Fine prosecution need help please

Hi,

Please, I need some advice as I am very worried about potentially having to go to court over this issue.

Last year, I took a train from Sidcup with my sister. I normally use my Oyster card, but that day I could not find it. My sister was travelling to the airport, so I decided to travel with her for just one stop, to New Eltham. She booked my ticket online, but accidentally selected a child ticket instead of an adult ticket because she was still 15 herself.

While officers were checking my ticket, the train departed before the check was finished. I was supposed to get off at New Eltham, but because the train had already left, they made me get off at the next station, Mottingham. They then questioned me about both having a child ticket and travelling past the station shown on the ticket.

I tried to calmly explain the situation several times and told them that it was an honest mistake, that I had never had this issue before and that I was not trying to avoid paying. However, I felt that the officers treated me very harshly. They kept me in a corner near the end of the platform against the wall. I did not try to run away, raise my voice or say anything offensive. I simply wanted to explain what had happened and resolve the situation.

Since then, I have been very worried about what could happen. I am in the UK on a visa, so I am particularly concerned that this could affect my immigration status, ability to work or ability to continue living in the UK. I have contacted them several times because I never received the letter I was expecting, but I was repeatedly told to wait.

I need to resolve this without going to court. I am willing to pay any appropriate fare or penalty that is required. My main concern is whether this could result in a criminal record or affect my visa and future in the UK.

I would really appreciate advice on what I should do now and how I should exactly respond to them.

Thank you very much for your help.

When did you receive the attached letter, and when is it dated?

Haywain said:

When did you receive the attached letter, and when is it dated?

Click to expand...

The letter is dated 29 September 2026.

I saw it only today so not sure exactly when it came between the 29th of September and today.

In case more information is needed I’m happy to provide it

They're out of time to issue proceedings. They had six months from the date of the offence. Do not reply to the letter.

Further to the advice already given, you mention that you contacted the train company before to find out what was happening and they told you to wait (ie you made an effort to resolve this with them but they didn't get on with things their side)

couple of questions
- do you have copies of what you sent them regarding that?
- do you have the reply they sent telling you to wait?
- if so can you advise on the dates of any of those?

If you still have that stuff make sure you keep it safe.

AlterEgo said:

They're out of time to issue proceedings. They had six months from the date of the offence. Do not reply to the letter.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply.

I am worried about not replying because I do not want to risk any future problems.

Also, if they are already out of time, why have they sent me the letter now? Could there be another reason for this?

I want to be sure that this can be settled out of court.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Oct 2026 ==

WesternLancer said:

Further to the advice already given, you mention that you contacted the train company before to find out what was happening and they told you to wait (ie you made an effort to resolve this with them but they didn't get on with things their side)

couple of questions
- do you have copies of what you sent them regarding that?
- do you have the reply they sent telling you to wait?
- if so can you advise on the dates of any of those?

If you still have that stuff make sure you keep it safe.

Click to expand...

Hi,
Thanks for the help.

Unfortunately I don’t have nothing since I called Southeastern railway on the phone getting in touch with their support and I provided my fine number ID and explained even to them the situation and it was them that told me to just wait.

I called a month after the incident and around 2 other months after that and then just waited.

If I was in your position I'd politely reply saying that you had called twice to try to resolve this (say dates and times, if they are available in your phone records) and then say that as the case is over 6 months old you consider the matter closed.

I'm not an expert though, so listen to them over me, but that would be my course of action personally.

That achieves nothing. Don't reply. They simply wish to extract money and have little prospect of doing so without the bogus threat of prosecution which cannot occur.

AlterEgo said:

That achieves nothing. Don't reply. They simply wish to extract money and have little prospect of doing so without the bogus threat of prosecution which cannot occur.

Click to expand...

But when the officers stopped me I didn’t pay any fee they just printed the case fine with the ID on it.

I’m also looking online but I do not find anywhere stated that after 6 months the matter is closed.

I just want to be 100% sure that this prosecution letter will not get me into other troubles if I do not reply

ricolano said:

But when the officers stopped me I didn’t pay any fee they just printed the case fine with the ID on it.

I’m also looking online but I do not find anywhere stated that after 6 months the matter is closed.

I just want to be 100% sure that this prosecution letter will not get me into other troubles if I do not reply

Click to expand...

Hi,
This is because standard Byelaws and RoRA offences (which this falls on) only have a 6 month time limit from when the offence occurs to bring the case to court. After 6 months (which this clearly is if you received the letter in September, citing an offence from November 2025) Southeastern are unable to prosecute for the matter.

They might still be able to use civil recovery methods to claim the fare owed, however this is far less serious as there is no risk of a criminal conviction. Whether Southeastern actively do this or not, I an unsure (other ToCs do).

