Chiltern Prosecution Intention Notice Letter

[jf34]

Hi everyone,

I am just after a bit of advice. So I have received this today regarding me boarding the 6:45 Service from Oxford Parkway to London Marleybone with the wrong ticket.

I boarded the train with an advance ticket for the 6:12 service, which I missed due to being stuck in traffic. The gates at the station let me through so I assumed the ticket was on to use for the later service, which I now know to be incorrect. Then when I was on the train I realised that I had this advance single and not an anytime single, so in a panic I bought a ticket from Bicester Village to High Wycombe to in my eyes make up the difference in the fare between the 6:12 and 6:45.

I was then stopped by a Chiltern employee who informed me of this being wrong and took all of my details. I complied throughout and was understanding to the officer and what he was doing. Although he did not caution me at all during this process.

I am currently studying to be a barrister so a conviction of this nature would likely be the end of the my career before it is has even started.

I fully accept what I did and admit that it was wrong. However this is the only time it has ever happened and I regularly use Chiltern Railways. I have never been in trouble with them before or any prosecuting body.

I was just wondering how I would go about potentially getting an out of court settlement, I understand I need to email Chiltern so will be drafting one soon. Any help from anyone on here would be greatly appreciated.

I have asked around some barristers I know but they are not really well versed in this so I was wondering if people recommend getting a solicitor.

Thank you for taking the time to read my problem, any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

I suggest writing a short, concise reply saying that:

- 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 normally prepared to offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with their investigation and who haven't come to their attention before. We cannot guarantee this and they are within their rights to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to.

If you are offered a settlement expect to have to pay the outstanding fare at the full Anytime rate plus an admin fee, typically around £150. Paying a settlement might feel like paying a fine but technically it isn't because only a cpurt can impose a fine as a punishment upon conviction.

Feel free to post a copy of your draft reply in this thread and we will be happy to proof read it for you.

 

[jf34]

Hi @Hadders

Thank you very much for your response your help is greatly appreciated. I have pasted a draft copy of a potential email to Chiltern, please let me know your thoughts.


Dear Sir/Madam,

I am emailing you today in response to a letter which I received from Chiltern Railways dated the 12th July 2024. This was a Notice of Intended Prosecution letter and I received it on the 17th July 2024. I understand it is in relation to an incident on the 8th March 2024. The letter had the customer reference:

Firstly I just wanted to say how sorry I am for my actions. I understand that this is a big problem for Chiltern Railways and i apologise for contributing to it.

I have fully learned from that day and I have not had any further incidents on Chiltern Railways services since or before. This was a one time occurrence which I am truly sorry for. This was a rough time in my life but I have since seen the errors of my ways and learned from this incident. I was fully compliant with the rail fare protection officer at the time and want to rectify this mistake which I have made.

I want to know if this matter could be settled without the need for further court action. I am willing to pay anything which Chiltern requires me to so I can rectify my mistake. I am happy to pay the outstanding amount for the fare in question and any costs which Chiltern incurred having to investigate the matter.

Please do not hesitate to get into contact with me.

Kind Regards,

If that is ok to be sent I will send it in the morning and hopefully hear back from them soon. Again thank you for the help so far.

 

[Hadders]

I've edited your post to remove the case reference number.

I think the letter is ok. I would remove the sentence starting 'I am willing to pay anything...' It's not needed as the next sentence effectively repeats it. I'd wait and see if anyone else has any suggestions and then send it off tomorrow

 

[MotCO]

Then when I was on the train I realised that I had this advance single and not an anytime single, so in a panic I bought a ticket from Bicester Village to High Wycombe to in my eyes make up the difference in the fare between the 6:12 and 6:45.

I think your letter is fine, although you may want to demonstrate that you realise that with an advance ticket you must catch the train specified - i.e. you have learnt your lesson and won't do it again. e.g. "I now realise that with an advance ticket I must travel on the train specified". The rail company want reassurance that you will not 'reoffend'.

[There are occasions when you can travel on other trains, but the key thing is to speak to the guard or train manager before boarding seeking their permission to ride on their train.]

 

[furlong]

But you've missed out the key information about what happened that was included in your opening post on here!

Don't assume that the notes the person in the back office is working from includes everything you said at the time.

