TFL letter - Offence on the TFL Public Transport Network

[Summer123]

Hi, my daughter (20 years old ) was stopped at a London TFL station as she was using my son's 16+ oyster Photo card . The staff took away the card and noted her name and address.
We have now received a letter from TFL stating that "you were reported to TFL for an offence.....

The letter asks for personal details - Name, Date of Birth, Address, Phone Number , email address .
Also ask if she deny / accept committing the offence.

She is Uni student (lives outside London) , recently returned to home in London for doing a placement. She have used her brother's card few times.
She don't have any previous record of any offence.


Can anyone please advise what should be done.
Will TFL take this to court . Will this effect her ability to get a job.

 

[Titfield]

I have copied below the advice @Hadders gives in cases such as this:

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.

I suggest you mention the following in your reply:

- 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.

We have seen some recent cases where involving a solicitor has resulted in a warning being issued. A solicitor cannot change what has happened, and you do need to appreciate that this case in an example of industrial fare evasion, not a one-off occurrance. Solicitors specialising in rail fare evasion do not come cheap and you will need to pay their fee regardless of whether they are successful in being able to negotiate a favourable outcome.

Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading:

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

To answer the specific question re jobs.

The answer is yes if the job is in a regulated profession e.g. law, education, healthcare.

You would need to make a specific enquiry for the profession.

 

[jumble]

I have copied below the advice @Hadders gives in cases such as this:

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.

I suggest you mention the following in your reply:

- 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.

We have seen some recent cases where involving a solicitor has resulted in a warning being issued. A solicitor cannot change what has happened, and you do need to appreciate that this case in an example of industrial fare evasion, not a one-off occurrance. Solicitors specialising in rail fare evasion do not come cheap and you will need to pay their fee regardless of whether they are successful in being able to negotiate a favourable outcome.

Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading:

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

To answer the specific question re jobs.

The answer is yes if the job is in a regulated profession e.g. law, education, healthcare.

You would need to make a specific enquiry for the profession.

This wont work with TFL as they don't settle out of court only rarely a final warning

Offer to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

 

[styles]

This wont work with TFL as they don't settle out of court only rarely a final warning

Offer to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

The next sentence in that post says:

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.

A final warning is what's being aimed for ideally.

 

[jumble]

The next sentence in that post says:



A final warning is what's being aimed for ideally.

It is incorrect to use the word generally here as TFL never offer out of court settlements

 

[styles]

It is incorrect to use the word generally here as TFL never offer out of court settlements

I feel as though this misses the point.

Hadders' usual advice includes the section about offering to pay the amount and administration costs which you quoted, in order to hopefully get a final warning instead of prosecution.

That's the substantive issue.

 

[Titfield]

The point is that by making the offer you are demonstrating your wish to make amends. Whilst this may not be accepted (and most likely not) it is nevertheless on the record that the offer was made.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Reckon the OP's daughter may need to seek out the services of a solicitor specialising in TfL fare evasion cases. One such firm is Manak Solicitors. Link below. Will undoubtedly come at a cost.

Your Trusted Partner in TFL Fare Evasion Disputes

A recent article by The Independent (28 May 2025) brings to light the growing issue of fare evasion across Transport for London’s (TFL) network, particularly the London Underground. With fare...

manaksolicitors.co.uk

Extracts...

How Manak Solicitors Can Help

We specialise in fare evasion cases across the TFL network—including the Underground, buses, and trams. We know these cases often have more nuance than first meets the eye, and we’re here to help you navigate them.

Manak Solicitors is a trading name of Manak Lawyers Limited registered at Companies’ House in England & Wales Company Number: 09877015

Other firms are available. Good luck in sorting the issue.

 

[dinosaur2468]

I used Reeds solicitors, they are very helpful and managed to get TFL to drop down to a final warning as well after receiving a court summons.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Will TFL take this to court . Will this effect her ability to get a job.

Just to pick up on this point: despite the good advice above, there's a quite strong chance that the matter will end up in court - in which case the OP's daughter will almost certainly be convicted, and punished with a fine.

But a conviction for fare dodging is unlikely to be the end of the world. Our experience is that there's really quite a small number of jobs where having a conviction is a total bar to working. If the OP's daughter is looking to go into some sort of regulated profession, then it's worth having a look at their website to see what they have to say about minor criminal convictions. Two particular examples are teaching and nursing, where as long as someone is open about their past they are unlikely to be blocked from training or employment.

It's also the case that a conviction for fare dodging will generally be 'spent' after no more than a year. That means that with a few specific exceptions (and if one of those exceptions applies, you'll be told about it) not only do you not have to tell anyone about a spent offence, but they are not allowed to ask.

This isn't to say that being convicted of fare dodging doesn't matter - it's obviously better to not have a conviction rather than to have one - but before worrying too much, it's important to work out how big a problem the conviction would be.

 

[Summer123]

I used Reeds solicitors, they are very helpful and managed to get TFL to drop down to a final warning as well after receiving a court summons.

Would you be able to share how much it costs?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Aug 2025 ==

I have copied below the advice @Hadders gives in cases such as this:

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.

