Prosecution threat: used freedom pass in error

[Aza12]

Hello

I used my mums freedoom pass by accident, and was caught at the tube station. Ive had a letter asking who i would like to respond to the accusation

Here is my proposed response, if people could help?

Dear sirs



"I write further to the above matter and the incident on the (x)

I accept that I had in error used an incorrect card to travel. I share a house with my mother and had left our oyster cards on the same dinner table. I was running late for a meeting in (x) and had rushed out the door picking up the card I though was mine from the table. I only realised my error when I got to (x)

I accept that I had in error used my mother’s card instead of my own. This was a genuine one-off error, and it was not my intention to act in a way contrary to the TFL rules. I did not realise that I was travelling on an incorrect card or that I was not allowed to use the card I was traveling on.

I am a regular purchaser of annual travelcards, and I do not have the need or inclination to use a pass which is not under my name.

This is my first offence, I have not previously been warned or fined for travelling without the correct fare on any TFL or train service.

Prosecution in this case would not be in the public interest, I would be willing to pay the fine for incorrect travel, and there is no risk of re-offending in this matter. My annual travelcard runs until next year.

Please contact me if you have any other queries with regards to the investigation."

 

[Haywain]

I am a regular purchaser of annual travelcards, and I do not have the need or inclination to use a pass which is not under my name.

Do you actually have an annual Travelcard on your Oyster card now? If so, I think you should say so, and give the Oyster card number - if it wasn't used that day that shows you had nothing to gain.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 May 2025 ==

Prosecution in this case would not be in the public interest,

Not a good line to use - TfL see prosecution for misuse of Freedom Passes as very much in the public interest.

 

[Aza12]

ok thanks. Ill add those and remove that line

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Transport for London take misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously and a prosecution under the TfL Bylaws is the usual outcome. If you have a current, valid annual Travelcard then I would reply and tell them (giving themn your Oyster card number so they can check) as this is probably the best mitigation you can provide.

If you don't possess a current Travelcard then you're in a bit of a stocky situation. TfL do not offer out of court settlements, I suggest you take a look at TfL's revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy, specifically section 8 as this gives the criteria they use when deciding whether of not to prosecute. To have the best chance of success your letter needs to clearly reference the criteria.

We have had some limited reports that people who use a solicitor specialising in rail fare evasion have been able to secure a favourable outcome. What a solicitor cab sometimes do is present your mitigation in a better way than you might feel able to do yourself. The downside is if you will have to pay the solicitor's fee even if they are unsuccessful in persuading TfL not to prosecute.

 

[Haywain]

What a solicitor cab sometimes do is present your mitigation in a better way than you might feel able to do yourself. The downside is if you will have to pay the solicitor's fee even if they are unsuccessful in persuading TfL not to prosecute.

At this stage of the OP's case, I don't think a solicitor is necessary.

 

[yorkie]

Prosecution in this case would not be in the public interest, I would be willing to pay the fine for incorrect travel, and there is no risk of re-offending in this matter.

I wouldn't say that if it was me; I'd say something like, "I am keen to settle the matter out of court and will pay the sum you deem appropriate" or whatever wording you see fit.

(Technically, a fine would only be payable if you are convicted)

My annual travelcard runs until next year.

If you have a currently valid Annual Travelcard, which wasn't used on the day, then you are in a strong position.

If you do not have a currently valid Annual Travelcard, then I don't think it's worth mentioning, as it is a distraction and doesn't help your case at all.

 

[Egg Centric]

At this stage of the OP's case, I don't think a solicitor is necessary.

If - and only if - the OP is telling the truth about it being a one off and genuine accident and them holding a travelcard I'm not sure I agree. This is the sort of situation we've seen a solicitor succeed in getting people off at TfL

Meanwhile OP can you evidence the above with a journey history of both your travelcard and your mother's freedom card? Be aware that your story is similar to one many fare evaders use, but of course they wouldn't be able to evidence what they say...

 

[AlterEgo]

ok thanks. Ill add those and remove that line

Can you provide them with evidence of this annual Travelcard?

 

[Aza12]

Hello. I have a current annual travelcard. At the time of the error, I hadn't renewed it but was using it as a PAYG before I got money in to renew the annual travelcard

I have evidence of use of annual travelcard over the last 10 years or so. It was a one off incident rather than a long term pattern of use.

 

[Alex C.]

Hello. I have a current annual travelcard. At the time of the error, I hadn't renewed it but was using it as a PAYG before I got money in to renew the annual travelcard

I have evidence of use of annual travelcard over the last 10 years or so. It was a one off incident rather than a long term pattern of use.

