Notice of Intention to Prosecute- please help :(

[jellyfish777]

I recieved a notice of intention to prosecute by thameslink two days ago.

i had taken the London underground from Greenwich to London bridge which i tapped on and off for. i then got to London bridge and didn't know where to buy a ticket from so i asked the guard at the barriers. i had my railcard wallet and the guard asked me to show him, it had my monthly brighton unizone ticket and my 16-25 railcard in it that i use to get to university (im in second year). he then let me through the barriers and said i could buy a ticket on the train. i normally take southern trains and am used to seeing people buy tickers on the train. as soon as i got on the thames link service to brighton i got asked for my ticket by revenue protection. i asked if i could buy a ticket as instructed and they refused and asked if i had any ticket at all, to which i then showed my brighton unizone ticket. he took my ticket to check with someone and returned 10 minutes later and said it was invalid and they would need to take my details. i offered again to pay for the ticket or a fine, to get off at the next stop or to pay the journey that my unizone ticket didn't cover and the revenue protection man didn't reply. this happened mid November and its now the 8th of feb. I'm scared and anxious, i don't want a criminal record at all and my intention wasn't to avoid paying the fare i was just in an unfamiliar environment and did what i got advised to which was buy a ticket on the train.

I've drafted a rough response but its what I've said above written more concisely. any advice would be appreciated!!! its making me so so anxious and with second year university its not adding to my stress at all

 

[MotCO]

Please can you upload any letters etc regarding the incident, with your personal details obscured.

What was your actual journey? What tickets did you hold for any part of the journey?

With this information, we can tailor our advice to you.

 

[jellyfish777]

Please can you upload any letters etc regarding the incident, with your personal details obscured.

What was your actual journey? What tickets did you hold for any part of the journey?

With this information, we can tailor our advice to you.

My actual journey was from greenwich to London bridge (which i took the underground for), and then london bridge to brighton (which i didn't have a ticket for). on the other page is says details of offence: that you on 14 November 2024 did enter a train for the purpose of travelling on the railway and upon inspection at london bridge did not produce a valid ticket entitling travel.

 

[MotCO]

You say you have drafted a response. Post a copy of it here and we'll give advice.

The one thing that is unusual about your story is that a railway official let you through the barrier which could be construed as being allowed to board a train and could be a defence against "enter a train for the purpose of travelling on the railway and upon inspection at London Bridge did not produce a valid ticket entitling travel". Others more knowledgable than I could provide further advice.

 

[jellyfish777]

You say you have drafted a response. Post a copy of it here and we'll give advice.

The one thing that is unusual about your story is that a railway official let you through the barrier which could be construed as being allowed to board a train and could be a defence against "enter a train for the purpose of travelling on the railway and upon inspection at London Bridge did not produce a valid ticket entitling travel". Others more knowledgable than I could provide further advice.

This is my drafted response, any feedback is appreciated

Dear Sir/Madam,

Reference: XXXX

I am writing in response to the Notice of Intention to Prosecute dated 5 February 2025 for what happened on Thursday 14th of November 2024. Thank you for the opportunity to explain what happened from my point of view.

I had taken the London Underground from Greenwich to London Bridge in the morning to which I tapped on and off (I have provided the bank transaction proof). It was my first time at London Bridge and I wasn’t sure where to buy a ticket, when I approached the barriers it was quite busy and I wanted to ask the guard about my ticket. They asked to see my ticket that I had which was a valid Unizone Brighton monthly ticket with a valid 16-25 Railcard and they told me I could buy a ticket on the train and let me through the barriers. This didn’t seem unusual to me as I am a second year University student who regularly takes the Southern rail trains almost every day and sees people being able to buy tickets on the service with no issues.

As soon as I got on the Thameslink service I was asked for my ticket by revenue protection and I immediately offered to buy a ticket as instructed to. They asked if I had any ticket at all and I showed them my unizone ticket to which they took and returned 10 minutes later saying it wasn’t valid and they would need to take my details. I again offered to buy the ticket and pay a fine if needed, to get off at the next stop, or to pay for the remainder of my journey that my Unizone ticket didn’t cover. Fare evasion was never my intention and I always make sure to get the right ticket while travelling to University because I use and depend on the train services and am very mindful of getting tickets before the train. I was in an unfamiliar environment and wasn't aware on Thameslink you are unable to buy tickets on the train.

I assure you that I have learned from this experience and as I insisted previously on the train and again now, I would like to pay for the outstanding ticket fare for the journey and administrative costs. I would be grateful to settle this matter without the need for court action.

Kind regards,
XXXX

 

[AlterEgo]

If you are claiming a defence, that you were in fact given permission to board, you should not offer to settle. You either defend yourself or you accept you were in the wrong and settle.

It is however up to you to demonstrate you were given permission, which may be difficult.

