Intent of Prosecution Chiltern Railway

[elvis9160]

Good Afternoon,

I have received a letter for intended prosecution regarding a train ticket I bought.

I had bought a ticket on trainline with Apple Pay, as I got to my station (Yardley Wood); I was travelling to Birmingham Moor Street.

I was in a rush and didn’t notice my purchase didn’t go through due to lack of internet. I got to Moor street to realise it hadn’t gone through, so I instead got a ticket for the next train and would use that to scan through the barriers.

My ticket was scanned by a Chiltern railway inspector who then took me aside and got my details and informed me I’ll receive a letter of prosecution, this was back in November 7th.

I then received that letter on Friday 14th March, i’m really just looking for the best advice and what I can respond to the email address provided that will make sure I don’t go to court, and if anyone knows what my potential outcome will be that would also be useful.

Thanks in advance

 

[SuspectUsual]

Please post the letter but with your details and any reference number obscured. And if your username is your actual name, it’s probably wise to ask a moderator to change it to something anonymous

 

[Gloster]

Please post the letter that you have received in this thread. Please obscure your name, address and any identifying details, such as reference numbers.

If your user name is your actual name, it would be best to change it to an anonymous one. Contact the moderators for this.

 

[elvis9160]

Please post the letter that you have received in this thread. Please obscure your name, address and any identifying details, such as reference numbers.

If your user name is your actual name, it would be best to change it to an anonymous one. Contact the moderators for this.

Hi, how do i change my name?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Mar 2025 ==

Please post the letter but with your details and any reference number obscured. And if your username is your actual name, it’s probably wise to ask a moderator to change it to something anonymous

hi not sure how to contact moderator?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Mar 2025 ==

press the 'report' hyperlink button in your post - assuming it shows

thank you

Please post the letter but with your details and any reference number obscured. And if your username is your actual name, it’s probably wise to ask a moderator to change it to something anonymous

 

[Hadders]

Legally speaking you must possess a ticket for your journey before you board the train. Chiltern are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to.

The good news is Chiltern are normally prepared to offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with their investigation and who haven't come to their attention before. I suggest writing a short, concise response mentioning the following points:

- 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

If you are offered an out of court settlement expect to have to pay the cost of the fare avoided at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid ticket you did buy. They will also charge an admin fee, normally around £150. Chiltern will search your online ticket purchasing history and if this reveals that you have short fared before then they will want to factor the costs of those journeys into the settlement fee.

If you post a copy of your draft reply in this thread forum members will proof read it for you.

 

[elvis9160]

Legally speaking you must possess a ticket for your journey before you board the train. Chiltern are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to.

The good news is Chiltern are normally prepared to offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with their investigation and who haven't come to their attention before. I suggest writing a short, concise response mentioning the following points:

- 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

If you are offered an out of court settlement expect to have to pay the cost of the fare avoided at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid ticket you did buy. They will also charge an admin fee, normally around £150. Chiltern will search your online ticket purchasing history and if this reveals that you have short fared before then they will want to factor the costs of those journeys into the settlement fee.

If you post a copy of your draft reply in this thread forum members will proof read it for you.

Dear Sir/Madam,



I am writing to you in regard to a letter i received on Friday 7th March 2025 for a notice of intended prosecution in relation to an incident at Birmingham Moor Street station on the 7th November 2024.



I would like to start by expressing my sincere apologies for the disruption and inconvenience this has caused. I acknowledge that I travelled without a valid ticket on this date and I take full responsibility for my actions.



On this day I was travelling with my partner and we were rushing to make this specific train as we had plans later that day, my partner had used the trainline app to buy our tickets but as we arrive at the station we notice this hadn’t gone through. We both then individually bought a ticket on trainline for the next train from Small Heath to Birmingham Moor Street as it was the same journey and price. We approached a gentleman in a chiltern railway jacket to scan our tickets which is when we were informed our ticket was invalid as we have bought it for the next train and we should’ve used the ticket office at Birmingham Moor Street in relation to our issue with the tickets.



I completely understand my mistake and have learnt from this that we need to make sure we are checking our tickets have gone through and plan our journey more appropriately to avoid any incidents in the future as well as understanding the ticket office is also there to help.



