Caught Using a Child Ticket on West Midlands Train

[eaglet]

Hello everyone. Firstly I take full accountability of my actions. I made a lot of stupid decisions. So 2 weeks back I was caught using a child ticket traveling into Birmingham. I wat cautioned by an officer, and the interview was recorded. I answered all his questions, as best as possible. I was deeply anxious, so do not remember what I said, and how honest I was. I was told they would investigate and I would receive a letter in the post.

I am not a frequent train user. I have used the train at most 30 times in the past 18 months. 22 of the times were using a child ticket purchased through trainline. I have also only traveled 7 times this year (2023) so the majority of the child tickets were in 2022. I was wondering what I can expect as an outcome. I know I will receive a letter in the post asking for my side, and I plan to take accountability and be honest, recording all the times I have traveled without the correct ticket. I have calculated that if I had brought an Adult ticket, the total cost of all my anytime day returns tickets would be in the region of £200-£250.

Do you think it is likely that they would settle out of court. And if not, what can I expect to occur if they prosecute?

Thank you in advanced.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello everyone. Firstly I take full accountability of my actions. I made a lot of stupid decisions. So a month back I was caught using a child ticket traveling into Birmingham. I wat cautioned by an officer, and the interview was recorded. I answered all his questions, as best as possible. I was deeply anxious, so do not remember what I said, and how honest I was. I was told they would investigate and I would receive a letter in the post.

I am not a frequent train user. I have used the train at most 30 times in the past 18 months. 22 of the times were using a child ticket purchased through trainline. I have also only traveled 7 times this year (2023) so the majority of the child tickets were in 2022. I was wondering what I can expect as an outcome. I know I will receive a letter in the post asking for my side, and I plan to take accountability and be honest, recording all the times I have traveled without the correct ticket. I have calculated that if I had brought an Adult ticket, the total cost of all my anytime day returns tickets would be in the region of £200-£250.

Do you think it is likely that they would settle out of court. And if not, what can I expect to occur if they prosecute?

Thank you in advanced.

Hi there - welcome and you will get good advice here

Some things for you to be aware of that you may have seen on other threads:

- ideally they don't always want to prosecute, they would rather get the money owed and ensure you never do it again, so prospects of a settlement are there

- obv you have done this a lot, which does reduce the chances, but still not impossible

- be aware they will now be checking your on line ticket purchase history so will probably see the extent of this

- but - you need to wait and see what they say / accuse you of when they write, if they don't accuse you of lots of previous occasions of this type of evasion the general advice on here is not to raise it yourself (but do not lie in what you do say)

- if there is anything you can do now to be able to show you have done the right thing to legitimately reduce your travel costs - then do that (eg buy a Railcard if you are eligible for one) - you can mention this when they write to you about all this as it shows you have learned a lesson.

- obv buy 100% legit tickets from this point onwards - take extra care not to make a mistake as the risk is that they might see this as more evasion

- needless to say do not ignore any communication from them

Other ppl will be along with their views on your questions, but you are a while off a court prosecution yet so there are steps you can take before then to avoid that, and there will be good advice here for you as things progress on what best to do. Head back as and when you need advice.

You have estimated the sums evaded, if they agree to settle out of court they will want 'admin' on top of this and expect immediate payment - so take steps to save or be able to access perhaps £500 as soon as you need it.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[eaglet]

Hi there - welcome and you will get good advice here

Some things for you to be aware of that you may have seen on other threads:

- ideally they don't always want to prosecute, they would rather get the money owed and ensure you never do it again, so prospects of a settlement are there

- obv you have done this a lot, which does reduce the chances, but still not impossible

- be aware they will now be checking your on line ticket purchase history so will probably see the extent of this

- but - you need to wait and see what they say / accuse you of when they write, if they don't accuse you of lots of previous occasions of this type of evasion the general advice on here is not to raise it yourself (but do not lie in what you do say)

- if there is anything you can do now to be able to show you have done the right thing to legitimately reduce your travel costs - then do that (eg buy a Railcard if you are eligible for one) - you can mention this when they write to you about all this as it shows you have learned a lesson.

- obv buy 100% legit tickets from this point onwards - take extra care not to make a mistake as the risk is that they might see this as more evasion

- needless to say do not ignore any communication from them

Other ppl will be along with their views on your questions, but you are a while off a court prosecution yet so there are steps you can take before then to avoid that, and there will be good advice here for you as things progress on what best to do. Head back as and when you need advice.

