Potential Fine? Help needed

[louis1927]

Hi there, first post on this forum and would appreciate any help offered.

I am a frequent traveler on the trains and travel up to 4 times a week.

Last Thursday I traveled from Severn Tunnel Junction which has no facilities to Cardiff Central. I usually buy my ticket on the train but this was particularly busy and no operator came through. I got to Newport and changed as the train at this point was extremely packed and not comfortable.

I got to Cardiff and went to buy a ticket, I asked for a ticket from Newport to Cardiff and Cardiff to Severn tunnel Junction. I regret this decision now.
I said this as I was going back to Newport for a night out.
I tried to explain this and that I came from Severn Tunnel however they were having none of it and were on the phone to Newport Station. I then had to talk to an inspector and give my details and a statement across to him. He said they would be in touch soon and I could face a fine. I said from Newport as that's where I changed, but once I said it I realised there are operators at Newport. I regret this now however I thought by saying I'm going back to Severn Tunnel Junction this would suffice as the fare would be the right one. The day I had was a calamitous one as I just recently came from hospital. Not a sob story but kind of explains why I was slow that afternoon.

I've researched and seen the fines and the court cases and quite frankly this scares me as I don't want to face this just because of a mis-said sentence.

I haven't yet received a letter and I'm getting rather anxious now.

Appreciate any replies and just wondering what potentially could happen?

 

[bb21]

You are digging yourself a hole if I am honest so you will need to think carefully how you reply to their letter once it arrives.

It makes no sense why you would ask for a ticket from Newport if you came from Severn Tunnel and knew that you did not have a ticket from there. The way I see it is that had you asked for a ticket from your true origin you would have just been allowed to buy the ticket you need, because you had had no opportunity to pay until that point. (You should really have gone to the ticket office at Newport to buy the ticket when you changed there but without knowing how long you had for your connection there I am not going to go into that and just give you the benefit of the doubt.)

By asking for a short fare, you committed a quite serious offence contrary to Section 5.3(a) of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889. If you end up in court on a charge under this legislation and are successfully convicted, you will face a fine and a criminal record.

You mention you just came from the hospital. If you think your illness might have impacted your sense of judgement then you could try obtaining a doctor's certificate stating so. This may then add weight to your claim that it was merely a "mistake" rather than done deliberately.

If what you did was none other than opportunist fare evasion, which is how it would appear to the RPI without any mitigating circumstance, it was the correct action that the RPI took, ie. report you for further investigation of the possibility of deliberate fare evasion. You may still get the chance to settle out of out with ATW, if you admit that what you did was wrong and show genuine remorse. If you continue trying to find excuses for your behaviour then no one will be able to help you because prosecutors at the train company hear plenty of sob stories everyday.

I also don't really understand why you would ask for two single tickets instead of the correct return ticket even from a financial point of view. A day return from Severn Tunnel Junction to Cardiff Central costs £9.20. A single from Newport to Cardiff is £4.80 and a single from Cardiff to Severn Tunnel Junction is £8.70, making it much more expensive in total.

 

[Nick W]

The only innocent explanation I can think of is that the OP wasn't aware of beak of journey, so asked for a return from Newport to Cardiff, and a single/return from Newport to Seven Tunnel Junction.

But the OP's post makes no sense: "I asked for a ticket from Newport to Cardiff"; "I was going back to Newport for a night out.". A miss-said sentence and a miss-typed forum post?

 

[Flamingo]

Just to clarify, Severn Tunnel Junction has a booking office, which is open Mon-Fri in the mornings (I'm not sure of the exact hours).

Changing at Newport seems strange, as it's only 15 minutes from Cardiff...

 

[louis1927]

Appreciate the replies here.

I will make it clear I wasn't trying to help myself financial or evade fares qw I had the sufficient funds to pay and for the sake of a few quid. Like I said it's not a sob story or 'digging a hole' but that day up to then had been rather disastrous.

Looking for advise here on what potentially I will be looking at and how should I approach the fine? Basically what will happen

Forgot to mention I offered to get a return from STJ to Cardiff at Station also.

