Caught using 16/17 Saver on Chiltern Railways train.

[hs20]

Hi all
I was caught using a 16/17 saver on Chiltern railways return journey. The ticket man took down my details and I am really worried about the potential to be taken to court. The fact that out of court settlements are a possibility is calming me down however I understand that I will need to write an account of my experience of the event. Has anybody had the same experience with Chiltern railways and did they accept an out of court settlement? What sort of things should I expect to write in the statement/ what did you write to then be offered an out of court settlement? (Have not used 16/17 saver for a longtime - only for about 3 trips probably)

I did not know how deep of an offence this was and I really regret it. I wish there was more awareness on this. I know I still have a while til the letter arrives but I like to be prepared before it comes so I can be realistic about the outcome/ how much I need to save

 

[30907]

Good morning and welcome.

Longstanding member @Hadders regularly posts on threads here with suggested points to make.

You will need to adapt that to your situation, keeping it fairly brief (and not using AI which tends to woffle!). When the letter comes, please come back with your draft reply and people will comment.

As you may have seen already, Chiltern can play "hard to get" but will generally reach a settlement, depending on what their trawl of your ticket history shows up. However, it may be accompanied by a threatening-looking set of court papers.

It might be worth buying an age-appropriate Railcard to show willing.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

We see lots of cases on here involving Chiltern and this sort of thing.

What happens next is that Chiltern will write to you in the next few weeks. The letter will use quite threatening languaue and say that they have received a report, are considering prosecuting you and asking for your version of events before deciding how to proceed. It is important you reply to this letter and I suggest a short, concise reply mentioning the following:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Chiltern are usually prepared to offer an administrative settlement (commonly known as an out of court settlement) to people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. We cannot guarantee this and Chiltern are within their rights to prosecute you in the magistrates court if they want to.

Be aware that Chiltern will search your online ticket purchase history and if you have done this before they might want to ask you about these occasions as well and include them when calculating the settlement.

If you are offered a settlement expect to have to pay the value of the outstanding fares at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the tickets you did purchase. In addition you will have to pay an admin fee, typically around £150. You will need to be in a position to pay the settlement in full within a few days of it being offered - payment in installments is not normally allowed. Paying an out of court settlement might appear to be a fine, but it isn't and you won't have a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

Feel free to post a copy of the letter once it arrives (with personal details redacted) along with your draft reply in this thread and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@hs20. Welcome! How old are you? (Presumably too old for a '16-17 Saver' railcard). Is there some other railcard that you could legitimately obtain which would enable you to claim valid discounts on your various journeys?

 

[hs20]

Good morning and welcome.

Longstanding member @Hadders regularly posts on threads here with suggested points to make.

You will need to adapt that to your situation, keeping it fairly brief (and not using AI which tends to woffle!). When the letter comes, please come back with your draft reply and people will comment.

As you may have seen already, Chiltern can play "hard to get" but will generally reach a settlement, depending on what their trawl of your ticket history shows up. However, it may be accompanied by a threatening-looking set of court papers.

It might be worth buying an age-appropriate Railcard to show willing.

Thank you for your advice, yes I may consider buying a railcard too, however I rarely commute so I'm not sure if I should, but it would show my willingness to comply with their rules so I might actually buy it. Hopefully I save enough to cover costs for everything! Also I am probably going to use a solicitor to guide me in this process so I do not lose chances of gaining an out of court settlement because I am quite frightened by the idea of being prosecuted and would pay any amount to get this off my chest

 

[hs20]

Welcome to the forum!

We see lots of cases on here involving Chiltern and this sort of thing.

What happens next is that Chiltern will write to you in the next few weeks. The letter will use quite threatening languaue and say that they have received a report, are considering prosecuting you and asking for your version of events before deciding how to proceed. It is important you reply to this letter and I suggest a short, concise reply mentioning the following:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Chiltern are usually prepared to offer an administrative settlement (commonly known as an out of court settlement) to people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. We cannot guarantee this and Chiltern are within their rights to prosecute you in the magistrates court if they want to.

Be aware that Chiltern will search your online ticket purchase history and if you have done this before they might want to ask you about these occasions as well and include them when calculating the settlement.

If you are offered a settlement expect to have to pay the value of the outstanding fares at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the tickets you did purchase. In addition you will have to pay an admin fee, typically around £150. You will need to be in a position to pay the settlement in full within a few days of it being offered - payment in installments is not normally allowed. Paying an out of court settlement might appear to be a fine, but it isn't and you won't have a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

Feel free to post a copy of the letter once it arrives (with personal details redacted) along with your draft reply in this thread and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

Okay perfect, thank you, I do not trust myself to come up with a statement alone and would feel much more at peace if I did it with the help of a solicitor, I have been in contact with a company who has dealt with Chilterns on many occasions before so I will probably use them.

 

[hs20]

@hs20. Welcome! How old are you? (Presumably too old for a '16-17 Saver' railcard). Is there some other railcard that you could legitimately obtain which would enable you to claim valid discounts on your various journeys?

Hi thanks! yes I am 21 so definitely too old! I could obtain 16-25 and may do so to further support my apology to the railway company despite not commuting much at all.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Your initial message suggests that you've done this a few times before. If so, and your tickets were electronic rather than physical, then of course they'll be able to discover your history of this. So you might get asked about occasions other than the one when you were stopped.

By the way, your original message also says, "I wish there was more awareness on this." Do you really mean it isn't obvious that dishonestly not paying your railway fare is illegal?

As to using a solicitor - if that helps your peace of mind, fair enough. However, it will add a great deal to what this would otherwise cost you, and with advice like you've been given above it would normally be expected that (providing you persevered) you could successfully deal with the correspondence needed to get an out-of-court settlement yourself.