Help with writing a mitigation letter.

[stupididiot]

I Just received a letter informing me about the report and that i have 21 days to get back with any mitigation. My Offence was travelling from Energlyn and Churchill Park to Cardiff Central but buying an Anytime Day Single ticket on Trainline from Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Central. The correct ticket I should have bought is £3.40 whilst the incorrect one i did buy was £1.70. I used a valid 16-25 railcard to purchase the ticket. The reasoning i gave the Staff Member was that I was running late and wasnt aware about the difference in price and my only intention was just getting a ticket to go through the gates to skip any potential queues. Stupid, I know but its honest. I have a clean criminal record, this is my first ever offence. I am aware that my reasoning isn't enough to avoid a prosecution as I still did do it intentionally. I was honest from the get go and the interaction with the member of staff was pleasant. I have never done this before so they wont find history of other instances of me doing this.

Basically, I want to know how best to write this mitigation letter back to Transport Investigations Limited, whether I should get a hold of a solicitor immediately (if so which ones would be best, I live in South Wales and any other important advice.

My plan is to be honest and hold myself accountable and say that i have never done this before, certainly will not be doing it again and am happy to come to a settlement covering any administrative fees and the difference in ticket price.

My best case scenario would be avoiding a prosecution

Thank you

 

[John R]

The reasoning i gave the Staff Member was that I was running late and wasnt aware about the difference in price and my only intention was just getting a ticket to go through the gates to skip any potential queues......

as I still did do it intentionally

I was honest from the get go and the interaction with the member of staff was pleasant.

Except you weren't honest from the get go, were you, based on the above quotes. No-one will believe that you thought that a ticket from Energlyn and Churchill Park would be the same price as one from Queen St to Central.

Others will no doubt be along shortly to give advice, but I would suggest that if you follow their advice, it should be possible to get an out of court settlement offer from TiL, though in addition to the fare avoided, there's likely to be an administrative charge added of around £150 based on what we see elsewhere. One caveat here is that you are correct in that they won't find any similar tickets on your Trainline account. If not, it could become more tricky, but not impossible to negotiate a settlement.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm afraid I am not convinced by your argument, this looks like a clear cut case of purchasing a short distance ticket to avoid paying the correct fare. My advice is to mention the following points 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

Make sure your reply is short and concise, don't give a sob story - they've heard it all before. Most train companies are usually prepared to offer an administrative settlement (commonly known as an out of court settlement) for people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. There is no guarantee of this and the train company is within their rights to prosecute you in the magistrates court should they decide to do so.

Also be aware that TfW will research your online ticket purchasing history and if you have done this before they may decide to ask you some further questions. It would be useful to know exactly what the letter says (can you upload a copy with personal details redacted). This is because while you should answer the questions asked truthfully you aren't required to incriminate yourself either.

If you are offered a settlement the amount varies depending on the train company and circumstances but tend to be around £150 plus the outstanding fare. An out of court settlement might appear to be a fine, but it isn't and you won't have a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

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

 

[stupididiot]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm afraid I am not convinced by your argument, this looks like a clear cut case of purchasing a short distance ticket to avoid paying the correct fare. My advice is to mention the following points 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

Make sure your reply is short and concise, don't give a sob story - they've heard it all before. Most train companies are usually prepared to offer an administrative settlement (commonly known as an out of court settlement) for people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. There is no guarantee of this and the train company is within their rights to prosecute you in the magistrates court should they decide to do so.

Also be aware that TfW will research your online ticket purchasing history and if you have done this before they may decide to ask you some further questions. It would be useful to know exactly what the letter says (can you upload a copy with personal details redacted). This is because while you should answer the questions asked truthfully you aren't required to incriminate yourself either.

If you are offered a settlement the amount varies depending on the train company and circumstances but tend to be around £150 plus the outstanding fare. An out of court settlement might appear to be a fine, but it isn't and you won't have a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

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

thank you for your reply. The letter states the following:

"We are agents for the rail company Transport for Wales limited and have received a report which advises that a person giving your name and details was spoken to by the railway revenue protection staff in connection with a journey between Energlyn & Ch Pk to Cardiff Central for which you failed to produce a valid ticket for travel.

The purpose of this letter is to advise you of the report and of any action that may follow from it, and to provide you with the opportunity to inform of us of any mitigation that you may wish to be considered . This can be sent to the address shown above or if you have access to a scanner, we will accept a scanned copy of a letter through our email address.

The report of this incident indicates that in the absence of a satisfactory explanation, evidence does exist to warrant a prosecution in accordance with current legislation. These considerations may include whether any charge should allege an offence against Railway Byelaws (2005), or The Regulation of Railways Act 1889. If we do not receive any representation from you within 21 days of the date of this letter, further action will be taken."

Here is my draft response:

Dear, Train Investigations Limited, I accept full responsibility and I apologise for my actions. I have learnt my lesson and from now on will always buy the correct ticket for my journeys. I am now aware of the consequences and therefore I am keen to settle this matter out of court. I am prepared to pay the difference in the ticket price, any administrative fees associated with my case and any fine you deem appropriate. I am sorry for what I did and I hope we can come to an agreement.

Thank you,
name

 

[AlterEgo]

Here is my draft response:

Dear, Train Investigations Limited, I accept full responsibility and I apologise for my actions. I have learnt my lesson and from now on will always buy the correct ticket for my journeys. I am now aware of the consequences and therefore I am keen to settle this matter out of court. I am prepared to pay the difference in the ticket price, any administrative fees associated with my case and any fine you deem appropriate. I am sorry for what I did and I hope we can come to an agreement.

