Freedom pass - ptsd

[bbno]

Hello,

My situation is I've been dealing with depression for the last five years my cognitive state has been deteriorating. Being made redundant, work bullying, bomb explosion on my road and a few weeks ago I was a passenger in a car crash im suffrring with ptsd from that. I've picked up the wrong travel card and took my mother's freedom pass instead. I didn't check, I fully own up to it, a massive mistake. Context wise- I've done the wrong journey a few times recently ie. Gone the wrong direction (With the correct oyster) and not noticed till 30mins later - this is what my mental state is like.

At Liverpool Street Station i was stopped by an aggressive ticket inspector who was screaming at me and had another inspector join him to intimidate me to see my oyster card. I went into my bag to retrieve it and they proceeded to accusing me of being if not complying and refusing to show them my pass and started screaming for the police.

Police guy was confused on what was going on as I was just standing there complying. The inspectors got louder and we're shouting I hid my pass and I'm a liar.

At this point I was shaking and had an anxiety attack. The police officer told the inspectors to back off and give me space to get my pass. At this point I was on the floor shaking uncontrollably. The officer said to take my time.

Card was located. Police man called over a female police lady to look after me and asked a new inspector to deal with me due to the others hostility.

I answerd the inspectors questions (very slowly as I was having the anxiety attack and shaking). Police lady was really worried about me and was asking to get me medical attention. Towards the end of the interview the inspector offered me free travel home or to call an ambulance.

It's a bit blurry to me to remember but I belive the inspector misheard my address due to me slurring. What would be the best route to find a contact for them or if you have an email to rectify if the address is wrong?

A mistake was made, I am very sorry about it, embarrassed and have ptsd. I'm not sure i can go to that station after that incident.

Is there somewhere I can send a complaint regarding the aggressive inspector ?

I did end up going a&e a few days after as I've been worrying about this situation and anxiety has spiralled.

Should I contact my gp ASAP regarding a medical record/letter to use for my statement.

Also just to clarify the first letter I receive I should explain my mitigating circumstance whilst pleading guilty?

Many thanks for reading.

 

[bbno]

Hi,

I did a journey last Thursday and picked up the wrong travelcard as we keep them together and took mum's freedom pass instead.

Unfortunately I didn't check and wasn't aware till I tapped into Liverpool Street Station where I was approached by an insodcyor who was shouting at me. I collapsed and had a panic attack. Police came ironically to calm me down and help me.

In this flurry I was shaking and disorientated and now sure if the correct address was communicated. How would I contact tfl to rectify this ?

I'm very sorry that I made rgus mistake and it has made me deteriorate further. I would like to know if when when I send confirmation of correct address if I should explain my case or wait for a letter ?

Many thanks for reading.

 

[Titfield]

You need to wait for the letter to arrive from TfL. They will probably check the address the Freedom Pass is registered to with the address you gave.

There is no point in contacting TfL before the letter arrives as they wouldn't have the ability to match you with the incident.

Once you receive the letter please post here with your personal details and reference numbers obscured so advice can be given.

We have seen problems arising from families keeping Travelcards together before. TfL are very unlikely to accept this as a valid excuse.

Have you done this accidentally before?

I have copied below some useful advice @Hadders gives in cases involving Freedom Passes.


TfL take misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously and prosecution under the TfL Byelaws is the usual outcome.

Whether or not you use is solicitor to assist you in replying to TfL is a decision only you can make. A solicitor cannot change what has happened but they can often present your mitigation in a better way than you might feel able to do yourself. We have seen a limited number of cases that suggest use of a solicitor is more likely to result in a warning being offered instead of prosecution. That said, there is no guarantee of this and earlier this week we saw a case where despite a solicitor being used TfL still decided to prosecute. This was an expensive day as the person had to pay the solicitors fee (more than £1,200 iirc) plus the fine, surcharge, compensation and TfL court costs.

