Stopped by the railway police at Ilford station using my son's zip card

[dh297]

Hello can someone help me with my situation,

Last Week , I was stopped by the railway police at Sevenkings station using my son's zip card.

I have used for 2-3 week with probably 8-9 return Journey between London-Liverpool to Sevenkings station.

 

[30907]

TfL will normally prosecute for the (relatively) Minor offence of travelling without a valid ticket. They occasionally issue a written warning.

You are in no position to deny the offence. You are welcome to explain your "exceptional reason" for not paying the correct fare, but shortage of funds will not count as mitigation

 

[dh297]

TfL will normally prosecute for the (relatively) Minor offence of travelling without a valid ticket. They occasionally issue a written warning.

You are in no position to deny the offence. You are welcome to explain your "exceptional reason" for not paying the correct fare, but shortage of funds will not count as mitigation

This incident occurred during an extremely stressful time in my life. My family recently relocated from other part of London to Redbridge Council area, and my elder son has not yet been allocated a school place locally I am still chasing Admission team to provide the place ..

 

[methecooldude]

This incident occurred during an extremely stressful time in my life. My family recently relocated from other part of London to Redbridge Council area, and my elder son has not yet been allocated a Secondary school place locally I am still chasing Admission team to provide the place . As a result, he must travel daily to school daily via TFL . Managing the demands of this transition, combined with the pressure of organizing our new home and adjusting to our new circumstances, left me overwhelmed. I made a regrettable error in judgment by using the Child Oyster card for my own travel for few journeys may be approx. 8-9 times.

Unfortunately as saddening to hear it is, TfL are not going to care much

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Transport for London take misuse of Zip Oyster cards very seriously and a prosecution under the TfL Bylaws is the usual outcome.

The letter you've been sent is TfL's standard Verification Letter which asks you to confirm or deny the incident and ask you to give any mitigating circumstances which you would like them to take into account when deciding how to proceed.

I suggest you mention the following in your reply:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

TfL generally do not offer out of court settlements although in some very limited circumstances they have been known to issue a final warning instead of prosecution. Prosecutions are normally done through what is called a Single Justice Procedure Notice. This means that if you plead guilty it is not necessary to attend court in person (unless you choose to do), you simply return the form to the court with any mitigation you want them to take into account and they will write to you with the details of the fine you have to pay.

If you are prosecuted and plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court) then you will have to pay:

- A fine based on your income (normally discounted bya third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity)
- A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
- A contribution towards TfL's costs
- Compensation for the fares avoided

If you are found guilty then this is a criminal conviction. If you are prosecuted under the TfL Bylaws (which is what normally happens) then the conviction isn't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and won't normally appear on Basic DBS checks although we always advise people to be honest when asked if they have a conviction.

Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

 

[AlterEgo]

This incident occurred during an extremely stressful time in my life. My family recently relocated from other part of London to Redbridge Council area, and my elder son has not yet been allocated a Secondary school place locally I am still chasing Admission team to provide the place . As a result, he must travel daily to school daily via TFL . Managing the demands of this transition, combined with the pressure of organizing our new home and adjusting to our new circumstances, left me overwhelmed. I made a regrettable error in judgment by using the Child Oyster card for my own travel for few journeys may be approx. 8-9 times.

How does any of this contribute to your decision to fare evade?

 

[dh297]

How does any of this contribute to your decision to fare evade?

The pressures of managing our relocation, covering the cost of my son’s daily travel, and the uncertainty surrounding his school placement have taken a toll on my mental health. At the time of the incident, I was experiencing considerable stress, which impaired my judgement. Regrettably making poor decision, I used a Child Oyster card for my own travel in an attempt to ease the immediate financial strain.

 

[antharro]

I'm of the opinion that TfL aren't going to care about your circumstances. You won't be the only person in London who's dealing with a stressful situation. By all means include it in your letter but don't expect it to hold any weight with TfL. Stress does not mean you pick up a card that you're not entitled to use, and use it. Especially when I'd bet that you have at least one contactless card in your wallet you could use. Now, if your stress was severe enough that you were undergoing treatment from your GP, then that might, and I mean might, help swing things in your favour. But otherwise, I would prepare for the worst. It is not easy to persuade TfL to let you off with just a warning.

 

[skyhigh]

covering the cost of my son’s daily travel

Surely that is the point of giving the child the Oyster card in the first place?

I used a Child Oyster card for my own travel in an attempt to ease the immediate financial strain.

So this excuse won't cut much ice with TfL.

 

[nuts & bolts]

The pressures of managing our relocation, covering the cost of my son’s daily travel, and the uncertainty surrounding his school placement have taken a toll on my mental health. At the time of the incident, I was experiencing considerable stress, which impaired my judgement. Regrettably making poor decision, I used a Child Oyster card for my own travel in an attempt to ease the immediate financial strain.

Unfortunately not mitigating circumstances that the courts will take into consideration.

 

[Hadders]

The pressures of managing our relocation, covering the cost of my son’s daily travel, and the uncertainty surrounding his school placement have taken a toll on my mental health. At the time of the incident, I was experiencing considerable stress, which impaired my judgement. Regrettably making poor decision, I used a Child Oyster card for my own travel in an attempt to ease the immediate financial strain.

I am sorry to hear of your mental health issues.

TfL's Revenue Enforcement and Prosecutions Policy, that I linked to earlier says:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

8.2 TfL will have regard to the following factors against prosecution...
...
d) The offender has pre-existing mental health issues or a disability supported by satisfactory medical proof from a Medical Expert in the relevant field.

So if you want to reply on this as mitigation for your use of the Zip Oyster card it needs to be supported by a Medical Expert.