Got caught with a child's fare, been sent a letter.

[burberry66]

Hi,
I'm writing on behalf of my boyfriend who came to my station through Chiltern Railways from London Marylebone. He came on the 16th April and was spoken to protection staff and didn't show a valid rail ticket. He was then told to state his name and address in which he did, left the station and forgot about it. He was not given a fine or a warning even though this was his first time fare evading.
A week ago he had been sent a letter regarding the incident where it said 'The purpose of this letter is to advise you of the report and of any action that may follow from it, and provide you with the opportunity to inform us of any mitigation that you wish to be considered - should be sent to given email + YOU ARE THEREFORE ADVISED TO SEEK OUT INDEPENDENT LEGAL ADVICE FROM A SOLICITOR...'

He has since then talked to one solicitor I believe (obviously not wanting to go to court and having this on a permanent record) and he has said that it would cost over £1000 to have an out of court settlement.
He has also emailed them twice since then and has bought an 18-25 railcard.

I know what he did was unjust, however he is an 18 year old broke student who cant afford the full adult fare of £40 let alone over a grand in settlement fees. I also think its unfair to prosecute him without offering him to pay a fine for his wrong ticket.

Unsure if this is relevant but I have been caught without a ticket once and they just made me pay it (Chiltern Railways)


Is there anyway to reduce this huge fine or talk to someone about it? He is very worried about it and I feel like the punishment does not fit the crime.

Please send your opinions and avice as any would really really help.

Thank you.

 

[AlterEgo]

I'm a bit confused - what huge fine?

A solicitor is not necessary to dispose of these matters, a contrite letter should see the company offer an out of court settlement.

Can you upload the letter he has received with his name and details removed?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@burberry66. Welcome to the forum. Has your boyfriend been purchasing/using Child tickets on numerous other occasions, prior to the occasion when they got stopped, and despite being aged 16+? Or is the "over £1000" that you mention the fee that the solicitors propose to charge him, for their professional services?

 

[Haywain]

Unsure if this is relevant but I have been caught without a ticket once and they just made me pay it (Chiltern Railways)

It's not relevant.

Please send your opinions and avice as any would really really help.

We can help you and him to deal with this without needing to pay a solicitor. To do this you will need to post a copy of the letter, with personal details redacted.

 

[burberry66]

I'm a bit confused - what huge fine?

A solicitor is not necessary to dispose of these matters, a contrite letter should see the company offer an out of court settlement.

Can you upload the letter he has received with his name and details removed?

He told me the lawyer costs 125 for consultation,
400 for admin fee
Chiltern takes 600/700
and rest of the ticket he didnt buy 20

he already wrote an email twice with no response, if ypu want them please let me know.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2025 ==

@burberry66. Welcome to the forum. Has your boyfriend been purchasing/using Child tickets on numerous other occasions, prior to the occasion when they got stopped, and despite being aged 16+? Or is the "over £1000" that you mention the fee that the solicitors propose to charge him, for their professional services?

His first time doing so
Yes the solicitors service. Is it supposed to really be that much?

 

[burberry66]

It's not relevant.

We can help you and him to deal with this without needing to pay a solicitor. To do this you will need to post a copy of the letter, with personal details redacted.

I have just posted it, thank you.

 

[Haywain]

Yes the solicitors service. Is it supposed to really be that much?

To be honest, we would expect a solicitor to cost between £700 and £1200, if not more. With Chiltern's costs on top.

 

[burberry66]

To be honest, we would expect a solicitor to cost between £700 and £1200, if not more.

is there no other way to do this without a solicitor?

 

[simonw]

He told me the lawyer costs 125 for consultation,
400 for admin fee
Chiltern takes 600/700
and rest of the ticket he didnt buy 20

he already wrote an email twice with no response, if ypu want them please let me know.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2025 ==


His first time doing so
Yes the solicitors service. Is it supposed to really be that much?

If this is a one off is your boyfriend has not done this on more than one occasion it is highly unlikely that this will end up in court and if you read other threads on here you will see the kind of reply he should send.

Employing a solicitor should not be necessary if this is genuinely a one-off

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Are you talking about you or your boyfriend?

What exactly has happened?

What was invalid about the ticket?
Which stations were you travelling between?
Have you done this before (Chiltern will check your online ticket purchasing history)

If you tell us this we can offer appropriate advice.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2025 ==

is there no other way to do this without a solicitor?

A solicitor isn't normally necessary as long as you co-operate with Chiltern, and haven't come to their attention before.

There are lots of thrads in this section of the forum involving Chiltern where settlements have been achieved without using a solicitor, but we do need to know what has happened to be able to assist.

 

[Haywain]

is there no other way to do this without a solicitor?

We can help so that a solicitor is not necessary.

we do need to know what has happened to be able to assist.

We need to know:

• Did your boyfriend have a ticket of any sort?
• How did he get on to the platform at Marylebone?
• Has he done this before?

 

[burberry66]

Welcome to the forum!

Are you talking about you or your boyfriend?

What exactly has happened?

What was invalid about the ticket?
Which stations were you travelling between?
Have you done this before (Chiltern will check your online ticket purchasing history)

If you tell us this we can offer appropriate advice.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2025 ==


A solicitor isn't normally necessary as long as you co-operate with Chiltern, and haven't come to their attention before.

There are lots of threads in this section of the forum involving Chiltern where settlements have been achieved without using a solicitor, but we do need to know what has happened to be able to assist.

Hi!
I'm talking about my boyfriend. He got caught with a child's ticket from Marylebone to Leamington Spa and was sent a letter a week ago.
He has never bought an invalid ticket before.

He has written two emails with no response.

Should he not look for a solicitor and just wait it out?

 

[burberry66]

We can help so that a solicitor is not necessary.

We need to know:

• Did your boyfriend have a ticket of any sort?
• How did he get on to the platform at Marylebone?
• Has he done this before?

Childs ticket
Just scanned his child ticket (he is 18)
No, he has not.

 

[Hadders]

Hi!
I'm talking about my boyfriend. He got caught with a child's ticket from Marylebone to Leamington Spa and was sent a letter a week ago.
He has never bought an invalid ticket before.

He has written two emails with no response.

Should he not look for a solicitor and just wait it out?

Thanks for confirming.

What did he say in the emails - can you post a copy of the email in this thread (but remove any personal informnation).
It will normally take several weeks for Chiltern to respond - they have a large backlog and they will be checking your boyfriend's purchase history to see if he's bought other child rate tickets?

 

[burberri333]

Thanks for confirming.

What did he say in the emails - can you post a copy of the email in this thread (but remove any personal informnation).
It will normally take several weeks for Chiltern to respond - they have a large backlog and they will be checking your boyfriend's purchase history to see if he's bought other child rate tickets?

here is what he sent them
he has never bought child tickets on chiltern and im pretty sure in general

 

[John R]

At face value that would be the sort of email that would result in an out of court settlement being offered. Which if they don't find any other instances of child fares being purchased on his online account would maybe be a couple of hundred pounds in total.

Has he not received a response yet?

 

[Hadders]

I agree that the email sent would normally result in an out of court settlement being offered.

As the letter was only received on 6th June, and we know Chiltern has a backlog and often take several weeks to reply, I wouldn't have expected a reply just yet. I'd givee it another month before doing chasing anything.