Irregularity Report

[jene_d]

So I want to start off by saying these series of decisions were highly stupid, with stupid being an understatement, and I have learned my lesson.

Since I have started a new job in Nov I had been choosing lesser priced tickets to save money (again, stupid, I know). I got a 16-25 rail card at the end of Nov and have been buying the correct tickets ever since. That is until early this week, I was extremely short on money, had to get to work and bought a 16-17 saver ticket and subsequently got caught.

Another idiotic decision. I lied to the officer and told them an incorrect age and journey intention. I was handed an irregularity report and I expect to receive a letter in the next few weeks. I know I won’t get off lightly by any means, everything taken into account. My question is do I come clean once I receive the letter (the answer will definitely be a resounding “yes”). Also, is it worth pleading for a settlement? I’m willing to pay anything to keep it out of court, but considering the my history, I believe a criminal record is coming my way.

Please advise!

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

We need to know more about your case before we can offer assistance.

Where were you travelling from and to?
What tickets did you purchase?
Which train company are you dealing with?
Have you come to the attention of a train company before for a ticket irregularity?

 

[Titfield]

To give you the most appropriate advice we will require sight of the letter. Once received please can you upload with any identifying content (name address reference number) obscured?

Generally speaking it is always worth seeking an out of court settlement because (a) it is cheaper than the total financial impact of pleading guilty or being found guilty at court (b) the out of court settlement is private and therefore you will not get a criminal record with the impact that brings.

In the meantime do not stress. Please make sure you always purchase the correct ticket because you do not wish to give the TOC anything more to use against you.

 

[jene_d]

To give you the most appropriate advice we will require sight of the letter. Once received please can you upload with any identifying content (name address reference number) obscured?

Generally speaking it is always worth seeking an out of court settlement because (a) it is cheaper than the total financial impact of pleading guilty or being found guilty at court (b) the out of court settlement is private and therefore you will not get a criminal record with the impact that brings.

In the meantime do not stress. Please make sure you always purchase the correct ticket because you do not wish to give the TOC anything more to use against you.

Thank you for the reply. I’ll be sure to post the letter when I receive it!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Jan 2024 ==

Welcome to the forum!

We need to know more about your case before we can offer assistance.

Where were you travelling from and to?
What tickets did you purchase?
Which train company are you dealing with?
Have you come to the attention of a train company before for a ticket irregularity?

I was traveling from huddersfield to Manchester Victoria
I purchased a 16-17 weekly season ticket
Northern
No, this is the first time

Thanks for replying!

 

[Hadders]

I was traveling from huddersfield to Manchester Victoria
I purchased a 16-17 weekly season ticket
Northern
No, this is the first time

Thanks for confirming. This should be sortable out of court if you co-operate with Northern but I doubt it'll be cheap.

As mentioned above post a copy of the letter in this thread when you get it (with personal detauils redacted) and we will be happy to offer advice on how to reply.

 

[jene_d]

Thanks to the help so far. I’ve just received the letter which came a lot faster than I expected. Please can I receive some help on how to respond.

I’m hoping I can keep this out of court if possible.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jan 2024 ==

Also, my mistake for stating it was Northern in an earlier comment

 

[Adam Williams]

Generally speaking it is always worth seeking an out of court settlement because (a) it is cheaper than the total financial impact of pleading guilty or being found guilty at court (b) the out of court settlement is private and therefore you will not get a criminal record with the impact that brings.

Whilst all of this is true and good general advice, it's probably worth also mentioning at this early stage that OP would likely be expected to pay the out-of-court settlement in full, in one payment.

 

[jene_d]

Dear Prosections Manager,

I appreciate your letter dated January 17, 2024.

I am writing to sincerely apologize for the incident that occurred on January 17th, where I traveled with an incorrect ticket. I deeply regret my careless actions and take full responsibility for them. I understand the repercussions and apologize for any inconvenience caused. Your letter has underscored the gravity of this situation, and I assure you I will not repeat such poor decisions.

I want to acknowledge that I provided false information to the officer about my age due to immense stress and shame resulting from my own actions.

I fully grasp your commitment to enforcing measures against fare evasion, and I am committed to accepting the consequences. I am eager to resolve this matter amicably outside of courts by paying the full ticket price and covering all administrative fees incurred. Could you please provide the details of the outstanding fares and associated costs?

Once again, I apologize for my actions, and I assure you that I will always ensure I have the correct ticket when boarding trains in the future.

Yours sincerely,


Here’s what I’ve drafted so far

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jan 2024 ==

Whilst all of this is true and good general advice, it's probably worth also mentioning at this early stage that OP would likely be expected to pay the out-of-court settlement in full, in one payment.

I anticipate a hefty sum to pay in full, I’m saving money aside for when it hits

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I fully grasp your commitment to enforcing measures against fare evasion, and I am committed to accepting the consequences. I am eager to resolve this matter amicably outside of courts by paying the full ticket price and covering all administrative fees incurred. If you would be able to agree settling in this way, could you please provide the details of the outstanding fares and associated costs?

It's not the style I would write in, but that's up to you. I suggest adding a few words to the paragraph I've shown above: the thing is, the chance to settle out of court (and the amount of any settlement) is up to the railway and not you; if they want to take you to court, then they can do so.

