Intention of Prosecution arrived, please help

[a2345]

Hi everyone,
I received the intention to prosecute letter last week for an incident that occurred in September 2025.

I am a university student and have travelled home regularly which is so expensive. I usually always pay the full fare but when times have been especially tough, I am ashamed to admit that I have sandwiched fares a few times.
On this occasion, I had a ticket from east Croydon and was stopped by the ticket inspector as I did not have the full fare to my destination.
I did say that I could call my dad and ask him to transfer me some money so I could pay the rest, however the inspector did not want to go ahead with that.

I was given a witness statement ticket and the letter has now arrived.
I would really be grateful to settle this out of court, and I have seen some good advice on these threads.

I have attached below a draft of my response, any advice would be appreciated.

Dear Prosecutions Team,

I am writing in response to the letter I received after I was stopped by revenue inspection on X DATE.

I would like to sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket. I completely accept that this was wrong and take responsibility for my actions. For my actions I provide no excuse, as I now understand how unfair this is to others who have a valid ticket.


On this occasion I had boarded the train at East Croydon, I did not purchase the full ticket. My intention was never to avoid the fare, but rather to ask a family member to transfer some money so I can buy the rest of the ticket for my journey. I now know that the full ticket needs to be held before boarding the train. I have done some reflection and understand the impact that cost loss has on the train service and this is not something I want to be a part of. I am grateful for the train service as it allows me to get to university and connects me to my family at home and I am appalled by my actions.

This incident has been a significant lesson for me and I can assure you that this will not happen again. In order to ensure this I have requested additional student finance loans to cover my travel and will ensure I always buy the full ticket to cover my journey in advance of boarding the train.

I would be grateful if you would be willing to consider resolving this matter without court proceedings. I am more than willing to promptly pay the outstanding fare and administrative costs incurred if given the opportunity to do so.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my response. I appreciate your discretion and understanding.





Any help would be appreciated thank you!

 

[z444z]

On this occasion I had boarded the train at East Croydon, I did not purchase the full ticket. My intention was never to avoid the fare, but rather to ask a family member to transfer some money so I can buy the rest of the ticket for my journey.

You know this is a lie and so will they. I’ve edited your draft, mostly just removing unnecessary bits.

REFERENCE: [INSERT]

Dear Prosecutions Team,

I am writing in response to the letter I received after I was stopped by revenue inspection on X DATE.

I would like to sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket. I completely accept that this was wrong and take responsibility for my actions. I have no excuse, I now understand how serious this is as well as how unfair this is to others who have a valid ticket.

This has been a significant lesson for me and I can assure you that this will not happen again. In order to ensure this I have requested additional student finance loans to cover my travel and will ensure I always buy the full ticket to cover my journey before boarding the train.

I would be grateful if you would be willing to consider resolving this matter without court proceedings. I am more than willing to promptly pay the outstanding fare and administrative costs incurred if given the opportunity to do so.

[SIGN OFF]

 

[a2345]

You know this is a lie and so will they. I’ve edited your draft, mostly just removing unnecessary bits.

Thank you so much! I’m not sure if I need to add more as I felt like other’s letters were longer. I think I’m just feeling anxious about it though! Thank you for your help I’ll update if any changes.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi everyone,
I received the intention to prosecute letter last week for an incident that occurred in September 2025.

I am a university student and have travelled home regularly which is so expensive. I usually always pay the full fare but when times have been especially tough, I am ashamed to admit that I have sandwiched fares a few times.
On this occasion, I had a ticket from east Croydon and was stopped by the ticket inspector as I did not have the full fare to my destination.
I did say that I could call my dad and ask him to transfer me some money so I could pay the rest, however the inspector did not want to go ahead with that.

I was given a witness statement ticket and the letter has now arrived.
I would really be grateful to settle this out of court, and I have seen some good advice on these threads.

I have attached below a draft of my response, any advice would be appreciated.

Dear Prosecutions Team,

I am writing in response to the letter I received after I was stopped by revenue inspection on X DATE.

I would like to sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket. I completely accept that this was wrong and take responsibility for my actions. For my actions I provide no excuse, as I now understand how unfair this is to others who have a valid ticket.


On this occasion I had boarded the train at East Croydon, I did not purchase the full ticket. My intention was never to avoid the fare, but rather to ask a family member to transfer some money so I can buy the rest of the ticket for my journey. I now know that the full ticket needs to be held before boarding the train. I have done some reflection and understand the impact that cost loss has on the train service and this is not something I want to be a part of. I am grateful for the train service as it allows me to get to university and connects me to my family at home and I am appalled by my actions.

This incident has been a significant lesson for me and I can assure you that this will not happen again. In order to ensure this I have requested additional student finance loans to cover my travel and will ensure I always buy the full ticket to cover my journey in advance of boarding the train.

I would be grateful if you would be willing to consider resolving this matter without court proceedings. I am more than willing to promptly pay the outstanding fare and administrative costs incurred if given the opportunity to do so.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my response. I appreciate your discretion and understanding.





Any help would be appreciated thank you!

as mentioned above - they can easily check your ticket buying history with whoever you buy tickets from on line - and if they find suspicious things - such as other sandwich tickets - they will not believe the line about not intending to evade (even if on this occasion you didn't intend to do it....) - so don't say that

If you have not already seen it on other threads this advice from another forum member might be worth you looking over:


Firstly, you committed a criminal offence by travelling with an invalid ticket and railway companies are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to. The good news is they will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them and who haven't come to their attention before.

Next, what happens is the railway company will write to you. The letter will go to the address that you gave them / on any of your ID they checked so you need to be able to access hard copy post at that address as they often send things that way (but also check e-mail and spam). It is extremely important that you reply, and you'll only have a limited time to do so (often 14 days from the date on their communication).