In retrospect this obviously seems like a calamitous event and looks like an evasion.

 

[louis1927]

Just to clarify, Severn Tunnel Junction has a booking office, which is open Mon-Fri in the mornings (I'm not sure of the exact hours).

Changing at Newport seems strange, as it's only 15 minutes from Cardiff...

Open until roughly 10 am. Traveling in the afternoon.

Like I said the train was crammed and unbearably hot and wasn't what I needed at all.

 

[Flamingo]

Fair enough.

 

[TheEdge]

Open until roughly 10 am. Traveling in the afternoon.

Like I said the train was crammed and unbearably hot and wasn't what I needed at all.

Its amazing how many people seem to be afflicted with some sort of disease where a hot, crowded or late train entirely erases their short term memory related to travel and forces them to blurt out stations nearer to their destination than their real origin. I wonder if any study has been done on it?

Serious answer, you'll have to wait for a letter. They may offer you a settlement, in which case take it or they may ask for your version of events. If the latter, don't add how awful the service was or any other excuse as given here, in the prosecutions department they will be like water off a ducks back.

 

[bb21]

I will make it clear I wasn't trying to help myself financial or evade fares qw I had the sufficient funds to pay and for the sake of a few quid. Like I said it's not a sob story or 'digging a hole' but that day up to then had been rather disastrous.

But that is exactly how you are coming across. It won't matter what you claim your intention was. Your actions speak louder than your words. If this matter ever proceeded to court it is your actions that will be interpreted, not your mind.

Looking for advise here on what potentially I will be looking at and how should I approach the fine? Basically what will happen

What will most likely happen is that they will write to you for your version of the events on the day. They will then decide how to proceed after that. It is possible that they may not give you the opportunity to explain what happened that day, should they consider that they had sufficient evidence already.

No one can tell you how much they will be wanting for an out-of-court settlement, if that is what you mean by "fine". Anything below £100 is a big bonus and you should probably bite their hand off for it. A court imposed fine will almost certainly be more.

Forgot to mention I offered to get a return from STJ to Cardiff at Station also.

Makes no difference if you offered to buy it after being found out.

In retrospect this obviously seems like a calamitous event and looks like an evasion.

Very much so.

 

[Ediswan]

Its amazing how many people seem to be afflicted with some sort of disease where a hot, crowded or late train entirely erases their short term memory related to travel and forces them to blurt out stations nearer to their destination than their real origin. I wonder if any study has been done on it?.

There was no claim that the any of these were the cause of stating the wrong origin. Often there is, but not this time.

 

[Haywain]

There was no claim that the any of these were the cause of stating the wrong origin. Often there is, but not this time.

Really? You should read the first post again...

Last Thursday I traveled from Severn Tunnel Junction which has no facilities to Cardiff Central. I usually buy my ticket on the train but this was particularly busy and no operator came through. I got to Newport and changed as the train at this point was extremely packed and not comfortable.

 

[louis1927]

appreciate all the responses.
Also to make it clear it wasn't after I was 'found out', I offered then and there.

So most likely look at a fine?

 

[bb21]

So did you ask for a ticket from Severn Tunnel Junction before they raised doubts over whether you really came from Newport? I suspect not, otherwise we wouldn't be here. So, yes, you only offered to pay the correct fare after you were "found out". They knew you couldn't have come from Newport without a ticket as Newport is gated during the day.

It's all immaterial anyway now. What I am trying to get you to see is that you need to drop these excuses. You were "found out", plain and simple, otherwise we wouldn't be here.

They may accept a request to settle out of court. There is no guarantee. I am not going to say what the likelihood is because if you keep trying to find excuses, it will not end well.

 

[DownSouth]

Its amazing how many people seem to be afflicted with some sort of disease where a hot, crowded or late train entirely erases their short term memory related to travel and forces them to blurt out stations nearer to their destination than their real origin. I wonder if any study has been done on it?

Studying law or wanting to emigrate seem to be major risk factors associated with this debilitating condition.

 

[Ediswan]

Really? You should read the first post again...

I had, very carefully. As you quoted, that was the reason given for changing trains.