I don't think that is going to help your case - if anything an investigator is going to interpret that as you being a bit strapped for cash and decided to borrow the freedom pass in the meantime. The issue you have is that everyone says it was the first time when they are caught, but that will only be true for a very small number of people.

 

[yorkie]

Hello. I have a current annual travelcard. At the time of the error, I hadn't renewed it but was using it as a PAYG before I got money in to renew the annual travelcard

I have evidence of use of annual travelcard over the last 10 years or so. It was a one off incident rather than a long term pattern of use.

Given your Travelcard wasn't valid at the time, I'm not really convinced.

If I was reading this, I would suspect that you chose to use the Freedom pass because you didn't have a current valid Travelcard and were doing it to save money.

Even if the reality was that you made a mistake, the coincidence of this happening at a time when your Travelcard wasn't valid makes it seem like a very far-fetched mistake.

If TfL suspect you are not being truthful, it could make the outcome for you even worse.

 

[Pushpit]

So it looks like that had you not been stopped, you would have saved a bit of money? If so that's a lot more problematic. Also the mixed up cards on the kitchen table excuse is a fairly common one, I've think there have been 2 or 3 such cases in this forum recently, so I imagine TfL see it quite regularly. A Freedom Card looks completely different from a standard Oyster and has a photo on it. Even if you missed that when you left the house, it would have been pretty obvious at the station when you used it. Unless it's the "in an identical wallet" excuse, which has also been deployed before.

 

[Aza12]

Ok. What's the best thing i can say then? I know how it sounds. How can I minimise rhe fallout. There's no pattern of constant use as that's not what happened

 

[simonw]

Ok. What's the best thing i can say then? I know how it sounds. How can I minimise rhe fallout. There's no pattern of constant use as that's not what happened

The advice, as always, is to tell the truth.

 

[enyoueffsea]

You just happened to accidentally pick up the Freedom pass, for the first time, during the exact same time your annual Travelcard had expired and you had not renewed it?

A mistake you have never made before, despite using in your mitigation how easy a mistake it is to make based on your circumstances?

If that sounds as ridiculous to you as it does me, it almost certainly will to TfL.

 

[Pushpit]

Yes, you are possibly detecting some scepticism here - imagine what it will be like at TfL's prosecution unit, where they are probably inclined to think everyone lies to them until proven otherwise.

Prosecution is the usual outcome here, and the reasons that won't lead to prosecution are
- you were forced to do it (so domestic slavery)
- you have a physical or mental health issue that contributed to it
- you are under 18 or over 60 (and I don't understand that age limit either)
- a successful prosecution will have an impact well above normal (e.g. having to leave the UK due to work - visa issues)
and there is some text about the loss being trivial, but I think that's where you did have a fully paid up travel card.

If a prosecution is going to really impact you, then that tends to going to a specialist solicitor, who can't guarantee success but seem to have a high ability to avoid a court case. It will cost £750 to £1000 just for the legal advice.

 

[AlterEgo]

Hello. I have a current annual travelcard. At the time of the error, I hadn't renewed it but was using it as a PAYG before I got money in to renew the annual travelcard

So you didn’t have a travelcard at the time.

 

[Aza12]

Yes, you are possibly detecting some scepticism here - imagine what it will be like at TfL's prosecution unit, where they are probably inclined to think everyone lies to them until proven otherwise.

Prosecution is the usual outcome here, and the reasons that won't lead to prosecution are
- you were forced to do it (so domestic slavery)
- you have a physical or mental health issue that contributed to it
- you are under 18 or over 60 (and I don't understand that age limit either)
- a successful prosecution will have an impact well above normal (e.g. having to leave the UK due to work - visa issues)
and there is some text about the loss being trivial, but I think that's where you did have a fully paid up travel card.

If a prosecution is going to really impact you, then that tends to going to a specialist solicitor, who can't guarantee success but seem to have a high ability to avoid a court case. It will cost £750 to £1000 just for the legal advice.

What's the consequence of a prosecution if I pelad guilty?

 

[Haywain]

If - and only if - the OP is telling the truth about it being a one off and genuine accident and them holding a travelcard I'm not sure I agree.

As we now know, the story I was basing this on at the time wasn't true but, had it been true, I would have only advised using a solicitor if TfL had not accepted the explanation as it stood. In the light of the current information, my advice to @Aza12 is that they have two options now - one is to accept that they will be prosecuted and convicted of a minor criminal offence and the other is to pay a solicitor upwards of £700 and hope that TfL will just issue a warning (which isn't guaranteed, even with a solicitor's involvement).

 

[Hadders]

What's the consequence of a prosecution if I pelad guilty?

