Govia Prosecution Expired Railcard

[theskyisgreen2]

Hi all,

I just had an ‘intent to prosecute’ letter through.

I was stopped on the 9th of November and asked to produce my ticket, I had a ticket for my full route but didn’t realise my 16-25 railcard had expired on the 9th of October.

I have had this railcard for 4 years which was through my bank account therefore never got a notification to renew and genuinely didn’t realise.

I have looked through my Trainline ticket history and I made the journey 6 times in the period in which my railcard was expired. To increase my chances of a settlement, should I offer to pay for these fares aswell?

As this is my commute to work, I changed my route the next day and use a contactless tfl route so never renewed my railcard.

What is the best way of responding to this letter in the space given to not have this taken to court?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

 

[Titfield]

Please can you upload the letter received with personal details and reference number redacted (obscured).

Based n many letters seen, Highly experienced forum member @Hadders offers the following advice (in italics). I have slightly modified it to take into account your account above.

Welcome to the forum!

We see lots of cases like this on here. Most TOCS normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them, and who haven't come to their attention before.

A short, concise reply that mentions the following should obtain a favourable result:

- 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
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Regarding the other journeys claiming the discount by the card had expired;

You are not required to incriminate yourself but equally you should not lie. The TOC is likely to check your ticket purchasing history so you may be well advised to come clean at the outset.

You could say something along the lines of 'I've researched my online ticket purchasing history and believe I have made xx journeys since the railcard expired'.

Expect to be offered an out of court settlement to cost the value of all the fares since the railcard expired at the full Anytime rate, with no credit given for the discounted tickets you did purchase. In addition you will need to pay an admin fee, typically £150. My view is there is no need to involve a solicitor at this stage, should your reply to the TOC not result in a settlement then that is the point at which I'd be looking to engage a solicitor.

Post a draft reply in this thread and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

 

[theskyisgreen2]

Hi. Thanks for quick response. Please see letter attached.

 

[Titfield]

Thank you. That is the standard letter Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) send out.

May I suggest you draft a response along the lines suggested above and upload here. Forum members will then review and advise.

Examples can be found by using the search facility top right of page.

 

[theskyisgreen2]

Draft response:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your letter dated 4th March 2025 regarding the above reference.

I would like to sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket on the stated date. I fully understand the importance of fare compliance and deeply regret my actions.

To clarify the situation, I had a ticket for my full journey but it was using my 16-25 railcard which was no longer valid. I had held my rail card for 4 years and genuinely hadn’t realised that it had expired. I received it through my bank account meaning I didn’t receive any reminders to renew - although I fully understand that it is my responsibility to check the expiration date on my railcard before every journey, I had not been doing so as the validity of the railcard was over an extended period of time.

I recognise that travelling with an expired railcard, I was attempting to avoid paying the correct fare, and I understand this is against the law.

I take full responsibility for my actions and am genuinely sorry. I promise this will not happen again and to ensure I always pay the correct fare before travelling in the future.

I would like to respectfully request the opportunity to resolve this matter out of court by paying the outstanding fare and any associated administrative costs.

I appreciate your time and consideration, and I look forward to your response.

END

I am currently really unsure whether to disclose the additional journeys made on the expired railcard, as you say I don’t want to incriminate myself further. I imagine they can look up my Trainline account and see the 6 journeys made so it feels that if cooperation will help my case not be taken to court then I should disclose this offering to pay for the other fares?

Also, should I be responding in the box provided or sending a separate letter in response?

Thanks

 

[Hadders]

The letter is ok although I'd remove the bit about attempting to avoid paying the correct fare - I assume you weren't actively trying to avoid paying the correct fare.

GTR don't mention other journeys, so you're not required to mention them but it is possible that they might follow up on these at a later date if you don't.

I'd send a separate letter but do make sure the case reference number is clearly stated so GTR know which case it refers to.

 

[theskyisgreen2]

Thanks for your advice Hadders, yes I did not intentionally travel with an expired railcard. I have revised my response.

Dear Sir/Madam,



Thank you for the letter dated 4th March 2025 regarding the above reference.



I sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket on the stated date. I fully understand the importance of fare compliance and deeply regret my actions.



I did not intend to pay an incorrect fare, and I had a ticket for the full journey I was making. However, this was using a 16-25 Railcard that I was unaware had expired a month prior.



I fully understand that is my responsibility to check the expiration date of my Railcard before every journey. I had held this Railcard for 4 years, received through my bank account and therefore did not receive any reminders to renew. Although it is still my responsibility, I made a genuine mistake in not checking it as it was valid for an extended period of time.



I take full responsibility for my actions and I will always ensure to pay the correct fare when travelling in the future.



I would like to respectfully request to resolve this matter out of court, by paying the outstanding fare and any associated administrative costs.



Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.

END

Again I have not included my other journeys, I would really like some more advice on this. I feel on one side it will hurt my case of this being a genuine mistake if I disclose in this response but if they follow up and see I’ve made these journeys after I submit my response it will hurt the sincerity of it.

They will know that my railcard expired the month before so does it hurt my case mentioning in this response?

It is worth mentioning that I have not renewed my rail card because I no longer use this route and pay full price tickets using contactless on my commute since the incident.

 

[Hadders]

I think the letter is ok but wait and see if anyone else has any further feedback before sending it.

As for other incidents it's really up to the train company to ask you about them. All they need to do is add a sentence asking abiut previous journeys but they haven't done this. I'd send it and see what they say.