The only time the 6 month limit for prosecution does not apply is with Fraud Act 2006 offences, however I highly doubt a single offence that you describe would be enough to secure a fraud conviction.

ricolano said:

But when the officers stopped me I didn’t pay any fee they just printed the case fine with the ID on it.

I’m also looking online but I do not find anywhere stated that after 6 months the matter is closed.

I just want to be 100% sure that this prosecution letter will not get me into other troubles if I do not reply

Click to expand...

We're telling you on an expert forum that no prosecution can result. Summary only offences like this have a time limit of 6 months.

S127 Magistrates Courts Act 1980:

AlterEgo said:

We're telling you on an expert forum that no prosecution can result. Summary only offences like this have a time limit of 6 months.

S127 Magistrates Courts Act 1980:

Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980

An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the jurisdiction of, and the practice and procedure before, magistrates’ courts and the functions of justices’ clerks, and to matters connected therewith, with amendments to give effect to recommendations of the Law Commission.

www.legislation.gov.uk

Click to expand...

Sorry for being paranoid, as you immagine I’m just a lot stressed about this.

I see that the overall suggestion is to not reply as I explained exactly what happened and you saw the letter.

I will follow the suggestion and leave it as it is. Thank you for the support

Hoping they don’t find other ways to stress me up.

ricolano said:

But when the officers stopped me I didn’t pay any fee they just printed the case fine with the ID on it.

Click to expand...

Do you still have the slip you were given? If so, it would be useful to see it (don't forget to hide your personal details) so that we can check just what it was you were given.

They were out of time in May. I suspect being SE who were known to have a backlog of this stuff it's only just got to the top of the pile.

Swedenorer said:

They were out of time in May. I suspect being SE who were known to have a backlog of this stuff it's only just got to the top of the pile.

Click to expand...

I'm a little concerned that OP says

ricolano said:

when the officers stopped me I didn’t pay any fee they just printed the case fine with the ID on it.

Click to expand...

I think and hope that they received a witness statement ('MG11'). But their reference to a 'fine' might mean that it's a penalty fare that they haven't paid, in which case our advice might need to be refocused.

(Edited to correct MG12 to MG11)

Fawkes Cat said:

I'm a little concerned that OP says

I think and hope that they received a witness statement ('MG12'). But their reference to a 'fine' might mean that it's a penalty fare that they haven't paid, in which case our advice might need to be refocused.

Click to expand...

Hi,
Thanks for all the guidance.
I am looking everywhere but I can’t find the small recepit that they gave to me.
As I said it was like a receipt with the ID Number on the top and under it there was a recap of what happened if I’m correct or it was just some explanation on what to do when receiving the letter.
Unfortunately I do not remember 100% and I’m still looking for it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Oct 2026 ==

ricolano said:

Hi,
Thanks for all the guidance.
I am looking everywhere but I can’t find the small recepit that they gave to me.
As I said it was like a receipt with the ID Number on the top and under it there was a recap of what happened if I’m correct or it was just some explanation on what to do when receiving the letter.
Unfortunately I do not remember 100% and I’m still looking for it.

Click to expand...

Also if this is helpful they started to record with the camera what I was saying and then repeated to me a recap of what they will report and asking if I was aware of my mistake ecc

What we can do is set out the pros and cons of responding or not responding to help you make your own decision of what you prefer to do.

Then we can help you with anything you do (or don’t) want to say to them by way of a reply (if you decided to reply at all and as explained it may be best not to).
If you think that would be of help.

That way you can take an informed decision from the choice that is available.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Oct 2026 ==

ricolano said:

Hi,
Thanks for all the guidance.
I am looking everywhere but I can’t find the small recepit that they gave to me.
As I said it was like a receipt with the ID Number on the top and under it there was a recap of what happened if I’m correct or it was just some explanation on what to do when receiving the letter.
Unfortunately I do not remember 100% and I’m still looking for it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Oct 2026 ==


Also if this is helpful they started to record with the camera what I was saying and then repeated to me a recap of what they will report and asking if I was aware of my mistake ecc

Click to expand...

Have you had any further thoughts on what you might be minded to do about this matter?

If this was a one off incident it seems to me that this involves a fare of at the most a £4.20 Anytime Single from Sidcup to New Eltham.

and which as has been pointed out SE Trains are now out of time to bring criminal prosecution proceedings in the magistrates court about - despite the implied threats of doing so in the belated letter they have sent - (I suppose their is a small risk they might even try doing that if they do not have robust internal procedures - although the OP would hear about it from the Magistrates Court before any actual court data I assume, so it would be possible to point out they have overstepped the mark by doing so and presumably get the court to stop such action - although it probably requires diligent letter writing to stop these bureaucratic juggernauts in their tracks....)