 

[jene_d]

So I should take out, If you would be able to agree settling in this way, could you please provide the details of the outstanding fares and associated costs? And add something else?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jan 2024 ==

I am keen to settle this matter amicably outside of courts, paying the full ticket price as well as all administrative fees incurred while dealing with this matter, this is of course if you are willing to consider this route. - I’ve amended the above paragraph

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I am keen to settle this matter amicably outside of courts, paying the full ticket price as well as all administrative fees incurred while dealing with this matter, this is of course if you are willing to consider this route. - I’ve amended the above paragraph

That looks fine to me

 

[John R]

I’d say “ thank you for your letter”. Appreciate is usually used when someone has done you a favour.

Also, I wouldn’t use the word careless, as it suggests it was accidental, and clearly it wasn’t.

 

[Mawkie]

Dear Prosections Manager,

I appreciate your letter dated January 17, 2024.

I am writing to sincerely apologize for the incident that occurred on January 17th, where I traveled with an incorrect ticket. I deeply regret my careless actions and take full responsibility for them. I understand the repercussions and apologize for any inconvenience caused. Your letter has underscored the gravity of this situation, and I assure you I will not repeat such poor decisions.

I want to acknowledge that I provided false information to the officer about my age due to immense stress and shame resulting from my own actions.

I fully grasp your commitment to enforcing measures against fare evasion, and I am committed to accepting the consequences. I am eager to resolve this matter amicably outside of courts by paying the full ticket price and covering all administrative fees incurred. Could you please provide the details of the outstanding fares and associated costs?

Once again, I apologize for my actions, and I assure you that I will always ensure I have the correct ticket when boarding trains in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Purely out of interest, and without judgement, was there any help given by ChatGPT/AI in writing this?

 

[jene_d]

I’d say “ thank you for your letter”. Appreciate is usually used when someone has done you a favour.

Also, I wouldn’t use the word careless, as it suggests it was accidental, and clearly it wasn’t.

Okay noted, thank you

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jan 2024 ==

Purely out of interest, and without judgement, was there any help given by ChatGPT/AI in writing this?

And yep, I wrote it out first then put it into Chat

 

[Mcr Warrior]

And yep, I wrote it out first then put it into Chat

Hmmm. It tends to show. The wording such systems generate is often over-flowery and thus looks insincere.

 

[John R]

Hmmm. It tends to show. The wording such systems generate is often over-flowery and thus looks insincere.

I’d agree with this, and the investigator will spot it a mile off. If I was an investigator I’d question the sincerity of someone who uses AI, rather than sitting down and thinking of the words to say themselves.

 

[notmyrealname]

I agree with the guys about using AI for letters like this.

One minor point; apologize is the American spelling.

 

[AlterEgo]

I’d agree with this, and the investigator will spot it a mile off. If I was an investigator I’d question the sincerity of someone who uses AI, rather than sitting down and thinking of the words to say themselves.

It is much better, if you struggle writing, to start with ChatGPT to give you a structure and then edit down all the preposterous language it generates.

British English is in the minority of online English - there is a heck of a lot more American English and Indian English out there for it to scrape from, and ChatGPT letters always sound "off" in a British English context.

 

[jene_d]

I’d agree with this, and the investigator will spot it a mile off. If I was an investigator I’d question the sincerity of someone who uses AI, rather than sitting down and thinking of the words to say themselves.

I have the original, I just used Chat for grammar and to “make it sound better”. I’ll go with what I wrote instead.

 

[AndroidBango]

I agree with the guys about using AI for letters like this.

One minor point; apologize is the American spelling.

Without wishing to be Paddy Pedant, -ize spellings usage has been in use in England since at least as early as 16th century, including in Shakespeare. -ize is still the standard in the University of Oxford's style guide. (I speak as some poor individual who has to use their style guide on a daily basis!) I wouldn't really worry about -ize spellings, in other words.

(I'm having none of the bastardised (bastardized?) words like 'burglarize' of course).

 

[pedr]

Without wishing to be Paddy Pedant, -ize spellings usage has been in use in England since at least as early as 16th century, including in Shakespeare. -ize is still the standard in the University of Oxford's style guide. (I speak as some poor individual who has to use their style guide on a daily basis!) I wouldn't really worry about -ize spellings, in other words.

(I'm having none of the bastardised (bastardized?) words like 'burglarize' of course).

On the other hand, most people don't know/believe that so if you're writing text intending to be easily read by an average British person in some form of official position, seeking to have them think well of you, generally, the -ise spelling is going to be a better choice, as anything which isn't expected simply causes them to pay more attention to the text they're reading. For some readers it will flag as 'error' and that's not what a writer wants!

 

[AndroidBango]

On the other hand, most people don't know/believe that so if you're writing text intending to be easily read by an average British person in some form of official position, seeking to have them think well of you, generally, the -ise spelling is going to be a better choice, as anything which isn't expected simply causes them to pay more attention to the text they're reading. For some readers it will flag as 'error' and that's not what a writer wants!

A very fair point!

 

[Papyrus]

It's not the style I would write in, but that's up to you. I suggest adding a few words to the paragraph I've shown above: the thing is, the chance to settle out of court (and the amount of any settlement) is up to the railway and not you; if they want to take you to court, then they can do so.

Is it the style Chat GPT would write in?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Is it the style Chat GPT would write in?

See what the OP had to say at post #14.