TPE penalty fare

[exactri]

Hi! I was travelling today on TPE and did not realise that my rail card expired just over 2 weeks ago. Since then I have taken 3 trains including the one today. I would say the total of all these three tickets isn’t anymore than £60. I was given a ticket from the instructor today and said that TPE will be in touch.

Unfortunately stupidly I gave the wrong information but then gave the right information with my name , address but they still have the wrong date of birth. The DOB is for the same year but different date and month. I have never done something so stupid before. I am so scared that I will get a £1000 fine or imprisonment. Can someone please advise.

It was really not my intent to travel with a out of date rail card I honestly did not realise it was out of date as I purchase my tickets on the northern rail app and my rail card is on the Trainline app.

Just to add I was given a ticket irregularity report

 

[Titfield]

You need to wait until TPE write to you. This can be anything from a few days to some months depending upon any back log in their administration.

Once you have the letter please post here with any identifying features obscured (eg name, address, reference number).

Advice tailored to your exact situation can be given. This should enable you to persuade TPE to offer you an out of court settlement, typically the full fares for the journeys taken (as the original tickets were invalid because you didn't have a valid railcard) plus £100 - £200 administration fee,

If you engage with TPE (ie reply to their letter in the way you will be advised) then you will not be going to prison nor facing a £1K fine.

In the meantime do not get stressed by this as sadly this type of issue happens all too frequently.

 

[exactri]

Thank you so much I will put the letter in here as soon as I receive it

 

[gray1404]

Can you upload a copy of what you were given?

 

[exactri]

Here it is

 

[gray1404]

Okay it's definitely a ticket irregularity report rather than a penalty fare. Just wanted to confirm that given the title of the post. You therefore need to wait for a letter from TPE and follow the advise above.

 

[exactri]

Okay thank you will post the letter once I have received it

 

[Haywain]

I am so scared that I will get a £1000 fine or imprisonment. Can someone please advise.

You will not go to prison for this, and you will not be fined £1000 - they are the maximum penalties and are not applied for a first offence. It is quite likely that you will be able to agree an out of court settlement but based on what you've told us this could cost you around £150 in costs and £90 in unpaid fares. Budget for a bit more to be on the safe side.

 

[exactri]

You will not go to prison for this, and you will not be fined £1000 - they are the maximum penalties and are not applied for a first offence. It is quite likely that you will be able to agree an out of court settlement but based on what you've told us this could cost you around £150 in costs and £90 in unpaid fares. Budget for abot more to be on the safe side.

Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate your advice

 

[Puffing Devil]

Don't worry about your DOB if your name and address are correct and you recieve letters from TPE. If any of their communications has the incorrect DOB on it, take the opportunity in your next reply to correct it.

 

[exactri]

Hi all, please advise on how I can reply to this . Your advice will be greatly appreciate

Would I need to reply to the letter and response online with evidence of my railcard? @Puffing Devil @Haywain @gray1404 @Titfield

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hi all, please advise on how I can reply to this . Your advice will be greatly appreciate

Would I need to reply to the letter and response online with evidence of my railcard? @Puffing Devil @Haywain @gray1404 @Titfield

If you look at some other threads in this forum, you will probably find the excellent advice that @Hadders often gives. To say that in a different way, essentially this is your chance to convince the railway that if they let you settle for the train fare that you should have paid, plus the cost of their investigation, then you won't get your train tickets wrong in future. If you can't persuade them of that then they may decide that you have to be taken to court to learn your lesson - and going to court will probably be more expensive for you.

So what you need to do is write a short but polite letter that

- confirms the facts (i.e. agree that when your ticket was checked you did not have a valid railcard)
- confirms that you now know that you were in the wrong, and you will try not to make the same mistake again
- asks the railway if they will agree to settle the matter out of court

There's no guarantee, but we often find that a letter like that will lead to the railway offering you the chance to settle.

If you would like us to have a look at what you're planning to send, we'll be happy to do so, and suggest improvements if necessary.

 

[Haywain]

Would I need to reply to the letter and response online with evidence of my railcard?

Have you bought a new railcard since you were stopped? If so, you should mention that as reassurance that you have taken steps to avoid a recurrence. The only other advice I would give at this point is not to give a sob story, as it isn't of any real interest and won't lead to a better outcome.

 

[exactri]

Have you bought a new railcard since you were stopped? If so, you should mention that as reassurance that you have taken steps to avoid a recurrence. The only other advice I would give at this point is not to give a sob story, as it isn't of any real interest and won't lead to a better outcome.

If you look at some other threads in this forum, you will probably find the excellent advice that @Hadders often gives. To say that in a different way, essentially this is your chance to convince the railway that if they let you settle for the train fare that you should have paid, plus the cost of their investigation, then you won't get your train tickets wrong in future. If you can't persuade them of that then they may decide that you have to be taken to court to learn your lesson - and going to court will probably be more expensive for you.

