Notice of Intended Prosecution

[JamesP05]

On the 22nd November I went from Whitlocks End to Birmingham Moor Street with a ticket that I had bought using a 16-25 rail card. Unknown to me, it had expired and whilst I understand this is still completely my fault, I’m unsure if they’ll understand if it was a mistake. My ticket was scanned by a person working for chiltern railways due to (I believe) it being the Christmas market and therefore there were a lot of people travelling to Birmingham. He took me to the side after I showed him my railcard had expired (on the 25th August) and I gave him my details and offered numerous times to renew my railcard right in front of him.

Yesterday I received a letter from chiltern railways titled ‘Notice of Intended Prosecution’ in which they have given me 14 days from when the letter was sent (now only 7 days) to email them my side. They have recommended I seek a Solicitor which I have, however this will set me back close to £1,000, which obviously is a lot of money.

I was wondering if I would be able to email them myself to settle out of court or it is recommended to just ‘take the hit’ for the solicitor. I have attached the letter I received. Thanks in advance (:

 

[Titfield]

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. Chiltern normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them, and who haven't come to their attention before. The letter they've sent is the standard letter they normally send.

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

Have you made any other journeys claiming the discount by the card had expired?

You are not required to incriminate yourself but equally you should not lie. Chiltern are 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 Chiltern 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.

 

[JamesP05]

Thank you for your reply, here is my draft that I have made.

Dear Sir/Madam,



I am writing in response to the Notice of Intention to Prosecute regarding the incident on the 22nd of November 2024.



On the 22nd of November 2024 at Birmingham Moor Street railway station I was stopped by a Revenue Protection officer, and they scanned my ticket and requested to see my 16-25 Railcard. Unfortunately, when I went to produce this from the Trainline app, it had expired, and the officer took me to the side and I gave him my details. I was unaware my Railcard had expired on the 25th August and I did not have any intention to travel without paying the correct fare.



I offered the officer to renew my railcard on the spot, however he said I could not as I had already travelled without a valid one, which I completely understand. Trainline automatically applied the railcard and gave me no notification it had expired, however it was completely my responsibility to check this before purchasing the ticket.



I want to apologise sincerely for this careless mistake, I realise the impact that actions like mine have on Chiltern Railways as they are not getting the true price of the ticket, and I immediately removed my railcard from my Trainline so I could not accidentally buy a ticket with it again.



I would be extremely grateful if it would be possible to settle this matter with you directly without the need for court action, and I am willing to pay any outstanding fares and administrative costs incurred.



I sincerely thank you for your time and appreciate your consideration for this matter.



Kind Regards,

 

[SuspectUsual]

Other than including the reference number from their letter, addressing it to the person who signed the letter you received, and if we're being pedantic changing the last bit to yours sincerely, I'd say that was a pretty good reply

 

[JamesP05]

Other than including the reference number from their letter, addressing it to the person who signed the letter you received, and if we're being pedantic changing the last bit to yours sincerely, I'd say that was a pretty good reply

Perfect thank you so much! The more pedantic the better

 

[SuspectUsual]

Perfect thank you so much! The more pedantic the better

You're probably best to hold fire replying till the end of the weekend if you can - it gives others time to give their feedback and in all likelihood the people at Chiltern won't be in till Monday anyway

 

[JamesP05]

You're probably best to hold fire replying till the end of the weekend if you can - it gives others time to give their feedback and in all likelihood the people at Chiltern won't be in till Monday anyway

Yeah I won’t be replying until late Sunday anyway so I’m 100% sure, thank you though!

 

[Hadders]

The letter looks ok to me. Please let us know the outcome.

 

[JamesP05]

The letter looks ok to me. Please let us know the outcome.

Will do, thank you Hadders

 

[JamesP05]

Just adding to this to bump it to ask this question. I sent my email on the 10th March, and do not yet have a response and am starting to get a little worried, is this normal waiting time ?

 

[Cuthbert]

Just adding to this to bump it to ask this question. I sent my email on the 10th March, and do not yet have a response and am starting to get a little worried, is this normal waiting time ?

Yes it can take several weeks to get a reply as they normally deal with many many other incidents.

 

[JamesP05]

Yes it can take several weeks to get a reply as they normally deal with many many other incidents.

Thank you for the reply !

 

[sara shah]

Just adding to this to bump it to ask this question. I sent my email on the 10th March, and do not yet have a response and am starting to get a little worried, is this normal waiting time ?

Hey did you receive a reply?

 

[JamesP05]

Hey did you receive a reply?

Nope still waiting, sent a follow up email a week ago

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Apr 2025 ==

Bought a student railcard last week and emailed them a follow up informing them of this and reiterating my mistake by saying I set a calendar reminder and asking for confirmation they received my email, but I have not got anything back, should I be worried?

 

[John R]

If you’ve sent them an email I wouldn’t worry. They only have another month to resolve this or they lose the right to prosecute you, so I’m sure it won’t be too long now.

 

[JamesP05]

If you’ve sent them an email I wouldn’t worry. They only have another month to resolve this or they lose the right to prosecute you, so I’m sure it won’t be too long now.

Thanks for the reply, my worry is it’ll get so late that they just send me to court because it’ll be too close to 6 months and so they might think I won’t pay a settlement if that makes sense?