If you are prosecuted and plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court) then you will have to pay:

- A fine based on your income (normally reduced by a third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity)
- A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
- A contribution towards TfL's costs
- Compensation for the fares avoided

If you are found guilty then this is a criminal conviction. If you are prosecuted under the TfL Bylaws (which is what normally happens) then the conviction isn't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and won't normally appear on Basic DBS checks although we always advise people to be honest when asked if they have a conviction.

 

[Pushpit]

What's the consequence of a prosecution if I pelad guilty?

You probably will need to attend a magistrates court in person (which is rarely a good experience), after quite a bit of waiting around you will a few minutes in the courtroom, you will probably get a fine, costs, victims surcharge - some of this related to your income. Between £500 to £1000 depending on your details. You will get a criminal record, which will be spent after 1 year. Mostly that's the end of the matter for most practical reasons, and about a third of men in the London area have some sort of criminal record. However for some sensitive roles such as in government, law, finance, education and healthcare you will need to tell your employer, sponsor, professional body and/or college that you have been fined by TfL. Since 20,000 or so of these fines come out annually, it's not the end of the world, but some employers will take a dim view of it, and even more dim view if you fail to disclose it. It's unlikely to disrupt your travel plans, but some visas ask you to declare all criminal convictions.

 

[Egg Centric]

As we now know, the story I was basing this on at the time wasn't true but, had it been true, I would have only advised using a solicitor if TfL had not accepted the explanation as it stood. In the light of the current information, my advice to @Aza12 is that they have two options now - one is to accept that they will be prosecuted and convicted of a minor criminal offence and the other is to pay a solicitor upwards of £700 and hope that TfL will just issue a warning (which isn't guaranteed, even with a solicitor's involvement).

On consideration you're right. I'm precisely as shocked as you are of course to find out that the OP is not, in fact, in that position thus making this hypothetical though

 

[Aza12]

Ive had a response after 2 months saying that they take misuse of the freedom pass seriously, they are reviewing the case, and will let me know shortly.

 

[Aza12]

I have a court summons for attending magistrates court for fare evasion for using my mother's freedom pass

They are charging me with 118 offences, even though I didn't use the card for those offences. I only used it 5 times

Can I dispute the ones I didn't use and plead guilty for the times I did use it? How can they prove it?

 

[Snow1964]

They only need to catch you once, and normally on prosecute for the trip where you were caught.

If they make an offer, or want compensation for lost fares, they will normally look at history and expect the fare for anything else that looks suspicious.

There is a balancing act (and others will advise on this) between accepting a penalty because you did wrong multiple times, and antagonising them by claiming not quite as many times as they are suggesting. Remember you need to accept least worst outcome, not get into a bigger hole.

You would need to have some strong evidence your mother made those other journeys (presumably if they have come from a data dump of usage, then someone made them), because if it wasn't your mother, and wasn't you, you are incriminating at least one other person too.

So think carefully before you dispute the other journeys, and take time to gather facts, eg did your mother visit someone or go somewhere on X dates, if it was case of might have gone to same place as you normally go, then you need to be able to evidence they have assumed wrong if it gets further.

 

[Miker15]

They’re likely going off usage data linked to that card’s tap-ins. If those 118 trips line up with your commuting pattern (locations, times), it’ll be tough to argue otherwise. You can try negotiating a settlement before court, TfL sometimes accepts repayment instead of prosecution, especially if you cooperate early.

 

[Aza12]

Don't tfl have to prove i made those journeys?

 

[pedr]

Can you carefully read all of the paperwork and identify whether they are

A) charging you with 118 offences or
B) charging you with one offence and inviting you to ask the court to take into consideration the other offences.

There is a difference between the two. It is usual to charge people who have committed many similar offences with one (or a few) examples and then for the sentence (punishment fine, in this case) to be slightly increased if they acknowledge they have also committed other offences, rather than the prosecution having to prove each one of the many offences. It is efficient and, for the defendant, results in both a smoother process and a lower overall sentence than if there were separate prosecutions for each offence.

If you do not accept that you committed all of the offences then you should not say that you do. This means the prosecutor can, in theory, attempt to prosecute for those in future but they would have to prove the offence.

(It doesn’t help that the word “charging” means both “formally accusing of a crime and bringing to court” and “requiring the payment of money”; it may look as if they are charging for all of the journeys in the second sense, if they are seeking compensation for them all, even if they are only charging one offence in the first sense.)

 

[30907]

Please post a redacted copy of the letter if you need further help.

 

[notmyrealname]

You can try negotiating a settlement before court, TfL sometimes accepts repayment instead of prosecution, especially if you cooperate early.

The forum regulars have been saying for a while that TfL are either issuing a warning or going to court.