Court summons from TfL. Am I screwed ?

[Justmescrollin]

Hello following some advice from Reddit I have been told to post my story here as you guys are the experts so I would have much appreciate your help thank you.

(Below is my original post on Reddit)

Hi, thanks for reading this to start with, but today I have received a letter from TfL with a court summons for fare evasion under section 17 (1) of the transport of London byelaws.

My case is a bit different to those who have posted about this before in the sense my case was a misuse of a TfL issued oyster (bus drivers oyster that was issued to me and should have been returned upon leaving employment). I was stupid for not reading the contract when they issued the oyster to me but I wasn’t aware you had to give it back. (Stupid I know). I know I can’t plead ignorance. They have charged me with 82 offences (misuse of the oyster) totalling £563.50 and they intend to make an application for £375 in court. On the back of this letter they have attached all 82 counts of misuse so they have proof. I don’t think I could win this case in court. Seems pretty black and white to me on this (in the sense that I am guilty). When the inspector pulled me to the side I wasn’t mentally all the way there as I had been in an accident and had surgery 3 days prior and I was limping and couldn’t walk without assistance or stand (not an excuse) so I just answered yes to all the questions just wanting to get home and gave him my address expecting a fine and now I got a court summons instead.

I have already started to look for a solicitor to get legal advice, but is there anyway I can avoid a court case at this stage or avoid a criminal record? I am worried the record could affect my employment as a Quanity surveyor (Been employed since July 21st so over 8 months). If I do get a criminal record how long could I expect it to stay on my record?

I have no issue paying the £563.50 cost but anything additional past that point would become a strain on me as I only got back to work start of February and was not paid for December or January. Based in England (London specifically).


Extra information:
I have received a total of 3 letters from TfL. First letter was just asking for my side of the story as this is what I basically told them (please see attached image. I have cropped it to hide any information that exposes my identity)

2nd letter was them just following up saying they are still investigating and will get back to me. They never offered me a fine or anything.

3rd was the court summons.

I left employment with TfL (stagecoach to be specific) some time early July I don’t remember the date exactly but I know it was before the 16th of July and the first day they suspect misuse on the letter they sent in 8th of October. I genuinely didn’t have an employee pass during my employment and thought it was a lifetime benefit but I was wrong and I don’t need anyone to bash me on that angle as I already know I was stupid. My question would be am I looking at a criminal conviction here if plea guilty? Do I need get representation from a solicitor? Could I lose my job for this if a plea guilty? Is it too late to settle this out of court? I know TfL has a 0 policy of settlement out of court but still…

I new to forums so forgive me if I take a bit of time to respond with any other requested information. Thanks for reading and much appreciated to anyone responding.

 

[skyhigh]

My question would be am I looking at a criminal conviction here if plea guilty?

Yes, if you plead guilty you will have a criminal conviction.

TfL prosecute the vast majority of cases like this, the only other alternative is a warning if there are significant mitigating circumstances.

You don't seem to have any so realistically there is very little chance you'll be able to avoid a conviction.

 

[Justmescrollin]

Yes, if you plead guilty you will have a criminal conviction.

TfL prosecute the vast majority of cases like this, the only other alternative is a warning if there are significant mitigating circumstances.

You don't seem to have any so realistically there is very little chance you'll be able to avoid a conviction.

I see. Thank you for your response.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello following some advice from Reddit I have been told to post my story here as you guys are the experts so I would have much appreciate your help thank you.

(Below is my original post on Reddit)

Hi, thanks for reading this to start with, but today I have received a letter from TfL with a court summons for fare evasion under section 17 (1) of the transport of London byelaws.

My case is a bit different to those who have posted about this before in the sense my case was a misuse of a TfL issued oyster (bus drivers oyster that was issued to me and should have been returned upon leaving employment). I was stupid for not reading the contract when they issued the oyster to me but I wasn’t aware you had to give it back. (Stupid I know). I know I can’t plead ignorance. They have charged me with 82 offences (misuse of the oyster) totalling £563.50 and they intend to make an application for £375 in court. On the back of this letter they have attached all 82 counts of misuse so they have proof. I don’t think I could win this case in court. Seems pretty black and white to me on this (in the sense that I am guilty). When the inspector pulled me to the side I wasn’t mentally all the way there as I had been in an accident and had surgery 3 days prior and I was limping and couldn’t walk without assistance or stand (not an excuse) so I just answered yes to all the questions just wanting to get home and gave him my address expecting a fine and now I got a court summons instead.

