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Greater Anglia Prosecution - seeking advice

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AlterEgo

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The OP could always ask IRCAS what proof they have that they travelled from London
They could also helpfully invite IRCAS to examine the CCTV at SF
( Assuming we are hearing the whole story and I know it will no longer exist)
I am also perplexed why an RPI unless they are extremely stupid should on being shown a ticket that authorises travel claim it is no longer valid
I wonder what the RPI wrote about that in their statement if this is what happened
The most likely explanation is the OP alighted from a train which doesn't stop at Mountfitchet, or that they had noticed the unusual stock the ticket is printed on which places it outside the Anglia area.
 
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MarlowDonkey

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I am also perplexed why an RPI unless they are extremely stupid should on being shown a ticket that authorises travel claim it is no longer valid
If electronic tickets are no longer offered for that journey, the RPI may have been aware that only one type of ticket was valid, but got it wrong as to which type it was.

What isn't disclosed in this thread is the time the RPI intercepted the OP at Stansted Airport station.

Plausible routes from Newcastle to Stansted are LNER to Peterborough and then Cross Country or LNER to Kings Cross, Victoria to Tottenham Hale and then Greater Anglia. Either route is likely to have encountered a ticket inspection or barrier on the way.
 

z444z

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I think we need to stop dragging this thread until OP replies as we are just reiterating eachothers points.
I agree, this tends to happen on these kinds of threads and honestly each post makes it less and less likely the OP will return…
 

Haywain

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They could also helpfully invite IRCAS to examine the CCTV at SF
( Assuming we are hearing the whole story and I know it will no longer exist)
If it will no longer exist what is the point in suggesting this? And the letter is not from IRCAS but from Greater Anglia.
 

JBuchananGB

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The OP already has had a letter asking for their side of the story, and replied, which they have likely dismissed based on the evidence available to them.
Sorry, I missed that. Perhaps the options now are limited to paying the out of court settlement, already past the deadline, or pleading not guilty at magistrates court and presenting all the hotel etc. evidence there.
 

skyhigh

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2. Details of his flight, check-in times and proof that the OP was on that flight. I am not an expert in aviation paperwork so others may care to expand on this.
I fail to see how this would be any use whatsoever. The OP was stopped at Stansted Airport so there is no debate about what time they were there or if they ever went there. The important evidence is evidence that they were at Mountfitchet, not the Airport.

Being on the flight doesn't prove they travelled from Mountfitchet?
 

Haywain

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What does payment code W mean on the ticket we see
It used to indicate payment had been made by Travel Warrant or vouchers, but these days it can mean all sorts of things that are a method of payment other than cash or card.
 

ChrisT

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I fail to see how this would be any use whatsoever. The OP was stopped at Stansted Airport so there is no debate about what time they were there or if they ever went there. The important evidence is evidence that they were at Mountfitchet, not the Airport.

Being on the flight doesn't prove they travelled from Mountfitchet?

That's not the point. The OP had a ticket issued at 15.09 on 8th October ostensibly at location 7725, the Metrocentre, Gateshead. If the OP can prove they were at Stansted at or about that time on that day there is no way it could have been picked up from Gateshead 300 miles away. If the ticket says 15.09 and was issued at Stansted Mountfitchet the OP would have caught the 15.47, arriving at Stansted at 15.55. So, stopped at the airport at about 16.00? We don't know what time they were stopped but if they can prove they were in the area it would cast doubt on the details on the ticket.

I have to say say I am sceptical about this as there is a lack of detail in the OP's account, but a faulty ticket is a possibilty, however remote. Think Horizon scandal.
 

skyhigh

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If the OP can prove they were at Stansted at or about that time on that day there is no way it could have been picked up from Gateshead 300 miles away.
Correct, but how will the flight details help this?

GA already know what time the OP was stopped at Stansted, and if there was enough time to get from MetroCentre to Stansted by that time. Unless you're suggesting the flight was before the OP was stopped, it is useless to prove anything that will help?
 

Idiotic

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Is this a legit ticket?

As mentioned by @Fawkes Cat the fare doesn’t exist at the time it was issued.

I’ve also noticed that it has an A next to the date on the bottom of that ticket. I am under the impression that the A only appears when it’s printed in advance of the date of travel.

This in my eyes potentially a forged ticket.
 

Watershed

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Looking at BRFARES (https://www.brfares.com/!fares?orig=SST&dest=SSD&period=20250907) I don't see an off-peak day single fare, and I don't see a fare with restriction PW - both of which feature on the ticket that I thought must have been issued somewhere other than MetroCentre. So what am I missing?
BR Fares wouldn't show changes that happen to fares midway through a fares period.

That being said, you're correct that an Off-Peak Day Single with that restriction code isn't introduced until the wider fares change on 7 December. It's possible that this ticket has simply been sold by mistake by a retailer that hasn't suppressed "future-dated" fares from immediate sale.