I recommend reading TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy, specifically section 8 as you will need to provide very clear evidence of mitigating factors and, more crucially, demonstrate how this impaired your judgement to the extend that you used the Freedom Pass over a sustained period.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

 

[John R]

If they have your Mother's Freedom Pass then they will eventually be able to get hold of you via that address, as presumably you told the inspector that it was your mothers. However, if you deliberately gave them a wrong address then there is a risk that the first you hear about it is when the court authorities come and find you having been convicted in your absence. So if you are confident that you gave them an incorrect address (I'm not sure how you can give them a wrong address by accident, but there you go) then it might be worth contacting them, setting out where and when you were stopped, and also give your mother's name and address, so that they can link the case to you.

I'm afraid we see quite a few cases here where a Freedom Pass happens to be kept in the same place and is taken by accident. I'm sure so do the investigators at TfL, and will be equally cynical that it was a genuine mistake, so when you do need to reply to them you might want to consider whether you wish to stretch their patience by using it as an excuse.

 

[AlterEgo]

Where at Liverpool Street were you stopped? The consequences of this will be very different depending on whether you were stopped on the Elizabeth Line/London Underground (TfL), or by Greater Anglia staff.

TfL take the misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously indeed - they will audit the pass to see how many times you have misused it - and if you were stopped by them I'd advise you to instruct a solicitor if you want to avoid conviction.

 

[bbno]

Where at Liverpool Street were you stopped? The consequences of this will be very different depending on whether you were stopped on the Elizabeth Line/London Underground (TfL), or by Greater Anglia staff.

TfL take the misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously indeed - they will audit the pass to see how many times you have misused it - and if you were stopped by them I'd advise you to instruct a solicitor if you want to avoid conviction.

The tube area to go on circle/district/Central line so tfl.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2025 ==

You need to wait for the letter to arrive from TfL. They will probably check the address the Freedom Pass is registered to with the address you gave.

There is no point in contacting TfL before the letter arrives as they wouldn't have the ability to match you with the incident.

Once you receive the letter please post here with your personal details and reference numbers obscured so advice can be given.

We have seen problems arising from families keeping Travelcards together before. TfL are very unlikely to accept this as a valid excuse.

Have you done this accidentally before?

I have copied below some useful advice @Hadders gives in cases involving Freedom Passes.


TfL take misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously and prosecution under the TfL Byelaws is the usual outcome.

Whether or not you use is solicitor to assist you in replying to TfL is a decision only you can make. A solicitor cannot change what has happened but they can often present your mitigation in a better way than you might feel able to do yourself. We have seen a limited number of cases that suggest use of a solicitor is more likely to result in a warning being offered instead of prosecution. That said, there is no guarantee of this and earlier this week we saw a case where despite a solicitor being used TfL still decided to prosecute. This was an expensive day as the person had to pay the solicitors fee (more than £1,200 iirc) plus the fine, surcharge, compensation and TfL court costs.

I recommend reading TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy, specifically section 8 as you will need to provide very clear evidence of mitigating factors and, more crucially, demonstrate how this impaired your judgement to the extend that you used the Freedom Pass over a sustained period.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

This is really helpful thanks for posting Hadders quote.

Unfortunately I won't be able to pay a solicitor as was made redundant. Should I plead guilty and gmexoecg to go to court?

I don't know if I had done so previously. Could be possible. I've checked the last week of journeys on my oyster and they are there for bus and train. I have my oyster registered should I mention I have it with money topped up ad I intended to use?

 

[30907]

The tube area to go on circle/district/Central line so tfl.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2025 ==


This is really helpful thanks for posting Hadders quote.

Unfortunately I won't be able to pay a solicitor as was made redundant. Should I plead guilty and gmexoecg to go to court?

I don't know if I had done so previously. Could be possible. I've checked the last week of journeys on my oyster and they are there for bus and train. I have my oyster registered should I mention I have it with money topped up ad I intended to use?

Wait for the letter.

I presume you could provide medical evidence of your PTSD?

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Some of the advice I post in cases like this has already been quoted but for the sake of completeness I'll post in full what I normally say in these cases.

Transport for London take misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously and a prosecution under the TfL Bylaws is the usual outcome.

