Hi
@froggie3337
Apols that what follows is a lengthy post -
I would urge you to read it all carefully and I hope it will allow you to understand what has happened and what will happen going forwards, and for you to make informed decision about what you should do, and to try and resolve the first obstacle you face, which is simply getting the post from them so that you can progress next steps.
If I have got anything wrong I hope that others here will correct me, and of course correct me if my understanding of what you have been doing is wrong:
Background
- You have been travelling by train using child fare tickets when you are aged 16 or over, and thus liable to pay adult fares. You have been doing this because of difficult financial circumstances.
- You have been doing this between Manchester Piccadilly and Stoke on Trent (and possibly other journeys)
- A member of railways staff from TransPennine Express (TPE) stopped you and discovered this and issued you with a Travel Irregularity report (helpfully uploaded in post #18) - this means they have reported you to their back office to investigate your ticket buying and this matter.
- That notice states that you travelled without a Railcard, so i assume this is a mistake made by the Inspector. I'm not sure it makes much difference but it might mean they search your ticket records for railcard discounted ticket not child tickets, but they will probably notice both if they look so they may ask you about either.
- This is deliberate fare evasion, and that is a criminal offence in England (ie you can be taken to to the magistrates court for the offence, you would be found guilty and face a court fine, costs etc, and you would receive a criminal record - albeit for what is probably considered a relatively minor offence - if asked eg on a job application about declaring criminal records you would need to tell them). If TPE decided to take you to court they have up to 6 months to do so.
What happens next
- Although TPE can take you to court, the usual process is that they
will now write to you saying you have been reported, saying they are investigating you, and asking for 'your version of events' - this is your opportunity to co-operate with them, and seek to ask them if they will kindly consider not taking you to court but allowing you to pay them what you have evaded, and offer you an out of court settlement. If they agree to that you would not be prosecuted, and you would not have a criminal record. If they agreed TPE would calculate a sum based on what they think you have evaded, and they would typically add an admin fee of about £150 for the time and trouble you have caused them in investigating you. This is largely a 'take it or leave it' offer. If you don't take the offer they will then persecute you instead. A court fine debt would then be owed to the court.
-
You can not know until they contact you, but it's likely (based on the experience of reading many of these threads that TPE will use their access to online ticket retail information to search for any tickets they think you may have used that were not valid. They would use this to calculate what you owe them. They will likely calculate that on the basis of the Anytime Single Fare for each journey. You can look up this fare. For example - Manchester Piccadilly to Stoke on Trent Anytime Single is £21.50
- It may be some time before they contact you - think perhaps a couple of weeks or longer (they have up to 6 months before the persecution deadline for them arrives)
- They will contact you in writing, most likely by hard copy post to the address you gave them (I'll deal with this later given your problem accessing post)
-
Going to court vs Out of Court Settlement: This is something you can consider over the coming weeks (
you are nowhere near this point yet). A downside of an out of court settlement is that they usually want the sum they are asking for in one go (they don't want to chase you up for regular payments if you don't pay it is more admin for them) - but some train companies do in rare cases accept payment plans so this could be something you could ask for if they offer you an out of court settlement. You do not get a criminal record
Most people want to avoid a criminal record, but you may want to weigh this up against the difficulty you would have in paying a settlement from what you say about your finances. If you go to court the total sum might be higher (there is a formula used to calculate the court fines etc) -
BUT the court fine is related to your income, and you can request it be paid in instalments. I mention this so you are aware of the 'option'
- The only thing that happens automatically is being taken to court - anything else is at their discretion - they don't actually want to take you to court however - what they basically want is:
a) that you understand what you did was wrong
b) that you will never do it again
c) that you pay them what you owe in evaded fares
What you can do now
-
The ONLY thing you should do now in respect of TPE is to take steps to receive the letter they will send you
- see below - but even then there is an advantage in not contacting them - eg if you were really lucky they might forget about the whole thing or loose their paperwork - but to be honest this is unlikely IMHO - but by contacting them you can guarantee they will not forget about you...
- Other useful things would be:
i) make your own private list of all the times you bought tickets that were not valid (eg child rate tickets for your own use, tickets with a railcard discount if you did not have a valid railcard at the time etc) - keep this for your own records, use it to calculate what the correct fare might be
I suspect you have already started doing this
ii) Go to see your University or Student Union hardship fund service - see if they can help you more generally with your difficult financial situation
I think you have already started this process - well done
iii) see if you can buy a railcard to help reduce your travel costs legally, or look into other options (coach, bus etc)
Getting your Post from TPE
My opinion on the key to getting the best outcome here / avoiding court / minimising the financial impact is to co-operate with TPE in an honest way.
To do this you need to get their initial written communication, and you have explained that you can't get post from the address you gave for reasons of distance and family issues.
The TIR in post #18 has TPE Debt Recovery / Prosecution Unit contact details on it - I think you should write to them in formal terms to advise them of you best contact details.
I suggest you send them the following :
------------------------------------------------------------------------
STARTS
Dear Sir / Madam
Ref [Insert their ref number from the TIR slip in post #18]
On xx January 2025 I was issued with a Travel Irregularity report in connection with my ticket.
I gave a postal address to your member of staff which is my family address. So that you can match your records the address I gave was [insert the address you gave]. However, I am currently not able to obtain post from that address in a prompt and timely manner.
I would therefore be grateful if you could send any post to me at the following address, which will be valid until xxxdate: [Insert full postal address, and the date you expect to be there until if it is a term time address for your uni]
I can also be contacted by e-mail and I would be grateful if you could consider contacting me by e-mail as an alternative.
My e-mail address is: [insert e-mail]
Yours faithfully
[insert your full name / the name you gave to their Inspector]
-------------------------------------------
ENDS
You should use the website page to send this message via here:
https://tpedrp.freshdesk.com/support/home
as they clearly state on this page (which is a page you should read in full anyway)
https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/help/revenue-protection-policy/unpaid-fare-notice
"Please note that in order for us to respond to your query more efficiently we do not accept emails, and all contact must be via our support page"
AND
I personally would say you should also print the same message about your address out on paper, and post if to the TPE PO Box address in Hull which is given on the slip yo u have uploaded in post #18 You can post this in an envelope with a second class stamp. If you want proof that they have got it you could pay a little more and ask at a local post office to send it by 'tracked post' (don't let them sell you the more expensive guaranteed next day signed for delivery - you do not need that in my view)
At this stage do not say any more than this to TPE - wait for them to contact you, then when they do, head back here for help and advice on exactly what to write in a reply to them.
I hope what I have set out above helps you understand this process more clearly, and helps you consider the options, and what to do about safely getting their letter.
be aware that if you are asking them to e-mail you they may just do that - so also keep an eye on your e-mail and keep an eye on your spam. If you book train tickets on line and sue a different e-mail address for that - keep an eye on that one too, including spam also.