In response to this I would be extremely grateful if it would be possible to settle this matter with you directly without the need for any court action. I am willing to pay any administrative costs incurred and what you deem appropriate in regards to this matter.



Once again I am extremely sorry for any inconvenience and appreciate your time regarding this issue.



Yours sincerely,


Is this okay? please let me know any changes that should be made as i believe it could be too wordy

thank you in advance

 

[elvis9160]

Dear Sir/Madam,



I am writing to you in regard to a letter i received on Friday 7th March 2025 for a notice of intended prosecution in relation to an incident at Birmingham Moor Street station on the 7th November 2024.



I would like to start by expressing my sincere apologies for the disruption and inconvenience this has caused. I acknowledge that I travelled without a valid ticket on this date and I take full responsibility for my actions.



On this day I was travelling with my partner from Small Heath and we were rushing to make this specific train as we had plans later that day, my partner had used the trainline app to buy our tickets but as we arrive at Birmingham Moor Street we notice this hadn’t gone through.

We both then individually bought a ticket on trainline for the next train from Small Heath to Birmingham Moor Street as it was the same journey and price. We approached a gentleman in a chiltern railway jacket to scan our tickets which is when we were informed our ticket was invalid as we have bought it for the next train and we should’ve used the ticket office at Birmingham Moor Street in relation to our issue with the tickets.



I completely understand my mistake and have learnt from this that we need to make sure we are checking our tickets have gone through and plan our journey more appropriately to avoid any incidents in the future as well as understanding the ticket office is also there to help. As well as understanding that tickets bought for a train you didn’t get on is an invalid ticket regardless of the same price and distance.



In response to this I would be extremely grateful if it would be possible to settle this matter with you directly without the need for any court action. I am willing to pay any administrative costs incurred and what you deem appropriate in regards to this matter.



Once again I am extremely sorry for any inconvenience and appreciate your time regarding this issue.



Yours sincerely,

 

[furlong]

The allegation is that you failed to show a valid ticket for the journey you had made, not that you boarded without a ticket.
In the original post you said your journey began at Yardley Wood. Now you say Small Heath.
Which was it?
A flexible ticket can be used on earlier services, and if it was invalid only due to time restrictions, you'd only need to pay the difference in fare.
The letter further suggests you might have previously made similar journeys without a valid ticket.

Their suspicion is clearly that you didn't pay for the complete journey you made both on the day you were stopped and on previous occasions.
That's what your reply needs to address.

 

[NorthernSystem]

Dear Sir/Madam,



I am writing to you in regard to a letter i received on Friday 7th March 2025 for a notice of intended prosecution in relation to an incident at Birmingham Moor Street station on the 7th November 2024.



I would like to start by expressing my sincere apologies for the disruption and inconvenience this has caused. I acknowledge that I travelled without a valid ticket on this date and I take full responsibility for my actions.



On this day I was travelling with my partner from Small Heath and we were rushing to make this specific train as we had plans later that day, my partner had used the trainline app to buy our tickets but as we arrive at Birmingham Moor Street we notice this hadn’t gone through.

We both then individually bought a ticket on trainline for the next train from Small Heath to Birmingham Moor Street as it was the same journey and price. We approached a gentleman in a chiltern railway jacket to scan our tickets which is when we were informed our ticket was invalid as we have bought it for the next train and we should’ve used the ticket office at Birmingham Moor Street in relation to our issue with the tickets.



I completely understand my mistake and have learnt from this that we need to make sure we are checking our tickets have gone through and plan our journey more appropriately to avoid any incidents in the future as well as understanding the ticket office is also there to help. As well as understanding that tickets bought for a train you didn’t get on is an invalid ticket regardless of the same price and distance.



In response to this I would be extremely grateful if it would be possible to settle this matter with you directly without the need for any court action. I am willing to pay any administrative costs incurred and what you deem appropriate in regards to this matter.



Once again I am extremely sorry for any inconvenience and appreciate your time regarding this issue.



Yours sincerely,

You say you started your journey at Yardley Wood, yet in your reply here, you're doubling down on starting your journey at Small Heath? Unfortunately, seeing other threads on here, this forum and definitely Chiltern will know that Small Heath is used as a shortfare hotspot. Best to get all your ducks in a row.

Chiltern also ellude to you evading fares on other occasions.. Will this show other potential short fares?

