Prosecution letter: how to write a good apology letter?

[RuntimeUK]

Hello all. I received a "Notice of intention to prosecute" today from FCC, and I've had a good look over this forum today at all the threads pertaining to my situation, and the general advice I've seen is that the best course of action is to write a good apology, a clear account of events and ask to settle out of court. This is precisely what I want to do, and I would really appreciate it if anyone who's had a bit of practice could offer any letter writing advice, or any advice on how to proceed next, please do, you'd be doing me a huge favour. I'm really worried about this, I've never been in trouble for anything before. If there's anyone who can offer advice on the letter writing, please do.

The situation:
Bought a train ticket to Crews Hill as Crews Hill is the first point at which you can touch in on an Oyster card on that line. Got on train, put MP3 player on, read newspaper/book. Got too absorbed, missed stop and when asked for ticket by inspector, ticket was not valid for the station we had got to and the inspector took my details.

Got off train with the inspector so I could touch in. I asked if it was possible to pay the outstanding fare (about £3) as I hadn't intended to dodge the fare. The inspector asked me if I was going to pay the PF? I said I didn't have the money on me to do it, so he said I would be receiving a letter in the post asking me for my version of events, and that it could lead to prosecution. I had my Oyster card for the continuation of my journey, so I had the funds to continue my journey on that.

I then received the notice of "intention to prosecute" today. I've written my version of events, as well as apologising and explaining my reason for not being able to pay the PF on the spot, and offering to settle for the outstanding fare+admin costs. I really have no money at the moment, but I really want to sort this out soon as I'm very stressed by it and just want to have it gone. If there's any additional advice anyone can offer, I would really appreciate it.

 

[Fare-Cop]

The inspector said no, you pay the penalty fare or you contest it, are you going to pay the PF?

I am not suggesting that you are misleading anyone so please don't jump to any conclusion, but are you absolutely sure this is exactly what was said?

There are two important questions I'd like answered before offering any suggestion please:

Your post does not say where you started your journey from.

Did you have with you the means to pay the full single fare for your intended journey from your starting point?

Were you given an opportunity to accept a Penalty Fare notice and pay or appeal within 21 days?

I've had 35 years in this role and am happy to proof read your letter, but you'd have to make sure it contains no details from which you can be identified, however I think it best to be as open on the forum as possible and not send such letters to any individuals.

This is because you don't know which, if any of the TOCs any of us work for and it's probably safer to stick to asking for general advice as to what a letter might and might not contain..

 

[RuntimeUK]

No I'm not 100% sure, so I have changed my post to reflect this. Thank you for your advice about not PMing people my letter.

As for whether or not I had the money to pay the full fare: yes and I answered yes to this question when he asked me as such under caution.

I was given the chance to pay the penalty fare, but said I was unable to pay it on the spot, and he did mention appealing it, which I believe is what I said I wanted to do, as I didn't know what else I could do at that point. My memory on this part of the conversation is hazy unfortunately, so I can't be sure quite what was said, I was in a bit of a daze/shock.

Thank you for your offer to help, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[yorkie]

I've had 35 years in this role and am happy to proof read your letter, but you'd have to make sure it contains no details from which you can be identified...

Without those details it may not always be possible to proof read adequately, as the advice would vary depending on various aspects specific to the journey (including what facilities were available at the origin station at the time the journey commenced), but you are quite right that it is unwise to publish identifying information on any forum.

however I think it best to be as open on the forum as possible and not send such letters to any individuals. This is because you don't know which, if any of the TOCs any of us work for and it's probably safer to stick to asking for general advice as to what a letter might and might not contain..

...unless they have any of these three titles: 'Fares Advisor', 'Moderator', or 'Administrator' in bold under their name and are offering to proof read. Otherwise, yes you are right if a random Member offers to proof read they are not verified by the forum staff. I'm not aware of any incidents of TOC staff generating a conflict of interest by offering to proof read in such cases, and if such a case occurred I would encourage that to be reported to the forum staff team.

 

[RuntimeUK]

Again, thank you for the advice Yorkie and Fare-cop

I won't post my actual letter here then. I've started it off stating when I received the letter etc., followed by this paragraph:

"I also contacted your office to clarify how things would proceed, as I was very worried by receiving your letter and wanted to sort the matter out as soon as possible, as I do not want this hanging over my head and causing more stress. I am extremely sorry that this incident occurred, and hope you will accept my most sincere apologies. I would like to ask if you would accept a settlement of the outstanding fare plus any administration costs you have incurred as a result."

Then my account of events as at the beginning of this thread, reiterating that it was not my intent to dodge the fare. Final paragraph goes something like this:

"This incident has me extremely worried and stressed, and I would like to settle matters as soon as possible. I accept that I did not have a valid ticket, but please ask you to consider that this was a first offence and a genuine mistake, and I would have paid the penalty fare at the time had I had the funds. I know that this is no excuse, and I accept that this occurred from my own carelessness and can assure you that it will not happen again. Taking this into consideration, I would again like to ask if you would kindly accept a settlement of the outstanding fare plus any administration fees you have incurred as a result. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the irritation and inconvenience caused by myself. "

How is this for apology? Too wordy? Too many excuses? I've never written anything like this before, so again, any pointers would be much appreciated.

 

[Fare-Cop]

Again, thank you for the advice Yorkie and Fare-cop

I won't post my actual letter here then. I've started it off stating when I received the letter etc., followed by this paragraph:

"I also contacted your office to clarify how things would proceed, as I was very worried by receiving your letter and wanted to sort the matter out as soon as possible, as I do not want this hanging over my head and causing more stress. I am extremely sorry that this incident occurred, and hope you will accept my most sincere apologies. I would like to ask if you would accept a settlement of the outstanding fare plus any administration costs you have incurred as a result."

Then my account of events as at the beginning of this thread, reiterating that it was not my intent to dodge the fare. Final paragraph goes something like this:

"This incident has me extremely worried and stressed, and I would like to settle matters as soon as possible. I accept that I did not have a valid ticket, but please ask you to consider that this was a first offence and a genuine mistake, and I would have paid the penalty fare at the time had I had the funds. I know that this is no excuse, and I accept that this occurred from my own carelessness and can assure you that it will not happen again. Taking this into consideration, I would again like to ask if you would kindly accept a settlement of the outstanding fare plus any administration fees you have incurred as a result. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the irritation and inconvenience caused by myself. "

How is this for apology? Too wordy? Too many excuses? I've never written anything like this before, so again, any pointers would be much appreciated.

Pretty good letter I would say,

You might like to add the phrase 'I am very concerned that prosecution for a first time, unintentional action might have a disproportionate effect on my future employment as it is essential that a clean CRB record is maintained by me', or something similar in your own words

 

[RuntimeUK]

Thanks very much for your advice. I'll reread the letter again, and put in the comment about the CRB as you suggested, as in fact I do need to get one in the near future. I'll let you know how things go!

 

[Greenback]

Personally, I would leave out any reference to stress in case it is interpreted as an attempt to use moral blackmail. I would keep it concise, truthful and objective, generally I think you are very close to the sort of letter I would have written if those two paragraphs are anything to go by, but I would focus less on the effect this incident would have had on myself. I would also include a summary of what happened as you did in your first post.