It also seems unlikely to me at least that they would decide it is worth using the Civil Court to recoup such a small sum (which they have 6 years to do so).

But I am mindful of this:

I am in the UK on a visa, so I am particularly concerned that this could affect my immigration status, ability to work or ability to continue living in the UK.

Click to expand...

So it may be the OP might think some sort of polite but firm response to them is worth doing eg as per post #7, perhaps with the addition of an offer to pay £4.20 for the fare concerned to resolve the matter now the railway company have finally got round to making contact.

Were this to be the choice made - The exact wording of any such reply to this letter would best be checked here before sending it in my view

This would at least mean that the OP can't be accused of ignoring this.

The risks of such a reply that I can see might be:

- a the desire of SE Trains to try and add on some sort of 'admin fee' to the sum they would like the OP to pay - which might be as much as £100 on top of the £4.20

- any chance that SE Trains start investigating the prospect of other child rate tickets bought - but I note the ticket wasn't bought by the OP but by their sister, wo was 15 years of age at the time, and could presumably prove that as well as clearly state that other child rate tickets were bought by the sister who was entitled to travel at the child fare given her age.

From what i recall in the past when SE Trans were on top of their workload more (so a couple of years or so ago I think), FWIW we did tend to see SE Trains revenue protection department acting reasonably in respect of people who engaged with them over ticketing
I'd therefore like to hope (but can in no way guarantee it) that they might accept £4.20 and close the matter down.

I'm sure others here will have views that might be helpful to @ricolano deciding what they want to do

Hi, thank you for the explanation.

I decided to ask via email to them last week to be sure that no issues will come afterwards if I do not reply.
(I’ll leave attached my message and their reply)

WesternLancer said:

But I am mindful of this:



So it may be the OP might think some sort of polite but firm response to them is worth doing eg as per post #7, perhaps with the addition of an offer to pay £4.20 for the fare concerned to resolve the matter now the railway company have finally got round to making contact.

Were this to be the choice made - The exact wording of any such reply to this letter would best be checked here before sending it in my view

This would at least mean that the OP can't be accused of ignoring this.

The risks of such a reply that I can see might be:

- a the desire of SE Trains to try and add on some sort of 'admin fee' to the sum they would like the OP to pay - which might be as much as £100 on top of the £4.20

Click to expand...

After thinking about this I would prefer to reply to the letter and pay the £100 fee + the cost of the ticket as this would guarantee that this is closed once and for all and I will not have anymore anxiety over this.

The reply that I got from them got me again anxious so if possible I would like some help in what to write to have to pay the fee and close this case.

Thanks.

ricolano said:

Hi, thank you for the explanation.

I decided to ask via email to them last week to be sure that no issues will come afterwards if I do not reply.
(I’ll leave attached my message and their reply)



After thinking about this I would prefer to reply to the letter and pay the £100 fee + the cost of the ticket as this would guarantee that this is closed once and for all and I will not have anymore anxiety over this.

The reply that I got from them got me again anxious so if possible I would like some help in what to write to have to pay the fee and close this case.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Thanks for updating.

I think their reply to you is essentially a long winded acknowledgement message saying they have your message and are considering it and will write to you again about it.

I would wait for their follow up letter, which sounds as though they will be asking for your side of the story. We can advise you how to respond to this, so don't respond without seeking our advice.

They will then offer you an Out of Court settlement - they are too late to take you to Court. However, you hold the upper hand - if they ask for too much 'admin fee' (i.e. substantially more than the £100 you are happy to pay to close the matter), then you could respond with your 'final offer' of £100, or even less, and they may be minded to accept, given that they have no real hold over you.

The other thing to note is you refer to your visa. We are not able to give you any advice about visas since only authorised bodies can do so.

MotCO said:

I would wait for their follow up letter, which sounds as though they will be asking for your side of the story. We can advise you how to respond to this, so don't respond without seeking our advice.

They will then offer you an Out of Court settlement - they are too late to take you to Court. However, you hold the upper hand - if they ask for too much 'admin fee' (i.e. substantially more than the £100 you are happy to pay to close the matter), then you could respond with your 'final offer' of £100, or even less, and they may be minded to accept, given that they have no real hold over you.

The other thing to note is you refer to your visa. We are not able to give you any advice about visas since only authorised bodies can do so.

Click to expand...

Ok I’ll wait then even if I thought to reply (following your suggestions) to the first letter that I received.