 

[elvis9160]

You say you started your journey at Yardley Wood, yet in your reply here, you're doubling down on starting your journey at Small Heath? Unfortunately, seeing other threads on here, this forum and definitely Chiltern will know that Small Heath is used as a shortfare hotspot. Best to get all your ducks in a row.

Chiltern also ellude to you evading fares on other occasions.. Will this show other potential short fares?

that’s my mistake as yardley wood is my closest but we are often in small heath with family so we also do travel from here, the difference in price for that is about 30p so i hope they wouldn’t think im usuing that station just cos its cheaper as its literally only a 30p difference.

my recent tickets will show i often use small heath, tysley and yardley wood all as stations to get to moor street and snow hill, i don’t use the trains that often so im unsure how is best to approach that in the email?

 

[AlterEgo]

that’s my mistake as yardley wood is my closest but we are often in small heath with family so we also do travel from here, the difference in price for that is about 30p so i hope they wouldn’t think im usuing that station just cos its cheaper as its literally only a 30p difference.

They would. People fiddle them for tuppence, especially when buying tickets when noticing the barrier is manned. They have made this allegation in the letter - that you failed to show a valid ticket for the journey you had made.

 

[elvis9160]

They would. People fiddle them for tuppence, especially when buying tickets when noticing the barrier is manned. They have made this allegation in the letter - that you failed to show a valid ticket for the journey you had made.

do you have any advice on what is best to put in my email as this genuinely is an honest mistake, i went up to the people scanning the tickets myself, if i thought o was in the wrong i would’ve used the ones without someone manning them?

 

[furlong]

You write "On this day I was travelling with my partner from Small Heath". Would that be a lie?

If a train company thinks you are lying they'll take it all the way and let a court decide (with the potential for a short prison sentence if a blatant lie is maintained in court).

 

[elvis9160]

You write "On this day I was travelling with my partner from Small Heath". Would that be a lie?

If a train company thinks you are lying they'll take it all the way and let a court decide (with the potential for a short prison sentence if a blatant lie is maintained in court).

this isn’t a lie, we are often in Small heath and this is the station we travelled from that day

 

[AlterEgo]

do you have any advice on what is best to put in my email as this genuinely is an honest mistake, i went up to the people scanning the tickets myself, if i thought o was in the wrong i would’ve used the ones without someone manning them?

The barriers would have likely rejected the ticket for the same reason the revenue officers did; you came across revenue protection, not the usual barrier staff, so they were.

Someone else has a live thread at the moment from the same day, where they were busted in exactly the same circumstances, with a Small Heath ticket. they will have caught loads of people on the same day.

Chiltern believe you have made other journeys without a valid ticket, so it us up to you to either admit to that, or show some evidence that it is not the case.

 

[elvis9160]

The barriers would have likely rejected the ticket for the same reason the revenue officers did; you came across revenue protection, not the usual barrier staff, so they were.

Someone else has a live thread at the moment from the same day, where they were busted in exactly the same circumstances, with a Small Heath ticket. they will have caught loads of people on the same day.

Chiltern believe you have made other journeys without a valid ticket, so it us up to you to either admit to that, or show some evidence that it is not the case.

where am i able to find this live thread please?

 

[furlong]

this isn’t a lie, we are often in Small heath and this is the station we travelled from that day

So why did you also write:

I had bought a ticket on trainline with Apple Pay, as I got to my station (Yardley Wood)

What would CCTV show?

 

[elvis9160]

So why did you also write:


What would CCTV show?

this was an error on my half as yardley wood is my closest station

 

[Cuthbert]

So why did you also write:


What would CCTV show?

Yardley Wood and Small Heath are owned by WMR and I know they have handed CCTV footage to Chiltern in the past when a DPA request form is sent to the CCTV team.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Mar 2025 ==

where am i able to find this live thread please?

A quick search on the forum with "Small Heath" will help you to this thread https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/intended-prosecution.283466/

 

[elvis9160]

Yardley Wood and Small Heath are owned by WMR and I know they have handed CCTV footage to Chiltern in the past when a DPA request form is sent to the CCTV team.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Mar 2025 ==


A quick search on the forum with "Small Heath" will help you to this thread https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/intended-prosecution.283466/

thank you!