As for what happens next TfL will send you a Verification Letter, normally within a couple of weeks. The letter will ask you to confirm or deny the incident and ask you to give any mitigating circumstances which you would like them to take into account when deciding how to proceed. There is nothing to be gained by trying to fast track this process. TfL Customer Services won't be able to help and the Investigations & Appeals team will not speak to you by phone.

I suggest you mention the following in your reply to the letter:

- 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 TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

TfL generally do not offer out of court settlements although in some very limited circumstances they have been known to issue a final warning instead of prosecution. Prosecutions are normally done through what is called a Single Justice Procedure Notice. This means that if you plead guilty it is not necessary to attend court in person (unless you choose to do), you simply return the form to the court with any mitigation you want them to take into account and they will write to you with the details of the fine you have to pay.

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 discounted 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.

Whether or not you use is solicitor to assist you in replying to TfL is a decision only you can make. A solicitor cannot change what has happened but they can often present your mitigation in a better way than you might feel able to do yourself. We have seen a limited number of cases that suggest use of a solicitor is more likely to result in a warning being offered instead of prosecution. That said, there is no guarantee of this and we recently saw a case where despite a solicitor being used, TfL still decided to prosecute. This was an expensive day as the person had to pay the solicitors fee (more than £1,200 iirc) plus the fine, surcharge, compensation and TfL court costs.

I recommend reading TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy, specifically section 8 as you will need to provide very clear evidence of mitigating factors and, more crucially, demonstrate how this impaired your judgement to the extend that you used the Freedom Pass.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

 

[bbno]

Wait for the letter.

I presume you could provide medical evidence of your PTSD?

Yes I can obtain a medical letter from gp.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2025 ==

Welcome to the forum!

Some of the advice I post in cases like this has already been quoted but for the sake of completeness I'll post in full what I normally say in these cases.

Transport for London take misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously and a prosecution under the TfL Bylaws is the usual outcome.

As for what happens next TfL will send you a Verification Letter, normally within a couple of weeks. The letter will ask you to confirm or deny the incident and ask you to give any mitigating circumstances which you would like them to take into account when deciding how to proceed. There is nothing to be gained by trying to fast track this process. TfL Customer Services won't be able to help and the Investigations & Appeals team will not speak to you by phone.

I suggest you mention the following in your reply to the letter:

- 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 TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

TfL generally do not offer out of court settlements although in some very limited circumstances they have been known to issue a final warning instead of prosecution. Prosecutions are normally done through what is called a Single Justice Procedure Notice. This means that if you plead guilty it is not necessary to attend court in person (unless you choose to do), you simply return the form to the court with any mitigation you want them to take into account and they will write to you with the details of the fine you have to pay.

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 discounted 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.

Whether or not you use is solicitor to assist you in replying to TfL is a decision only you can make. A solicitor cannot change what has happened but they can often present your mitigation in a better way than you might feel able to do yourself. We have seen a limited number of cases that suggest use of a solicitor is more likely to result in a warning being offered instead of prosecution. That said, there is no guarantee of this and we recently saw a case where despite a solicitor being used, TfL still decided to prosecute. This was an expensive day as the person had to pay the solicitors fee (more than £1,200 iirc) plus the fine, surcharge, compensation and TfL court costs.

I recommend reading TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy, specifically section 8 as you will need to provide very clear evidence of mitigating factors and, more crucially, demonstrate how this impaired your judgement to the extend that you used the Freedom Pass.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

Thank you for the complete info. Do you know the contact email to contact them to confirm they have the correct email?

 

[bbno]

Also if I am bringing up mental health- should I be pleading guilty or appealing ? I've read similar cases and no one has specifically said their plea.

 

[spotify95]

Also if I am bringing up mental health- should I be pleading guilty or appealing ? I've read similar cases and no one has specifically said their plea.

There isn't really an appeal, per se.

You will receive a verification letter, as Hadders stated above, which shouldn't take too long to arrive. It will give you the opportunity to provide mitigation, so when you reply to this letter, this is when you would bring up any reasons they should not prosecute you - so if your mental health was a valid factor, this is when you would bring it up. (Alternatively you could seek advice from a solicitor, as mentioned above.)