I suggest you mention the following in your reply:

- 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.

We have seen some recent cases where involving a solicitor has resulted in a warning being issued. A solicitor cannot change what has happened, and you do need to appreciate that this case in an example of industrial fare evasion, not a one-off occurrance. Solicitors specialising in rail fare evasion do not come cheap and you will need to pay their fee regardless of whether they are successful in being able to negotiate a favourable outcome.

Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading:

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

To answer the specific question re jobs.

The answer is yes if the job is in a regulated profession e.g. law, education, healthcare.

You would need to make a specific enquiry for the profession.

Thanks
I don't think there is any mitigating circumstance that she can use.
Is there any benefit of getting Solicitor involved given above (Any experience)
So should we reply to TFL as per above and offer to pay what they ask for .

Is there any chance she will need to go to court . or TFL will issue the charge and we pay.

 

[Titfield]

TfL will not issue a charge. They will prosecute 99%+of the time. On very rare occasions they issue a warning instead . The chances of getting a warning can be improved by using a solicitor but by how much we do not know. A solicitor costs between £700 and £1k approximately. A solicitor will ask questions to see if there are mitigating circumstances. I would not assume there are not any. If you search on this forum the names of a small number of solicitors who specialise in this issue are mentioned.

 

[Spaceship323]

Prosecution is normally done under the Single Justice Procedure and there will be no need to attend court if pleading guilty (as explained by Titfield in post #2 above)

 

[AlterEgo]

Is there any chance she will need to go to court . or TFL will issue the charge and we pay.

There’s no paying to get out of it. They either give a warning or prosecute the offence; they do not settle matters out of court.

 

[enyoueffsea]

Not sure we have much experience with seeing TfL give a final warning unless there is substantial mitigating circumstances?

 

[dinosaur2468]

Would you be able to share how much it costs?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Aug 2025 ==


Thanks
I don't think there is any mitigating circumstance that she can use.
Is there any benefit of getting Solicitor involved given above (Any experience)
So should we reply to TFL as per above and offer to pay what they ask for .

Is there any chance she will need to go to court . or TFL will issue the charge and we pay.

Yes: it's around £1300-1400 in total.

I would actually you have more mitigating circumstances than you think, you will have to pay to speak to a solicitor and they can certainly build a case around you. You can always just go for a consultation first which costs around £300-ish and decide if you want them to represent you fully. If you instruct a solicitor, they will get in touch with TFL for you, you do not need to do anything.

Did you receive a SJPN or postal requisition? If you receive the latter, you will need to attend court and plea guilty and pay a fine. There will be a charge to pay anyways (either to TFL or the solicitor or worse case, both!).

 

[Hadders]

Right, just to clarify a few things.

It's important that @Summer123 and their daughter familiarises themselves with TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy, especially section 8. This lists the factors TfL will take into consideration when deciding whether or not to prosecute. If you're going to have any chance of keeping this out of court then you need to make sure that the mitigating factors you submit align with what is listed in section 8 and that, where appropriate, you also support your claims with proof.

Only you can decide whether or not to use a solicitor. A solicitor specialising in rail fare evasion doesn't come cheap and you will have to pay their fee regardless of whether or not they are able to successfully negotiate a favourable outcome. A solicitor might be better placed to present your mitigation to TfL in a more compelling way than you feel able to do yourself.

TfL do not offer out of court settlements. However, section 8.4 of their Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy does state:

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

8.4 Where TfL takes the decision to discontinue a case on public interest grounds, the Defendant may be requested to pay the value of any agreed unpaid fares in relation to the discontinued proceedings. TfL may also issue proceedings in a county court for the recovery of agreed unpaid fares.

Consequently, I don't think it's wrong to offer to pay outstanding fares.

 

[Haywain]

I think it's worth pointing out that whilst a prosecution and conviction may seem to be a bad outcome, it is likely to be less financially punishing (by a distance) than the cost of engaging a solicitor, and the conviction is a minor matter that will have very little impact on future careers.

 

[Summer123]

I believe I have seen some more posts on this thread in response to my queries however can't find now. Would there be any reason posts could have been removed.

 

[Haywain]

I believe I have seen some more posts on this thread in response to my queries however can't find now. Would there be any reason posts could have been removed.

Some posts were removed because the moderators decided they were not helpful to you.

 

[LCC106]

I believe I have seen some more posts on this thread in response to my queries however can't find now. Would there be any reason posts could have been removed.

I highlighted them to the admin because they were going very off topic. They have now been removed / tidied up. All that is relevant is here.

 

[Hadders]

I believe I have seen some more posts on this thread in response to my queries however can't find now. Would there be any reason posts could have been removed.

No posts have been deleted but some of the discussion about the consequences of a criminal record were starting to take the thread off-topic so they were moved into a separate thread.

Convictions that could impact on a future career

I think it's worth pointing out that whilst a prosecution and conviction may seem to be a bad outcome, it is likely to be less financially punishing (by a distance) than the cost of engaging a solicitor, and the conviction is a minor matter that will have very little impact on future careers...

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