Report for Prosecution and Previous Penalty fare HELP Please

[snort]

Yesterday I received a report for prosecution for not having a 16-25 railcard when I purchased a ticket saying I did. I gave the correct name but incorrect address as I gave the address I used to live at which I moved out of 5 or so months ago. Train company is South Western Rail. As I was anxious and nervous I told the officer I have a railcard and left it at home which is not the case as I don't own one. The officer said the train company might write to me or might not.

I was also caught recently by South western rail for the same issue where I didn't have a rail card but had a ticket and was issued a penalty fare notice which I have paid off. I gave the same details (correct name & incorrect address same as I did yesterday). And again said I have a railcard but left it at home.

From reading other posts I understand that they will send a letter for the report for prosecution setting out there position and offering me to give my version of events. As I gave them the incorrect address I will not be able to find out whether they are prosecuting me or not or be able to respond and ask for a settlement. This is really bothering me as I do not want to end up in court and would likely not be able to afford the fine and court fees.

Any advice would be useful but the key points I want to find out are:
How likely are they to try and prosecute me as the officer said they may write to me or might not (although I was caught recently for the same issue)?
How do I find out what's going on with my case and how do I go about contacting SWR as I believe the best course of action will be to come clean to SWR.
How likely am I to get an out of court settlement?

 

[RPI]

So you gave a correct name but incorrect address? If that's the case then you need to contact them ASAP as correspondence will be sent to the address you gave and if no reply is forthcoming the case will go to court in your absence and if there is sufficient evidence you'll be convicted in your absence.

 

[scrapy]

When you say you were reported for purchasing a discounted ticket, did you actually travel?

 

[island]

Why did you give an address you don’t live at any more?

Is there someone you know still at that address who might be able to receive and forward post to you?

 

[snort]

@RPI What's the best way to contact them is it by email or post?

@scrapy For the penalty notice I was caught at the barriers and for the notice for prosecution I was on the train.

@island i know I shouldnt of but i panicked and thought i should give the same address as last time so gave them that one.

 

[Brissle Girl]

It’s very likely they will now investigate your purchase history and come after you for every instance where they identify that you have fraudulently said you have a railcard. That could, if you are a frequent traveller, be very expensive, if you are offered an out of court settlement. (It won’t just be the third you saved on each ticket, but the full cost of the appropriate ticket, which could be based on anytime single fares).

It may be worth your while going through your Trainline account and estimating how much this could add up, in case you need to start saving up to pay any settlement offered (they would expect it to be paid promptly to avoid court action).

 

[snort]

It’s very likely they will now investigate your purchase history and come after you for every instance where they identify that you have fraudulently said you have a railcard. That could, if you are a frequent traveller, be very expensive, if you are offered an out of court settlement. (It won’t just be the third you saved on each ticket, but the full cost of the appropriate ticket, which could be based on anytime single fares).

It may be worth your while going through your Trainline account and estimating how much this could add up, in case you need to start saving up to pay any settlement offered (they would expect it to be paid promptly to avoid court action).

Would this just be tickets covered by South western rail or tickets on other providers also that I booked from trainline?

Also do you think they will accept a settlement or will they go straight to court due to the previous instance?

 

[Brissle Girl]

Would this just be tickets covered by South western rail or tickets on other providers also that I booked from trainline?

Also do you think they will accept a settlement or will they go straight to court due to the previous instance?

It will be all train companies, not just SWR.

Given you were caught once and haven’t learnt your lesson, getting a settlement offer will undoubtedly be harder, particularly if they see that you continued to offend on multiple occasions after being caught. So you’ll have to work very hard to try and convince them that you have truly mended your ways.

 

[WesternLancer]

Would this just be tickets covered by South western rail or tickets on other providers also that I booked from trainline?

Also do you think they will accept a settlement or will they go straight to court due to the previous instance?

I suspect they will not go straight to court - which is why you need to get the letter they will send to you (or it will end up in court and you won't know until a bailiff finds you and wants a much bigger sum from you) - but you will have to put more effort into persuading them that you are going to sort your tickets out properly in future and not keep paying less that you should for train fares.

 

[SouthernOne]

On the report slip, there should be an email address for their prosecutions office. Maybe send them the updated address details along with the reference number and any other detail.

 

[RPI]

@RPI What's the best way to contact them is it by email or post?

@scrapy For the penalty notice I was caught at the barriers and for the notice for prosecution I was on the train.

@island i know I shouldnt of but i panicked and thought i should give the same address as last time so gave them that one.

There should be an email address on the slip they would have handed you?