Last month i was travelling from Leicester to Nuneaton on a CrossCountry Train. I had bought the ticket on Trainline which i rarely use. As normal i scanned my ticket to get through the gate at the Leicester train station and boarded the train. During the journey i had a look on the trainline app to see what time I would get to Nuneaton. I discovered there was an option to refund the ticket even though I had already scanned and used the ticket and the train was already moving. In my head i wondered why this was an option and clicked the button out of curiosity expecting nothing to happen (looking back i know how stupid this sounds). To my surprise it gave me a partial refund which confused me as it doesn’t make sense for there to be an option to refund a used ticket. The instructor then came along and asked me to show my ticket to which i explained the situation. He never gave me the chance to pay for a new ticket which is what i thought would happen. Instead he got took a photo of the refunded ticket and got me to fill out a form with my details and said i would receive a letter in a weeks time.
I had received this letter a couple of weeks ago and it basically asked me to email them my side of the story and offer any mitigation that i wish to be considered. This letter states that i could be charged with either Railway Byelaws (2005) or The Regulation of Railways Act 1889). I replied to the first letter saying i apologise and asking if this can be settled out of court with me paying for all the costs of this case so far. I mentioned its my first offence and how a criminal record will affect me as i will be finishing my last year of university and will be applying for jobs soon.
Last week i received a second letter stating they have noted my comments however they see no reason to why this matter should not proceed as previously advised. They have given me 14 days to allow me to comment further before this matter proceeds. In the second letter they haven't clearly mentioned which law they are going to be prosecuting me with however have mentioned "The company is entitled to consider whether a charge of intent to avoid a fare could be alleged". I have already written up the second letter i want to send to them but just wanted to see if anyone can give me advice on what to write.
So far have mentioned how
-i have never refunded tickets before and am willing to send screenshots of past journey
-There wasn't intent to avoid the fare as i explained truthfully what happened and was willing to buy another ticket if given the option to
- How its a genuine mistake and I would never purposely risk obtaining a criminal record for the sake of saving £8
- Again asked if it can be settled out of court
-How the incident is very out of character and don't want a split second decision to ruin my future
-I have mentioned how i understand that the responsibility to have a valid ticket lies with me and i understand how my actions impact CrossCountry financially
I had received this letter a couple of weeks ago and it basically asked me to email them my side of the story and offer any mitigation that i wish to be considered. This letter states that i could be charged with either Railway Byelaws (2005) or The Regulation of Railways Act 1889). I replied to the first letter saying i apologise and asking if this can be settled out of court with me paying for all the costs of this case so far. I mentioned its my first offence and how a criminal record will affect me as i will be finishing my last year of university and will be applying for jobs soon.
Last week i received a second letter stating they have noted my comments however they see no reason to why this matter should not proceed as previously advised. They have given me 14 days to allow me to comment further before this matter proceeds. In the second letter they haven't clearly mentioned which law they are going to be prosecuting me with however have mentioned "The company is entitled to consider whether a charge of intent to avoid a fare could be alleged". I have already written up the second letter i want to send to them but just wanted to see if anyone can give me advice on what to write.
So far have mentioned how
-i have never refunded tickets before and am willing to send screenshots of past journey
-There wasn't intent to avoid the fare as i explained truthfully what happened and was willing to buy another ticket if given the option to
- How its a genuine mistake and I would never purposely risk obtaining a criminal record for the sake of saving £8
- Again asked if it can be settled out of court
-How the incident is very out of character and don't want a split second decision to ruin my future
-I have mentioned how i understand that the responsibility to have a valid ticket lies with me and i understand how my actions impact CrossCountry financially