will I be fined??

[penguinsi]

Hey guys I need help on knowing what the outcome of my situation would be. I was taking the national rail train from Haringay to Finsbury Park and forgot to tap in since the station has no barrier and I was preoccupied chatting with my friend. When I got on the train I saw a ticket inspector thought ''oh **** I forgot to pay my ticket'', ran off the train and paid, then got back on. When I got back on, the ticket inspector started questioning me as to why I ran off and I immediately became shell shocked, (I'm autistic and get very easily overwhelmed in stressful situations). I couldn't answer his questions I just froze and my friend spoke for me and said I just forgot to pay. When we got off at Finsbury the inspector stayed with us and said he needed to take my details and I asked him why and was super paranoid. He said it was a by-law and a bystander came over and was concerned for us and told me I don't need to give this man any details. The ticket inspector said that's wrong and probed again for my details. I felt really weird and confused, I didn't know what to do as I've never had any interactions like this before, I panicked and I wrote down incorrect made up details. He asked for an ID to confirm and I admitted that I lied, not being able to produce one for the fake name and gave him my correct name and address. But after he verified my details and checked my ID he took a photo of the fake stuff I wrote and included it in his report. I asked him why, and if he could just not and tried to plead my case but he said he was just doing his job. I was fine with that and apologised for being resistant and asked him if I was being fined. He was very vague, he said usually if your fined it's on the day but he wasn't clear and made it seem like it wasn't his decision. He said he was going to make the report and his higher ups will be in contact with me and that I'd have to make a statement to them. I asked what will happen if I ignore them and he said he wouldn't advise it and wouldn't elaborate further. I'm afraid I've come across really rudely, I asked too many questions and I lied and acted so stupid because I wasn't thinking straight and I'm racked with anxiety not knowing what the outcome of this might be and would be so grateful if someone could let me know.

(also I have a disabled person's railcard since it said I needed to include that, let me know if any more specifics are needed.)

 

[Haywain]

When I got on the train I saw a ticket inspector thought ''oh **** I forgot to pay my ticket'', ran off the train and paid, then got back on.

Was this at Harringay?

 

[John R]

You’ve committed two offences here. Firstly boarding a train without a valid ticket, and secondly giving false details when asked.

Did the inspector actually see you board the train at Harrimgay, or simply jump off and back on again? If the latter it may well seem coincidental to him that you jumped off and on at the last station before Finsbury Park.

You are likely to be written to, and if you follow the process on numerous threads here, you should be able to get this resolved, although it is likely to cost you at the very least an admin fee of maybe £150, and maybe the cost of your ticket again.

Basically you need to apologise, promise to be more careful in future, and ask very politely if they would consider a settlement instead of prosecution, and there are lots of examples here of letters that set out how you can structure such a letter and the right sort of words to use.

 

[AlterEgo]

What was the full journey you were making? Where did you board, and where were you intending to get to (even if it meant changing trains etc)?

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm a bit confused abotu what happened. If I'm reading this correctly:

You made a journey from Harringay to Finsbury Park
There are no barriers at Harringay, the card readers are on the platform, at the bottom of the stairs. You have to pass them as you enter the platform.
You boarded the train, saw a ticket inspector onboard, realised you hadn't touched-in and so exited, touched in and reboarded.
The inspector then questioned you and took your details, the discussion continued after you'd left the train at Finsbury Park.
Initially you gave the inspector false details.

Have I got this right?

If so, the most obvious question is did you start your journey at Harringay, or had you come from further away?

As noted above GTR are likely to write to you, when their letter arrives post a redacted copy of it in this thread and we can take things from there.

 

[penguinsi]

Was this at Harringay?

yes

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jul 2025 ==

You’ve committed two offences here. Firstly boarding a train without a valid ticket, and secondly giving false details when asked.

Did the inspector actually see you board the train at Harrimgay, or simply jump off and back on again? If the latter it may well seem coincidental to him that you jumped off and on at the last station before Finsbury Park.

You are likely to be written to, and if you follow the process on numerous threads here, you should be able to get this resolved, although it is likely to cost you at the very least an admin fee of maybe £150, and maybe the cost of your ticket again.

Basically you need to apologise, promise to be more careful in future, and ask very politely if they would consider a settlement instead of prosecution, and there are lots of examples here of letters that set out how you can structure such a letter and the right sort of words to use.

