pulled up for buying incorrect tickets

[sabinebean]

Hello all,

Unfortunately I'm in a situation where i've been pulled up on buying incorrect tickets, not proud of this but I have provided some context below. I have received a letter stating:

'You were recently stopped by an authorised Revenue Inspector and spoken to about your unpaid rail fares. After reviewing electronic data linked to your account, it appears there may be more outstanding journeys that need to be paid for (217), resulting in outstanding fares of £2010.75. A contribution to our costs of £250. Making a total of £2,260.75. If this amount is not paid, Southeastern will consider pursuing criminal prosecution.' I've attached the letter in full below as an image.


To provide some context, the station I use frequently does not have barriers, and I got into a habit of buying a ticket on the trainline app (usually after the train had left the station, meaning I I wouldn't be able to buy the ticket from the beginning destination, and i'd buy from a stop later). I am aware this is not right, and I'm sorry about that. I was conscious of money and am out of employment at the moment unfortunately due to a medical issue, so this contributes to why I was doing this.

When I was stopped, the inspector was really heavy on me despite me immediately asking to re-buy the correct ticket in full. I have been fined in the past for not realising my railcard had expired by a month, and had managed to get a reduced fine to pay on that (which only resulted in being the ticket price). So I was taken aback when the process turned out to be much heavier this time, i was visibly upset and the person kept rolling their eyes at me and was visibly frustrated with me, her body cam was on. Essentially, the inspector read out my rights to me and said to expect a letter regarding legal action.

I received an initial letter stating for me to provide my comments, I responded with this:

'Dear Southeastern Prosecution Team,

I am providing my comments to the letter I have received from Southeastern regarding my journey on the 20th May 2025 (please see attached documents).

Firstly, I would like to express my sincerest apologies for this incident, I understand why I was stopped and will not let this happen again. I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret not buying the correct ticket from Ramsgate to Canterbury West, instead buying a ticket from Sturry to Canterbury West.

To provide an explanation, on the 20th May 2025 I was experiencing severe chronic pain due to a jaw bone deformity, which often causes migraines and discomfort. On that particular day the pain was difficult to manage, which I know had affected my judgement and led to my error in purchasing the incorrect ticket. Originally, I had attempted to buy the correct ticket via the app, but was unable to do so after leaving Ramsgate. Unfortunately, I did not encounter any staff on board from whom I could purchase the correct ticket.

When approached by your ticket inspector at Canterbury West, I immediately asked if I could pay the correct fare from Ramsgate, but was informed this was not possible at that stage. I explained my medical situation and the mistake I had made.

I fully appreciate the importance of purchasing the correct ticket, and now will always aim to do so in advance to ensure this does not happen again, regardless of any future health issues.

I am keen to come to a resolution, and am willing to settle this matter out of court. I propose a settlement to cover the outstanding fare and administrative costs.

I hope you will consider my comments in response to the incident.'


In hindsight maybe I shouldn't have said anything at the point, but I'm in my early 20s and have no experience in handling something like this.

It's surprising that the most recent letter states 'please note we do not offer payment plans', how is this fair with such a large sum of money! I had really hoped this would be an option, as I dont see how i can pay it in full.

As I only have 14 days, i'd really appreciate any advice with this. Thank you.


View attachment 182395

 

[AlterEgo]

Is it true there are 217 unpaid fares? Have you been buying tickets which do not cover the full journey once on board as you did on the day you were stopped?

It's quite understandable the inspector reported you - you've been paying less than half the price you should have been because you've been committing short journey fraud, allegedly 217 times, as it turns out.

Southeastern are going to be really unimpressed with your excuse that you felt in pain that day and bought a ticket from Sturry (the closest and cheapest possible ticket) when they now discover how often you've been ripping them off.

You can ask for a payment plan (I'm not sure we have ever seen them offer one) but your best option at this point is to borrow the money. You've been caught.

 

[ohnoes]

As you’re now finding out, when dealing with legal matters it is best to stick to facts and keep storytelling to a minimum as it can make leave you looking silly when the full facts come to light. You live, you learn.

You can ask for a payment plan, but how likely they are to agree to that after you lied in your response remains to be seen.

If your objective is to avoid a criminal record, then it might be worth considering either borrowing money from friends/family or a 0% credit card if that’s available to you.