You have estimated the sums evaded, if they agree to settle out of court they will want 'admin' on top of this and expect immediate payment - so take steps to save or be able to access perhaps £500 as soon as you need it.

Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you, for your response. If they were to prosecute, what is the likely outcome?

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you, for your response. If they were to prosecute, what is the likely outcome?

If they were - and you have probably already said you were guilty when you were stopped and questioned - or said enough then to admit it as it were, ie you were travelling on a child ticket but aged over 16 years, so we can assume a guilty verdict would result from a prosecution - there are other threads where more expert people post but basically I think it is:

- court fine
- victim surcharge (the fare evaded on the occasion they are prosecuting you for I think)
- costs
so those all add up financially - but can be paid in instalments and your income is taken into account when setting the fine I believe
- and a criminal record (someone will know after how long this is 'spent' and for how long / if it would appear on a DBS or credit check)

So all this best avoided if at all possible (and I think you probably can avoid it)

Not sure if it makes a difference if you are aged over 18 or not - I think it might do in terms of how the court would deal with matters (18 being age of an adult).

- Are you a student? You may be able to get help from student union advice service with this. Or if you are at work are you a union member? They might have a free legal advice service for members even for non work related matters.

Best thing now tho is to focus on getting the 'least worst' outcome which is a settlement out of court instead of a prosecution.

Also - who were you caught by do you know? Was it West Midlands Trains or Chiltern Trains (eg at Moor Street) or another train company? Chiltern Trains will be more tricky to deal with given what we see on this forum as they take a very robust stance, but still not impossible to get settlements from

 

[eaglet]

If they were - and you have probably already said you were guilty when you were stopped and questioned - or said enough then to admit it as it were, ie you were travelling on a child ticket but aged over 16 years, so we can assume a guilty verdict would result from a prosecution - there are other threads where more expert people post but basically I think it is:

- court fine
- victim surcharge (the fare evaded on the occasion they are prosecuting you for I think)
- costs
so those all add up financially - but can be paid in instalments and your income is taken into account when setting the fine I believe
- and a criminal record (someone will know after how long this is 'spent' and for how long / if it would appear on a DBS or credit check)

So all this best avoided if at all possible (and I think you probably can avoid it)

Not sure if it makes a difference if you are aged over 18 or not - I think it might do in terms of how the court would deal with matters (18 being age of an adult).

- Are you a student? You may be able to get help from student union advice service with this. Or if you are at work are you a union member? They might have a free legal advice service for members even for non work related matters.

Best thing now tho is to focus on getting the 'least worst' outcome which is a settlement out of court instead of a prosecution.

Also - who were you caught by do you know? Was it West Midlands Trains or Chiltern Trains (eg at Moor Street) or another train company? Chiltern Trains will be more tricky to deal with given what we see on this forum as they take a very robust stance, but still not impossible to get settlements from

I am not a student, no.

I was stopped at the train station barrier in Birmingham Snow Hill. I'm not a frequent train user and have only been on Chiltern Trains once, which was an adult ticket.

I'm a bit of an overthinker and so I'm very anxious. I'm absolutely hoping for an out of court settlement and willing to pay what I owe as well as admin fees. But as I overthink and panic (which is all I've done since this incident) I want to know what the worst case is. Even though I don't need the train, and it's unlikely I will need it anytime soon, I've even considered buying adult tickets, and taking the train, just to prove I've learnt my lesson.

Also not to take from my stupid decisions, all but one of the times I traveled in 2022, was because the west midlands metro was broken down and in repairs (so I had no choice but to use the train to get into Birmingham). It still doesn't justify my actions though.

Thank you again, for your response.

 

[WesternLancer]

I am not a student, no.

I was stopped at the train station barrier in Birmingham Snow Hill. I'm not a frequent train user and have only been on Chiltern Trains once, which was an adult ticket.

I'm a bit of an overthinker and so I'm very anxious. I'm absolutely hoping for an out of court settlement and willing to pay what I owe as well as admin fees. But as I overthink and panic (which is all I've done since this incident) I want to know what the worst case is. Even though I don't need the train, and it's unlikely I will need it anytime soon, I've even considered buying adult tickets, and taking the train, just to prove I've learnt my lesson.