 

[MotCO]

This is my drafted response, any feedback is appreciated

Dear Sir/Madam,

Reference: XXXX

I am writing in response to the Notice of Intention to Prosecute dated 5 February 2025 for what happened on Thursday 14th of November 2024. Thank you for the opportunity to explain what happened from my point of view.

I had taken the London Underground from Greenwich to London Bridge in the morning to which I tapped on and off (I have provided the bank transaction proof). It was my first time at London Bridge and I wasn’t sure where to buy a ticket, when I approached the barriers it was quite busy and I wanted to ask the guard about my ticket. They asked to see my ticket that I had which was a valid Unizone Brighton monthly ticket with a valid 16-25 Railcard and they told me I could buy a ticket on the train and let me through the barriers. This didn’t seem unusual to me as I am a second year University student who regularly takes the Southern rail trains almost every day and sees people being able to buy tickets on the service with no issues.

As soon as I got on the Thameslink service I was asked for my ticket by revenue protection and I immediately offered to buy a ticket as instructed to. They asked if I had any ticket at all and I showed them my unizone ticket to which they took and returned 10 minutes later saying it wasn’t valid and they would need to take my details. I again offered to buy the ticket and pay a fine if needed, to get off at the next stop, or to pay for the remainder of my journey that my Unizone ticket didn’t cover. Fare evasion was never my intention and I always make sure to get the right ticket while travelling to University because I use and depend on the train services and am very mindful of getting tickets before the train. I was in an unfamiliar environment and wasn't aware on Thameslink you are unable to buy tickets on the train.

I assure you that I have learned from this experience and as I insisted previously on the train and again now, I would like to pay for the outstanding ticket fare for the journey and administrative costs. I would be grateful to settle this matter without the need for court action.

Kind regards,
XXXX

A couple of points. I don't know what a Unizone ticket is, and it is quite possible that the reader won't either, so you may want to briefly explain its validity. Secondly, it wasn't a guard that let you through the barriers, it would probably have been a ticket inspector or barrier person - others may be able to clarify.

The issue is whether you have a valid defence because you were given permission to access the train. It may be difficult to prove, but how else would you have got past the barriers - that might be a good explanation / evidence. Others will advise whether this is the better course of action, so don't send your reply yet.

 

[kraiken]

Link to the Unizone ticket information here: https://www.southernrailway.com/tickets/discounts-and-railcards/unizone - essentially it covers local stations within a certain distance of the campus(es)

 

[island]

My actual journey was from greenwich to London bridge (which i took the underground for)

London Underground does not serve Greenwich station. What was your actual journey?

 

[Haywain]

he then let me through the barriers and said i could buy a ticket on the train.

I am just going to say that I find this difficult to believe, and I doubt that I am alone in that.

 

[island]

Link to the Unizone ticket information here: https://www.southernrailway.com/tickets/discounts-and-railcards/unizone - essentially it covers local stations within a certain distance of the campus(es)

But nowhere near London Bridge.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Feb 2025 ==

I am just going to say that I find this difficult to believe, and I doubt that I am alone in that.

Agreed. The London Bridge barrier staff would almost certainly have referred the passenger to the ticket office or machines.

 

[AlterEgo]

It may be difficult to prove, but how else would you have got past the barriers

A short ticket of course, or tapping on a contactless card. Of course the train company can check the former if they send a request to audit the OP’s ticket purchasing history.

“I didn’t know where to buy a ticket” and the passenger being let through to buy on board isn’t something most people would believe without it being substantiated. Especially at London Bridge, where a load of ticket machines are just a few yards walk from the barrier line.

 

[John R]

Re the journey between Greenwich and London Bridge, was it a SouthEastern service, which runs directly between the two stations and takes around 9 minutes?

The OP says that they have evidence of a tap out at London Bridge, which would suggest that they indeed had the conversation at the gateline on the "open" side, but as others have said, it seems very odd that the gateline staff did not immediately point them at the ticket machines.

 

[swt_passenger]

Re the journey between Greenwich and London Bridge, was it a SouthEastern service, which runs directly between the two stations and takes around 9 minutes?

The OP says that they have evidence of a tap out at London Bridge, which would suggest that they indeed had the conversation at the gateline on the "open" side, but as others have said, it seems very odd that the gateline staff did not immediately point them at the ticket machines.

He said ‘underground‘ in both the first and third posts. So it may be he travelled From North Greenwich to London Bridge on the Jubilee, in which case it’s probably irrelevant to the further travel?

 

[John R]

He said ‘underground‘ in both the first and third posts. So it may be he travelled From North Greenwich to London Bridge on the Jubilee, in which case it’s probably irrelevant to the further travel?

Agree if that's the case, but it's always good to get exactly clarity from OPs as to their full journey, as we often find that it does impact on the advice given.

So, @jellyfish777, can you confirm exactly where you travelled from to reach London Bridge?