11-15 Oyster card misuse

[tangerine22]

Hi all, I am 22 years old and I have been caught using a 11-15 Oyster card at Plaistow station by an inspector. I have not yet recieved a letter but I am scared about the criminal record as my career path is education. I don’t know if a solicitor could do anything as it is with TFl

 

[Haywain]

Whilst TfL almost always prosecute, the conviction is a minor offence and is actually unlikely to have a significant affect on most career paths, and I would expect that education i one such path. A solicitor might be able to get you a warning but that will depend on the circumstances (how many times you have used the 11-15 Oyster) and any mitigation that can be presented on your behalf. You should read the TfL prosecution policy to see if there are mitigations which might apply to you. A solicitor will have a significant cost, probably in the region of £750 upwards.

 

[tangerine22]

I have used it for 3 months. Pretty much everyday. I don’t mind paying for a lawyer as I would do anything by to get out of a criminal record

 

[Haywain]

I don’t mind paying for a lawyer as I would do anything by to get out of a criminal record

You need to be very clear, from the outset, that paying for a solicitor will not necessarily get you out of a conviction - it could just end up being an additional cost.

 

[SuspectUsual]

You need to be very clear, from the outset, that paying for a solicitor will not necessarily get you out of a conviction - it could just end up being an additional cost.

This

What we know is that TfL have one of the most severe policies for ticketing issues, perhaps the most severe, and that they take an especially dim view of the misuse of concessionary passes. Your case sounds to have some aggravating factors - misuse over an extended period - but there may be mitigation that you haven't made us aware of.

What we don't know for sure is the success rate of solicitors with TfL, because (a) relatively few people who post here take that route and (b) of those, not all of them report back.

But we know there are solicitors who advertise great success rates dealing with TfL

If I was you, and I was considering going down the solicitor route, I'd have an initial consultation where I'd honestly present the facts of the case and any genuine mitigation you may have, and ask them if they can evidence examples of previous cases in similar circumstances where they have been successful in getting their client off with a warning

 

[tangerine22]

what shall I do . Could they possibly give me fine but no court and criminal record with using a solicitor to reach out to them.

 

[tangerine22]

I have carer responsibilities which have made it hard for me to go to work but there is no evidence of that as I’m informally caring for my disabled brother.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I am 22 years old and (...) I am scared about the criminal record as my career path is education.

It might be worth you doing some specific research in the impact of a criminal record on a career in education. The Teaching Regulatory Agency website (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/teaching-regulation-agency) might be a good place to start. If you're a union member, then talking to your local rep might help you understand the position at your school/college: if you're still a student then your student union may be able to help too. And see what your school/college says in writing about teacher discipline

Having said all of which, my anecdotal understanding is that fare dodging isn't a big issue for teachers. What might be an issue is hiding it from your employer/training institution - because that suggests that your response to a problem is to hide it, and if you can't be trusted over something like this, what else might you hide if a problem emerges?

So before worrying about how you might be able to make this go away, find out what size of a problem you have. It might be that it's not big enough to need a solicitor.

 

[tangerine22]

I work in admin in education.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I work in admin in education.

In that case, your union is most likely Unison, and the disciplinary requirements of your job will be in your employer's staff handbook (it may have a different but similar title). If you're a union member, talk to a rep: if not, think if there is a colleague you can talk to who has been with the employer for a while whose judgment you would trust and who you can rely on not to dob you in to management: you may well have to tell your employer about this but it's far better if it comes from you at an appropriate time of your choosing rather than when someone else tells the boss.

Again, this is anecdotal, but on what my wife saw as an administrator in a university, fare dodging won't lose you your job. But keeping quiet about it could.

 

[AlterEgo]

Could they possibly give me fine but no court and criminal record with using a solicitor to reach out to them.

TfL's policy is binary.

You either get a warning letter, or you get prosecuted. The latter is by far the most common outcome.

 

[tangerine22]

I just spoke to someone that works for the department of education (she is an executive director) and she has said that it won’t affect me getting a job in education but I would have to declare it.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I just spoke to someone that works for the department of education (she is an executive director) and she has said that it won’t affect me getting a job in education but I would have to declare it.

So it looks as if you won't need a solicitor after all. You will have to steel yourself for a prosecution, which will (almost certainly) result in a fine and costs - but apart from the expense of that, and the embarrassment of having to tell employers and such like, that should be more or less all you have to worry about.

Obviously, it's better not to have a conviction if it can be avoided, but as long as you now make sure you always pay the right fare at the right time for any journey on public transport, you shouldn't have too many ongoing problems from this.

 

[tangerine22]

I was thinking of still getting a solicitor too as I still don’t want a criminal record. Even if they can’t win a settlement for me it’s worth a try.

 

[tangerine22]

I saw some people say on comments on TikTok that they went to court paid a fine and no criminal conviction which is odd. I have asked someone who was in a similar situation to me but 4 years ago and he had used a freedom pass and he had to go to court and pay a fine and no criminal conviction on his police report and DBS

 

[Haywain]

I saw some people say on comments on TikTok that they went to court paid a fine and no criminal conviction which is odd. I have asked someone who was in a similar situation to me but 4 years ago and he had used a freedom pass and he had to go to court and pay a fine and no criminal conviction on his police report and DBS

Anyone who goes to court and is fined receives a criminal conviction at the same time because you cannot be fined without being convicted. However, in some cases the conviction is immediately 'spent' and will not appear on a DBS record.