Is the bit about the traffic and why you just got on the later train without asking for assistance and then bought a partial ticket the truth?

In other words the railway's mis-programming of the barriers contributed to your false reasoning. While it was your responsibility to know the terms and conditions, the railway also has a responsibility not to mislead you.

However, do consider how consistent it is to say BOTH that the barriers led you to believe your ticket still had validity AND that you were unsure enough about that as to buy your own "excess" ticket to make up the difference, but not so unsure as to buy a complete new ticket?

 

[jf34]

Again thanks for the help guys.

I have redrafted it and pending any comments from anyone will send it off to Chiltern today.

Dear Sir/Madam,



I am emailing you today in response to a letter which I received from Chiltern Railways dated the 12th July 2024. This was a Notice of Intended Prosecution letter and I received it on the 17th July 2024. I understand it is in relation to an incident on the 8th March 2024. The letter had the customer reference:

Firstly I just wanted to say how sorry I am for my actions. I understand that this is a big problem for Chiltern Railways and i apologise for contributing to it.

I have fully learned from that day and I have not had any further incidents on Chiltern Railways services since or before. This was a one time occurrence which I am truly sorry for. This was a rough time in my life but I have since seen the errors of my ways and learned from this incident. I was fully compliant with the rail fare protection officer at the time and want to rectify this mistake which I have made.

I now know that an advance single must be used for the train in which they are booked. The reason for why I was on the train was as the ticket barriers let me through with that ticket. However, I fully understand it was my responsibility to check the validity of the ticket and I now do this every time before I travel and have done since the incident.

I want to know if this matter could be settled without the need for further court action. I am happy and willing to pay the outstanding amount for the fare in question and any costs which Chiltern incurred having to investigate the matter in order to rectify my mistake.

Please do not hesitate to get into contact with me.
Kind Regards,

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi.

You seem to have put the reference number back into the first paragraph. You might want to edit that, as Hadders did.

I would normally put the reference number as the heading of the letter and in bold, a separate line below 'Dear Sir or Madam' and 'I am emailing you today'. You're trying to get the recipient to help you and laying things out clearly could help your case.

I want to know if this matter could be settled without the need for further court action

Just my opinion but I think the beginning of the sentence in italics could be softened a little.

 

[jf34]

Thank you for pointing that out I’ll get rid of it now

 

[30907]

I would delete the bit about a rough time - it won't get you much sympathy

OTOH I agree that you could mention trying to rectify the situation (even if you did it the wrong way).

 

[MotCO]

OTOH I agree that you could mention trying to rectify the situation (even if you did it the wrong way).

I'm tempted to leave that out - it smells of only 'realising your mistake' when you saw the ticket inspector coming.

 

[jf34]

Thanks for the help guys. I left that part out as well as I realised it makes it look worse. I also got rid of the ‘hard time in my life part.’

I have sent the finished letter off to Chiltern so the ball is in their court now, but will keep everyone posted.

If they say no, shall I keep asking them if they would accept a settlement or look to get a solicitor to do it for me? Obviously I’m keen to avoid legal costs but if it helps me not get a criminal record I will pay whatever it takes.

Again thank you for the help everyone I really do appreciate it.

 

[saida]

Have you had a reply from the email you sent?

 

[island]

Have you had a reply from the email you sent?

If you have an issue of your own, it's requested that you create a new thread posting all the details so you can be given advice specific to your situation. No matter how similar the cases may seem, we do find no two are exactly alike.

 

[jf34]

Sorry guys I have been flat out recently so haven’t been able to update everyone. Had a reply and Chiltern agreed to an out of court settlement of £89.80, so was the best result.

Thank you so much to everyone for your help.

 

[John R]

Sorry guys I have been flat out recently so haven’t been able to update everyone. Had a reply and Chiltern agreed to an out of court settlement of £89.80, so was the best result.

Thank you so much to everyone for your help.

Thank you too for the update. It's good you've got a resolution, and that definitely appears at the low end of what might have been expected, so a good result.

 

[bicesteroxford]

Glad to hear it worked out! How long was their response time?

 

[jf34]

Glad to hear it worked out! How long was their response time?

Sent the letter via email on Friday and they replied on the Monday.

 

[bicesteroxford]

Thank you for your response!