Applied railcard discount wrongfully

[gray1404]

Thankfully for them it sounds like the OP was not caught on the other journeys their incorrectly applied the discount and therefore I hope (for them) I am correct in assuming the train company is only dealing with this one occasion. The legal advise you received.... Did you tell you to admit to doing it on the other occasions? It sounds like you didn't get the best advise to be honest.

 

[twalcott]

Thankfully for them it sounds like the OP was not caught on the other journeys their incorrectly applied the discount and therefore I hope (for them) I am correct in assuming the train company is only dealing with this one occasion. The legal advise you received.... Did you tell you to admit to doing it on the other occasions? It sounds like you didn't get the best advise to be honest.

You are correct. Solicitor didn't tell me to admit anything. I didn't admit to doing anything to the officer either. Definitely wouldn't be wise to admit in the statement I presume.

 

[twalcott]

Hello again,

I finally received new correspondance from the rail company - they got my name wrong which I guess doesn't exempt me from anything I assume.

I was expecting a notice of prosecution all this time, and now I get this badly folded, badly printed letterhead asking to provide them a copy of my railcard. They know that I don't have one because I told the revenue protection officer.

What's the best course of action? Call them explaining I don't have a railcard and seek to resolve outside of court? Or just say that I don't have a railcard and told them so already?

Thanks.

EDIT: I was careful to keep the receipts for all the journeys I made since the offence. I since left this job and no longer taking the train but I've got over 30 receipts. Should I send them a copy?

 

[gray1404]

You are correct. Solicitor didn't tell me to admit anything. I didn't admit to doing anything to the officer either. Definitely wouldn't be wise to admit in the statement I presume.

Correct, just deal with the matter at hand and nothing else. You certainly do not want to incriminate yourself.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
What does it say in the recent letter you have received from them?

 

[twalcott]

Correct, just deal with the matter at hand and nothing else. You certainly do not want to incriminate yourself.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
What does it say in the recent letter you have received from them?

"Dear Mr. XYZ,

We refer to a travel irregularity reported to this department by a member of our Revenue Protection team.

We understand you had a ticket for your journey on Monday XXth March 2016 purchased with a 16-25 railcard, but did not have with you the railcard needed to validate the ticket.

With this in mind we would be obliged if you would send a copy of the railcard (and a copy of the accompanying photocard if a separate document) to this department by return. This can be done by post, fax or email to email@address.com

Failure to do so may result in a prosecution through a magistrates court.

Yours sincerely,

Prosecutions Department."

 

[gray1404]

That actually sounds like a decent letter in so much that they are giving you the benefit of the doubt, that you might have had a rail card, but might had it on you on at the time of travel. Though this doesn't apply to you, many TOCs would apply no such discretion.

Perhaps you could respond at this point stating that its is not possible for you to provide a copy of a railcard to validate the ticket but state that you wish to settle this matter out of court, and offer to pay the correct fare and cover their costs. You may also wish to state that you are sorry for your mistake on the day of travel and will will ensure that you are correctly ticketed in future.

This way you avoid directly admitting to your didn't actually own a railcard, and keep focused to the fact you were simply unable to produce one.

 

[twalcott]

Should I call them, email them or write a letter?
A letter is slower but less open to interpretation and word-twisting but a call would definitely be quicker but without a written record.

 

[cuccir]

At this stage, I'd suggest writing; as you say this ensures that there's a record of your communication, and that the right people in the organisation receive this communication. Calling can be useful if the case progresses further, but at this stage stick to writing.

Is the email a customer services account, or something to do with their investigations/prosecutions team? If it's the former, stick to snail mail; if it's the latter, then I'd suggest emailing.

 

[twalcott]

It's a prosecutions email address. I will email them and wait a couple of days. Thanks!

 

[gray1404]

I would stick to putting it in writing. If you have a direct email address to the department that is dealing with it, then I would say that is fine too. I would not make any phone calls at this point.

Please remember that you are welcome to share a draft of your letter/email here for others to look over for you before you send it off.

 

[twalcott]

I would stick to putting it in writing. If you have a direct email address to the department that is dealing with it, then I would say that is fine too. I would not make any phone calls at this point.

Please remember that you are welcome to share a draft of your letter/email here for others to look over for you before you send it off.

Should I DM you?

 

[gray1404]

Should I DM you?

Your more than welcome to do that.

 

[twalcott]

Just wanted to thank everyone for your advice.
I got away with a fine of £79.90 in the end.

 

[gray1404]

Thank you for coming back to advise of the outcome. That a good outcome and I am glad it worked out well for you. I am sure your future travel will be above board. The train company will have your details on record now and any future ticketing problems (even genuine mistakes) stand a much higher chance of them proceeding with the matter though the Courts.

Just a small side point, it is not a "fine" you have received. Only a Court can impose such a thing. It was merely an administrative settlement and the matter has been settled out of Court. As far as such settlements go, £79.90 (which if you have not yet accepted and paid this offer you should pay so FAST and in FULL as soon as you can) is a relatively low settlement so do count yourself lucky - moreover given there were previous occasions which were not taken into account.

 

[trentside]

Just wanted to thank everyone for your advice.
I got away with a fine of £79.90 in the end.

Pleased to hear you got a positive outcome. Thanks for the update.

I'll close the thread now, as further discussion won't add anything.