Chiltern Prosecution

[angel123]

Hi everyone. I’ve received what seems to be a standard letter that a few people have shared on this forum offering a voluntary interview to discuss my previous history and investigate whether an out of court settlement is possible.

I have a few questions relating to my purchases via the TrainLine App.

1 - How far back do Chiltern Railways go? I’ve requested data from Trainline but it would be helpful to know. I can see 3 years on the app & of c50 journeys in the past 3 years, I’ve identified 7 irregularities of short fares or refunds.

2 - Can they check if tickets have been scanned?

3 - Can they request CCTV to check where you got on

4 - Will they ask for bank statements to check other activity at the time

5 - I’ve been told engaging a solicitor may give a wrong impression (ie get their back up) - what do you think about this?

6 - I have a chronic illness and I’m going through a diagnosis for ADHD, both present with brain fog, and irrational decision making. Is this something they might take into account at interview?

7 - do you think I will be prosecuted and sent to prison?

Thanks in advance for any help. I’m sick with worry.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

We really need to know the details of your case so be able to answer properly but speaking generally:

1 - How far back do Chiltern Railways go? I’ve requested data from Trainline but it would be helpful to know. I can see 3 years on the app & of c50 journeys in the past 3 years, I’ve identified 7 irregularities of short fares or refunds.

They can go back up to six years but they're unlikely to do this, more like 2 or 3 years. There is no need for you to request details from Trainline, your own purchase history should be visible in your account.

2 - Can they check if tickets have been scanned?

There will be a record if a ticket has been scanned. It's not normally a requirement for a passenger to scan a ticket unless you need to scan it to open a barrier.

3 - Can they request CCTV to check where you got on

In theory yes, but in practice they won't as it is very time consuming and CCTV is only routinely kept for 28 days maximum.

4 - Will they ask for bank statements to check other activity at the time

No. They won't do this.

5 - I’ve been told engaging a solicitor may give a wrong impression (ie get their back up) - what do you think about this?

There is nothing wrong in using a solicitor, but I'd say it depends on the exactly what you've done. If your case is straightforward then you can normally deal with it yourself. A solicitor can sometimes 'fast track' a case but you will have to balance this up against the cost of using a solicitor.

6 - I have a chronic illness and I’m going through a diagnosis for ADHD, both present with brain fog, and irrational decision making. Is this something they might take into account at interview?

I am sorry to hear this. The important thing is whether the illness and ADHD would affect your ability to purchase the correct ticket. If it does impact your ability then I'd mention it, if it doesn't then it's not relevent and can come across as a bit of a 'sob story' and can be counter-productive.

7 - do you think I will be prosecuted and sent to prison?

Again, we need to know exactly what you've done but based on the small amounts you've said I suspect you might have been evading your fares on quite a large scale over a sustained period of time. Evading your fare on a single occasion is a criminal offence and the train company is entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court should they decide to do so. That said most train companies are usually prepared to offer and out of court settlement to people who co-operate with them, and who haven't come to their attention before.

You will not be sent to prison for a railway ticketing matter.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi everyone. I’ve received what seems to be a standard letter that a few people have shared on this forum offering a voluntary interview to discuss my previous history and investigate whether an out of court settlement is possible.

I have a few questions relating to my purchases via the TrainLine App.

1 - How far back do Chiltern Railways go? I’ve requested data from Trainline but it would be helpful to know. I can see 3 years on the app & of c50 journeys in the past 3 years, I’ve identified 7 irregularities of short fares or refunds.

2 - Can they check if tickets have been scanned?

3 - Can they request CCTV to check where you got on

4 - Will they ask for bank statements to check other activity at the time

5 - I’ve been told engaging a solicitor may give a wrong impression (ie get their back up) - what do you think about this?

6 - I have a chronic illness and I’m going through a diagnosis for ADHD, both present with brain fog, and irrational decision making. Is this something they might take into account at interview?

7 - do you think I will be prosecuted and sent to prison?

Thanks in advance for any help. I’m sick with worry.

Just to reassure you on one point whilst they can certainly prosecute you, you would not be going to prison.

They can check your purchase records going back some time yes. They won’t need cctv to prosecute.

You need to be aware chiltern are probably the toughest train company on fare evasion in the uk given the cases on this forum.