I have already started to look for a solicitor to get legal advice, but is there anyway I can avoid a court case at this stage or avoid a criminal record? I am worried the record could affect my employment as a Quanity surveyor (Been employed since July 21st so over 8 months). If I do get a criminal record how long could I expect it to stay on my record?

I have no issue paying the £563.50 cost but anything additional past that point would become a strain on me as I only got back to work start of February and was not paid for December or January. Based in England (London specifically).


Extra information:
I have received a total of 3 letters from TfL. First letter was just asking for my side of the story as this is what I basically told them (please see attached image. I have cropped it to hide any information that exposes my identity)

2nd letter was them just following up saying they are still investigating and will get back to me. They never offered me a fine or anything.

3rd was the court summons.

I left employment with TfL (stagecoach to be specific) some time early July I don’t remember the date exactly but I know it was before the 16th of July and the first day they suspect misuse on the letter they sent in 8th of October. I genuinely didn’t have an employee pass during my employment and thought it was a lifetime benefit but I was wrong and I don’t need anyone to bash me on that angle as I already know I was stupid. My question would be am I looking at a criminal conviction here if plea guilty? Do I need get representation from a solicitor? Could I lose my job for this if a plea guilty? Is it too late to settle this out of court? I know TfL has a 0 policy of settlement out of court but still…

I new to forums so forgive me if I take a bit of time to respond with any other requested information. Thanks for reading and much appreciated to anyone responding.

There are other threads on this forum (almost certainly more use than Reddit) re TfL pass misuse - usually Freedom passes - that will help you understand the process and any options available to you (including weighing up whether to pay for a specialist rail fare evasion solicitor) that are probably worth you reading.

Appreciate it’s different as a former driver but the prosecution part is probably no different.

Were you a union member as a bus driver and did you retain union membership when you left the job?

If so the union might have access to some initial free legal help. Contact the union to ask via their general contact number and / or a union rep at your former work base I would suggest, to ask about this.

We can give you details of specialist solicitors in this area that get mentioned on here if you want quotes from anyone with a track record. No guarantees they can sort it and you will still have to pay them.

Others on here will advise how long until conviction is ‘spent’.

There is a formula for the fine the court will levy as punishment for the offence.

In the great scheme of things it’s a relatively low level offence I think. But you are right to take this seriously.

Could the health issue you mention be any mitigation? Or had your misuse of the pass commenced before that health problem? It sounds like it did and your reason for using the pass is more around failure to understand its use rules.

Good luck. People here can answer all of your questions in terms of what to expect about all this.

 

[AntoniC]

There are other threads on this forum (almost certainly more use than Reddit) re TfL pass misuse - usually Freedom passes - that will help you understand the process and any options available to you (including weighing up whether to pay for a specialist rail fare evasion solicitor) that are probably worth you reading.

Appreciate it’s different as a former driver but the prosecution part is probably no different.

Were you a union member as a bus driver and did you retain union membership when you left the job?

If so the union might have access to some initial free legal help. Contact the union to ask via their general contact number and / or a union rep at your former work base I would suggest, to ask about this.

We can give you details of specialist solicitors in this area that get mentioned on here if you want quotes from anyone with a track record. No guarantees they can sort it and you will still have to pay them.

Others on here will advise how long until conviction is ‘spent’.

There is a formula for the fine the court will levy as punishment for the offence.

In the great scheme of things it’s a relatively low level offence I think. But you are right to take this seriously.

Could the health issue you mention be any mitigation? Or had your misuse of the pass commenced before that health problem? It sounds like it did and your reason for using the pass is more around failure to understand its use rules.

Good luck. People here can answer all of your questions in terms of what to expect about all this.

Thats was why I advised OP to post here as I read the original post on Reddit

 

[WesternLancer]

Thats was why I advised OP to post here as I read the original post on Reddit

Which, I reckon, was good advice on your part!

 

[Justmescrollin]

Thats was why I advised OP to post here as I read the original post on Reddit

Thanks for helping out earlier on Reddit.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Mar 2026 ==

There are other threads on this forum (almost certainly more use than Reddit) re TfL pass misuse - usually Freedom passes - that will help you understand the process and any options available to you (including weighing up whether to pay for a specialist rail fare evasion solicitor) that are probably worth you reading.

Appreciate it’s different as a former driver but the prosecution part is probably no different.

Were you a union member as a bus driver and did you retain union membership when you left the job?

If so the union might have access to some initial free legal help. Contact the union to ask via their general contact number and / or a union rep at your former work base I would suggest, to ask about this.

We can give you details of specialist solicitors in this area that get mentioned on here if you want quotes from anyone with a track record. No guarantees they can sort it and you will still have to pay them.

Others on here will advise how long until conviction is ‘spent’.

