Stopped but no details taken

[Nova123]

Hello all,

So here is my story, I went from a to b, knew I didn't have money for the fare and tried my luck going from one unmanned station to another.

Got caught by a ticket inspector, I was upfront and honest about not having money for the fare, she said I was lucky as the gentlemen that was just there was an undercover cop.

I said ok, but I accept the penalty fare, how do I pay, she said they will catch me by cctv, I asked if she would like to take my details and the ticket inspector said no that the revenue will catch me in due course. I got off at the next stop and approached the guard again, apologising and asking how to rectify, she said that they will be in touch.

So that's the story..

In your wisdom, what do you think the outcome will be:

A) nothing, ticket inspector was trying to be the fright in me, since she took no details.

B) they hand over the cctv to the transport police and they try to track me down..

If I did want to get ahead of this and offer to just pay a fine before it gets all scary and court, how would I do this..

 

[cuccir]

This sounds very unusual. I wonder if the guard was unable to sell tickets for some reason and decided to give you a story about CCTV and undercover cops instead?

Without taking any details, it's unlikely you'll hear from them again. However, if Revenue Protection Inspectors do work your area frequently, then they will catch you if this is something you do regularly.

 

[Nova123]

After talking to me, the ticket inspector controlled someone else and I saw she sold a ticket to them so that's not a factor.

There was a shady guy that walked up and down the carriage before the inspector did their rounds which I attributed to being the fore mentioned police office but when we spoke their had been no stops for them to get off.

It's not something I would do again or advise anyone to do, was 2hrs from home and horrendous weather was afoot.

I would rather get ahead of it and repay the fine before it comes a couple hundred pound of mess and a court date.. how would I go about doing that?

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

After talking to me, the ticket inspector controlled someone else and I saw she sold a ticket to them so that's not a factor.

There was a shady guy that walked up and down the carriage before the inspector did their rounds which I attributed to being the fore mentioned police office but when we spoke their had been no stops for them to get off.

It's not something I would do again or advise anyone to do, was 2hrs from home and horrendous weather was afoot.

I would rather get ahead of it and repay the fine before it comes a couple hundred pound of mess and a court date.. how would I go about doing that?

There's nothing to pay as of yet. Personally, I would sit tight until such time as you receive correspondence from Southeastern. They have six months to prosecute you if they want to do that, so if after six months you haven't heard anything it's likely that they've dropped the matter.

 

[Nova123]

There's nothing to pay as of yet. Personally, I would sit tight until such time as you receive correspondence from Southeastern. They have six months to prosecute you if they want to do that, so if after six months you haven't heard anything it's likely that they've dropped the matter.

Ok thank you, I'll do that then,
I'm just curious how they will get my details and why the inspector made a point of saying I was on cctv,

Proper put the fright in me, last thing I need is a criminal conviction, rather pay anything they require before it gets to that.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Ok thank you, I'll do that then,
I'm just curious how they will get my details and why the inspector made a point of saying I was on cctv,

Proper put the fright in me, last thing I need is a criminal conviction, rather pay anything they require before it gets to that.

If you're not previously known to Southeastern then CCTV footage is not going to be a great help to identifying you. If this were a major crime, i.e. like the Salisbury poisonings, then they would definitely be scrutinising on-train and other CCTV to try and find out who you were. Fare dodging is also a crime but it's a less serious one that they're unlikely to spend the effort on tracking you down.

 

[Gareth Marston]

At an educated guess Id say something a "bit bigger" may have been going on or suspected of going on so the OP got off with a ticking off rather than being dealt with as that may have been time consuming and not a priority. The OP got lucky so to speak as others have already said this is unlikely to happen again.

 

[Nova123]

Thank you all for your input,

I am reassured by yourselves nothing further should happen, trying to hunt me down for a £9 fare would be incredible.

I'll update, be it because I've had a letter or because six months has elapsed.

Thank you all for your diligent opinions and timely responses.

 

[najaB]

In your wisdom, what do you think the outcome will be:

A) nothing, ticket inspector was trying to be the fright in me, since she took no details.

B) they hand over the cctv to the transport police and they try to track me down..

It sounds to me like you had a lucky escape. It is extremely unlikely that they would be able to identify you from CCTV, even if they did try (which they won't). Don't do it again and you'll be okay.

 

[CC 72100]

Just remember that making a journey in the knowledge that you don't have the funds to buy the appropriate ticket for the journey would definitely demonstrate intent to avoid the fare...

 

[Stigy]

Sounds like a Guard trying to scare you really. As a Guard, they could sell you a ticket, but this wasn’t possible as you have no money to do so. The Guard could have issued an Unpaid Fare Notice for the cost of the ticket, but along with outher Guard duties, this probably wasn’t possible.

They won’t pursue it using CCTV so don’t worry. However, it could have been a very different story had they taken details from you.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This won't be pursued, it's too much effort to get 20 quid off you, or even the kind of money they'd get for a prosecution.

That said, give it 10 years improvement of facial recognition technology and it probably would!

 

[sw1ller]

Thank you all for your input,

I am reassured by yourselves nothing further should happen, trying to hunt me down for a £9 fare would be incredible.

I'll update, be it because I've had a letter or because six months has elapsed.

Thank you all for your diligent opinions and timely responses.

Without trying to worry you, what everyone has said is sound advice, but don’t think for a second a low sum like £9 would stop them pursuing you. There was a case last year of someone caught between cardif bay and queen street that resulted in over £600.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....arriva-trains-wales-told-rethink-12571745.amp

“
The leader of the Welsh Conservatives has raised concerns about “disproportionate penalty fares” being levied against Arriva Trains Wales passengers.

Andrew RT Davies has called on the train company to investigate after a pregnant woman was ordered by a court to pay more than £600 for not paying a £2.30 train fare.

On Monday, we reported how Lauren Bolt was landed with a £616.30 bill after she travelled without a ticket.

The 23-year-old, from Barry , was making her way to work travelling from a friend’s house in Grangetown to Cardiff Bay and said she had the exact amount of money and her card on her but the ticket machine was out of order.


She added that she could not find a ticket collector on the first train to Cardiff Queen Street and when she got on the next train between that station and Cardiff Bay she said she could see a ticket collector at the other end of the train but was unable to make her way through the crowd because there was “just no room to move”

In total Lauren was fined £440 and ordered to pay costs of £130 plus a victim surcharge of £44 and £2.30 in compensation.

On the day she was fined at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, a total of £10,694.90 was issued in fines and charges against 21 people.“

I don’t want to worry you for what you have already done, I’m pretty sure you’ll not hear anything... just know you have been lucky.

 

[Nova123]

That's enough to put the fear into anyone and doing my due diligent research before posting I was quite concerned about this escalating to this.

I hope I have gotten away with it, I was certainly lucky that the ticket inspector didn't take my details, despite me insisting that she does. Looking at it again and being fully informed.. I think I would of not got on the train in the first place and if faced with a similar situation again I certainly wouldn't.

Time will tell if I get a letter in the post and prosecuted.

Thanks again.

 

[island]

If you haven’t given any details then that is almost certainly the end of the matter. The TOC cannot usefully trace people from CCTV.

 

[gray1404]

No details were taken and, as you are not already known to the train company, they cannot take it any further. I would forget about it now and just simply ensure you have a tickt for future travel.