If the £2.6k is too much for you to find, then you’ll have to face the music in court.

You’ll get a discount on the punishment imposed by the court if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity once the summons is received, and you’ll end up with a criminal record.

Seeking advice from a specialist fare evasion solicitor is also an option, but this will not be cheap and the benefit questionable based on what you’ve told us, as it seems fairly open and shut prosecuting you for at least one instance of fare evasion.

 

[43096]

You can ask for a payment plan

That seems rather pointless as the letter clearly states "Please note that we do not offer payment plans." Indeed asking for one may well suggest to South Eastern that the OP has not read the letter and grasped the seriouness of it.

 

[John R]

We try not to be judgmental when responding to queries, but it's quite difficult when someone asks "how is this fair with such a large sum of money!" having failed to pay the correct fare over 200 times. They will regard your story as somewhat "cock and bull" also, given that you regularly did this. So the blunt responses from previous posters are not really a surprise.

So I'm afraid your only choice is to find the money somehow, or be charged for the one offence, and end up with a conviction, which, unless you work in a field where integrity is essential, is unlikely to be ruin your life, as people coming hear often fear.

 

[Krokodil]

To provide an explanation, on the 20th May 2025 I was experiencing severe chronic pain due to a jaw bone deformity, which often causes migraines and discomfort. On that particular day the pain was difficult to manage, which I know had affected my judgement and led to my error in purchasing the incorrect ticket.

Once might have been misfortune. However Southeastern are unlikely to take the view that the 216 other occasions were unfortunate oversights too. Not that they are going to be particularly credulous in the first place, given that the station you bought a ticket from just happens to be the final stop before the gated station which was your destination. Frankly, they aren't going to believe that this was an "error". They will be certain that this was deliberate.

As others have said you need to face up to this. Unless you can demonstrate that some or all of the other 216 journeys you made were made with valid tickets for their entire length (for example by proving that you really did board/alight at Sturry) then you are either going to have to cough up for the sum requested or face the music in court. The amount you end up paying in court may well be less than the amount demanded, but that comes at the cost of a criminal record - the significance of which depends upon what exactly they charge you with and the attitudes of current and future employers in whatever field of work you're in.

 

[AlterEgo]

That seems rather pointless as the letter clearly states "Please note that we do not offer payment plans." Indeed asking for one may well suggest to South Eastern that the OP has not read the letter and grasped the seriouness of it.

Southeastern have been known to offer payment plans occasionally, despite this caveat.

 

[WesternLancer]

As you’re now finding out, when dealing with legal matters it is best to stick to facts and keep storytelling to a minimum as it can make leave you looking silly when the full facts come to light. You live, you learn.

You can ask for a payment plan, but how likely they are to agree to that after you lied in your response remains to be seen.

If your objective is to avoid a criminal record, then it might be worth considering either borrowing money from friends/family or a 0% credit card if that’s available to you.

If the £2.6k is too much for you to find, then you’ll have to face the music in court.

You’ll get a discount on the punishment imposed by the court if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity once the summons is received, and you’ll end up with a criminal record.

Seeking advice from a specialist fare evasion solicitor is also an option, but this will not be cheap and the benefit questionable based on what you’ve told us, as it seems fairly open and shut prosecuting you for at least one instance of fare evasion.

To add to this helpful post if it did go to court I believe court fines can be paid in instalments. But I suspect the op is keen to avoid court if they can do so.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Jun 2025 ==

Southeastern have been known to offer payment plans occasionally, despite this caveat.

So it might indeed be worth asking for one given the large size of the sum requested that reflects the scale of the evasion detected.

 

[skyhigh]

I don't think we've seen any examples of this yet from Southeastern, but given the scale of the offending uncovered it's not impossible that if they prosecute they will ask for all 217 occasions to be taken into consideration, or take civil action to reclaim the outstanding unpaid fares if only one occasion is actually subject to a criminal prosecution.

 

[Haywain]

If, and it's a huge if, Southeastern were to offer payment by instalments it is likely that they would expect a large first payment and the balance over a short period. I think they would want it all paid before the 6 months available to them to bring a prosecution expires.

 

[Tetchytyke]

There’s no harm in asking, but the TOC only have six months from the date you were stopped to prosecute you (unless they go down the fraud route and it is worth pointing out that this is something that is certainly on the cusp of meriting a fraud prosecution).

