Witness Statement MG11 SouthEastern - potential prosecution?

[arnah646372]

Hi all, I was given a Witness Statement MG11 on the Thameslink issued at Gravesend. My journey was from Deptford to Gillingham, I saw ticket inspectors at Slade Green and exited the train here as I could not afford the full journey. I got on another train from Slade Green to Dartford. At Dartford I bought a ticket to Gillingham and boarded the next ThamesLink to Gillingham. To my luck it was the same inspectors on the previous train so knew I had not bought a ticket for my full journey. I was interviewed by the inspector and provided all the correct details. I have now received a letter from SouthEastern as below:

“Dear [Recipient],

Southeastern is committed to ensuring all journeys are paid out of fairness to all passengers.

On [Date of Incident], you gave your details and were questioned by a member of rail staff with regard to an incident on Southeastern. Southeastern is reviewing your case and may consider pursuing a prosecution.

We invite you to respond with any comments about the incident. Please complete in full the second page of this letter, attaching any comments, and send it to the above address within 21 days. Please respond to the address or the email given below.

You can also contact the prosecutions team at: [email protected]

Please be aware that Southeastern uses body-worn video, CCTV, and various software packages to combat fraudulent travel.

You may wish to seek independent legal advice on the information contained in this letter.

Failure to respond to this letter will lead to the matter being progressed without further notification. If we do write to you again, we may seek a contribution to our costs of recovering the amount owed.

Yours sincerely,

[Signature]
Debt Recovery & Prosecutions Manager”


I am seeking advice on the best way to approach this without resulting in a criminal record due to my occupation. I am aware they will investigate my previous tickets and I have done this many times before due to financial issues. If there is potentially a chance I could receive an out of court settlement fee I would be more than happy. I would also appreciate advice regarding as to what point I should consider contacting a lawyer.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Sunday at 03:05 ==

Based on what I’ve read from other threads I have drafted this letter to post and email to the prosecutions office.

“I recently received a letter from Southeastern’s Prosecutions Department about a fare issue. They’re currently investigating and have invited me to respond before deciding whether to prosecute.

I was stopped by a member of staff at Gravesend Station, who realised that I hadn’t started my journey in Dartford as my ticket stated. He took my details and asked me some questions, and I admitted I hadn’t been paying the proper fare for my journey from Deptford to Gillingham.

I made a poor decision by not purchasing a valid ticket for my journey. I know this was a serious mistake on my part, and I deeply regret it. I take full responsibility for what happened and am truly sorry for any trouble it may have caused.

This has been a big wake-up call for me. I’ve thought a lot about the consequences of my actions and I can assure you I won’t make the same mistake again.

I am prepared to pay any outstanding fares and administrative costs to avoid this escalating to court and resolve the issue promptly”

I’ve read that it’s not smart to reference the previous fares I may have dogdged considering SouthEastern have only contacted me regarding this occasion. Please let me know if there’s any further amendments I should make before send off. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[alholmes]

The sentence around what you’re prepared to offer will need tweaking. They hold all the cards. You should be asking them if they’d be prepared to offer you an out of court settlement, not telling them what you’re prepared to do.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Short faring is a criminal offence and Southeastern are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. Although we cannot guarantee it, they will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them and who haven't come to their attention before.

I agree with @alholmes that you need to ask for a settlement, you are not entitled to one. Also bear in mind that a settlement is likely to be expensive and will have to be paid in full within a few days of it being offered. Expect to have to pay the outstanding fares at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for invalid tikets purchased plus an admin fee, typically £150.

 

[arnah646372]

The sentence around what you’re prepared to offer will need tweaking. They hold all the cards. You should be asking them if they’d be prepared to offer you an out of court settlement, not telling them what you’re prepared to do.

Thanks for your reply, I agree the wording is off. I’ll make adjustments.