After TfL receive whatever reply that is sent (either from yourself or a solicitor) they will then make their decision - if they choose to take it to court, you will receive a SJPN or Court Summons and that is the point where you would need to plead guilty (since TfL would prove you are guilty).. though hopefully you will get a warning instead.

 

[danielnez1]

Another thing to consider is that if TfL audit your own personal Oyster and your Mum’s Freedom Pass usage, would it look like your journeys were taken in the morning peak with your own personal Oyster and any corresponding return journeys/usage later in the day being done with your Mum’s Freedom pass? An older person’s Freedom pass is not valid between 04:30-09:00 Monday to Friday except on Bank Holidays.

 

[bbno]

Only one recently, rest of journeys have been after 9.30am

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

There isn't really an appeal, per se.

You will receive a verification letter, as Hadders stated above, which shouldn't take too long to arrive. It will give you the opportunity to provide mitigation, so when you reply to this letter, this is when you would bring up any reasons they should not prosecute you - so if your mental health was a valid factor, this is when you would bring it up. (Alternatively you could seek advice from a solicitor, as mentioned above.)

After TfL receive whatever reply that is sent (either from yourself or a solicitor) they will then make their decision - if they choose to take it to court, you will receive a SJPN or Court Summons and that is the point where you would need to plead guilty (since TfL would prove you are guilty).. though hopefully you will get a warning instead.

OK plea my case and then they will give me the option after.

I'll post a rough draft shortly if people would kindly look over and let know what they think. I'd be most appreciative.

 

[danielnez1]

Only one recently, rest of journeys have been after 9.30am

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


OK plea my case and then they will give me the option after.

I'll post a rough draft shortly if people would kindly look over and let know what they think. I'd be most appreciative.

Please feel free to post your draft. However, I personally feel that if you can afford it, you should engage with an experienced solicitor if you wish to avoid prosecution and be issued a final warning (that is not guaranteed though) ASAP. An experienced solicitor will likely be far better to convey any mental health issue you have that resulted in your actions as mitigation far better than what yourself, or this forum can do.

The Solicitors that often get mentioned here are Manak, and Penman Sedgwick. They should be your starting point if you wish to seek legal advice.

 

[axelz_a]

If this was a one time thing they should just give you a light fine at the most, if you write a good plea to them you could probably get away with a warning but seeing your situation it’s pretty likely you could get a warning.

 

[John R]

If this was a one time thing they should just give you a light fine at the most, if you write a good plea to them you could probably get away with a warning but seeing your situation it’s pretty likely you could get a warning.

I see you’re new to the forum - welcome!

Re your advice, do you have any particular insight of TfLs handling of cases like this? The experience we have seen on here is that warnings are seldom given, and those that are typically follow the intervention of a solicitor, who is able to craft a letter much more effectively than if the person writes it themselves.

So “pretty likely” doesn’t really correspond with what we see here.

 

[enyoueffsea]

Also worth pointing out TfL would not issue a “fine”, these can only be imposed by the court following prosecution.

TfL does not offer any out of court settlement figures. It’s either a prosecution or final warning and as John R says, these are few and far between.

 

[Hadders]

If this was a one time thing they should just give you a light fine at the most, if you write a good plea to them you could probably get away with a warning but seeing your situation it’s pretty likely you could get a warning.

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with @John R in that our experience is that TfL take this sort of thing very seriously and prosecution under the TfL Byelaws is often the outcome we see.

We do need to be very careful in this section of the forum to make sure that the advice we give is accurate, and if you are able to refer to cases where you know a warning has been given then that’s great. If what you’re saying is based on your opinion of what you think the outcome should be then we do welcome discussion but this should be in a separate thread to avoid confusion with the subject of the thread.

 

[dinosaur2468]

Also if I am bringing up mental health- should I be pleading guilty or appealing ? I've read similar cases and no one has specifically said their plea.

You will always plea guilty as this is a strict liability offense.

You definitely should bring it up and attach this with evidence as this a strong mitigation point.

