Caught using freedom pass

[harrytech]

Hi there I have caught using my uncle freedom pass on 4th of feb. I got letter today. To plead guilty or not. I have used his card from last 2 months i am a uni student i just wanted to save money. I know i did wrong. But on the day i got caught university mistakenly send me an email that my visa sponsorship is cancelled. I am studied in UK on bs degree and its my final year. I got so stressed and upset i didn’t knew what was happening in my surroundings i got totally paranoid. I rushed to university my university is in canterbury, caught on vaxhall station. (Never used this card on this station) i explained everything to the inspector that i accidentally took this card i was so stressed even at that time I was writing email to university. What should i write to them so the don’t prosecute me? I don’t want any trouble for my future. Please give me any advice what should i write to them. Today is the last day to answer them. I can pay the penalty but i don’t want prosecution. I have seen people get off through just warning

 

[Egg Centric]

We can't give visa advice but if conviction is something you need to report and if it would lead to cancellation of your visa it may be a very rare case where it's worth pleading not guilty (if you don't need to report that you've been charged) just to kick the can down the road (if this would delay it enough) so you can complete your degree (you will eventually be found guilty of course).

You would need to check the ifs in my above statement. I don't know the answers.

Otherwise the conventional advice here is that you may as well plead guilty and get it over with. That you had some distressing news on the day you were caught after two months of breaking the law is unsurprisingly irrelevant. You can also consider paying a few hundred pounds to specialist solicitors to tell you the same thing.

 

[jfollows]

If you post the letter you refer to we can advise you better.

 

[z444z]

We need to know exactly what you’ve received. If it is indeed asking you to plead guilty or not guilty on the form, it sounds like a single justice procedure notice, which means they are already prosecuting you.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Feb 2026 ==

Ok that’s better news, you aren’t being prosecuted yet. You need to read TfL’s prosecutions policy, available online, specifically section 8.2. Unless you can present mitigating factors in line with section 8.2, you will be prosecuted. Let us know whether any apply to you and we can advise further.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Feb 2026 ==

I saw the attachments very briefly, long enough to tell that it’s a verification letter not a SJPN, but they’ve disappeared now

 

[harrytech]

This is the letter i received

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Feb 2026 ==

I am using his card from last 2 months but not on the route i caught . It was first time i used this route on which i caught . I have all the evidences of how my university accidentally emailed me which made me completely lost my mind. Even when i was caught i was writing email to university. Should i accept in the email that i am using this card from last 2 months or should I just accept for that day? Cause i think i have real reason and an emergency for that day. Please guide me i am so stressed. I have seen people get away with just a warning

 

[jfollows]

OK, so you’re not being asked to plead guilty or otherwise.
However, it’s likely you will be prosecuted.
I suggest you read https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf
If you have “exceptional reasons” why you should not be prosecuted, you should include them in your reply.

 

[30907]

First, you have 10 days to reply from when you received the letter, so don't rush - TfL know about postal delays (send your reply by tracked24 post or similar BTW).

Second, even if this is a one-off (and you know it isn't) it is hard to see how you could mistake a freedom pass for an Oyster.

I don't see that you have any mitigation that TfL would accept under their policy.

They will almost certainly prosecute you under their Byelaws for a single offence of not having a valid ticket; this is a very low-level offence and (apart from the visa issue which you need to check) would not normally have an impact on your career.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi there I have caught using my uncle freedom pass on 4th of feb. I got letter today. To plead guilty or not. I have used his card from last 2 months i am a uni student i just wanted to save money. I know i did wrong. But on the day i got caught university mistakenly send me an email that my visa sponsorship is cancelled. I am studied in UK on bs degree and its my final year. I got so stressed and upset i didn’t knew what was happening in my surroundings i got totally paranoid. I rushed to university my university is in canterbury, caught on vaxhall station. (Never used this card on this station) i explained everything to the inspector that i accidentally took this card i was so stressed even at that time I was writing email to university. What should i write to them so the don’t prosecute me? I don’t want any trouble for my future. Please give me any advice what should i write to them. Today is the last day to answer them. I can pay the penalty but i don’t want prosecution. I have seen people get off through just warning

You should check the impact of a conviction for this (because that is a highly likely outcome) on your student visa with your college or university student advice service. Or the colleges overseas student office.

You won’t be the first overseas student to have been caught and taken to court for evading fares so I would expect them to know what impact this will have.