YoungAndDumb
New Member
Hi, please respond if anyone has had similar experiences, would love to hear how it played out:
I got caught using someone else’s (my mother’s) student Oyster and got a letter home (attached) saying TfL may take legal action against me. I am quite scared as I am just realizing now the severity of my actions and the possible consequences. I got stopped and caught with the wrong Oyster card at Euston Square station in London, I was travelling from Liverpool Street Station.
Recently turned 21, doing a degree apprenticeship. I study at University remotely and I commute to work into central London. My salary allows me to pay for my expenses and little more, so I had an apprentice Oyster for the first year of my apprenticeship (apprentice oyster cards have the same pricing as student oyster cards). After 1 year, my apprentice oyster expired and I just paid full price for a short period of time with my debit card. After, I realized that I could use my mother’s student card instead (she’s enrolled into a university course and got the Oyster card but she didn’t use it) as the pricing is the same. Meaning that I’d pay the same whether I applied for a new apprentice Oyster or if I used my mother’s. So that is what I did, I paid for monthly travelcards on my mother’s oyster instead of getting a new apprentice Oyster of my own. Partly because of the cost of getting a new apprentice card, and partly because of the bureaucracy I'd have to go through to renew it/get a new one. I also hold a valid 16-25 rail card in my name if that is relevant at all.
Now I understand that this logic was very wrong, and severely unethical, but at the time I didn’t realize the gravity of my actions. I have used her Oyster card for around a year and a half, until it got inspected by a revenue inspector at a tube station. He took it away from me and said I’d get a letter home. I got the letter and it is attached here. My father has a 60+ freedom pass, so if I really wanted to be fraudulent and scam the system, I could’ve used that pass, however I have never touched it because I knew that if provides free travel for senior members of society. I didn’t realize that using my mother’s would be equally wrong and unethical - because we're both "students".
I am incredibly worried about getting a criminal record and what that’d mean for my career and studies. Will I be expelled from uni only one year away from graduating? Will I be fired and struggle to find a job because of the criminal record? I am genuinely not able to sleep at night and I will probably seek advice from a lawyer.
I have read the revenue enforcement and prosecutions policy, but I am still so scared, I have never had any involvement with the law so this seems incredibly daunting. I am young and dumb I guess. I know that I have to admit my offence on the letter but I am just so paralyzed by the possible outcome. I didn’t ever think something like this could bring my life and career to a halt. Please let me know if you guys seem any reasonable way to not get a criminal record, from what I've been reading TfL send criminal convictions most of the time, and do not settle out of court. For me an ideal scenario would be to pay whatever TfL deems necessary to cover my wrongdoing, I am willing to do volunteer work or whatever it takes to correct my action, but I am just so scared of a possible criminal record and the downward spiral that it would bring to my life at this age.
Many thanks in advance to anyone who reads or tries to help.
I got caught using someone else’s (my mother’s) student Oyster and got a letter home (attached) saying TfL may take legal action against me. I am quite scared as I am just realizing now the severity of my actions and the possible consequences. I got stopped and caught with the wrong Oyster card at Euston Square station in London, I was travelling from Liverpool Street Station.
Recently turned 21, doing a degree apprenticeship. I study at University remotely and I commute to work into central London. My salary allows me to pay for my expenses and little more, so I had an apprentice Oyster for the first year of my apprenticeship (apprentice oyster cards have the same pricing as student oyster cards). After 1 year, my apprentice oyster expired and I just paid full price for a short period of time with my debit card. After, I realized that I could use my mother’s student card instead (she’s enrolled into a university course and got the Oyster card but she didn’t use it) as the pricing is the same. Meaning that I’d pay the same whether I applied for a new apprentice Oyster or if I used my mother’s. So that is what I did, I paid for monthly travelcards on my mother’s oyster instead of getting a new apprentice Oyster of my own. Partly because of the cost of getting a new apprentice card, and partly because of the bureaucracy I'd have to go through to renew it/get a new one. I also hold a valid 16-25 rail card in my name if that is relevant at all.
Now I understand that this logic was very wrong, and severely unethical, but at the time I didn’t realize the gravity of my actions. I have used her Oyster card for around a year and a half, until it got inspected by a revenue inspector at a tube station. He took it away from me and said I’d get a letter home. I got the letter and it is attached here. My father has a 60+ freedom pass, so if I really wanted to be fraudulent and scam the system, I could’ve used that pass, however I have never touched it because I knew that if provides free travel for senior members of society. I didn’t realize that using my mother’s would be equally wrong and unethical - because we're both "students".
I am incredibly worried about getting a criminal record and what that’d mean for my career and studies. Will I be expelled from uni only one year away from graduating? Will I be fired and struggle to find a job because of the criminal record? I am genuinely not able to sleep at night and I will probably seek advice from a lawyer.
I have read the revenue enforcement and prosecutions policy, but I am still so scared, I have never had any involvement with the law so this seems incredibly daunting. I am young and dumb I guess. I know that I have to admit my offence on the letter but I am just so paralyzed by the possible outcome. I didn’t ever think something like this could bring my life and career to a halt. Please let me know if you guys seem any reasonable way to not get a criminal record, from what I've been reading TfL send criminal convictions most of the time, and do not settle out of court. For me an ideal scenario would be to pay whatever TfL deems necessary to cover my wrongdoing, I am willing to do volunteer work or whatever it takes to correct my action, but I am just so scared of a possible criminal record and the downward spiral that it would bring to my life at this age.
Many thanks in advance to anyone who reads or tries to help.
