Thameslink fare evasion - letter not received?

[nervous123]

Hi everyone, this is my first time posting here. I was caught by an inspector with a shorter ticket than my journey 3 weeks ago and I still haven’t received a letter. This is for Thameslink - please could someone advise how quickly I should expect to receive this? Should I email / ring up or wait until it arrives?

I am super anxious about this as I was expecting it to arrive a lot quicker. Thanks very much in advance

 

[signed]

Should I email / ring u

No

please could someone advise how quickly I should expect to receive this?

It's very dependant, it can take 1 month (it usually take roughly 1 month) as it could take 6

I am super anxious about this as I was expecting it to arrive a lot quicker

If you are sure you have given them the correct adress, don't worry it will come

 

[nervous123]

Thanks so much!

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

There is nothing to be gained by contacting the train company before they get in touch with you. It could even be counterproductive.

Train companies deal with hundreds of these cases at any one time and it can take several weeks for the initial letter to arrive. When it does come, upload a copy of it in this thread (but do redact any personal details) along with your draft reply and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

 

[nervous123]

Hello everyone,

I have received the attached email and letter from GTR 10 weeks later and would really appreciate some advice as it mentions ‘multiple times’ and ‘would like the discuss this further with you’. I am really nervous and unsure how to go about responding to this as they have addressed not just one time. Any advise is really appreciated.

Thank you

 

[AlterEgo]

Are we to assume this wasn't a one-off offence then?

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Hello everyone,

I have received the attached email and letter from GTR 10 weeks later and would really appreciate some advice as it mentions ‘multiple times’ and ‘would like the discuss this further with you’. I am really nervous and unsure how to go about responding to this as they have addressed not just one time. Any advise is really appreciated.

Thank you

They will have looked at your ticket purchasing history as recorded by on-line purchases. You can do the same and check its legitimacy or otherwise.
If it looks as if your regular journey is A to D via B and C but your ticket history shows separate tickets A to B and C to D, they've caught you out. Alternatively they may have detected tickets purchased with a railcard you didn't have or which wasn't valid for the times travelled.

 

[nervous123]

Correct yes. Obviously I haven’t done it since though. It sounds like they need more information from me, do I need to respond and ask what they actually need from me?

 

[notmyrealname]

Have you worked out for your own reference how many times you didn't pay for the whole of your journey? It might be handy for us to know an approximate number in order to advise.

 

[Haywain]

do I need to respond

Undoubtedly.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Nov 2024 ==

and ask what they actually need from me?

They want your side of the story. How many times you've done this, for example.

 

[nervous123]

Have you worked out for your own reference how many times you didn't pay for the whole of your journey? It might be handy for us to know an approximate number in order to advise.

+20 over the last few years

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Nov 2024 ==

Welcome to the forum!

There is nothing to be gained by contacting the train company before they get in touch with you. It could even be counterproductive.

Train companies deal with hundreds of these cases at any one time and it can take several weeks for the initial letter to arrive. When it does come, upload a copy of it in this thread (but do redact any personal details) along with your draft reply and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

Hello,

Hope you’re well. Please could I have your advise on this thread that I’ve updated?

Thank you

 

[MarlowDonkey]

+20 over the last few years
Please could I have your advise on this thread that I’ve updated?

You can see the advice and suggested responses on many other similar threads.

The usual suggestion is to admit to what they've already discovered, apologise for the fare dodging and ask if they will consider an out of court settlement instead of prosecution. The settlement they may ask for is of the order of the anytime single fares you didn't pay plus an amount for their costs of investigation. If it's a repeated offence, it can add up to a substantial sum.

 

[nervous123]

Hello,

I have received the attached letter from the GTR Fraud Investigation department and would appreciate some advice please as I haven’t seen a letter like this on here before (usually they are from the prosecutions department) and I am very stressed!!

For context I was caught with a shorter ticket on one occasion and the inspector looked through my ticket history on the day (in hindsight I shouldn’t have allowed them to do this) and they realised I had done this multiple times. Obviously I am very remorseful for doing this and now I am super stressed!! I haven’t evaded any fares since the day I was caught.

Please could someone help with my below questions so I can draft the appropriate response?
- are they just trying to find out more information from me at this stage as it hasn’t gone to the prosecutions department?
- how much information do I need to give?
- what does ‘interviewed under caution mean’ - I thought this meant British transport police?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Hadders]

Your letter seems to have been removed, but if it says what I think it says then you need to 'fess up' about what you've been doing if you want to keep the matter out of court. Often they want to speak to you to agree the number of journeys avoided but a conversation can often be avoided if you write a short, concise letter that mentions:

- 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
- Tell them that you've researched your online ticket purchasing account and tell then how many times you've evaded your fare
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and GTR's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

If you put your draft reply in this thread forum members will proof read it for you.

 

[nervous123]

Thank you! Here is my draft response:

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

I have seen letters like this before. If GTR suspect large scale fare evasion then their fraud department gets involved and they will contact you to discuss arranging an out of court settlement. Although you didn't have to let the inspector go theough your ticketing account once they've scanned a ticket they know who you are and will simply ask Trainline for the details anyway.

You'll need to 'fess up' about what you've been doing if you want to keep the matter out of court. Often they want to speak to you to agree the number of journeys avoided but a conversation can often be avoided if you write a short, concise letter that mentions:

- 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
- Tell them that you've researched your online ticket purchasing account and tell then how many times you've evaded your fare
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and GTR's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

If you put your draft reply in this thread forum members will proof read it for you.

 

[Haywain]

what does ‘interviewed under caution mean’ - I thought this meant British transport police?

It simply means that before being interviewed you were cautioned that "anything you say may be given in evidence..." etc. Nothing to do with the police.