Thanks for your reply @Tevion539 - Do you think I will be able to settle out of court, and yes, I purchased the new railcard I am eligible for on the same day - will they be able to see that too when they investigate? I really don't want a criminal record. How will they check my history? Will they check my card, the app I used to buy it or both? I use multiple cards and apps because sometimes apps are laggy an also different cards because they don't all accept my card.

 

[Tevion539]

I purchased the new railcard I am eligible for on the same day - will they be able to see that too when they investigate?

I’d imagine you’d need to send proof of it to them in your response.

How will they check my history? Will they check my card, the app I used to buy it or both?

If you’ve bought digital tickets and you were stopped with one, they can request your history from the retailer and factor in every invalid fare in their decision. They’ll likely only check their own app and the retailer you used to buy the ticket you was stopped with unless they suspect you’ve used others.

Do you think I will be able to settle out of court

Personally, I am of the belief that you make the mistake once, but I don’t (personally) believe the same mistake can be made again for four months after being caught once already. Others may be more sympathetic.

In any case, it is Thameslinks prerogative to settle out of court. With the right attitude in your response, it should be achievable. Having a valid railcard will show you’ve at least made some effort to prevent this happening again.

 

[AlterEgo]

How many tickets have you bought with the expired railcard? Which train company stopped you? Did your ticket also cover your full journey even though it had been illegally discounted?

 

[enyoueffsea]

When your letter does arrive and you respond to it, you’ll need to be a lot more honest than you have been in your initial post.

You have been short faring and applying an expired railcard for a prolonged period of time, despite being caught on at least one occasion.

It wasn’t an accident to buy shorter tickets than your journey, you didn’t forget to renew your railcard, it was intentional fare evasion.

You weren’t confused, you gave the RPI a different station intentionally.

You’ll be able to settle this out of court, it’ll likely cost you a reasonable sum to do so depending on how many journeys you have made. But in order to get a settlement you need to drop all of the nonsense and be honest.

 

[bhzs_1234]

Thanks @enyoueffsea , @AlterEgo and @Tevion539 - I have probably been short farting and applying an expired railcard once a week for the last 7/8 months. I am completely willing to pay the fine, I just hope that they will give me the chance. To reiterate, I now have a valid railcard that I bought after my fine,and yes @AlterEgo, even though I bought it on the train, I then had the correct ticket but with the expired railcard... Also, I have been fined only only once before and it was a penalty fare that I paid on the spot. If I reply being completely honest like you mentioned @enyoueffsea - do you think I could get the out of court settlement? would i need to hire a lawyer, or if I write a sufficient letter aided by this forum, do you think it will be enough?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 May 2025 ==

Also, what is the latest they can reach out to me before I can consider that they won't reach out and prosecute? Is it 3 months or longer?

 

[Tevion539]

A lawyer isn’t necessary at this point. They have up to 6 months from the date you were caught to prosecute you. (I believe.) you really do need to be honest with Thameslink when they reach out.

 

[enyoueffsea]

@enyoueffsea - do you think I could get the out of court settlement? would i need to hire a lawyer, or if I write a sufficient letter aided by this forum, do you think it will be enough?

You should get a settlement. Some great people on here who will review your draft response to their letter and ensure it gives you the best opportunity.

I would only advise instructing a solicitor if their response to you is negative and escalatory.

I suspect the only thing you can do now other than wait for the letter is to calculate how much a settlement figure is likely to be and put that to one side ready to pay when needed.

That’ll be the anytime single fare (x2 for a return) for each journey you have not correctly paid, whether that be due to a short fare or expired railcard, or both. If you were short faring before your railcard expired, expect them to be included too.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Just to clarify a few things here.

Based on your location I assume you're dealing with Govia Thameslink Railway. They are normally one of the more pragmatic train companies to deal with when it comes to this sort of thing as long as you co-operate with their investigation, and haven't come to their attention before.

A problem here is you have come to their attention before. I don't think that will necessarily mean they won't offer you an out of court settlement but you'll likely have to work a bit harder to get one. Clearly, it's up to GTR to decide how to proceed and we cannot guarantee what the outcome will be.

When GTR's letter arrives asking for your version of events post a redacted copy of it in this thread along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

 

[swt_passenger]

Hi,

I have stupidly got myself into a terrible situation and would appreciate any support as I await my letter from the Thameslink.

Around 8 months ago, I got an ok the spot that fine that I paid because I didn't have the right ticket and an expired Railcard. I paid the fine on the spot, but I was in a really bad place mentally due to bereavement and then completely forgot about renewing my Railcard.

That reads as though you got a normal penalty fare, although people often call it a fine, it is not.

Since then, I have continued to use my expired Railcard, and got fined again last week, but this time an incident was reported and also its been sent to investigation. This time I was caught for the expired Railcard and also because I purchased the ticket on the train, 4 minutes before the inspector scanned it (I got on by not buying the correct ticket).

That isn’t what usually happens. You either get a penalty fare, or you get reported for further investigation. It’s rare to get both results for one incident. Penalty fares are not something that can be issued later through the post, it seems from your later comments you have not been given one.

During this time of him writing up my witness statement, I was in the middle of revising for my exam in a couple hours and honestly, I didn't really listen to much of what he was saying and just assumed he would give me a fine, and I mistakenly told him I got on at the wrong station (The actual stations are close and the price is practically the same, I just got confused because I interchange sometimes).

I think this was a wrong assumption to make.