I think he would've seen me board the train at Harringay and then get off, pay and get back on upon seeing him

 

[John R]

So did your friend tap in, or did they do the same as you?

 

[penguinsi]

What was the full journey you were making? Where did you board, and where were you intending to get to (even if it meant changing trains etc)?

I first boarded at Harringay, I got off at Finsbury Park, and then the rest of my journey on the underground was to Waterloo where I took the national rail to Basingstoke.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jul 2025 ==

Welcome to the forum!

I'm a bit confused abotu what happened. If I'm reading this correctly:

You made a journey from Harringay to Finsbury Park
There are no barriers at Harringay, the card readers are on the platform, at the bottom of the stairs. You have to pass them as you enter the platform.
You boarded the train, saw a ticket inspector onboard, realised you hadn't touched-in and so exited, touched in and reboarded.
The inspector then questioned you and took your details, the discussion continued after you'd left the train at Finsbury Park.
Initially you gave the inspector false details.

Have I got this right?

If so, the most obvious question is did you start your journey at Harringay, or had you come from further away?

As noted above GTR are likely to write to you, when their letter arrives post a redacted copy of it in this thread and we can take things from there.

yes you've got this exactly right. I started my journey at Harringay.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jul 2025 ==

So did your friend tap in, or did they do the same as you?

my friend tapped in but he didn't check her ticket I think he was too preoccupied or just assumed she had as she didn't run off like I did.

 

[John R]

So despite your friend tapping in whilst you were talking to them, you forgot to do so? But remembered as soon as you saw the inspector when you boarded? Is that correct?

 

[penguinsi]

So despite your friend tapping in whilst you were talking to them, you forgot to do so? But remembered as soon as you saw the inspector when you boarded? Is that correct?

yes that's correct. Also as soon as we got on the platform the train had come so I think I was just distracted by her and by that.

 

[Haywain]

I first boarded at Harringay, I got off at Finsbury Park, and then the rest of my journey on the underground was to Waterloo where I took the national rail to Basingstoke.

Did you already have a ticket to Basingstoke? If so, it might help us to understand your story (which enables us to give the best advice) if you could tell us exactly what ticket that was.

 

[penguinsi]

Did you already have a ticket to Basingstoke? If so, it might help us to understand your story (which enables us to give the best advice) if you could tell us exactly what ticket that was.

Okay, I came from Basingstoke to London on the 19th of July to come see my friend in her performance and stayed the night at her house, so I left for home on the 20th of July. On the 19th I bought my tickets for travel between London and Basingstoke, I thought I had bought an open return but had bought a day return, so on the 20th on my journey home, when I got to Waterloo and my ticket wouldn't let me through this nice lady explained and I had to buy a single from London to Basingstoke and ended up wasting unnecessary money.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jul 2025 ==

Also some more information about me is I used to live in London and then moved to Basingstoke so I really should've known better and been more aware of my surroundings but I don't see my friend often and I really love her and I wasn't really focusing on anything else. I've never before gotten in trouble with ticket inspectors in any sorts of reports and I'm scared I'll get a criminal record from this.

 

[Haywain]

Okay, I came fron Basingstoke to London on the 19th of July to come see my friend in a performance and stayed the night at her house, so I left for home on the 20th of July. On the 19th I bought my tickets for travel between London and Basingstoke, I thought I had bought an open return but had bought a day return, so when I got to Waterloo and my ticket wouldn't let me through this nice lady explained and I had to buy a single from London to Basingstoke and ended up wasting unnecessary money.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jul 2025 ==

Also some more information about me is I used to live in London and then moved to Basingstoke so I really should've known better and been more aware of my surroundings but I don't see my friend often and I really love her and I wasn't really focusing on anything else. I've never before gotten in trouble with ticket inspectors in any sorts of reports and I'm scared I'll get a criminal record from this.

Thanks for the explanation. I was taking a cynical view and looking for a reason for you to not touch in, but I'm not seeing one. I think when you hear from the train company you are just going to have to explain what happened and show that you did pay the fare, and hope for the best.

my friend tapped

Did she tap in, or does she have a Travelcard meaning that she didn't need to (not that anything turns on this, as your travel is entirely your responsibility)?

 

[30907]

I've never before gotten in trouble with ticket inspectors in any sorts of reports and I'm scared I'll get a criminal record from this.

