Short faring between Stratford & Shenfield

[ah987]

Hi forum

I have been caught today for short fare dodging, won’t give a sob story why.

The Travel Enforcement Officer that caught me was friendly after i stated the truth & that i told him i had been doing it since start of 2023 and so on, i have basically not been paying between shenfield & stratford & have done it about 127 times so calculated i owe £2590.80.

I plan to respond immedietly once receiving the letter, the enforcement officer said just be coorprative & that if i cannot pay in one go they are willing to come to a installment agreement? I obviously will not be doing this EVER again, just would like some advice if they would come to a settlement agreement & any admin charges upon that? I work as a freelancer so don’t travel 5 day’s a week, i was completely honest with inspecter & all my details and so on. Look forward to reply @Hadders @Fawkes Cat

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hi forum

I have been caught today for short fare dodging, won’t give a sob story why.

The Travel Enforcement Officer that caught me was friendly after i stated the truth & that i told him i had been doing it since start of 2023 and so on, i have basically not been paying between shenfield & stratford & have done it about 127 times so calculated i owe £2590.80.

I plan to respond immedietly once receiving the letter, the enforcement officer said just be coorprative & that if i cannot pay in one go they are willing to come to a installment agreement? I obviously will not be doing this EVER again, just would like some advice if they would come to a settlement agreement & any admin charges upon that? I work as a freelancer so don’t travel 5 day’s a week, i was completely honest with inspecter & all my details and so on. Look forward to reply @Hadders @Fawkes Cat

Welcome to the forum!

It sounds as if you have already done some research looking at other cases: from those you will see that @Hadders routinely gives excellent advice on how to respond, and they may well be along soon to give a specifcially tailored version for you. For the moment, it would help us if you can give a little more information:

- which company were you stopped by? I'm not personally familiar with Stratford but I know that it has TfL services as well as National Rail (in particular Greater Anglia) ones. The thing is, TfL typically take a much tougher approach to fare dodging than many of the National Rail operators. So it may make a difference who you talked to
- were you given any paperwork? It would be really helpful if you could show us what you were given. Make sure you hide your personal details so the whole internet doesn't get to see what's happened to you!

 

[Brissle Girl]

Welcome to the forum you'd rather not be on!

Just to manage your expectations, it's not usual to be allowed to pay in instalments, and even if it is, it is likely to be over a relatively short period of a couple of months. It's possible that due to the amount you might be, but typically they want all the money before the expiry period after which they can't prosecute you, which will be 6 months from today.

You appear to have used the Anytime return of 20.40. It's likely that they will use the Anytime single fare of 12.70, so your calculation may be an underestimate, and you will need to add on around £200 for admin costs too.

 

[Gloster]

It is likely that you will be expected to pay the full Anytime Single fare for each and every journey you made, so two fares for a return journey, with no allowance for any money paid or any reduction (such as a railcard) that you may be entitled to. They will then add on their investigation costs, which normally start at E150. If they make an offer, you will be expected to pay it in full promptly, probably within 14 days; a payment plan is highly unlikely. They might ask for less, but that only happens very occasionally and is entirely at their discretion.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

It's likely that they will use the Anytime single fare of 12.70, so your calculation may be an underestimate, and you will need to add on around £200 for admin costs too.

Maybe £12.10 per single journey if most of the moody journeys were made in 2023.

(Or possibly £11.40 for those journeys made back in January / February 2023).

 

[ah987]

Welcome to the forum!

It sounds as if you have already done some research looking at other cases: from those you will see that @Hadders routinely gives excellent advice on how to respond, and they may well be along soon to give a specifcially tailored version for you. For the moment, it would help us if you can give a little more information:

- which company were you stopped by? I'm not personally familiar with Stratford but I know that it has TfL services as well as National Rail (in particular Greater Anglia) ones. The thing is, TfL typically take a much tougher approach to fare dodging than many of the National Rail operators. So it may make a difference who you talked to
- were you given any paperwork? It would be really helpful if you could show us what you were given. Make sure you hide your personal details so the whole internet doesn't get to see what's happened to you!

Hi @Fawkes Cat
Thank you for swift response!

Yes have been reading the forums for research.

So it was the greater anglia that stopped me, they all check the tickets just before you go down the stairs to other platforms, & then once i was issued with penalty i offered to pay on spot but then he passed on to Transport Law Enforcer Officer (he showed me his badge and was in blue uniform, he was nice once i started coming clean (after a minute since interaction) he then took my details from I.D and explained i’m not under arrest or anything but read me my rights (anything i do say can be used in a court of law…& so on) then asked me questions which i answered accurately about how often i do it and so on.

