Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Good afternoon everyone, and thanks in advance for any help!
I received this email from Chiltern today about a journey from Olton to Birmingham Moor street on the 4th October 2024. I have receipts from Trainline saying I purchased a ticket for £4.20, the rate at the time for a single. I didn’t put on a railcard or anything and I traveled the journey I paid for.
So I’m a little confused as to what this could be about? I’ve paid the fare and did the complete journey I said and I don’t regularly travel on the train or try to short fare the train companies so I’m unsure what this is about or how to proceed
Good afternoon everyone, and thanks in advance for any help!
I received this email from Chiltern today about a journey from Olton to Birmingham Moor street on the 4th October 2024. I have receipts from Trainline saying I purchased a ticket for £4.20, the rate at the time for a single. I didn’t put on a railcard or anything and I traveled the journey I paid for.
So I’m a little confused as to what this could be about? I’ve paid the fare and did the complete journey I said and I don’t regularly travel on the train or try to short fare the train companies so I’m unsure what this is about or how to proceed
I wasn’t stopped by them no, they had revenue protection officers on the gates scanning tickets but I had the ticket?
Only thing I can think I *may* have done as I can’t remember, is potentially bought the ticket on the train. But as it’s an anytime single they’re all the same price
I wasn’t stopped by them no, they had revenue protection officers on the gates scanning tickets but I had the ticket?
Only thing I can think I *may* have done as I can’t remember, is potentially bought the ticket on the train. But as it’s an anytime single they’re all the same price
I’m slightly surprised that you can remember that they had revenue protection officers on the gates. It’s not normally something that people would remember four months later.
Are you sure there wasn’t any discussion with the person that scanned your ticket?
I’m slightly surprised that you can remember that they had revenue protection officers on the gates. It’s not normally something that people would remember four months later.
Are you sure there wasn’t any discussion with the person that scanned your ticket?
If you bought the ticket on the train when there were opportunities to do so at your start ing station (Olton?) you committed an offence and the railway would be entitled to follow it up. Others will better explain the ins and outs of this.
Could it be that Chiltern are now going through on-train checks that have been completed and following up infractions that were missed at the time, as this one may have been. Their system would, presumably, record that the ticket was bought after departure from the originating station.
Good afternoon everyone, and thanks in advance for any help!
I received this email from Chiltern today about a journey from Olton to Birmingham Moor street on the 4th October 2024. I have receipts from Trainline saying I purchased a ticket for £4.20, the rate at the time for a single. I didn’t put on a railcard or anything and I traveled the journey I paid for.
So I’m a little confused as to what this could be about? I’ve paid the fare and did the complete journey I said and I don’t regularly travel on the train or try to short fare the train companies so I’m unsure what this is about or how to proceed
I note that the letter also says that they think there may have been other occasions when you fare dodged.
Obviously the truth of that is a matter between you and the railway that you're not obliged to share with us - but it would be really helpful for us to know if there is any truth in any of the railway's allegations. It affects the tone of any response you make to them - whether you have been caught and so need to apologise in the hope that the railway will go easy on you, or have done nothing wrong and so should respond firmly but politely to make it clear that the railway will get nowhere with unfounded allegations: or it might even be the case that the best response if there's nothing to talk about is not to reply at all.
I note that the letter also says that they think there may have been other occasions when you fare dodged.
Obviously the trust of that is a matter between you and the railway that you're not obliged to share with us - but it would be really helpful for us to know if there is any truth in any of the railway's allegations. It affects the tone of any response you make to them - whether you have been caught and so need to apologise in the hope that the railway will go easy on you, or have done nothing wrong and so should respond firmly but politely to make it clear that the railway will get nowhere with unfounded allegations: or it might even be the case that the best response if there's nothing to talk about is not to reply at all.
Thinking about it now, I think it will be the purchasing of the ticket after or while on the train that is the issue. I don’t fare dodge, and don’t regularly take the train at all to be honest. I think for this one it’ll be a genuine mistake on my part and I’ll write a reply as such
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Thinking about it now, I think it will be the purchasing of the ticket after or while on the train that is the issue. I don’t fare dodge, and don’t regularly take the train at all to be honest. I think for this one it’ll be a genuine mistake on my part and I’ll write a reply as such
Would it be possible for someone to just check this and give any advice?
Good afternoon,
For the attention of Andrew Chesson, head of revenue protection:
I am writing in response to the NIP I have received, customer reference , for a journey I made on the 4th October 2024 between Olton and Birmingham Moor Street.
I apologise for any inconvenience that this has caused, and any costs that this has incurred. On the day in question I was in a rush and was unable to purchase a ticket in advance of getting on the train at Olton. I had no intention of not paying for the ticket, but attempted to purchase one while on the train but there was no conductor to purchase one from. I have purchased a ticket as soon as I got into Moor Street Station to cover the cost of this journey and chose a fare of the same value as the journey I had been on. I enclose the receipt of this above.
I understand that this does mean that at the point of travel I was doing so without a valid ticket and now understand this is the incorrect way of doing this but there was genuinely no malice or intention to short change the rail company on my part.
I accept that this is my mistake and my lack of planning does not constitute any mitigating circumstances for yourselves, but as stated before I truly apologise for this and had no intention of dodging any fare from yourselves. I have learnt a valuable lesson from this, and understand I need a valid ticket of travel throughout the whole journey.