 

[Titfield]

Thanks for the reply, my worry is it’ll get so late that they just send me to court because it’ll be too close to 6 months and so they might think I won’t pay a settlement if that makes sense?

Based on both experience and TOCS published revenue protection policies TOCS (Train Operating Companies) do not proceed directly to court but send at least an initial letter and then, if no reply is received, a reminder before proceeding to court. The timescale (ie the amount of time left before the 6 month deadline expires) does not appear to cause them to deviate from this policy.

 

[Haywain]

The timescale (ie the amount of time left before the 6 month deadline expires) does not appear to cause them to deviate from this policy.

We have actually seen cases here where an offer of settlement has been accompanied by a Single Justice Procedure Notice, and I think we've even had one or two where the SJPN has accompanied the first letter when they have been close to the 6 month limit.

 

[Titfield]

We have actually seen cases here where an offer of settlement has been accompanied by a Single Justice Procedure Notice, and I think we've even had one or two where the SJPN has accompanied the first letter when they have been close to the 6 month limit.

Thank you.

EDIT. The first possible action you have outlined does at least give the recipient a choice (of pay up or go to court). The second is more concerning as the recipient may feel that there going to court is the only outcome ie the TOC is not amenable to any form of response.

 

[JamesP05]

Based on both experience and TOCS published revenue protection policies TOCS (Train Operating Companies) do not proceed directly to court but send at least an initial letter and then, if no reply is received, a reminder before proceeding to court. The timescale (ie the amount of time left before the 6 month deadline expires) does not appear to cause them to deviate from this policy.

So to clarify to both as I’m a little confused, I’ve received my Intention to Prosecute and they now have 1 month to prosecute me. I worry they’re going to take so long that they cannot wait for me to pay or the date will be over and I will only receive a court summons, am I incorrect on this from what you’re said?

 

[Titfield]

If they offer you an out of court settlement they will give you time to pay but we have seen some quite short times. IIRC we have seen 7 days though 14 days is more usual.

They could as @Haywain suggested send you an out of court settlement and a Single Justice Procedure at the same time. What this means is that if you dont pay the out of court settlement offer within the deadline given, they will take you to court as per the attached SJPN. They have issued the SJPN at the same time as the out of court settlement offer because if you did not pay the settlement within the deadline specified, they (the TOC) would be out of time to then issue the SJPN.

 

[Haywain]

They could as @Haywain suggested send you an out of court settlement and a Single Justice Procedure at the same time. What this means is that if you dont pay the out of court settlement offer within the deadline given, they will take you to court as per the attached SJPN.

If this happens you are typically given 21 days to enter a plea for the SJPN, and a shorter time to pay the settlement.

 

[JamesP05]

If this happens you are typically given 21 days to enter a plea for the SJPN, and a shorter time to pay the settlement.

But if I pay the settlement sent with it, I do not need to interact with the SJPN, correct?

 

[Titfield]

But if I pay the settlement sent with it, I do not need to interact with the SJPN, correct?

If you pay the settlement within the time period, the TOC will withdraw the SJPN and inform the court. However you should make sure you get confirmation from the TOC that they have withdrawn the SJPN. It is also prudent to check with the Court that they (the Court) have been informed by the TOC.

You do not need to respond to the SJPN itself if you have paid the out of court settlement.

 

[JamesP05]

If you pay the settlement within the time period, the TOC will withdraw the SJPN and inform the court. However you should make sure you get confirmation from the TOC that they have withdrawn the SJPN. It is also prudent to check with the Court that they (the Court) have been informed by the TOC.

You do not need to respond to the SJPN itself if you have paid the out of court settlement.

Perfect; thank you both so much!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Apr 2025 ==

Good Morning all, today I received an email from the Fraud Unit and it’s good news, they have agreed to settle out of court. I have immediately paid the sum and would like to thank everyone here for their assistance with this as you have helped me so much!

 

[sara shah]

Perfect; thank you both so much!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Apr 2025 ==

Good Morning all, today I received an email from the Fraud Unit and it’s good news, they have agreed to settle out of court. I have immediately paid the sum and would like to thank everyone here for their assistance with this as you have helped me so much!

Very happy for you. I have a month left as well so hoping they reply to me soon!

 

[John R]

Good Morning all, today I received an email from the Fraud Unit and it’s good news, they have agreed to settle out of court. I have immediately paid the sum and would like to thank everyone here for their assistance with this as you have helped me so much!

Thanks for letting us know and I’m glad it has all been resolved without the need for court action.

 

[7454567]

Perfect; thank you both so much!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Apr 2025 ==

Good Morning all, today I received an email from the Fraud Unit and it’s good news, they have agreed to settle out of court. I have immediately paid the sum and would like to thank everyone here for their assistance with this as you have helped me so much!

Hi just wondering if you ever got an automated email reply from them, I send on on the 17th march and still not heard back but don’t remember getting an auto email acknowledging they received it?

 

[JamesP05]

Hi just wondering if you ever got an automated email reply from them, I send on on the 17th march and still not heard back but don’t remember getting an auto email acknowledging they received it?

Hiya, no automated reply at all, but if you’ve sent the email then they’ve received it, they can’t claim they haven’t as you have ‘receipts’

 

[7454567]

Ahh that’s great, yeh the email was triple checked just would have thought they would send an automated email, guess it’s so at some points they can claim they never got it ‍♀️