He asked me to fill out a form for him with my details which i did , also took my oyster card number to show i’ve been tapping in & out of stratford dodging the Shenfield-Stratford fare. He told me they will investigate further, i calculated i have done about 127 short fare journeys, prior they can see i have been paying full pricing for tickets and so on. He gave me sound advice to just coorparate and respond to the letter asap once received and he said they are very understanding on personal situations so long i’m honest and respond with respect & that if i cannot pay due to personal circumstances to tell them, but i do plan to pay but would see if they would come to an installment settlment based on my income (i don’t earn over 12k per annum as a freelancer & the industry i work in has gone a bad way since 2023 & so on)

I didn’t receive any paperwork on the spot but as mentioned the Law Enforcement officer gave me good advice and said he understands it’s highly expensive to pay up to £30 a day for travelling & just said to be honest with my responses & answers!

Hope that helps!

Welcome to the forum you'd rather not be on!

Just to manage your expectations, it's not usual to be allowed to pay in instalments, and even if it is, it is likely to be over a relatively short period of a couple of months. It's possible that due to the amount you might be, but typically they want all the money before the expiry period after which they can't prosecute you, which will be 6 months from today.

You appear to have used the Anytime return of 20.40. It's likely that they will use the Anytime single fare of 12.70, so your calculation may be an underestimate, and you will need to add on around £200 for admin costs too.

Hi @Brissle Girl

Thank you for response!

Yes even like a 5 month installment that would work greatly, i’ll obviously be honest about my income situation and will ensure to be completely honest, this is my first offence with greater anglia that i’ve been caught for (obviously im a repeat offender with the amount if times i’ve done it)

Well i calculated at peak time shenfield to stratford return is £20.40 so that x127 =£2590.80 and im aware i will be paying admin costs on top of that.

Welcome to the forum you'd rather not be on!

Just to manage your expectations, it's not usual to be allowed to pay in instalments, and even if it is, it is likely to be over a relatively short period of a couple of months. It's possible that due to the amount you might be, but typically they want all the money before the expiry period after which they can't prosecute you, which will be 6 months from today.

You appear to have used the Anytime return of 20.40. It's likely that they will use the Anytime single fare of 12.70, so your calculation may be an underestimate, and you will need to add on around £200 for admin costs too.

Apologies i misunderstood your calculation i get that it will be single fares so in that case total i owe in fares will be = £3225.80 and on top will be admin fees

 

[Brissle Girl]

Note that I’m sure I recall at least one case where Greater Anglia was less penal, and indeed may have deducted the fare actually paid. But it’s best to be prepared for the worst case scenario, as that, with the exception of GTR, seems to be the normal approach.

 

[ah987]

Note that I’m sure I recall at least one case where Greater Anglia was less penal, and indeed may have deducted the fare actually paid. But it’s best to be prepared for the worst case scenario, as that, with the exception of GTR, seems to be the normal approach.

Thank you! Given me peace of mind about it!

 

[alholmes]

What’s your full journey? Was Shenfield your starting point and Stratford your finishing point? If so, how were you getting through barriers?

if you were starting at Chelmsford, for example, and just buying a ticket Chelmsford to Shenfield then there’s a possibility that they may be seeking payment of your full journey.

 

[island]

even like a 5 month installment that would work greatly, i’ll obviously be honest about my income situation and will ensure to be completely honest

For the avoidance of doubt, instalment agreements, even short ones, are rarely given for settlements. They almost always need to be paid in one go. In the unlikely event that an instalment plan is offered, it will need to be finished sufficiently before 6 months from the day you were caught, not the day it is agreed.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

It sounds as though you've done a bit of research already on this section of the forum which is good. Greater Anglia will write to you in the next few weeks asking for your version of events beforethey decide how to proceed. When the letter arrives pop a copy of it in this thread, with personal details and case reference numbers redacted, along with your draft reply and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

It is up to Greater Anglia to decide how to proceed, they could decide to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court but they will usually agree to an out of court settlement if you co-operate with them and haven't come to their attention before. Be prepared to pay the fares avoided at the full Anytime rate with no discount for the tickets you did purchase in addition to an admin fee to cover Greater Anglia's costs of dealing with your case.

It is rare for train companies to offer payment plans. We have seen some isolated examples of them being offered so I wouldn't completely rule it out but you should be prepared to have to pay a settlement in full within a few days of it being offered.

 

[ah987]

Welcome to the forum!

It sounds as though you've done a bit of research already on this section of the forum which is good. Greater Anglia will write to you in the next few weeks asking for your version of events beforethey decide how to proceed. When the letter arrives pop a copy of it in this thread, with personal details and case reference numbers redacted, along with your draft reply and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

It is up to Greater Anglia to decide how to proceed, they could decide to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court but they will usually agree to an out of court settlement if you co-operate with them and haven't come to their attention before. Be prepared to pay the fares avoided at the full Anytime rate with no discount for the tickets you did purchase in addition to an admin fee to cover Greater Anglia's costs of dealing with your case.

It is rare for train companies to offer payment plans. We have seen some isolated examples of them being offered so I wouldn't completely rule it out but you should be prepared to have to pay a settlement in full within a few days of it being offered.

Hi @Hadders Thank you for response, noted all advice i shall wait for letter & get back to here.