Don't mention the railcard renewal at all. If someone does renew one it's a nice thing to say to give a bit of mitigation but you're not required to renew it so if a railcard doesn't work out for you then don't renew it and don't mention it in your letter.

 

[theskyisgreen2]

Again thanks for the advice.

My main concern with the other journeys is as this is my first dealings with any prosecution or fines that it will be treated as a repeat offence thus resulting in harsher consequences than it may have been mentioning now.

I will wait for other members to offer advice before sending. I am worried about the delivery of this aswell, is it worth hand delivering to their office rather than sending via post?

Thanks.

 

[Hadders]

I am worried about the delivery of this aswell, is it worth hand delivering to their office rather than sending via post?

I'd send using 'Signed For' post. No need to hand deliver.

 

[surreytrain101]

@Hadders - I am in the same situation (had the exact same letter).

Would you mind checking my reply for me?

[My Name]
[My Address]
[My Email]
[My Phone Number]
[Date]


Prosecutions Department
Govia Thameslink Railway


Subject: Response to Notice of Intention to Prosecute


Dear Sir/Madam,


I am writing in response to the Notice of Intention to Prosecute that I recently received. I would like to sincerely apologise for this mistake and any inconvenience it has caused to the railway company.


On the day in question, I genuinely believed that my 16-25 Railcard was valid. Unfortunately, when asked to provide proof, I realised that it had expired earlier in the year. This was an honest mistake on my part, and I take full responsibility for not checking my railcard’s validity before travelling. As soon as I became aware of the issue, I renewed my railcard immediately to ensure this does not happen again.


This experience has been a wake-up call for me, and I have learned the importance of double-checking my travel documents before purchasing discounted tickets. I deeply regret this oversight and want to assure you that it was not a deliberate attempt to avoid paying the correct fare.


I am very keen to resolve this matter amicably and avoid court proceedings. I would therefore like to offer to pay the outstanding fare for my journey as well as any reasonable administrative costs incurred by the company in handling this matter.


Once again, I apologise for my mistake and sincerely appreciate your time and consideration in reviewing my response. I hope we can settle this matter fairly, and I am happy to cooperate in any way necessary.


Yours sincerely,
[My Name]

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Mar 2025 ==

@Hadders - I am in the same situation (had the exact same letter).

Would you mind checking my reply for me?

[My Name]
[My Address]
[My Email]
[My Phone Number]
[Date]


Prosecutions Department
Govia Thameslink Railway


Subject: Response to Notice of Intention to Prosecute


Dear Sir/Madam,


I am writing in response to the Notice of Intention to Prosecute that I recently received. I would like to sincerely apologise for this mistake and any inconvenience it has caused to the railway company.


On the day in question, I genuinely believed that my 16-25 Railcard was valid. Unfortunately, when asked to provide proof, I realised that it had expired earlier in the year. This was an honest mistake on my part, and I take full responsibility for not checking my railcard’s validity before travelling. As soon as I became aware of the issue, I renewed my railcard immediately to ensure this does not happen again.


This experience has been a wake-up call for me, and I have learned the importance of double-checking my travel documents before purchasing discounted tickets. I deeply regret this oversight and want to assure you that it was not a deliberate attempt to avoid paying the correct fare.


I am very keen to resolve this matter amicably and avoid court proceedings. I would therefore like to offer to pay the outstanding fare for my journey as well as any reasonable administrative costs incurred by the company in handling this matter.


Once again, I apologise for my mistake and sincerely appreciate your time and consideration in reviewing my response. I hope we can settle this matter fairly, and I am happy to cooperate in any way necessary.


Yours sincerely,
[My Name]

Adding the reference number too of course!

 

[Hadders]

@Hadders - I am in the same situation (had the exact same letter).

Would you mind checking my reply for me?

[My Name]
[My Address]
[My Email]
[My Phone Number]
[Date]


Prosecutions Department
Govia Thameslink Railway


Subject: Response to Notice of Intention to Prosecute


Dear Sir/Madam,


I am writing in response to the Notice of Intention to Prosecute that I recently received. I would like to sincerely apologise for this mistake and any inconvenience it has caused to the railway company.


On the day in question, I genuinely believed that my 16-25 Railcard was valid. Unfortunately, when asked to provide proof, I realised that it had expired earlier in the year. This was an honest mistake on my part, and I take full responsibility for not checking my railcard’s validity before travelling. As soon as I became aware of the issue, I renewed my railcard immediately to ensure this does not happen again.


This experience has been a wake-up call for me, and I have learned the importance of double-checking my travel documents before purchasing discounted tickets. I deeply regret this oversight and want to assure you that it was not a deliberate attempt to avoid paying the correct fare.


I am very keen to resolve this matter amicably and avoid court proceedings. I would therefore like to offer to pay the outstanding fare for my journey as well as any reasonable administrative costs incurred by the company in handling this matter.


Once again, I apologise for my mistake and sincerely appreciate your time and consideration in reviewing my response. I hope we can settle this matter fairly, and I am happy to cooperate in any way necessary.


Yours sincerely,
[My Name]

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Mar 2025 ==


Adding the reference number too of course!

Please start a new thread about your case, in line with our forum rules.

This thread is to discuss @theskyisgreen2 case only.

 

[surreytrain101]

Please start a new thread about your case, in line with our forum rules.

This thread is to discuss @theskyisgreen2 case only.

My bad - I have just made a new thread and tagged you via a comment.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts

 

[theskyisgreen2]

Hi guys. Just received an out of court settlement for £150. @Hadders @Titfield i really appreciate your advice.

 

[Hadders]

Thanks for letting us know.

 

[Titfield]

Thanks for the update.