If you cooperate with GTR when their letter comes, you will 99% certain be able to settle out of court. They will not be particularly bothered about you giving false details. Expect to pay the fare again plus about £60 admin fee.

 

[penguinsi]

Thanks for the explanation. I was taking a cynical view and looking for a reason for you to not touch in, but I'm not seeing one. I think when you hear from the train company you are just going to have to explain what happened and show that you did pay the fare, and hope for the best.

Did she tap in, or does she have a Travelcard meaning that she didn't need to (not that anything turns on this, as your travel is entirely your responsibility)?

I'm pretty sure my friend has an oyster card and just tapped in on the card reader

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jul 2025 ==

Also thank you so much for everyone replying to my thread it's brought me a little bit of ease knowing what to expect. If there are any questions or clarifications please feel free to ask.

Also when the train company does get in touch with me should I post what they have sent me on this thread?

 

[Haywain]

I'm pretty sure my friend has an oyster card and just tapped in on the card reader

OK, so did you use an Oyster card or contactless? If it's contactless, have you got the card registered on the TfL website as this will enable you to show that the journey was paid for? If you can also show that you travelled to Harringay the previous evening, that will help to demonstrate that there was no short-faring.

 

[penguinsi]

If you cooperate with GTR when their letter comes, you will 99% certain be able to settle out of court. They will not be particularly bothered about you giving false details. Expect to pay the fare again plus about £60 admin fee.

okay thank you, that's really helpful.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jul 2025 ==

OK, so did you use an Oyster card or contactless? If it's contactless, have you got the card registered on the TfL website as this will enable you to show that the journey was paid for? If you can also show that you travelled to Harringay the previous evening, that will help to demonstrate that there was no short-faring.

I used my credit card which I assume is contactless, I'm not sure if my card is registered I used to have an oyster card two years ago and I have an account on GWR but nothing else I'm signed up for.

Yes, the previous evening I travelled from Angel to Harringay and I tapped in everywhere but I'm not sure how I would demonstrate that as in my bank account it's just a pending charge of money from tfl.

 

[Haywain]

I'm not sure how I would demonstrate that as in my bank account it's just a pending charge of money from tfl.

If you register that card on the TfL website it will show the journey history for (I believe) up to 12 months (backdated).

 

[Hadders]

You should download your journey history from the TfL website as soon as possible as this will show that you paid for your journey. You can download without an account as long as the journey was made within the last 7-days, otherwise register an account and you can see 12-months worth of history.

 

[penguinsi]

Okay thank you so much I'll do that now!!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Jul 2025 ==

here is my proof I paid all my fares on both days I travelled

 

[WesternLancer]

The OP stated they have a Disabled Person's railcard - I am not an expert on how this works but would the OP benefit from lower fares if they registered that Railcard against contactless or Oyster payment for some of these trips?

Also would their friend they travelled with have been able to save money by benefiting from the second person reduction when travelling with a Disabled Persons Railcard holder?

I only mention this in case it is of any help to the OP in future travel, if these things are applicable.

 

[Haywain]

would the OP benefit from lower fares if they registered that Railcard against contactless or Oyster payment for some of these trips?

The OP could have that added to an Oyster card, but only for future travel. Discounts cannot be added to conatctless.

Also would their friend they travelled with have been able to save money by benefiting from the second person reduction when travelling with a Disabled Persons Railcard holder?

Only with (much more expensive) paper tickets.

 

[penguinsi]

The OP could have that added to an Oyster card, but only for future travel. Discounts cannot be added to conatctless.

Only with (much more expensive) paper tickets.

would that still work if I got a visitor oyster card since I can't get a normal one as I don't live in London?

 

[Haywain]

would that still work if I got a visitor oyster card since I can't get a normal one as I don't live in London?

Anyone can get a normal Oyster card, regardless of where they live.

 

[Hadders]

There might be some cross-thoughts here.

• Railcards cannot be applied to contactless so you pay the full adult rate, peak or off-peak depending on the time you touch in at the start of the journey
• A railcard can be added to a normal PAYG Oyster card and will give discount on off-peak fares. A Disabled Persons Railcard if added to an Oyster card will give disciunt at all times, even on Peak Fares. Anyone can get a PAYG Oyster card although they do cost £7.
• Older people and some disabled people living in London qualify for a Freedom Pass. This gives free travel across London but to get this card you have to live in Greater London.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks to all who have clarified my query about the Disabled Persons' Railcard as it may apply to @penguinsi