Also not to take from my stupid decisions, all but one of the times I traveled in 2022, was because the west midlands metro was broken down and in repairs (so I had no choice but to use the train to get into Birmingham). It still doesn't justify my actions though.

Thank you again, for your response.

Best thing to do now is to try hard not to panic and be anxious (i know this is not easy) - but to wait until you hear from them - prob by post hard copy - so you can engage with them. People hear will help with that.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Just to note that in theory you can go to prison for this, but in practice you won't unless there's a very substantial aggravating circumstance (assaulting staff - that sort of thing.) The law allows prison but the guidance (for which read 'rules') that the magistrates have to follow say that they can't do that. So you don't need to bring your toothbrush to court - you will be at liberty but have to pay for your offence.

 

[Hadders]

The OP will definitely not be going to prison for this.

 

[eaglet]

The OP will definitely not be going to prison for this.

Hello Hadders, what do you belive will be the likely outcome? I've seen another post relating to the west midlands, where the poster mentioned he had to pay £350 for an out of cort settlement.

Caught Using a Child Ticket on West Midlands Train

Hello everyone, please I need advice on what to do. Sometime in the beginning of the year, I presented a child ticket on a west Midlands train, and got caught. The conductor asked for my age and I told him and I was told I had to buy the correct ticket, and I immediately paid the full fare. I...

www.railforums.co.uk

I have in total 22 journeys in over 18 months.

Do you think it's likely if I take accountability, I can hope for a similar resolution.

 

[Hadders]

An out of court settlement is likely if you co-operate with them.

Post up a copy of the letter when it arrives (with personal details redacted) along with your draft reply and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

 

[eaglet]

Hello Hadders,

Thank you for your response. I will update this forum when I have received the letter.

I would like to thank all 3 members who took the time and effort to respond to me today.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello Hadders,

Thank you for your response. I will update this forum when I have received the letter.

I would like to thank all 3 members who took the time and effort to respond to me today.

Thanks @eaglet - in the mean time try not to worry - there will be help here as you need it at each stage on what is best for you to do to aim to get the 'least worst' outcome you can.

 

[Emilyfieldsss]

Hi there - welcome and you will get good advice here

Some things for you to be aware of that you may have seen on other threads:

- ideally they don't always want to prosecute, they would rather get the money owed and ensure you never do it again, so prospects of a settlement are there

- obv you have done this a lot, which does reduce the chances, but still not impossible

- be aware they will now be checking your on line ticket purchase history so will probably see the extent of this

- but - you need to wait and see what they say / accuse you of when they write, if they don't accuse you of lots of previous occasions of this type of evasion the general advice on here is not to raise it yourself (but do not lie in what you do say)

- if there is anything you can do now to be able to show you have done the right thing to legitimately reduce your travel costs - then do that (eg buy a Railcard if you are eligible for one) - you can mention this when they write to you about all this as it shows you have learned a lesson.

- obv buy 100% legit tickets from this point onwards - take extra care not to make a mistake as the risk is that they might see this as more evasion

- needless to say do not ignore any communication from them

Other ppl will be along with their views on your questions, but you are a while off a court prosecution yet so there are steps you can take before then to avoid that, and there will be good advice here for you as things progress on what best to do. Head back as and when you need advice.

You have estimated the sums evaded, if they agree to settle out of court they will want 'admin' on top of this and expect immediate payment - so take steps to save or be able to access perhaps £500 as soon as you need it.

Hope this helps a bit.

Hello, I am in a similar situation as I’ve previously bought child tickets and I have been caught this time at the train station by the ticket inspector, he had filled out a report saying I would receive a letter in the post
Im just a little worried if they will take worser actions such as court settlements etc as I am 18 and have been purchasing child tickets a few times

 

[John R]

Hello, I am in a similar situation as I’ve previously bought child tickets and I have been caught this time at the train station by the ticket inspector, he had filled out a report saying I would receive a letter in the post
Im just a little worried if they will take worser actions such as court settlements etc as I am 18 and have been purchasing child tickets a few times

Please start a new thread, and give as much information as possible. Although you say you’re in a similar situation, no two situations are the same, and it helps us to help you by setting it all out clearly. Then some of the experts here will no doubt be along to help.