 

[jumble]

Hello,

My situation is I've been dealing with depression for the last five years my cognitive state has been deteriorating. Being made redundant, work bullying, bomb explosion on my road and a few weeks ago I was a passenger in a car crash im suffrring with ptsd from that. I've picked up the wrong travel card and took my mother's freedom pass instead. I didn't check, I fully own up to it, a massive mistake. Context wise- I've done the wrong journey a few times recently ie. Gone the wrong direction (With the correct oyster) and not noticed till 30mins later - this is what my mental state is like.

At Liverpool Street Station i was stopped by an aggressive ticket inspector who was screaming at me and had another inspector join him to intimidate me to see my oyster card. I went into my bag to retrieve it and they proceeded to accusing me of being if not complying and refusing to show them my pass and started screaming for the police.

Police guy was confused on what was going on as I was just standing there complying. The inspectors got louder and we're shouting I hid my pass and I'm a liar.

At this point I was shaking and had an anxiety attack. The police officer told the inspectors to back off and give me space to get my pass. At this point I was on the floor shaking uncontrollably. The officer said to take my time.

Card was located. Police man called over a female police lady to look after me and asked a new inspector to deal with me due to the others hostility.

I answerd the inspectors questions (very slowly as I was having the anxiety attack and shaking). Police lady was really worried about me and was asking to get me medical attention. Towards the end of the interview the inspector offered me free travel home or to call an ambulance.

It's a bit blurry to me to remember but I belive the inspector misheard my address due to me slurring. What would be the best route to find a contact for them or if you have an email to rectify if the address is wrong?

A mistake was made, I am very sorry about it, embarrassed and have ptsd. I'm not sure i can go to that station after that incident.

Is there somewhere I can send a complaint regarding the aggressive inspector ?

I did end up going a&e a few days after as I've been worrying about this situation and anxiety has spiralled.

Should I contact my gp ASAP regarding a medical record/letter to use for my statement.

Also just to clarify the first letter I receive I should explain my mitigating circumstance whilst pleading guilty?

Many thanks for reading.

Whilst enormously sympathetic to anyone suffering from PTSD
Are you telling us that The inspectors did not ask politely to check your pass and you said I will just get it and then they started screaming ?
The fact that in your own words they tried to intimidate you into showing the card tells me quite a lot unfortunately
Why would they feel the need to try and intimidate you unless you declined to show the card?
Remember who ever is reviewing the case may well look at body worn video

 

[John R]

I agree that the account of the interaction has some inconsistencies.

If you are stopped, it happens immediately after a tap, as they will watch for the indication that a Freedom Pass has been used. They only have a couple of seconds to stop you. Yet according to your account the card has already disappeared into the depths of a bag from which you have to rummage to find it. So it is maybe unsurprising that you were accused of having hid it.

 

[danielnez1]

My gut feeling was that the claimed PTSD and Mental heath issues would probably not convince TfL to issue a final warning unless legal representation was obtained (and doing that is not guaranteed to keep it out of court either). The OP has not been on since 17th July, so perhaps it is best that this thread is closed until @bbno wishes to post an update?

 

[Hadders]

It's helpful in cases like this to check TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy.

8.2 TfL will have regard to the following factors against prosecution
.....
d) The offender has pre-existing mental health issues or a disability supported by satisfactory medical proof from a Medical Expert in the relevant field

To be clear, TfL still might prosecute but to have a chance of a mental health or disability being used a reason to avoid prosecution then proof from a Medical Expert in the relevant field is needed.

 

[SuspectUsual]

It's helpful in cases like this to check TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy.



To be clear, TfL still might prosecute but to have a chance of a mental health or disability being used a reason to avoid prosecution then proof from a Medical Expert in the relevant field is needed.

Indeed. But for clarity for the OP, that’s not just proof that they had a condition, but also that the condition could reasonably be seen to have caused or contributed to what happened

 

[AlterEgo]

Indeed. But for clarity for the OP, that’s not just proof that they had a condition, but also that the condition could reasonably be seen to have caused or contributed to what happened

- or that the health condition would make the consequences of a prosecution so grossly against the public interest that it should not be prosecuted.

 

[dinosaur2468]

TfL still might prosecute but to have a chance of a mental health or disability being used a reason to avoid prosecution then proof from a Medical Expert in the relevant field is needed.

I agree and I do think this is a strong mitigation point with proof.