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So this is a throw away account as I got pulled over November 16th by train staff in Stratford for not having a ticket on me. I have received a letter that says that they are thinking about prosecution. Does anyone know what happens after receiving a letter like this? As they said to contact within 7 days of getting the letter, I responded immediately. But I just wanted to know what has happened in other peoples cases of receiving letters like this. As I am fairly young and it’s making me extremely anxious.
Can you upload a copy of the letter you have received. Please obscure any personal details (name and address, etc.) And what did you tell them in your reply?
Also, what was the journey for which you didn't have a ticket, and what was the explanation for you not having a valid ticket? (No money, couldn't be bothered queuing?)
Yes I can upload a copy of the letter later on, as I’m currently in work at this moment of time, it was a journey from ingatestone to Stratford, as I work in central London and tend to tap in with my card past there. As where I work frequently changes throughout the year due to my jobs requirements.
I didn’t have a valid ticket as I usually purchase tickets on the morning of my travel and that morning I was running late. The inspectors who pulled me over looked through my Trainline app and saw other journeys where I had done this or the equivalent to this.
There are three possible ways that things could go now:
- the railway will be entirely happy with what you have told them, and you won't hear anything more from them. In our experience, this is very unlikely to happen, but even if it does, note that the railways have six months to decide to take the matter to court so you can't be certain that you won't hear until some time next June
- the railway look at what you have told them and your past record (both for previous journeys that they know about, and if there are any cases when you've previously come to their attention) and decide that the best way forward is to ask you to pay them the costs of their investigation and the fares you didn't pay as that will be enough to deter you from doing it again - this known as an 'out of court settlement'
- the railway look at what you have told them and your past record and decide to take you to court. On the basis of what you have told us, I think they will win at court, so you will have to pay a fine, plus court costs, prosecution costs and compensation to the railway.
In our experience, it's most likely that the railway will offer you an out of court settlement. It will be for what feels like quite a lot of money, but this is likely to be less than the fine (etc.) that you would face going to court - and you won't have a criminal record. Whether you will be able to get the railway to settle for less than the figure they first come up with is an interesting question: we haven't seen very much evidence of anyone successfully reducing the figure they have to pay, and you need to bear in mind that you won't be in a strong position in a negotiation as the railway will (unless you agree settlement terms) be able to take you to court instead.
- the railway look at what you have told them and your past record (both for previous journeys that they know about, and if there are any cases when you've previously come to their attention) and decide that the best way forward is to ask you to pay them the costs of their investigation and the fares you didn't pay as that will be enough to deter you from doing it again - this known as an 'out of court settlement'
Is there any way to guarantee that it will head this way? Like any way I could prompt this response rather than. The heading the court option? Also how long do responses from them take, as the letter took a month to get back to me. And they said to respond within 7 days yet I messaged last night when I had gotten the letter and have received nothing in return via email today?
We don't have any way to guarantee that the railway will let you settle out of court, but there are things that you can do which will help them to come to that decision.
Think about things from the railway's point of view: they want to make sure that in future you will not cost them time, money and inconvenience by not having the right ticket before you start your journey. So you need to convince them that this was a mistake that you have learnt from and won't repeat. In turn, you can show that you won't be repeating the mistake by taking steps to avoid the problem: this could involve things like making sure that in future you arrive at the station in time to buy a ticket before you travel, or loading the train company's app on to your phone so you can buy your ticket before leaving home, or buying a season ticket for the journey.
You should also keep trying for a settlement: we do see cases where in the first place the railway says that they are taking you to court, but they do eventually agree to an out of court settlement. So if the next letter says that they are going to take you to court, still ask if you can settle out of court: if it gets to the day of the hearing, then turn up early, try and find the railway's prosecutor and see if you can negotiate a settlement with them on the day.
As I say, there's no guarantee - but persuading the railway that you're not a serious risk may help.
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Also how long do responses from them take, as the letter took a month to get back to me. And they said to respond within 7 days yet I messaged last night when I had gotten the letter and have received nothing in return via email today?
(Sorry - forgot to comment on this earlier): the railway doesn't have to rush here in that the only time limit they have to worry about is how long they have to take this to court - which is (in practical terms) six months from the date of the incident. So you could be in for a long wait.
But while it's unlikely in practice that you will have to wait that long, bear in mind that we're just running up to Christmas, when staff may be taking leave and the post will be busy, and with Omicron around there may be staffing problems for the railway. Practically speaking, don't expect a response before the New Year - although if you do get one, you will still need to reply promptly.
Abellio Greater Anglia are very hot on investigating people who use the standalone Oyster reader at Stratford having arrived off a train, such that they only pay for their Stratford to London journey and not the majority of their trip in from an ungated Essex station.
If you have made a habit of this I would strongly recommend starting to save up because they will find out and want repaying for all of the fares you've skipped.
Abellio Greater Anglia are very hot on investigating people who use the standalone Oyster reader at Stratford having arrived off a train, such that they only pay for their Stratford to London journey and not the majority of their trip in from an ungated Essex station.
If you have made a habit of this I would strongly recommend starting to save up because they will find out and want repaying for all of the fares you've skipped.
I've seen it in the past when Revenue Staff have 'turned off' the oyster readers on the platform and will 'pounce' on someone they spot trying to touch in after alighting from a GA train to challenge for the ticket used to reach Stratford.
For the OP, hopefully you will get an offer to settle out of court, it might seem a high amount but compared to what a judge could order you to pay if they take you to court
Apologies. That means, unfortunately for them, that their claim in #3 not to have bought a ticket because they were running late will not hold water (I know a ticket bought online after boarding is strictly invalid, but it at least shows intent to pay).
