Intent to be prosecuted by Thameslink

[Jwi]

Hi I was wondering if someone could offer me some advice.

I was travelling from leagrave to Gatwick and I thought I had a railcard but it had expired but I was having issues logging into the app so didn’t know. I was then stopped by the ticket inspector and I said I didn’t have it on me so she said I had 14 days to upload it. When I realised I didn’t have one I brought a new one on the day and uploaded it.

But now I have received a letter to say they intend to prosecute for not having a valid fare. What should I do I don’t want to go to court and potentially have a criminal record. Does anyone know the likelihood of them settling out of court? If anyone could help that would be amazing thank you.

It was a honest mistake I know that but would rather have it dealt with without me having to go to court. I could really use some advice please

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Welcome to the forum.

Read the letter that you've been sent very closely: you'll probably find that while the railway are letting you know that they could prosecute you, they haven't absolutely decided to do so. But I expect that the letter also asks you if there's anything you want to say before they take a final decision on prosecuting.

If that's what the letter you have got says, then @Hadders often offers some very good advice: they may well be along soon with some personalised to your position, but look at some other threads in this forum and you'll see the sort of thing that you should say when you write back to the railway.

And you should write back: if you don't engage with the railway, then you will almost certainly end up in court. If you do engage, it's quite likely that Thameslink (also known as GTR, which is the name of the company who run Thameslink) will agree to settle out of court: you can expect to have to pay the full train fare plus admin costs of maybe a couple of hundred pounds.

If the letter doesn't say what I think (or if you're not quite sure) then please post a copy of it here with your private details hidden, and we'll have a look and hopefully can tell you what it really means!

 

[Jwi]

Hi I was wondering if someone could offer me some advice.

I was travelling from leagrave to Gatwick and I thought I had a railcard but it had expired but I was having issues logging into the app so didn’t know . I was then stopped by the ticket inspector and I said I didn’t have it on me so she said I had 14 days to upload it. When I realised I didn’t have one I brought a new one on the day and uploaded it.

But now I have received a letter to say they intend to prosecute for not having a valid fare. What should I do I don’t want to go to court and potentially have a criminal record. Does anyone know the likelihood of them settling out of court. If anyone could help that would be amazing thank you.

It was a honest mistake I know that but would rather have it dealt with in the easiest fashion possible.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Apr 2023 ==

If anyone has any questions or advice I’d really appreciate it.

Welcome to the forum.

Read the letter that you've been sent very closely: you'll probably find that while the railway are letting you know that they could prosecute you, they haven't absolutely decided to do so. But I expect that the letter also asks you if there's anything you want to say before they take a final decision on prosecuting.

If that's what the letter you have got says, then @Hadders often offers some very good advice: they may well be along soon with some personalised to your position, but look at some other threads in this forum and you'll see the sort of thing that you should say when you write back to the railway.

And you should write back: if you don't engage with the railway, then you will almost certainly end up in court. If you do engage, it's quite likely that Thameslink (also known as GTR, which is the name of the company who run Thameslink) will agree to settle out of court: you can expect to have to pay the full train fare plus admin costs of maybe a couple of hundred pounds.

If the letter doesn't say what I think (or if you're not quite sure) then please post a copy of it here with your private details hidden, and we'll have a look and hopefully can tell you what it really means!

Thank you so much for replying. I believe the letter says what you mentioned in your reply. I have uploaded it here just to give some clarity and specialist advice and guidance.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Thank you so much for replying. I believe the letter says what you mentioned in your reply. I have uploaded it here just to give some clarity and specialist advice and guidance.

Yes - this is the initial letter. They haven't yet decided to prosecute - but you do need to talk them out of it. So as they ask, reply within the 14 days allowed and be factual and honest.

 

[Jwi]

Yes - this is the initial letter. They haven't yet decided to prosecute - but you do need to talk them out of it. So as they ask, reply within the 14 days allowed and be factual and honest.

Oh amazing if I mention that I thought I had one and apologise and offer to pay the fare and admin costs do you think it will be settled out of court?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Oh amazing if I mention that I thought I had one and apologise and offer to pay the fare and admin costs do you think it will be settled out of court?

There can never be any guarantee, but I think it's likely that this would work. It would be a good idea to also mention that you have now bought a new railcard, as that shows that you are trying to avoid making the same mistake again.

I hope this doesn't come across as snotty, but whether you reply on paper or by email, remember that potentially you're in some trouble (although as above I expect it can be avoided). So while as above I expect that the railway will be prepared to let you settle out of court, it's worth writing fairly formally ('Dear Sir' or similar at the top, 'Yours faithfully' or similar at the bottom): a one line email ('Hi - you're right: I made a silly mistake. Really sorry and I've bought a railcard to stop it happening again. Can we settle this out of court?') might say everything you need to, but it doesn't suggest that you're taking the matter seriously - and you want to persuade the railway that you really understand that it's important not to do this again.

 

[Gloster]

If I have understood correctly, you did not have a valid railcard when you boarded the train and when you were stopped. That makes it an offence. That you bought a railcard shortly afterwards does not cancel the offence, but it will at least increase your chances of persuading the railway that it was a genuine mistake.

I am not an expert and others may give differing advice.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum.

We are seeing lots of cases like this at the moment. Technically you didn't have a valid railcard when you travelled and although you did purchase a railcard during your journey the railcard must be valid at the point you boarded the train. You might want to mantion 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 the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Keep your reply short and concide, try not to sell a 'sob story'. While the train company are within their rights to send the case to the Magistrates Court Govia Thameslink Railway are normally one of the more pragmatic train companies when it comes to settling cases out of court, as long as you haven't come to their attention before. While an out of court settlement might appear to be a fine techinally it isn't (only a court can impose a fine following a conviction) and you won't get a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

Feel free to post a copy of your draft replyt in this thread and forum members will be happy to proof read it.