There is a formula for the fine the court will levy as punishment for the offence.

In the great scheme of things it’s a relatively low level offence I think. But you are right to take this seriously.

Could the health issue you mention be any mitigation? Or had your misuse of the pass commenced before that health problem? It sounds like it did and your reason for using the pass is more around failure to understand its use rules.

Good luck. People here can answer all of your questions in terms of what to expect about all this.

The misuse was definitely a failure on my part on understanding the rules and I know ignorance is not a valid excuse especially in court. I honestly made a mistake on my part and I am not begging for sympathy as I know genuinely messed up. I would have never used it knowing it was against the rules as my work pays for transportation fees whether that’s petrol or train tickets. I was in an accident on the 29th of November and the first date they have picked up for misuse was on the 8th of October.

I never signed up for the union as a bus driver. Could you please let me know who some of these specialist solicitors are and what kind of quote I would be looking at? Thanks for responding.

 

[AntoniC]

Which, I reckon, was good advice on your part!

Thank you

 

[furlong]

Two aspects to this.

Firstly, the charge(s). Are they charging you with everything, or just ONE offence only, but asking you to agree to a list of all the others to be taken into consideration? If you're not sure, please upload images of the relevant parts of the paperwork (redacting personal details etc).

Secondly, your explanation.

How long were you employed as a bus driver? What was the reason for leaving employment? (E.g. you resigned for a better job or you got sacked or were "forced" to resign.) How much time was there between formally resigning and ceasing employment?

The two questions to address are whether it was reasonable for you to believe you retained this entitlement after leaving employment and whether any actions of TfL contributed to the commission of the alleged offences.

Why did you think it was valid? Was the Oyster card still scanning as valid? What paperwork accompanied the Oyster card? Check the paperwork you signed when leaving for anything related to returning ID cards.

What caused the inspector to pull you aside and how did they find out you were no longer a driver?

Is there a copy of the interview in the paperwork you've been sent? If so, please upload that too (again, redacting anything personal). Did you admit to anything that undermines your explanation?

 

[AndroidBango]

Thats was why I advised OP to post here as I read the original post on Reddit

Ditto! Some of the 'advice' on there was dire.

 

[furlong]

If the Oyster was not meant to be used, then why did they send you it and why did they permit it to be used? They have the ability to block use of any Oyster card so an argument might be constructed that they are at least partially if not entirely culpable for what happened here. You would be able to ask them for details of their internal procedures relating to these situations and ask whether or not they followed them here or try to get them to admit that the procedures themselves were lacking. If they don't back down, you might try to persuade the court that due to their own administrative failures being significant contributory factors (if their admin had been correct the offences would never have occurred), the prosecution is unconscionable ("abuse of process") or, failing that, for the same reason not to fine you (a "discharge"). Of course they might try to counter this by arguing you took advantage of their errors and must have known what you were doing was wrong - and did you admit this in interview?

Anyway, it does sound as though it might be worth a free initial consultation with a solicitor along those lines to see if they think anything like that is worth pursuing if you can find the money to pay for legal representation.

 

[Justmescrollin]

Two aspects to this.

Firstly, the charge(s). Are they charging you with everything, or just ONE offence only, but asking you to agree to a list of all the others to be taken into consideration? If you're not sure, please upload images of the relevant parts of the paperwork (redacting personal details etc).

Secondly, your explanation.

How long were you employed as a bus driver? What was the reason for leaving employment? (E.g. you resigned for a better job or you got sacked or were "forced" to resign.)

The two questions to address are whether it was reasonable for you to believe you retained this entitlement after leaving employment and whether any actions of TfL contributed to the commission of the alleged offences.

Why did you think it was valid? Was the Oyster card still scanning as valid? What paperwork accompanied the Oyster card? Check the paperwork you signed when leaving for anything related to returning ID cards.

What caused the inspector to pull you aside and how did they find out you were no longer a driver?

Is there a copy of the interview in the paperwork you've been sent? If so, please upload that too (again, redacting anything personal). Did you admit to anything that undermines your explanation?

I am not at home at the moment so I can’t answer the first part yet. I will answer that question as soon as a I get home.

2nd part, I did my training in February and officially started driving a bus myself back in March 2025. I don’t remember the exact dates sorry but I left sometime early July the first week, I think it was the 3rd but it could have been later but all I remember is that I had a week off and a bit before starting my now current job on the 21st of July. I was not fired/sacked. I left on my own terms to persue the career I went to university for.