I would like to ask if this matter can be settled without the need for legal action. I am willing to pay the full cost of the fare again, along with any administrative costs incurred by Chiltern Railways as a result of having to investigate this matter.
Thinking about it now, I think it will be the purchasing of the ticket after or while on the train that is the issue. I don’t fare dodge, and don’t regularly take the train at all to be honest. I think for this one it’ll be a genuine mistake on my part and I’ll write a reply as such
That’s bizarre. Those letters aren’t sent out unless you’re stopped. Why don’t you simply reply saying you weren’t stopped and you’ve no idea what this is about?
If you buy on board, you’re not supposed to do this but you’re also not guilty of what the letter says - that you “failed to purchase a valid ticket for your entire rail journey”.
If Chiltern staff identified your ticket as having been bought after departure you’d have been stopped, cautioned, and interviewed about it.
That’s bizarre. Those letters aren’t sent out unless you’re stopped. Why don’t you simply reply saying you weren’t stopped and you’ve no idea what this is about?
If you buy on board, you’re not supposed to do this but you’re also not guilty of what the letter says - that you “failed to purchase a valid ticket for your entire rail journey”.
If Chiltern staff identified your ticket as having been bought after departure you’d have been stopped, cautioned, and interviewed about it.
You would indeed. So it seems this letter has come out of the blue.
I’d reply saying you weren’t stopped on that day, can evidence purchase of a valid ticket and trust that closes the matter. They’re just about up to their 6 month limit to prosecute for any offence they have detected.
Is it possible someone else travelled and gave your details? A housemate perhaps?
So you can remember there were revenue protection officers on the gate from a journey months ago, but you can't remember if there was a conversation. That sounds pretty implausible, to be honest
Anyway, the letter explicitly says that they believe you may not have had a valid ticket for your entire journey, not that you didn't have a valid ticket upon boarding.
Why might they think that? It could be an entirely innocent explanation, like you normally travel from somewhere else, further from Birmingham, but used Olton on that day
I’m sorry but saying “without going into too much detail” strongly suggests that there is something that could be relevant that you haven’t yet told us.
So you can remember there were revenue protection officers on the gate from a journey months ago, but you can't remember if there was a conversation. That sounds pretty implausible, to be honest
Anyway, the letter explicitly says that they believe you may not have had a valid ticket for your entire journey, not that you didn't have a valid ticket upon boarding.
Why might they think that? It could be an entirely innocent explanation, like you normally travel from somewhere else, further from Birmingham, but used Olton on that day
I can remember there was one yeah, and don’t remember a conversation so I’m going with there wasn’t one. It was several months ago so can’t remember every detail but that makes most sense to me. I travelled from my partners address thats why, so it was a new journey for me
I can remember there was one yeah, and don’t remember a conversation so I’m going with there wasn’t one. It was several months ago so can’t remember every detail but that makes most sense to me. I travelled from my partners address thats why, so it was a new journey for me
Where do you normally travel from, and where do you normally purchase a ticket from? They appear to be telling you that they think you’ve short fared in the letter - and on multiple occasions, too. So what’s the story here? Multiple posters now have twigged that not all is as it seems here, so if there is any other context you can provide, we need to know what it is. Otherwise you’ll get advice which isn’t helpful to you.
A few things aren't adding up here. They haven't said anything about buying after boarding, which is the thrust of your proposed response. Why might they think you didn't board at Olton? Indeed why do they think you did that multiple times? What are your typical travel patterns and why did you only buy a single? This will help us understand why they think it is suspicious.
Where do you normally travel from, and where do you normally purchase a ticket from? They appear to be telling you that they think you’ve short fared in the letter - and on multiple occasions, too. So what’s the story here? Multiple posters now have twigged that not all is as it seems here, so if there is any other context you can provide, we need to know what it is. Otherwise you’ll get advice which isn’t helpful to you.
I normally travel from Leicester, and purchase online in advance. I don’t use the train regularly, and normally only do so for work nights out that are typically in Birmingham, which for another poster, is why I got a single as I knew I wouldn’t be returning with the right train for a return journey. I genuinely don’t know why they would think I didn’t board at Olton or why they’d think I have done that before. I haven’t dodged a fare on this occasion or others
I normally travel from Leicester, and purchase online in advance. I don’t use the train regularly, and normally only do so for work nights out that are typically in Birmingham, which for another poster, is why I got a single as I knew I wouldn’t be returning with the right train for a return journey. I genuinely don’t know why they would think I didn’t board at Olton or why they’d think I have done that before. I haven’t dodged a fare on this occasion or others
So it doesn’t seem likely this correspondence is directed at you. How could it be? These letters are sent out after you were stopped. If you weren’t stopped, simply say so.
Weird if anyone wanted to short fare on that line they'd pick Tyseley.
And unless the OP travels between Banbury, High Wycombe, and Aylesbury from Leicester I'm not sure how Chiltern clocked onto the OP.
Only thing I can think of is his journeys from Leicester then suddenly Olton is out of the blue.
If the whole story is true but it's a bit of a cheek or scrapping the barrel.
We are aware of an issue with emails from the Forum to Microsoft-based email accounts (hotmail/outlook/live.com email addresses). This is being looked into currently, thanks for your patience meanwhile.