 

[greyman42]

I saw some people say on comments on TikTok that they went to court paid a fine and no criminal conviction which is odd. I have asked someone who was in a similar situation to me but 4 years ago and he had used a freedom pass and he had to go to court and pay a fine and no criminal conviction on his police report and DBS

People talk rubbish on TikTok.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I saw some people say on comments on TikTok that they went to court paid a fine and no criminal conviction which is odd. I have asked someone who was in a similar situation to me but 4 years ago and he had used a freedom pass and he had to go to court and pay a fine and no criminal conviction on his police report and DBS

It's worth unpacking this a little bit. On the one hand

they went to court paid a fine and no criminal conviction

They may have misunderstood the process: the court can only charge you a fine if you're convicted (so either you have pleaded guilty or the court has found you guilty). If you're convicted, you're proven to be a criminal, and the court keeps a record of who they have convicted - and that's your criminal record. Put simply, if you have been to court and received a punishment, you have a criminal record.

However...

someone (...) had to go to court and pay a fine and no criminal conviction on his police report and DBS

This happens. That's because not every crime goes forward to the DBS (or, it would seem, onto a police report). If you've been convicted in court, you still have a criminal record - but you won't necessarily have a record with the DBS.

What does this mean in practice? It means that if someone with a right to know asks if you have been convicted of a crime, you need to say 'yes' - even if it's not held on the DBS. But you also need to know that there's a thing called the 'Rehabilitation of Offenders Act'. That says that most people and organisations are only allowed to ask you about crimes for a limited period of time: I think I'm right in saying (and if I'm wrong, someone please correct me) that for something like fare dodging on TfL the time limit is a year (because it's a byelaw conviction). But some organisations are allowed to ask for longer: you'll know who they are, because they will say that you need to declare criminal convictions even if they have expired ('are spent') for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (or similar words). And it tends to be government organisations or ones for jobs where a very high level of trustworthiness is important which are allowed to do this.

 

[tangerine22]

Adding to what I’ve said earlier with the incident of a friends of mine about using a freedom oyster. The first time he got caught was when he was 18 he was stopped at bank station and the inspector made him go to a cash point to pull money out to pay a fine. There was no receipt given and the freedom pass was given back to him. Is that the procedure they take.

 

[Haywain]

Adding to what I’ve said earlier with the incident of a friends of mine about using a freedom oyster. The first time he got caught was when he was 18 he was stopped at bank station and the inspector made him go to a cash point to pull money out to pay a fine. There was no receipt given and the freedom pass was given back to him. Is that the procedure they take.

No. To be frank, that sounds like complete BS.

 

[6Gman]

No. To be frank, that sounds like complete BS.

And a scam!

 

[Swedenorer]

You are 22 and thought you could get away with using an 11-15 pass. Words fail me. Put yourself in the shoes of TfL's prosecution's department - how would what you have been up to look to them? Also read what has been said above - the attitude of TfL is Binary you either get a warning or are prosecuted. You cannot simply pay them something to make it go away.

 

[AlterEgo]

Adding to what I’ve said earlier with the incident of a friends of mine about using a freedom oyster. The first time he got caught was when he was 18 he was stopped at bank station and the inspector made him go to a cash point to pull money out to pay a fine. There was no receipt given and the freedom pass was given back to him. Is that the procedure they take.

There's no chance that happened if they got caught by an actual revenue protection inspector.

 

[WesternLancer]

Could they possibly give me fine but no court and criminal record with using a solicitor to reach out to them.

no

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 May 2026 ==

I saw some people say on comments on TikTok that they went to court paid a fine and no criminal conviction which is odd. I have asked someone who was in a similar situation to me but 4 years ago and he had used a freedom pass and he had to go to court and pay a fine and no criminal conviction on his police report and DBS

if you go to court and pay a fine it is because you have been found guilty of an offence. There is a record of that offence. That is literally what a criminal record is.... it's a court record of a crime

 

[tangerine22]

I have received my letter

 

[SECR 65]

I think you're likely to be taken to court. You should fill in the details as requested and send the letter back to them. You might as well include that you're sorry but I can't see that you have much justification or evidence that it didn't happen. Now is probably the time to get in touch with a solicitor if that's something you want to do. Forum members can provide a list of solicitors who have experience in fare evasion work and have been used before.

 

[WesternLancer]

I think you're likely to be taken to court. You should fill in the details as requested and send the letter back to them. You might as well include that you're sorry but I can't see that you have much justification or evidence that it didn't happen. Now is probably the time to get in touch with a solicitor if that's something you want to do. Forum members can provide a list of solicitors who have experience in fare evasion work and have been used before.

Adding to this the op should keep a copy of whatever they have to send back for their own records.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Now is probably the time to get in touch with a solicitor if that's something you want to do.

Although we seem to have concluded that a conviction for fare dodging will not be particularly damaging to the OP's career.