But you will get top quality advice here on how to deal with this at each step of the way to get the least worst outcome you can achieve.

 

[angel123]

Thank you.

I’m not sure what constitutes quite a large scale. I’ve taken a look at the past 2/3 years and can see that I have short fared a few times when I’ve been hacked off for standing room only or genuinely panicked as I’ve totally forgotten to get one and then panic purchased the ticket from the nearest station. This is what I got caught for doing.

I’ve also processed a refund incorrectly a few times too. Together these total 7 incidents out of 50 journeys on the app, and more full fare purchased journeys off the app.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 May 2024 ==

 

[Hadders]

So not buying a ticket, buying tickets that don't cover your full journey and requesting incorrect refunds. Many would argue that if a case like doesn't end up in court then how serious does the level of wrong doing need to be to get prosecuted.

That said, there's probably a chance of keeping it our of court if you co-operate with Chiltern. The start is making sure you send a well constructed response to their letter. If you put a draft copy of your reply in this thread forum members will proof rerad it for you.

Whatever happens this is likely to be expensive. If you are offered a settlement then expect to have to pay the cost of the fares avoided at full Anytime rate, with no credit given for the value of the tickets you did purchase, you will need to repay all of the refunds you've been given and pay an admin fee to reflect Chiltern's costs in dealing with your case. You will need to be in a position to pay the full amount of the settlement within a few days of it being offered, payment plans are not normally allowed. If you use a solicitor then you will need to pay their fee as well.

If you are prosecuted then you will have to pay:

- a fine based on your incopme (normally discounted by a third for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity)
- a surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
- compensation for the fares avoided
- a contribution towards Chiltern's court costs

 

[angel123]

Thank you for your response. I’ve always bought a ticket. It’s 6-7 cases of short fare / refunds improperly requested.

I’ve seen people on the forum say they’ve had any more incidents of the same as I’ve described above, and get an out of court settlement - is 7 /50 likely to be considered as significant then?

 

[AlterEgo]

Thank you.

I’m not sure what constitutes quite a large scale. I’ve taken a look at the past 2/3 years and can see that I have short fared a few times when I’ve been hacked off for standing room only or genuinely panicked as I’ve totally forgotten to get one and then panic purchased the ticket from the nearest station. This is what I got caught for doing.

So what does your illness and ADHD have to do with this? Do these things make you a habitually dishonest person? I would be inclined not to mention these things as mitigation there is limited scope for making you sound better as a result of this.

I’ve also processed a refund incorrectly a few times too. Together these total 7 incidents out of 50 journeys on the app, and more full fare purchased journeys off the app.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 May 2024 ==

And you are absolute sure that is the extent of the offending? If you are going to go to an interview or otherwise submit correspondence you need to be sure. If you have identified all of the offending and you are being honest with yourself I am a bit unclear as to why you have asked if they have CCTV or can detect your ticket scans; those are questions people ask to find out whether the company can detect an offence.

 

[angel123]

Just to reassure you on one point whilst they can certainly prosecute you, you would not be going to prison.

They can check your purchase records going back some time yes. They won’t need cctv to prosecute.

You need to be aware chiltern are probably the toughest train company on fare evasion in the uk given the cases on this forum.

But you will get top quality advice here on how to deal with this at each step of the way to get the least worst outcome you can achieve.

Thank you

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 May 2024 ==

So what does your illness and ADHD have to do with this? Do these things make you a habitually dishonest person? I would be inclined not to mention these things as mitigation there is limited scope for making you sound better as a result of this.


And you are absolute sure that is the extent of the offending? If you are going to go to an interview or otherwise submit correspondence you need to be sure. If you have identified all of the offending and you are being honest with yourself I am a bit unclear as to why you have asked if they have CCTV or can detect your ticket scans; those are questions people ask to find out whether the company can detect an offence.

Yes. I’ve really not amounted a lot of evaded fares and the questions are just based on googling and trying to understand what I’m going to be presented with at interview.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 May 2024 ==

Thank you

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 May 2024 ==


Brain fog, overwhelm and stress in jam packed environments plus a tendency to zone in on my work and totally get into a hyper focus where I lose track of time and things I should be doing that lead me to making bad decisions.

Yes. I’ve really not amounted a lot of evaded fares and the questions are just based on googling and trying to understand what I’m going to be presented with at interview.