Hello, on 29 Oct 2025 my details were recorded by a TramesLink/Southern revenue protection officer, as I used a discounted ticket without realising that my railcard had expired earlier that month. I received the notice of intention to prosecute today, and I saw that a lot of people have got really useful advice here so I was wondering if I could get some help/suggestion on my reply.
I also want to ask if I am supposed to write my response on the second page of the letter (where they list the details of offence and leave a blank space under "Response from passenger: Tell us what happened from your point of view. Information should be both factual and honest," and send this page back to them?
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Details of offence(s):
On the below date you were spoken to regarding the following alleged offence(s):
- That you on 29 Oct 2025, at Morden South (MDS), in any area not designated as a compulsory ticket area, entered a train for the purpose of travelling on the railway, did not carry a valid ticket entitling travel.
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My response:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide my account of events.
On 29 October 2025, I was approached by a Revenue Protection Officer on the train from Sutton to Wimbledon, on my way to London Waterloo. When asked to show my railcard, I opened my Trainline app and only then realised that my 26-30 railcard was only valid until 1 Oct 2025, which meant my discounted ticket was not valid.
I have held railcards consistently for many years and, including for travel into central London since October 2023. It has never been my intention to travel using a discounted ticket without holding a valid railcard. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that my railcard had expired, as the Trainline app through which I purchase my tickets continued to apply the discount automatically.
As soon as I became aware of this, I renewed my railcard shortly after the inspection. I understand that doing so afterwards does not change the fact that my ticket was invalid at the time, but I wished to put things right straight away. As instructed by the Revenue Protection Officer, I also uploaded screenshots of my expired and renewed railcards to your website on the same day.
I fully accept that it is my responsibility to ensure that my railcard is valid at all times, and I sincerely apologise for this oversight. I have set a reminder in my calendar to ensure that I renew my railcard well before its expiry date so this does not happen again.
I would be very grateful to be offered the opportunity to settle this matter out of court, and I understand the settlement would need to cover the fare I owe and the administrative costs incurred. Once again, I am genuinely sorry for my mistake and for any inconvenience caused.
Yours Faithfully,
<my name, address, number and email>
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Typo in the third paragraph:
I have held railcards consistently for many yearsand, including for travel into central London since October 2023.
I also want to ask if I am supposed to write my response on the second page of the letter (where they list the details of offence and leave a blank space under "Response from passenger: Tell us what happened from your point of view. Information should be both factual and honest," and send this page back to them?
=====
Details of offence(s):
On the below date you were spoken to regarding the following alleged offence(s):
- That you on 29 Oct 2025, at Morden South (MDS), in any area not designated as a compulsory ticket area, entered a train for the purpose of travelling on the railway, did not carry a valid ticket entitling travel.
=====
My response:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide my account of events.
On 29 October 2025, I was approached by a Revenue Protection Officer on the train from Sutton to Wimbledon, on my way to London Waterloo. When asked to show my railcard, I opened my Trainline app and only then realised that my 26-30 railcard was only valid until 1 Oct 2025, which meant my discounted ticket was not valid.
I have held railcards consistently for many years and, including for travel into central London since October 2023. It has never been my intention to travel using a discounted ticket without holding a valid railcard. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that my railcard had expired, as the Trainline app through which I purchase my tickets continued to apply the discount automatically.
As soon as I became aware of this, I renewed my railcard shortly after the inspection. I understand that doing so afterwards does not change the fact that my ticket was invalid at the time, but I wished to put things right straight away. As instructed by the Revenue Protection Officer, I also uploaded screenshots of my expired and renewed railcards to your website on the same day.
I fully accept that it is my responsibility to ensure that my railcard is valid at all times, and I sincerely apologise for this oversight. I have set a reminder in my calendar to ensure that I renew my railcard well before its expiry date so this does not happen again.
I would be very grateful to be offered the opportunity to settle this matter out of court, and I understand the settlement would need to cover the fare I owe and the administrative costs incurred. Once again, I am genuinely sorry for my mistake and for any inconvenience caused.
Yours Faithfully,
<my name, address, number and email>
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
Typo in the third paragraph:
I have held railcards consistently for many years
Last edited:
- because you want to make life easy for the person reading it.