I believed it was valid because 1) it worked whenever I tapped on any barrier or bus. I also had my photo card with me which had my face. 2) I received it after I had left employment so I thought it was a kind of “thank you for working for us here is a pass” because why would they send me on once my employment ended but never issued one to me during employment? (Stupid reflecting back on it) I have bank statements showing I still used my bank to tap through barriers during my employment but that does not prove when I received the pass. Only proof I have is that my employment ended in July but first recorded misuse according to the letter they sent is 8th of October.

I never read or kept any of the copies of paperwork I signed as I through it when I moved house. I thought to myself “not a bus driver anymore so why keep it”. I have a copy of my contract but I know the oyster benefit is on a written down on a separate document. So I can’t check that unfortunately.

As to what caused the inspector to pull me to the side, long story short, he approached me and said tickets please i pressed my oyster he scanned it and wanted to see the accompanying photocard. I told him that I lost the accompanying part but i had a picture of when i first received it in letter to show my photocard and he wasn’t satisfied because according to him TfL would have issued out a new photocard if i had reported I lost it (which I found odd because what if I just lost it that day? Would he have been as questioning as he was?). He told me to get off the train at the next stop. He then told me he was suspecting me of fare evasion, I showed him a picture of me with both copies for the pass again saying you can see my face in the photocard in this picture and he said but you don’t have it right now. At that point I knew he just wanted to get me. I was just coming from the hospital near my workplace since my stitches were popping out after my surgery and I was bleeding so I was in pain and wanted to sit down somewhere. I asked the man can we sit down somewhere, he said no. I told him I was in an accident and etc and he genuinely was not interested and didn’t respond. I asked his colleague and he said it won’t take long (lie by the way took over 15 minutes). At that point I just said whatever in my head, I am in pain, just lost part of my knee and my toe 4 days ago let me just answer their questions and go home. So without really paying too much attention to his questions I answered “yeah” to most of his questions. Bad move on my part no doubt. I will post the transcript of the conversations shortly.

 

[Justmescrollin]

If the Oyster was not meant to be used, then why did they send you it and why did they permit it to be used? They have the ability to block use of any Oyster card so an argument might be constructed that they are at least partially if not entirely culpable for what happened here. You would be able to ask them for details of their internal procedures relating to these situations and ask whether or not they followed them here or try to get them to admit that the procedures themselves were lacking. If they don't back down, you might try to persuade the court that due to their own administrative failures being significant contributory factors (if their admin had been correct the offences would never have occurred), the prosecution is unconscionable ("abuse of process") or, failing that, for the same reason not to fine you (a "discharge"). Of course they might try to counter this by arguing you took advantage of their errors and must have known what you were doing was wrong - and did you admit this in interview?

Anyway, it does sound as though it might be worth a free initial consultation with a solicitor along those lines to see if they think anything like that is worth pursuing if you can find the money to pay for legal representation.

I did admit to the fact I was fare evading. My only reason for admitting this was because I wanted to sit down somewhere because 4 days prior I was in an accident that took a part of my knee (which still hasn’t healed after 4 months) and I wanted to sit down and when I asked the inspector and told him about my situation they told me to just stand there as it won’t take long. He was taking his time with the little notepad so i just started saying “yeah” to most of his questions because my knee was bleeding and I needed to sit down badly. It’s all been captured in their video.

See I don’t mind a slap on the wrist from TfL whether that’s a £1000 fine, I just don’t want the criminal conviction as that might affect my work.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Mar 2026 ==

Two aspects to this.

Firstly, the charge(s). Are they charging you with everything, or just ONE offence only, but asking you to agree to a list of all the others to be taken into consideration? If you're not sure, please upload images of the relevant parts of the paperwork (redacting personal details etc).

Secondly, your explanation.

How long were you employed as a bus driver? What was the reason for leaving employment? (E.g. you resigned for a better job or you got sacked or were "forced" to resign.) How much time was there between formally resigning and ceasing employment?

The two questions to address are whether it was reasonable for you to believe you retained this entitlement after leaving employment and whether any actions of TfL contributed to the commission of the alleged offences.

Why did you think it was valid? Was the Oyster card still scanning as valid? What paperwork accompanied the Oyster card? Check the paperwork you signed when leaving for anything related to returning ID cards.

What caused the inspector to pull you aside and how did they find out you were no longer a driver?

Is there a copy of the interview in the paperwork you've been sent? If so, please upload that too (again, redacting anything personal). Did you admit to anything that undermines your explanation?

Sorry for the delayed response here’s a copy of the letter. I should have covered everything that exposes personal information but if I did miss something, no one come find me please. No I didn’t admit anything that undermines my story because I told him the truth.

 

[WesternLancer]

See I don’t mind a slap on the wrist from TfL whether that’s a £1000 fine, I just don’t want the criminal conviction as that might affect my work.

