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I am so sorry for this awful mistake. I am ashamed of what I did. I short-fared my Thameslink journey, booking a return ticket via Trip.com just to get through St Albans barriers both ways and travel to Farringdon, which has no barriers. I have done this three times before and wasn’t caught. This morning, the St Albans gate wouldn’t open when I scanned my ticket; it said “Seek Assistance.” I showed my valid ticket and railcard (good until next year) to a staff member, but when he asked where I boarded, I lied, saying the ticket’s station and that someone let me through the barrier. He didn’t believe me, took my correct details, and gave me a witness statement receipt. Now I am terrified of a conviction or court. I know I was wrong, and I am scared about what’s next.
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@sajjadali , you will need to provide some more info for the experts here to advise. Please post the rest of the receipt (PLEASE obsfuscate personal details as well as the relevant GTREM code).
Further details are that I had no issue with scanning days before but had an issue today and I seek assistance from staff and they issued me with this that we will send you writting details in due course and open the barrier at St Albans.
You'll get a letter in a while asking for your version of events. If you reply appropriately GTR will give you an opportunity to settle the matter by paying the fares you should have paid plus a contribution to their costs. While it might seem scary it's not the biggest deal and shouldn't cost you more than about £200 (if you're being straight with us). Try not to get stressed about this while you're waiting for a letter to arrive.
Rail fare evasion is a serious issue and based on what you've told us so far GTR are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. The good news is that GTR will likely offer you an out of court swettlement if you co-operate with their investigation and haven't come to their attention before.
You say you're travelling to Farringdon but that station has barriers so it's not clear how you are exiting? Did you buy another short distance ticket to get through the barriers or did you change to the Underground or Elizabeth Line? If so how did you exit the barriers at your final station?
What happens next is that you will receive a letter from GTR's Prosecutions Department saying that they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you. When it arrives post a redacted copy of the letter in this thread along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you. If you are offered a settlement expect to have to pay the cost of the fare avoided at the full Anytime rate with no credit for the invalid tickets purchased plus an admin fee, typically £150. GTR will also likely search your online ticket purchasing history and if this shows you've bought other short distance tickets in similar circumstances they will factor the cost of these journeys into the settlement.
Further details are that I had no issue with scanning days before but had an issue today and I seek assistance from staff and they issued me with this that we will send you writting details in due course and open the barrier at St Albans.
That’s probably because they changed the barrier that day to reject tickets coming from known short fare stations, precisely to catch people out doing what you were doing.
Rail fare evasion is a serious issue and based on what you've told us so far GTR are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. The good news is that GTR will likely offer you an out of court swettlement if you co-operate with their investigation and haven't come to their attention before.
You say you're travelling to Farringdon but that station has barriers so it's not clear how you are exiting? Did you buy another short distance ticket to get through the barriers or did you change to the Underground or Elizabeth Line? If so how did you exit the barriers at your final station?
What happens next is that you will receive a letter from GTR's Prosecutions Department saying that they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you. When it arrives post a redacted copy of the letter in this thread along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you. If you are offered a settlement expect to have to pay the cost of the fare avoided at the full Anytime rate with no credit for the invalid tickets purchased plus an admin fee, typically £150. GTR will also likely search your online ticket purchasing history and if this shows you've bought other short distance tickets in similar circumstances they will factor the cost of these journeys into the settlement.
That’s probably because they changed the barrier that day to reject tickets coming from known short fare stations, precisely to catch people out doing what you were doing.
Yes thats true as I mentioned I had a return ticket and upon return I thought to complete the journey and it still didnt work on barrier. I was so shocked. This is my last stupid mistake and I will not repeat these things
At Farringdon, there are standalone validators on some platforms and at the top of the escalators to the Elizabeth Line. Their purpose is to enable people arriving at Farringdon from outside the PAYG area, using traditional tickets, to touch in/out and continue their journey by Underground/Elizabeth Line without having to exit the statiuon and re-enter.
Hi everyone,
Just following up, as I still haven’t received a letter from GTR regarding the incident that occurred on 20th May. Should I contact them directly, or is it better to wait a bit longer for the letter to arrive?
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Hi Everyone. Thank you for your help.
Please find attached the letter I received today by email from Govia Thameslink Railway. The letter also states that I will receive a copy by post.
I have two questions:
1. The letter instructs me to respond using the email address provided. Do I need to reply only by email, or should I also send a reply by post?
2. I have mental health problems and I am currently prescribed antidepressants by my GP through the NHS. My GP can confirm this if required. Should I mention this in my reply to GTR, or is it irrelevant to the case?
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Hi Everyone. Thank you for your help.
Please find attached the letter I received today by email from Govia Thameslink Railway. The letter also states that I will receive a copy by post.
I have two questions:
1. The letter instructs me to respond using the email address provided. Do I need to reply only by email, or should I also send a reply by post?
2. I have mental health problems and I am currently prescribed antidepressants by my GP through the NHS. My GP can confirm this if required. Should I mention this in my reply to GTR, or is it irrelevant to the case?