When you receive the letter post a redacted copy of it in this thread, along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you. You'll find lots of example letters you can use in this section of the forum but the reply basically needs to mention:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident and will not do this again
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the railway company’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter

The railway will probably offer you an out of court settlement. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fare for the journey you made at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid ticket you purchased. In addition they will charge an admin fee, typically £150. They will also audit your online ticket purchase history and if this shows you've purchased other tickets that were not valid (eg railcard discounted tickets when you did not have a valid railcard, or tickets for only part of the journey, or tickets bought after boarding the train you travelled on ) they will probably factor the cost of these journeys into the settlement offer. Depending on how many journeys you've made over the period concerned this could end up being expensive.

Settlements usually have to be paid in full within a few days of them being offered so if money is tight you might want to think about how you will raise the sum required at short notice.

 

[a2345]

This is a copy of the letter I received

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Jan 2026 ==

This is my new draft, any further advice would be great:

Dear Prosecutions Team,
I value the opportunity you have given me to respond to the letter with reference: XXXXX.
I am writing in response to the letter I received after I was stopped by revenue inspection on the 22nd of September.

I sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket. I completely accept that this was wrong and take responsibility for my actions. I have no excuse, I now understand how serious this is as well as how unfair this is to others who have a valid ticket.

I understand the impact invalid tickets have on the rail network and this is not something I want to associate with. This has been a significant lesson for me and I can assure you that this will not happen again. In order to ensure that I do not repeat this error of judgement I have requested additional student finance loans in order to cover my travel and will ensure I always buy the full ticket to cover my journey before boarding the train.

I apologise unreservedly for my actions and for the time it has taken you to investigate and contact me.

I would be grateful if you would be willing to consider resolving this matter without court proceedings. I am more than willing to promptly pay the outstanding fare and administrative costs incurred if given the opportunity to do so.

Yours Faithfully,

-

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jan 2026 ==

This is a copy of the letter I received

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Jan 2026 ==

This is my new draft, any further advice would be great:

Dear Prosecutions Team,
I value the opportunity you have given me to respond to the letter with reference: XXXXX.
I am writing in response to the letter I received after I was stopped by revenue inspection on the 22nd of September.

I sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket. I completely accept that this was wrong and take responsibility for my actions. I have no excuse, I now understand how serious this is as well as how unfair this is to others who have a valid ticket.

I understand the impact invalid tickets have on the rail network and this is not something I want to associate with. This has been a significant lesson for me and I can assure you that this will not happen again. In order to ensure that I do not repeat this error of judgement I have requested additional student finance loans in order to cover my travel and will ensure I always buy the full ticket to cover my journey before boarding the train.

I apologise unreservedly for my actions and for the time it has taken you to investigate and contact me.

I would be grateful if you would be willing to consider resolving this matter without court proceedings. I am more than willing to promptly pay the outstanding fare and administrative costs incurred if given the opportunity to do so.

Yours Faithfully,

-

I think I will send this? Is this okay? Should I add more explaining what actually happened as the letter says “tell us what happened…” Thank you

 

[z444z]

Please don’t rush to send anything, I can review your draft properly tomorrow and I’m sure others can too.

 

[a2345]

Please don’t rush to send anything, I can review your draft properly tomorrow and I’m sure others can too.

Okay thank you! Just nervous to send it as the letter is dated 31st Jan but I was in Florida and did not see it until the 14th. I have created a new draft as I was overthinking what I wrote compared to others on the forum.

New draft:

Dear Prosecutions Team,
I value the opportunity to respond to the letter with reference: XXXXX
I am writing in response to the letter I received regarding the incident on the 22nd of September 2025.
On the 22nd of September I was stopped by a Revenue Inspection Officer at Hatfield Station and was unable to produce a valid ticket for my journey.
I sincerely and unreservedly apologise to Govia Thameslink Railway for travelling without a valid ticket. I completely accept that this was wrong and take responsibility for my actions.
I have no excuse for this short-sighted decision I made when purchasing the incorrect ticket that evening, and deeply regret that I did so. I have taken the time to reflect on the impact this has on the rail network. I now understand how serious this is, as well as how unfair this is to others who have a valid ticket.
I now understand the impact invalid tickets have on the rail network and this is not something I want to associate with. This has been a significant lesson for me and I can assure you that this will not happen again.
I have since ensured that I always buy the full ticket in advance of boarding the train. I have also requested additional student finance loans, which I hope to have in place by March, in order to cover my travel and will ensure I always buy the full ticket to cover my journey before boarding the train.
I apologise for my actions and for the time it has taken you to investigate and contact me.
I would be incredibly grateful and more than willing to promtly pay the full fare and any administrative costs in full if given the opportunity, so that I may settle this matter without the need for court proceedings. Thank you for your consideration.

Yours Faithfully,
[NAME]

 

[30907]

Letter looks fine to me.

 

[z444z]

Agreed, maybe add some paragraphs though.

 

[30907]

Agreed, maybe add some paragraphs though.

Spaces between paragraphs, I presume?

 

[z444z]

Spaces between paragraphs, I presume?

Sorry yes

 

[a2345]

Thank you very much everyone, I will send that then with some spaces in between paragraphs ! I feel so silly for my actions especially as I know how much I value my clean record. Hopefully all goes well and I will update.
Thank you again for your help. xx

 

[a2345]

Hi just wanted to update everyone! They agreed to settle for £98
Thank you all very much

 

[z444z]

Hi just wanted to update everyone! They agreed to settle for £98
Thank you all very much

Great news, thanks for the update! Make sure to keep proof of payment long term just in case you ever need it.