Ref the £1000 fine you mention. It’s the court that issues a fine after a guilty verdict. The verdict creates the ‘criminal record’ aiui.

That sum is the maximum fine for this offence. But I’m pretty sure the sentencing guidelines mean in reality your fine wouldn’t be as large as that.

It’s not an option to pay them £1000 instead of the punishment if it went to court. The fine IS the punishment (because prison isn’t an option for this offence, realistically).

Obviously you want to avoid all this. But TfL take all cases to court unless they decide to offer a warning where mitigating circumstances mean they consider that appropriate. We do see a few on the forum, who get only warnings, but almost always when solicitors get involved. That could cost c £1k in paying them for their work.

What you might be best doing is trying to find out clearly what impact having this conviction would in reality cause for you at work. Check what your contract says or any info your employer puts on their staff intranet or handbook as a starting point.

Join the union at work and ask the rep.

These are actions you can take to check this out.

 

[furlong]

So they are indeed only prosecuting you for ONE single offence, the day you were caught.
They are inviting you admit to all the others and if you do, they will be taken into account when sentencing but you'll be left with only one criminal conviction instead of many.

In the interview you admitted that you knew before you made the journey that you were not entitled to use the pass for it. ("intentionally avoided paying")

Did you also give the inspector at the time the explanation you gave to us and put in your first written response? If so, it might be necessary to obtain the body-cam video to show this. If you did, was it before or after you were cautioned?

 

[Justmescrollin]

Ref the £1000 fine you mention. It’s the court that issues a fine after a guilty verdict. The verdict creates the ‘criminal record’ aiui.

That sum is the maximum fine for this offence. But I’m pretty sure the sentencing guidelines mean in reality your fine wouldn’t be as large as that.

It’s not an option to pay them £1000 instead of the punishment if it went to court. The fine IS the punishment (because prison isn’t an option for this offence, realistically).

Obviously you want to avoid all this. But TfL take all cases to court unless they decide to offer a warning where mitigating circumstances mean they consider that appropriate. We do see a few on the forum, who get only warnings, but almost always when solicitors get involved. That could cost c £1k in paying them for their work.

What you might be best doing is trying to find out clearly what impact having this conviction would in reality cause for you at work. Check what your contract says or any info your employer puts on their staff intranet or handbook as a starting point.

Join the union at work and ask the rep.

These are actions you can take to check this out.

Will do thanks. I have already started looking for a solicitor but are there any you would recommend?

 

[z444z]

I was just coming from the hospital near my workplace since my stitches were popping out after my surgery and I was bleeding so I was in pain and wanted to sit down somewhere. I asked the man can we sit down somewhere, he said no. I told him I was in an accident and etc and he genuinely was not interested and didn’t respond. I asked his colleague and he said it won’t take long (lie by the way took over 15 minutes). At that point I just said whatever in my head, I am in pain, just lost part of my knee and my toe 4 days ago let me just answer their questions and go home. So without really paying too much attention to his questions I answered “yeah” to most of his questions. Bad move on my part no doubt.

I don’t know how easy or difficult it will be now to claim your admission was not made freely/on purpose, but what you’ve described is absolutely unacceptable treatment and I’m sorry you went through that. Definitely worth at least an initial consultation with a lawyer imo.

 

[Justmescrollin]

So they are indeed only prosecuting you for ONE single offence, the day you were caught.
They are inviting you admit to all the others and if you do, they will be taken into account when sentencing but you'll be left with only one criminal conviction instead of many.

In the interview you admitted that you knew before you made the journey that you were not entitled to use the pass for it. ("intentionally avoided paying")

Did you also give the inspector at the time the explanation you gave to us and put in your first written response? If so, it might be necessary to obtain the body-cam video to show this. If you did, was it before or after you were cautioned?

Yes I gave the inspector the same explanation I gave you all. And I gave him the explanation before and during the caution. In the letter here a large majority of the conversation has been cut out, for example I asked both inspectors if we could move elsewhere and find somewhere I could sit. They only kept the parts relevant to this case. I was also groaning in pain and letting them know my knee was bleeding and needed to find somewhere to sit and I was going to answer their questions quickly and wanted to comply but I was just in too much pain to stand. Hence why in my responses I gave one word answers and didn’t review what he wrote down. I just wanted to sit.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Mar 2026 ==

I don’t know how easy or difficult it will be now to claim your admission was not made freely/on purpose, but what you’ve described is absolutely unacceptable treatment and I’m sorry you went through that. Definitely worth at least an initial consultation with a lawyer imo.