I’m only worried that they will take to much time to get back to me as the first letter stated that I have to reply within 21 days to the date of the letter and only 1 week is remaining.

ricolano said:

Ok I’ll wait then even if I thought to reply (following your suggestions) to the first letter that I received.

I’m only worried that they will take to much time to get back to me as the first letter stated that I have to reply within 21 days to the date of the letter and only 1 week is remaining.

Click to expand...

As far as I can make out, you did reply within 21 days of the first letter, so that's dealt with. As their email to you said, you now need to wait for them to reply.

Fawkes Cat said:

As far as I can make out, you did reply within 21 days of the first letter, so that's dealt with. As their email to you said, you now need to wait for them to reply.

Click to expand...

Oh wait, asking about the case via email is considered reply to the case for them?
I did not understand that, so I have to wait to get contacted back again now?

I want to let them know that I want to pay the fee (£100 or whatever it is) and the cost of the ticket so I can close this out as soon as possible.
And to do so I wanted to ask here what should I had to write down on the first letter.

ricolano said:

Oh wait, asking about the case via email is considered reply to the case for them?
I did not understand that, so I have to wait to get contacted back again now?

I want to let them know that I want to pay the fee (£100 or whatever it is) and the cost of the ticket so I can close this out as soon as possible.
And to do so I wanted to ask here what should I had to write down on the first letter.

Click to expand...

Well what you wrote to them is presumably in the image you shared in post 18.
In that you message you did not tell them you wanted to pay them so that you can close the matter.

I suggest you now wait and see what reply you now get.
Then before you write back post here so you can get some help in achieving your desired outcome.

WesternLancer said:

Well what you wrote to them is presumably in the image you shared in post 18.
In that you message you did not tell them you wanted to pay them so that you can close the matter.

I suggest you now wait and see what reply you now get.
Then before you write back post here so you can get some help in achieving your desired outcome.

Click to expand...

I would prefer to not wait and reply to the letter with my intentions if possible.

Maybe they take too much time to get back to me now and I want this addressed as soon as possible.

Could I get suggested what to write down?

ricolano said:

Maybe they take too much time to get back to me now and I want this addressed as soon as possible.

Click to expand...

I'm sure you do but they will have lots more cases to process. Best just to wait and see what happens instead of potentially annoying them with reminders.

There is always the chance that they have lost your paperwork, or cannot find the details of your case so cannot proceed. They will therefore have to close the case. I would wait for them to contact you to see what they say next.

ricolano said:

I would prefer to not wait and reply to the letter with my intentions if possible.

Maybe they take too much time to get back to me now and I want this addressed as soon as possible.

Could I get suggested what to write down?

Click to expand...

You will note that other people here are suggesting you do not reply further to them at this stage.

But I accept that you may wish to do so

Just to be clear, are you saying that you have decided you would like to write to them and ask to resolve this and that in doing so you will need to offer to pay them money that is owed?

If you say yes I can suggest some wording you could use based on other previous advice given on this forum

However, I can also see that it may be worth waiting to see what they next say to you given they have your previous reply to consider.

The choice is yours to consider and decide of course

WesternLancer said:

You will note that other people here are suggesting you do not reply further to them at this stage.

But I accept that you may wish to do so

Just to be clear, are you saying that you have decided you would like to write to them and ask to resolve this and that in doing so you will need to offer to pay them money that is owed?

If you say yes I can suggest some wording you could use based on other previous advice given on this forum

However, I can also see that it may be worth waiting to see what they next say to you given they have your previous reply to consider.

The choice is yours to consider and decide of course

Click to expand...

I can wait, it’s just driving me crazy as what if they reply late via email and they still expected something via letter? This concern is rising for me as the end date for a reply as stated in the letter is almost coming to an end.

If this could be clarified by them it would help a lot, also to just close this matter I would like to reply anyway as I’m worried about the outcome and do not care to pay the £100 fee + ticket price just to end this.

ricolano said:

I can wait, it’s just driving me crazy as what if they reply late via email and they still expected something via letter? This concern is rising for me as the end date for a reply as stated in the letter is almost coming to an end.

If this could be clarified by them it would help a lot, also to just close this matter I would like to reply anyway as I’m worried about the outcome and do not care to pay the £100 fee + ticket price just to end this.

Click to expand...

You were advised earlier in thread not to reply, as they are out of time to prosecute you. Now you have replied it seems that they can't even be prganised enough to tell you why they were contacting you. which is ridiculous and suggests that they had no expectation of you replying. As they have nothing on you, I would again emphasise not to engage further with them. The very worst that can happen is that they can take civil action to recover the unpaid fare, which is only going to be a matter of a couple of quid - they cannot claim any admin fees on top. There is no way a business is going to take that step, so just put this to bed - stop worrying and definitely stop replying.