2nd letter from TIL

[Connore4765]

Hello all

I have recived a second letter from TIL about a situation where I stupidly told a ticket officer I boarded a train from a different location than I actually did, I had received a letter from TIL to which I explained the situation and apologising profusely for everything that happened.

I have now recived a second letter explaining that they wish to further the process. The letter says

‘we see no reason why this matter should not proceed as previously advised.

An application for the issue of a summons may now be made if you wish to comment further before this matter proceeds. Please respond in writing or email within 14 days.’

Could anyone please adivise me on the best course of action needed to sort this issue without the need for court action.

Thank you

 

[Huntergreed]

Hello all

I have recived a second letter from TIL about a situation where I stupidly told a ticket officer I boarded a train from a different location than I actually did, I had received a letter from TIL to which I explained the situation and apologising profusely for everything that happened.

I have now recived a second letter explaining that they wish to further the process. The letter says

‘we see no reason why this matter should not proceed as previously advised.

An application for the issue of a summons may now be made if you wish to comment further before this matter proceeds. Please respond in writing or email within 14 days.’

Could anyone please adivise me on the best course of action needed to sort this issue without the need for court action.

Thank you

TIL often send 2 letters instead of one (for no clear reason, as it surely hinders both themselves and those who they are cased with investigating).

The advice for your response is identical to the first. Be concise, be apologetic, and show what you have learned.

Don’t give a sob story, but accept your responsibility and poor judgement and assure them it won’t happen again.

 

[Connore4765]

Should I email them or send a written letter as I did previous? Just with the time of year and bank holidays I would like to response as soon as possible.

Poor judgment from myself this has never happened to me before is it normal for TIL to send out two letters about proceeding with court cases or do they normally offer an out of court settlement

Thanks

 

[John R]

If you still have a copy of your first letter then if you post it here with any personal details and TILs reference removed then we can give a steer on how it could be improved for a second attempt. Also, it would help if we have some more information on what happened on the day.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Dec 2023 ==

this has never happened to me before

Never committed an offence, or never caught?

Would TIL have spotted anything similar on your Trainline account that might warrant them taking a hard line with you?

 

[Connore4765]

‘I am writing to inform that I acknowledge and accept full responsibility for traveling without a valid ticket on December 9th, 2023, when I was spoken to by a member of the railway staff. I deeply regret my serious error in judgment by providing the incorrect station location.

I sincerely apologise for any costs incurred as a result of my lack of judgment. I assure you that this incident has taught me a valuable lesson, and I understand the gravity of my mistake and the importance of purchasing a valid ticket before traveling, this will not happen again.

I am fully committed to rectifying this situation and I am willing to cover the original fare as well as the time and costs associated with the investigation conducted by your staff. I hope that by doing so, I can make amends for not paying the correct fare.

1 kindly request your consideration in resolving this matter without the need for court action.

This incident has served as a valuable learning experience for me, I now fully comprehend the unacceptability of committing fare evasion.


Once again, I sincerely apologise for my actions.’

Above is the letter I sent in reponse to TIL first letter.

This is a first offence for me this has never happened before, I did not realise the severity of the situation.

 

[John R]

Well that’s certainly not a bad letter, and I think in many instances it would have been successful in getting a settlement offer. If you can try and draft something similar, but maybe change some of the wording then we can take a look at it.

I wouldn’t use the word “willing” though. Remember you are asking them for the concession, notthe other way around, so maybe “extremely grateful” is more appropriate.

I’ll ask again though, you say it’s your first offence. But is it possible that TIL is seeing purchases in any online accounts that might indicate a history of short caring or doughnutting?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Should I email them or send a written letter as I did previous? Just with the time of year and bank holidays I would like to response as soon as possible.

Poor judgment from myself this has never happened to me before is it normal for TIL to send out two letters about proceeding with court cases or do they normally offer an out of court settlement

Thanks

Assuming that they have given you an email address, then email will be fine. Make sure you include the case reference in both the title and body of the email so that they can associate it with your case.

And as @Huntergreed says, it's perfectly normal for TIL to send more than one letter before agreeing to a settlement. We understand them to be more difficult to get an agreement with than other railway companies, so it's important to make it very clear that you will not be offending again. But as long as you are both clear and sincere in what you say, and you are able to convince them that there's no further risk to Chiltern's income, then it is likely that they will let you settle matters out of court.

 

[Connore4765]

I don’t travel by train a lot but if I do there is usually is a ticket person on the train where I’d get a ticket but on this day I never noticed them so then as I got to the city centre station the ticket officers were on tables taking payments and when asked I said the wrong station regrettably.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I don’t travel by train a lot but if I do there is usually is a ticket person on the train where I’d get a ticket but on this day I never noticed them so then as I got to the city centre station the ticket officers were on tables taking payments and when asked I said the wrong station regrettably.

There's a couple of things you can learn from this
- it's important not to lie when someone is selling you a ticket
- it's also important to buy a ticket before you get on a train. Although a lot of the time you can buy on the train, the rule is that if you can buy before boarding then you should*. And as more and more stations have got ticket machines, there's fewer and fewer occasions when you won't be able to buy your ticket before getting on. In particular, note that the rules don't see not having time to buy a ticket as a good enough excuse - the railway think you should have got to the station earlier. When you send your new letter to TIL, it might be worth explaining that you now understand about getting your ticket before getting on the train and that you will make sure that you find the ticket machine or ticket office in good time before getting on the train


*For regular readers/contributors: yes, I know there are exceptions, such as only having cash if the machine will only take plastic, and not being expected to buy online. But for simplicity, I think it's better to give this rather tougher version of the rule - if you follow it, then you're further from the edge and less likely to fall into the hole.

 

[Connore4765]

This is my draft for my second response to TIL any advise would be appreciated

I acknowledge that it is my responsibility to always possess a valid ticket while traveling, and I apologize sincerely for the situation described in your letter. I want to assure you that I feel a profound sense of shame and embarrassment regarding this incident.

I will definitely learn from this experience and ensure that it never occurs again. I will make it a point to always purchase the correct train ticket before boarding, taking this incident as a valuable lesson.

I want to emphasise that I have no prior offences, and this incident was completely out of character for me. It has served as a significant learning experience.

If possible, I would greatly appreciate resolving this matter without resorting to legal action. I am willing to provide a financial settlement to compensate you for the time you have dedicated to this case.

I want to emphasise that this is not a decision I have made before, and it will be the first and last time such an incident happens. I deeply regret my actions. Upon researching the matter, I have come to realise the substantial financial losses rail companies endure due to fare evasion.

Kind regards

 

[John R]

Some suggestions:-

Need an opening sentence with reference and say which letter you are replying to.

I will make it a point to always purchase the correct train ticket before boarding

I am willing to provide would be very grateful to be offered the opportunity of a financial settlement to compensate you for the time you have dedicated to this case.

I want to stress (used emphasise earlier)emphasise that this is not a decision I have made before this will be the first and last time...

Kind regards Yours sincerely (if writing to a named individual)/faithfully (if not)

 

[Hadders]

With TIL it's often necessary to have to send two letters to get them to agree to a settlement. The second letter basically needs to be a re-write of the first one.

It doesn't matter whether you send them a hard copy via the post or an email but if you do send it via email it should be a scanned copy of the letter that bears your signature.