Thank you and it wasn’t the most pleasant thing watching my knee just bleed and being told to just stand there. I have no animosity towards the inspectors because at the end of the day I can’t help but look at them as people just doing their jobs and after their explanation, I was in the wrong. So I can’t complain about that part. I did mention to them on over more than 4 occasions during our conversation that I needed to sit but they didn’t budge on the fact they wanted me to stand. Are there any specialist lawyers you know that I could speak to?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Mar 2026 ==

So with all the provided information, before i go see a solicitor, do you guys think i should plea guilty or fight it?

Personally i am thinking plea guilty before they drag this out and this becomes an unwanted financial burden as i have only finished off paying some debts recently and don’t really have much savings. Only problem would be the criminal conviction. I don’t know how that would affect my ongoing employment if I get one. I also don’t know how it would affect future employment in my career field. Things like dishonesty or fraud wouldn’t look great for someone who works with other people’s money.

 

[furlong]

So I think you are also arguing that the inspector's written statement is incomplete and misses out crucial information you gave that the caution advises you to provide? In other words at least one of those recorded 'yeah's was qualified - really a "yes, but only because...".

My gut feeling is that a solicitor would have quite a bit of material to work with here to try to reduce the consequences for you and it would be difficult to do this without legal assistance - but paying for that legal assistance usually comes to more than the amount of any fine it might (no guarantee) save.

 

[Justmescrollin]

Yes I gave the inspector the same explanation I gave you all. And I gave him the explanation before and during the caution. In the letter here a large majority of the conversation has been cut out, for example I asked both inspectors if we could move elsewhere and find somewhere I could sit. They only kept the parts relevant to this case. I was also groaning in pain and letting them know my knee was bleeding and needed to find somewhere to sit and I was going to answer their questions quickly and wanted to comply but I was just in too much pain to stand. Hence why in my responses I gave one word answers and didn’t review what he wrote down. I just wanted to sit.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Mar 2026 ==


Thank you and it wasn’t the most pleasant thing watching my knee just bleed and being told to just stand there. I have no animosity towards the inspectors because at the end of the day I can’t help but look at them as people just doing their jobs and after their explanation, I was in the wrong. So I can’t complain about that part. I did mention to them on over more than 4 occasions during our conversation that I needed to sit but they didn’t budge on the fact they wanted me to stand. Are there any specialist lawyers you know that I could speak to?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Mar 2026 ==

So with all the provided information, before i go see a solicitor, do you guys think i should plea guilty or fight it?

Personally i am thinking plea guilty before they drag this out and this becomes an unwanted financial burden as i have only finished off paying some debts recently and don’t really have much savings. Only problem would be the criminal conviction. I don’t know how that would affect my ongoing employment if I get one. I also don’t know how it would affect future employment in my career field. Things like dishonesty or fraud wouldn’t look great for someone who works with other people’s money.

Also my name is on a mortgage. How would this affect it?

 

[gembercannelle]

What a Kafkaesque nightmare.
During the employment the OP would have been entitled to free Oyster pass, but they have not been given one, so they have to pay full fare, which they did.
Only after they left the employment, they receive their Oyster card. Naturally, they assume they can use it.
They have been caught using the card that has been sent and admitted the misuse, while were in no position to think clearly.
Now they face criminal conviction.
None of this would have happen if the card was not sent at first place (or cancelled).
Does TfL intend to compensate for all journey made between the start of employment and before the card was issued?

 

[Justmescrollin]

So I think you are also arguing that the inspector's written statement is incomplete and misses out crucial information you gave that the caution advises you to provide? In other words at least one of those recorded 'yeah's was qualified - really a "yes, but only because...".

My gut feeling is that a solicitor would have quite a bit of material to work with here to try to reduce the consequences for you and it would be difficult to do this without legal assistance - but paying for that legal assistance usually comes to more than the amount of any fine it might (no guarantee) save.

I want to avoid going down this route as someone who just finished paying off some debt I don’t want to jump straight back into debt just to pay a solicitor without some kind of guarantee he could make sure I don’t get a criminal record. I know that’s not up to him and all this but if this turns into a game of attrition I would break quickly.