We’re already at least a month on.

You may- if you are very lucky- get them to accept a payment plan for 2-3 months. But you are very unlikely to get them to accept more than that, as from their perspective the only leverage they have on you is the threat of prosecution.

It’s worth noting that a fine you receive at court may be less than the amount requested, but it would be a criminal fine.

 

[davart]

I wouldn't mention the Trainline app or any reasons. It's fairly open and shut. If you're able to buy a short-fare ticket, you're capable of purchasing the correct one.

If I ever get a train at the last minute I usually just ask the guard if they mind me selecting the next train when I buy the ticket so it lets me purchase the correct distance ticket, otherwise as you say, the app will say that the train has already departed.

I would ask them whether there is a possibility of paying the balance within a time period. Just say you realise this is a serious matter and you will not do this again.

 

[Hadders]

To sum up where I think things are:

@sabinebean has been stopped by a Southeastern RPI for short faring and had their details taken
They have been stopped before for having an out of date railcard (it's not clear if you were given a Penalty Fare or out of court settlement but that doesn't really matter now)
Southeastern has investigated your Trainline account and have written to you, claiming that you've short fared on 217 previous occasions
Southeastern have offered you an out of court settlement costing £2,260.75

Is there anything here that I've missed? Assuing that there's no dispute over the number of times you've not paid the correct fare then essentially you've got two choices:

1. Pay what Southeastern are asking, if you do this it will be the end of the matter. I appereciate it will be extremely hard for you to raise this sort of sum at short notice. You could ask if they will acceot payment installments (I think it is unlikely they will agree for reasons mentioned by other forum members above) but if you don't ask you don't get.
2. Let Southeastern take you to court. It is likely that they will prosecute you under the Regulation of the Railways Act for the offence on the day you were caught (it is possible that they could ask for the other 217 offences to be taken into cosideration). Given what you've told us you would be found guilty and have to pay:

• A fine based on your income noirmally reduced bt a third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity
• A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
• Contribution towards TfL's costs
• Compensation for the fares avoided

In addition you would have a criminal record that, for most purposes, would be considered as spent after a year.

Either way this is going to be expensive. Strangly, if you end up being prosecuted the total you have to pay might be less than the out of court settlement (depends on whether the 217 other instances are taken into account). The court would almost certainly allow you to pay in installments.

It might (and I'd be interested in the opinion of other forum members) be worth writing a short, polite letter to Southeastern saying that you want to pay the settlement but due to you not working due to health issues you cannot raise the sum of money required at such short notice. Ask them if they will offer you a payment plan and say that if they won't allow then they will have to prosecute you.

The issue for Southeastern is if they do prosecute you they will get less money than if you pay the settlement. This is because the fine and surcharge go to the Treasury, Southeastern would only get the court costs and compensation for the fare avoided (and probably only the fare on the day you were caught).

 

[island]

The issue for Southeastern is if they do prosecute you they will get less money than if you pay the settlement. This is because the fine and surcharge go to the Treasury, Southeastern would only get the court costs and compensation for the fare avoided (and probably only the fare on the day you were caught).

Albeit Southeastern is an arm of the government so it all winds up in the same place anyway

 

[OpalStar]

@sabinebean I’m in a similar situation to you - I’m just waiting for my letter. I know it’s coming and if it makes you feel any better I fear my offending may be worse than yours.

I will have to borrow money off family if a settlement is offered, I’m also in my early 20s and initially saw the trains as an easy way to cut corners and save a little cash, it then turned into a stupid pattern and now I’ve been caught I’m glad because I don’t have the stress of them coming after me at some point in the future.

I understand this is such a tough time but if you want to talk to someone in a similar situation for moral support do reach out.

 

[WesternLancer]

@sabinebean I’m in a similar situation to you - I’m just waiting for my letter. I know it’s coming and if it makes you feel any better I fear my offending may be worse than yours.

I will have to borrow money off family if a settlement is offered, I’m also in my early 20s and initially saw the trains as an easy way to cut corners and save a little cash, it then turned into a stupid pattern and now I’ve been caught I’m glad because I don’t have the stress of them coming after me at some point in the future.

I understand this is such a tough time but if you want to talk to someone in a similar situation for moral support do reach out.

Thanks for posting these helpful thoughts.