2. I have mental health problems and I am currently prescribed antidepressants by my GP through the NHS. My GP can confirm this if required. Should I mention this in my reply to GTR, or is it irrelevant to the case?
Millions of people have mental health problems of various types and severity, and millions more are on antidepressants at any one time. If they were regarded as a “get out of jail” for those seeking to avoid prosecution for crimes of any type then it would be very difficult to enforce the law with any degree of fairness and consistency.
So there would need to be a very compelling reason why they drove you to fare dodge on multiple occasions for your mitigation to be successful.
Millions of people have mental health problems of various types and severity, and millions more are on antidepressants at any one time. If they were regarded as a “get out of jail” for those seeking to avoid prosecution for crimes of any type then it would be very difficult to enforce the law with any degree of fairness and consistency.
So there would need to be a very compelling reason why they drove you to fare dodge on multiple occasions for your mitigation to be successful.
Just to be clear this isn't going to cost anything like the maximum penalty*, so long as there are not pertinent facts missing from your OP. So don't worry about that.
*some out of courst settlements actually cost way more than the maximum penalty, but that's not applicable here
I am writing to apologise and take full responsibility for not travelling with the correct ticket on 20th May and for the other occasions where I failed to pay the proper fare.
I deeply regret my actions and fully understand the seriousness of what I did. I recognise the impact on the railway and the unfairness to other passengers who pay correctly. I have learnt a very important lesson and will not repeat this behaviour. Since 20th May I have bought the correct tickets for all my journeys and will continue to do so.
I would be very grateful if you would allow me to settle this matter directly with GTR by paying the fares owed, together with any administrative costs arising from your investigation.
Once again, I am sincerely sorry and I assure you of my willingness to cooperate fully with GTR to resolve this.
Yours faithfully,
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I updated my reply draft as took some help from previous posts: Any feedback is appreciated.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to apologise and take full responsibility for not travelling with the correct ticket on 20th May. I deeply regret my actions and understand the consequences that behaviour such as mine has for the railway and for other passengers. I have learnt my lesson and will not repeat this mistake. Since 20th May I have made sure to purchase the correct fares for all my journeys, as I should always have done.
I would be very grateful if you would allow me to resolve this matter with GTR by paying any outstanding fares together with any administrative costs arising from your investigation. If there are specific instances you believe I did not hold the correct fare, I would be prepared to review and address them as best I can.
I again apologise for my poor judgement and assure you of my full cooperation with GTR to settle what I owe and to act responsibly in the future.
I am writing to apologise and take full responsibility for not travelling with the correct ticket on 20th May and for the other occasions where I failed to pay the proper fare.
I deeply regret my actions and fully understand the seriousness of what I did. I recognise the impact on the railway and the unfairness to other passengers who pay correctly. I have learnt a very important lesson and will not repeat this behaviour. Since 20th May I have bought the correct tickets for all my journeys and will continue to do so.
I would be very grateful if you would allow me to settle this matter directly with GTR by paying the fares owed, together with any administrative costs arising from your investigation.
Once again, I am sincerely sorry and I assure you of my willingness to cooperate fully with GTR to resolve this.
Yours faithfully,
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I updated my reply draft as took some help from previous posts: Any feedback is appreciated.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to apologise and take full responsibility for not travelling with the correct ticket on 20th May. I deeply regret my actions and understand the consequences that behaviour such as mine has for the railway and for other passengers. I have learnt my lesson and will not repeat this mistake. Since 20th May I have made sure to purchase the correct fares for all my journeys, as I should always have done.
I would be very grateful if you would allow me to resolve this matter with GTR by paying any outstanding fares together with any administrative costs arising from your investigation. If there are specific instances you believe I did not hold the correct fare, I would be prepared to review and address them as best I can.
I again apologise for my poor judgement and assure you of my full cooperation with GTR to settle what I owe and to act responsibly in the future.
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I will keep posted our conversations
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Just to give you an update: I received a reply back with the settlement figures. They reviewed my full history, and the figure is much higher than I personally expected. However, they have given me a three-week option to pay, and we will be settling out of court. Thanks everyone
If the amount surprises you, there is no harm in asking for a breakdown of the figure in terms of the specific journeys. Obviously do it very politely, so that they remain on side, but it shouldn’t be an unreasonable request.
If the amount surprises you, there is no harm in asking for a breakdown of the figure in terms of the specific journeys. Obviously do it very politely, so that they remain on side, but it shouldn’t be an unreasonable request.
Unless of course you had totally unrealistic expectations. FWIW I would expect this (i.e. four return journeys St Albans to Farringdon) to cost no more than £350 to settle with GTR.
Just to give you an update: I received a reply back with the settlement figures. They reviewed my full history, and the figure is much higher than I personally expected. However, they have given me a three-week option to pay, and we will be settling out of court. Thanks everyone
We are aware of an issue with emails from the Forum to Microsoft-based email accounts (hotmail/outlook/live.com email addresses). This is being looked into currently, thanks for your patience meanwhile.