And yes some of the statements on the letter are incomplete and cut out crucial information or repeated segments. The crucial information being that I showed him on my phone a picture of my oyster along with the photocard when I still had both. I also explained to him before the caution that I left their employment back in July and recieved this pass after my employment and yet the first documented offence they have here is October which I did make it a point to the man that I believed it was a life time pass because why would they issue one to me when I left but not when I was employed (this was no out onto the letter). His tone got a bit aggressive like I was lying to him (which I wasn’t) and that’s when he told me he suspected me of fare evasion. This should have been captured under body their body cams but it’s not on the transcript. When he said he was going to give me a caution I said can we go sit down somewhere as I was surgery 4 days ago and I am missing a part of knee/ shaved a chunk of bone and he said no let’s stand here won’t take more than 5 minutes. He searches his pockets for what felt like 30 seconds and started writing. The other inspector asked me why I did it during my caution, I explain the situation once again and told him I am not trying to be dishonest here because realistically I could have tapped with my phone and we wouldn’t here, showed both of them the photo again with my photocard attached and provided my drivers license to further show it was me and my it was my name if that wasn’t already clear. Conversation goes on and I ask them again to find somewhere to sit down I showed them my knee literally leaking blood on the floor through my trousers and they told me to stand there. I knew they were recording so I just complied even though I was in pain and limping. The conversation goes on then I wanted to distract myself from the pain and so I started talking to the other inspector whilst the other one was writing stuff down. we started talking about their shift patterns and my accident and noticed the other one got distracted so I said guys I don’t mind having a chat but can we really find somewhere to sit down and he said 2 more questions. I just answered yes to both because again I really wanted to sit down. I couldn’t stand any longer and the blood dripping on my leg felt weird so I wanted to wipe it off asap. Went on a bit of ramble here sorry. Point is some parts of the conversation have not been added to this transcript. Conversation lasted about 15 minutes

 

[Justmescrollin]

What a Kafkaesque nightmare.
During the employment the OP would have been entitled to free Oyster pass, but they have not been given one, so they have to pay full fare, which they did.
Only after they left the employment, they receive their Oyster card. Naturally, they assume they can use it.
They have been caught using the card that has been sent and admitted the misuse, while were in no position to think clearly.
Now they face criminal conviction.
None of this would have happen if the card was not sent at first place (or cancelled).
Does TfL intend to compensate for all journey made between the start of employment and before the card was issued?

well I also drive a car and drove to most places. The garage wasn’t far from my old house and when I got on the bus or train I used to always board whilst wearing my uniform so literally every driver or train barrier assistance people would let me in after I explained they had no issued one to me. Normally they would just let me in based off the uniform or after I showed them the dasweb (basically a portal showing my timetable, driver number and name) I do have a few journeys I have on my statements that I could prove that I tapped using a bank card or purchased a ticket. I usually don’t take public transport unless I need to get somewhere, where parking is difficult e.g central London. Point is I don’t have much room to stand on when it comes to being compensated on fares during employment. Thanks for your response

 

[Gloster]

I have not read every bit of this thread, so ignore the following comment if I am wrong. I find it very difficult to believe that someone could reasonably believe that they can work as a bus driver for around six months, leave of their own accord (i.e. not due to retirement, redundancy or injury sustained at work) and then be provided with free travel for life. I fear that the magistrates may be of the same opinion.

As the card must have appeared within the ten days or so after leaving driving, it was quite possibly already ordered internally when you handed in your notice. There may be some argument that your employers should have stopped it, but I feel it is a weak one. Are cards for leisure purposes normally issued as soon as an employee starts or does there have to be a certain length of employment before they are issued?

 

[island]

Also my name is on a mortgage. How would this affect it?

It won't, assuming any fine is paid in accordance with the order of the magistrates.

 

[AlterEgo]

Only after they left the employment, they receive their Oyster card. Naturally, they assume they can use it.

You would assume that if you left TfL's employment after a few months you are allowed to keep your free travel pass after you leave? This is the bit I don't understand; no, of course you cannot get free TfL travel in perpetuity - that is a ridiculous thing to assume and something the OP has probably signed paperwork for saying they understand. Hard to imagine TfL staff travel facilities don't come with conditions of use you have to sign for.

OP doesn't keep any of their paperwork related to their employment but does keep the unlimited free travel Oyster card. One has to wonder why.

The OP admitted using the pass when they should not have been and I doubt a magistrate would be inclined to think this was anything other than grifting a free pass they knew they should not have had and should not have been using.

 

[Justmescrollin]

I have not read every bit of this thread, so ignore the following comment if I am wrong. I find it very difficult to believe that someone could reasonably believe that they can work as a bus driver for around six months, leave of their own accord (i.e. not due to retirement, redundancy or injury sustained at work) and then be provided with free travel for life. I fear that the magistrates may be of the same opinion.

As the card must have appeared within the ten days or so after leaving driving, it was quite possibly already ordered internally when you handed in your notice. There may be some argument that your employers should have stopped it, but I feel it is a weak one. Are cards for leisure purposes normally issued as soon as an employee starts or does there have to be a certain length of employment before they are issued?