The retailer is shown as 4779 (it's after the collection reference on the bottom right) which is "UK Breakaways" - not a name I have ever heard of before. Whoever they are, their Ticket Issuing System (TIS) may have made a mistake as above.

Is this a legit ticket?

As mentioned by @Fawkes Cat the fare doesn’t exist at the time it was issued.

I’ve also noticed that it has an A next to the date on the bottom of that ticket. I am under the impression that the A only appears when it’s printed in advance of the date of travel.

This in my eyes potentially a forged ticket.
I wouldn't jump straight to assuming it's forged. It passes the general "sniff" test for being a legitimate ticket. It would take an extraordinary amount of effort to forge a paper ticket like this - if you were going to that effort, why would you produce something that's going to raise suspicions of short faring?

It is possible that the date on the ticket machine was set incorrectly. That would explain a lot here.
 

AlterEgo

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This doesn't pass the sniff test for a forged ticket, I agree. If I was going to forge a ticket it wouldn't be for a one stop journey.
 

JBuchananGB

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The fare charged is £4.60 which is the Anytime Day Single at the moment. The ticket type and restriction don't become available until December 7, and then the fare would be different. Altogether something very odd is going on.
 

lehovec

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Breakaway does not sell lone train tickets (unless they do through a different channel using their name)
 
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saismee

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GA are requesting £120.40... £100 is penalty fare, £20.40 is unpaid fare. Where is £20.40 fare from? I cannot find any stations where either CDS or SDS to SSD is £20.40.
London Terminals to Stansted Airport SOS minus the 4.60 paid? It's a settlement offer and not a penalty fare, so they can realistically ask whatever they'd like.
Breakdown of the settlement offer would be London Terminals to Stansted Airport SOS (25 pounds) minus the fare paid (4.60 pounds), plus a 100 pound admin fee.

I would suggest that speculating any more on the legitimacy of the ticket is unhelpful and this thread should be locked until the OP responds to answer some things absolutely truthfully (we aren't here to take sides):
1) Which retailer was used to purchase this ticket?
2) Where exactly was this ticket collected?
3) What time was this ticket collected?
4) What time were you stopped by the revenue protection inspector?
It's very obvious that this ticket has either been issued incorrectly (albeit not invalidly) by a retailer, or that it has been forged.

Suggesting that OP has forged this ticket is a wild accusation, and the company clearly don't suspect this as they would not be offering a settlement so readily. If, however, the ticket has been forged, then I would suggest that OP pays the settlement immediately and does not say anything further to potentially self incriminate, and obviously ceases any of this behaviour.
 

lehovec

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London Terminals to Stansted Airport SOS minus the 4.60 paid? It's a settlement offer and not a penalty fare, so they can realistically ask whatever they'd like.
Realised my mistake and deleted it.
 

saismee

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The OP said it was from Trainline:
No, but if an OP appears to be trying to spin us a tale we should be robustly questioning them because we always recommend honesty.
...until the OP responds to answer some things absolutely truthfully
Based on everything we've seen it seems like OP needs another chance to be truthful, and those questions certainly need to be repeated!
 

Idiotic

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I appreciate it’s a wild accusation. But things just don’t add up at all.

One final observation, is Metrocentre a Northern managed station? Unless they have a different type of TVM there. The font/boldness of the typeface on the tickets doesn’t match a ticket that I had printed from a northern ticket machine.

I maybe totally barking up the wrong tree and I apologise to the OP if I’m wrong. I’ve not seen a ticket with this many anomalies for a long while.
 

rebmcr

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This is the ticket machine at Metrocentre, as of Sept 2021. The aerial photos available via Google Earth appear to show no further change as of April 2023.

It's worth noting for those unfamiliar, that Metrocentre has nothing to do with the Newcastle Metro, and no Metro services serve the station (only Northern Rail).
 

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LYradial

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The OP could have bought his hotel stay thro breakaway and added his ticket to the airport to the deal,
what arrangement breakaway have thr railway we do not know.

during my searches yesterday to try and buy an off peak day return I was at some stage presented with an advertisement for breakaway which contsined my journey details and and a box to click on to continue
 

SuspectUsual

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The OP hasn't responded since difficult questions started being asked. We may or may not draw our own conclusions from that. But unless and until they come back there really isn't much else to add is there?
 

Fawkes Cat

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The OP hasn't responded since difficult questions started being asked. We may or may not draw our own conclusions from that. But unless and until they come back there really isn't much else to add is there?
I think this has already been said, but to summarise:
- OP's account is possible, but unlikely.
- that being the case, in practice a court would expect OP to produce evidence to prove every point of their story
- if they can't or won't do that, the best bet is to try to get the railway to agree to an out of court settlement.
 
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