So what you need to do is write a short but polite letter that

- confirms the facts (i.e. agree that when your ticket was checked you did not have a valid railcard)
- confirms that you now know that you were in the wrong, and you will try not to make the same mistake again
- asks the railway if they will agree to settle the matter out of court

There's no guarantee, but we often find that a letter like that will lead to the railway offering you the chance to settle.

If you would like us to have a look at what you're planning to send, we'll be happy to do so, and suggest improvements if necessary.

How does this sound? similar format to someone else but changed , if you could also advice that would be greatly appreciated @Hadders


Dear Mr ..... ,

Thank you for the opportunity to reply to your letter of ‘Notice of Intended Prosecution’.

On the 10th of August I made a journey from Liverpool South Parkway to Manchester Oxford Road. On the train, the inspector checked my ticket and asked me to present my railcard. I presented my railcard, and they pointed out that it was expired. I apologised sincerely for my error as I did not realise this was the case, if only I would have known I would have either purchased a rail card before travelling or brought a full price ticket. I Travelled again on the 10th August and purchased two tickets at full price.

I sincerely apologise for this careless error of not checking my railcard- it was a genuine oversight. I am so disappointment with my action of being so careless. I have learnt from this to now double check my tickets prior to purchasing any tickets. To ensure this won’t happen again, I have and will actively set reminders on their expiry date in my calendar.

I do realise how much money these incidents cost and how much of an inconvenience this is for not only the ticket inspector but also to yourself. Therefore, I kindly ask for your sympathy and recognition of my intention to never let this happen again, through my actions outlined above.

I am hopeful that this can be settled out of court as I understand how serious this is and the impact this can have on my life and work. I am prepared to pay for my fare of the journey and whatever further costs decides is reasonable in this case.

I have also sent over proof about when my railcard expired and proof of my new rail card to www.tpexpress.co.uk/drpusupport

Expired Railcard: July 2023 to July 2024 - Current Railcard: 15 August 2024 – 14 August 2025

I am wiling to give you my full cooperation in this matter and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely,

 

[Haywain]

I have learnt from this to now double check my tickets prior to purchasing any tickets. To ensure this won’t happen again, I have and will actively set reminders on their expiry date in my calendar.

Check your railcard, surely? However, the two lines here duplicate each other so you could simplify this a bit.

I am hopeful that this can be settled out of court as I understand how serious this is and the impact this can have on my life and work. I am prepared to pay for my fare of the journey and whatever further costs decides is reasonable in this case.

You need to be asking, not hoping. Something more like, "I would appreciate the opportunity to..."

 

[exactri]

Check your railcard, surely? However, the two lines here duplicate each other so you could simplify this a bit.

You need to be asking, not hoping. Something more like, "I would appreciate the opportunity to..."

Corrections made below



Dear Mr ..... ,

Thank you for the opportunity to reply to your letter of ‘Notice of Intended Prosecution’.

On the 10th of August I made a journey from Liverpool South Parkway to Manchester Oxford Road. On the train, the inspector checked my ticket and asked me to present my railcard. I presented my railcard, and they pointed out that it was expired. I apologised sincerely for my error as I did not realise this was the case, if only I would have known I would have either purchased a rail card before travelling or brought a full price ticket. I Travelled again on the 10th August and purchased two tickets at full price.

I sincerely apologise for this careless error of not checking my railcard- it was a genuine oversight. I have learnt from this to now double check my rail card prior to purchasing any tickets. I have actively set reminders on their expiry date in my calendar.

I do realise how much money these incidents cost and how much of an inconvenience this is for not only the ticket inspector but also to yourself. Therefore, I kindly ask for your sympathy and recognition of my intention to never let this happen again, through my actions outlined above.

I would appreciate the opportunity to settle this of court as I understand how serious this is and the impact this can have on my life and work. I am prepared to pay for my fare of the journey and whatever further costs decides is reasonable in this case.

I have also sent over proof about when my railcard expired and proof of my new rail card to www.tpexpress.co.uk/drpusupport

Expired Railcard: July 2023 to July 2024 - Current Railcard: 15 August 2024 – 14 August 2025

I am wiling to give you my full cooperation in this matter and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely,

 

[Haywain]

I think that's good.

 

[exactri]

I think that's good.

thank you! I shall wait a bit to see if anyone else wants to make a suggestion , if not will get it printed and sent off soon. Will post the 2nd letter from them once I receive it

Hi guys! My response came for the letter I wrote and I have been fined £68. Which in my opinion is a successful result, considering I thought it would be around £300. It has been paid and case is now closed. Just want to say thank you to everyone who took their time out to reply in this thread , I really appreciate all the help and advice that was given to me, grateful to have found this site,

Just one more thing , I sent my letter off as a 1st class post and signed, I don't know if this helped my case but it probably showed I was eager to get this issue solved and was willing to fully cooperate. So if any one does provide advice to someone , maybe this might be a good thing to add.

Anyways thank you again!

@Haywain @Fawkes Cat @Puffing Devil @Titfield @gray1404

 

[Haywain]

Hi guys! My response came for the letter I wrote and I have been fined £68.

That's a good result, thanks for letting us know.