Thank you,
name

You need to flesh that out with some details and refer specifically to the incident. That’s just stringing together @Hadders’ points without expanding on them.

Think about the person reading your letter. Also remove any reference to a “fine”, they can’t and won’t fine you. It’ll be the difference in fares plus their costs.

 

[spag23]

Will it really be just the difference in the fares they'd want. I thought the fare paid is not taken into account, as that ticket was invalid for the journey undertaken.

 

[30907]

Will it really be just the difference in the fares they'd want. I thought the fare paid is not taken into account, as that ticket was invalid for the journey undertaken.

Strictly, you are right. But in this case the amount involved is negligible

 

[stupididiot]

You need to flesh that out with some details and refer specifically to the incident. That’s just stringing together @Hadders’ points without expanding on them.

Think about the person reading your letter. Also remove any reference to a “fine”, they can’t and won’t fine you. It’ll be the difference in fares plus their costs.

ok thank you, I will get back with an updated draft

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Nov 2023 ==

You need to flesh that out with some details and refer specifically to the incident. That’s just stringing together @Hadders’ points without expanding on them.

Think about the person reading your letter. Also remove any reference to a “fine”, they can’t and won’t fine you. It’ll be the difference in fares plus their costs.

Here is my updated draft

Dear, Train Investigations Limited, I accept full responsibility and I apologise for my actions. The reason I bought the ticket in question was because I was running late for a friends birthday event in Cardiff and midway through my journey I thought there would be long queues to purchase a ticket at Cardiff Central Station as there was a Welsh Rugby game in the Principality Stadium, and so I went on the Trainline app and bought the ticket in question. It was not at all my intention to pay a reduced fare. I have learnt my lesson and from now on will always buy the correct ticket for my journeys before I get on the train. I am now aware of the consequences and therefore I am keen to settle this matter out of court. I am prepared to pay the difference in the ticket price as well as any administrative fees associated with my case. I truly am sorry for what I did and I hope we can come to an agreement.

Thank you,
name

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I'd suggest some paragraph breaks and a smallish rewording;

Dear, Train Investigations Limited,

I accept full responsibility and I apologise for my actions.

The reason I bought the ticket in question was because I was running late for a friends birthday event in Cardiff and midway through my journey I thought there would be long queues to purchase a ticket at Cardiff Central Station as there was a Welsh Rugby game in the Principality Stadium, and so I went on the Trainline app and bought the ticket in question.

It was not at all my intention to pay a reduced fare. I have learnt my lesson and from now on will always buy the correct ticket for my journeys before I get on the train.

I am now aware of the consequences and therefore I am keen to settle this matter out of court, so I would be grateful if you would let me pay the difference in the ticket price as well as any administrative fees associated with my case. I truly am sorry for what I did and I hope we can come to an agreement.

Thank you,
name

 

[Hadders]

It's Transport Investigations Limited, not Train Investigations Limited.

 

[stupididiot]

I'd suggest some paragraph breaks and a smallish rewording;

thank you for the advice

 

[John R]

I wouldn’t mention the bit about a friend’s birthday event (coincidentally held in the centre of Cardiff at the same time as Wales were playing at home). Whether it’s true or not they won’t believe it, will assume you were going to the match, and so will regard your reply as rather less sincere and truthful than it otherwise might be.

 

[stupididiot]

I wouldn’t mention the bit about a friend’s birthday event (coincidentally held in the centre of Cardiff at the same time as Wales were playing at home). Whether it’s true or not they won’t believe it, will assume you were going to the match, and so will regard your reply as rather less sincere and truthful than it otherwise might be.

that was exactly my reason for not including it in my prior drafts. I gave this explanation to the rail fare inspector when the incident happened and in the letter they said "The report of this incident indicates that in the absence of a satisfactory explanation". I agree with what you said, they likely wont believe me and it probably wont make a difference anyway because they've basically said its not satisfactory already

 

[spag23]

Strictly, you are right. But in this case the amount involved is negligible

But the OP offering to pay only the difference - when the full fare is due - is not going to impress TIL. Plus it may mislead later readers of this thread.

 

[Hadders]

I suggest offering to pay the outstanding fares.

 

[stupididiot]

I suggest offering to pay the outstanding fares.

thank you, added.

 

[stupididiot]

Im sending a letter through the post.
Should my letter be handwritten or typed? Im wondering if it will make a differnece at all.
If it helps, I have tidy handwriting

thank you

 

[6Gman]

Im sending a letter through the post.
Should my letter be handwritten or typed? Im wondering if it will make a differnece at all.
If it helps, I have tidy handwriting

thank you

Can't see why it would make any difference at all.

 

[stupididiot]

Can't see why it would make any difference at all.

ok thank you. I seem to recall reading something about handwritten letters but cant remember what was said or find anything helpful.

 

[randyrippley]

Type it
Anything which makes the letter easier to read is more likely to be treated sympathetically.
Something I learnt years ago while working in a large (non-railway) call centre

 

[Krokodil]

Type it. Make it more readable.

 

[fandroid]

Neat handwriting really only has its place for personal letters, where it reflects individuality, care and effort on behalf of the recipient. Anything even remotely connected to "business" should be typed, if possible.

 

[spag23]

And composing it electronically facilitates its refinement (perhaps with input from this forum), checks for errors, and makes a good basis for later appeals.
Just please don't use AI. The opening "I hope this letter finds you well" will trigger the company's "chatGPT alert"!