It’s not a card for leisure purposes, it’s just a staff pass. E.g I could have used my staff pass to go swimming on my day off if I wished. They are normally issued at the start so you can use public transport to go to your bus. Example being there are some shifts where you take over from another driver, you either get a “taxi” (hop in the back of a van that takes you to the station) then use the issued oyster to travel to the station and walk to the bus stop to collect your bus and the other driver uses the same method to get back to the garage (they take the train to the other station e.g Upminster to Elm Park then take the taxi back to their respective garage) or you get a car from the garage and driver to the bus stop and get your bus from the assigned bus stop. I mostly drove the car as most of my shifts were from 3pm + or I would be the one to take the bus out. You are right though in the sense that it must has been ordered around when I handed in my notice internally because it arrived early to mid August (I don’t remember the date and I have lost the copy of the letter when I moved houses). I know my argument sounds weak especially without any real evidence hence why I accept it if they find me guilty. I am willing to pay the fine. I know what I did was wrong. I should have done my due diligence properly and checked with the garage if the pass was sent to me by mistake considering that my employment had ended. I just don’t want a criminal conviction and praying TfL will show mercy but doesn’t seem like it. This seems like it will be more than a slap on the wrist unfortunately.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Mar 2026 ==

It won't, assuming any fine is paid in accordance with the order of the magistrates.

Good to know thanks

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Mar 2026 ==

You would assume that if you left TfL's employment after a few months you are allowed to keep your free travel pass after you leave? This is the bit I don't understand; no, of course you cannot get free TfL travel in perpetuity - that is a ridiculous thing to assume and something the OP has probably signed paperwork for saying they understand. Hard to imagine TfL staff travel facilities don't come with conditions of use you have to sign for.

OP doesn't keep any of their paperwork related to their employment but does keep the unlimited free travel Oyster card. One has to wonder why.

The OP admitted using the pass when they should not have been and I doubt a magistrate would be inclined to think this was anything other than grifting a free pass they knew they should not have had and should not have been using.

I have a copy of my contract that’s digital but I moved house and go rid of paper that I deemed to be useless. So I got rid of the terms and conditions, big red book and all other documents they gave me as I deemed it useless as I was no longer a driver and didn’t see myself going back. This was a mistake on my part no doubt. I can see why everyone is skeptical of what I am saying. I literally have no evidence other my words and the information verified in the letter I sent above. I don’t believe I would win this if this was a trial. Poor judgment on my part.

 

[WesternLancer]

Is this a strict liability offence? And would that mean that it’s not really relevant if the OP didn’t understand the need to stop using the pass. They would still be found guilty if using it when they shouldn’t have if prosecuted for the one occasion.

 

[gembercannelle]

You would assume that if you left TfL's employment after a few months you are allowed to keep your free travel pass after you leave? This is the bit I don't understand; no, of course you cannot get free TfL travel in perpetuity - that is a ridiculous thing to assume and something the OP has probably signed paperwork for saying they understand. Hard to imagine TfL staff travel facilities don't come with conditions of use you have to sign for.

In my experience some employer benefits remain valid until their natural expiration date, even after the employment ceased. I would have thought that it would be easy enough to terminate the pass, and believe that criminal conviction is a rather disproportional penalty on this occasion. I also believe that OP should have been allowed to sit down, for goodness sake, before being questioned. This kind of treatment I simply do not understand.

 

[Justmescrollin]

In my experience some employer benefits remain valid until their natural expiration date, even after the employment ceased. I would have thought that it would be easy enough to terminate the pass, and believe that criminal conviction is a rather disproportional penalty on this occasion. I also believe that OP should have been allowed to sit down, for goodness sake, before being questioned. This kind of treatment I simply do not understand.

I appreciate your concern for me. At this point I am not even worried about how I was treated and only want this matter resolved smoothly. I now know I was wrong. I am remorseful (genuinely and not just saying this for the sakes of getting out of trouble. This has caused me more stress than my accident to be honest). From the time I was in an accident I was not paid for my time off and resorted to selling my car to get myself out of debt quickly and only literally finished paying off my debt end of Feb. I don’t really have much in my savings. I could take out an over draft just to pay for a solicitor but I really want to avoid the situation of putting myself in debt after just getting out and starting to rebuild. Not that this helps but I have attached a not fit to work note I had from the time. I later had it extended but didn’t take a picture of that one unfortunately as my company just offered me the time off using my holiday hours so I could still get some pay as I didn’t get paid for December and only got paid for 4 holiday day in January. I have bank statements to prove my claims. Sorry for the ramble.