Failure to produce Valid ticket

[Murkysneaky18]

Good afternoon all,
On the 2nd of August this year, in the early hours of the morning (around 8am) I was found travelling via SWR from Richmond station to Addlestone without a ticket. Due to frankly poor judgement, I thought I could evade ticket inspectors and decided to sleep after having pulled an all nighter. Later I was awoken by a Revenue Protection Officer, and when asked to produce a ticket, failed to and I truthfully told him what happened. Upon realising this is the third time i have been caught by Ticket inspectors he handed me a receipt entitled "Report for Prosecution", enquired my name, address and signature. He reassured me that the department would pick it up either in weeks or a couple months depending on how important they feel the case is. Today I received a mail, but it feels rather vague so far. I am planning to write a formal apology via email in hopes that i will be offered an Out of court resolution. Attached is the mail sent to me, aswell as my email draft. Please advise me on what i should do, what to expect and how to better word my apology. I would like to receive only an out of court resolution and avoid a hefty fine / prosecution.

In all honesty, I hold an 18-25 Railcard, buy the correct tickets more often than not and rarely bunk train.

 

[AlterEgo]

They're probably not going to buy your "I was asleep" line, because you've been caught three times now without a ticket. That will mark you out as quite a hardened fare evader. I recommend you adjust your letter to reference you're being reported because it's your third time. They know this as well as you do, and they probably won't think you're especially sincere if you send that reply to them.

 

[Egg Centric]

In all honesty, I hold an 18-25 Railcard, buy the correct tickets more often than not and rarely bunk train.

What do these phrases mean to you, in hard numerical terms? And is the email / contact details you have given them associated with any ticketing software (e.g. trainline etc)?

If they in fact do then depending on your answers to the initial questions this could get rather expensive, but I think I'm right in interpreting your OP as them not having any online trail to audit?

 

[Murkysneaky18]

They're probably not going to buy your "I was asleep" line, because you've been caught three times now without a ticket. That will mark you out as quite a hardened fare evader. I recommend you adjust your letter to reference you're being reported because it's your third time. They know this as well as you do, and they probably won't think you're especially sincere if you send that reply to them.

My mistake - i have been given 3x unpaid fare notices in the past, this is my first letter home. Thank you for your swift reply, how do you think i should better word the email? Whilst i was well and trully asleep, i fully understand how this does not excuse me for not paying due fare. Is there a format you reccomend i follow?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Aug 2025 ==

What do these phrases mean to you, in hard numerical terms? And is the email / contact details you have given them associated with any ticketing software (e.g. trainline etc)?

If they in fact do then depending on your answers to the initial questions this could get rather expensive, but I think I'm right in interpreting your OP as them not having any online trail to audit?

No they do not have an online trail to audit, either way numerically speaking i buy tickets daily to get to college, pay the correct fare and have only bunked the train to get to london 3 times. The letter sent was ONLY regarding the trip i took that day.

 

[Egg Centric]

My mistake - i have been given 3x unpaid fare notices in the past, this is my first letter home. Thank you for your swift reply, how do you think i should better word the email? Whilst i was well and trully asleep, i fully understand how this does not excuse me for not paying due fare. Is there a format you reccomend i follow?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Aug 2025 ==


No they do not have an online trail to audit, either way numerically speaking i buy tickets daily to get to college, pay the correct fare and have only bunked the train to get to london 3 times. The letter sent was ONLY regarding the trip i took that day.

You should be fine then. Here's a great post that explains the format, albeit about a different case:

Here's a framework you can use to write back to WMT. Be aware that they may read this forum and tie any information you post back to your case.

Paragraph 1: Acknowledge and Address the Incident

• Start by thanking them for their email and clearly stating the date of their email.
• Immediately identify the specific incident they're referring to, including the date of travel and the stations involved (Kidderminster to Snow Hill).
• State directly that you are writing in response to this incident.

Paragraph 2: Accept Responsibility for the Specific Incident

• Clearly and unequivocally state that you fully accept responsibility for not having a valid ticket for your entire journey on that specific day.
• Briefly explain what happened regarding the ticket purchase (bought from Jewellery Quarter on the app while on the train), and acknowledge that this was incorrect for your whole journey.
• Confirm that you were cautioned at Snow Hill and that you returned to the station later that day to speak with an inspector to understand the process.

Paragraph 3: Express Remorse and Impact

• State that you deeply regret your actions on this occasion.
• Convey that this incident has caused you significant distress. This shows genuine remorse and helps to humanise your situation.

Paragraph 4: Propose a Settlement

• Clearly state that you hope to resolve this matter through an out-of-court settlement. This signals your intention to avoid court proceedings.
• Confirm your willingness to pay any outstanding fare for the journey in question and to cover their administration costs. This is a precise offer for the specific incident being investigated.
• Conclude by asking what further information or action they require from you to facilitate this resolution.

Do not mention the additional 23 trips to/from the Jewellery Quarter, or the purchase of the season ticket. Here's why this is crucial:

• Focus on the Specific Offence: WMT's letter specifically concerns the Kidderminster to Snow Hill journey, during which you were cautioned. By only addressing this, you keep the focus narrow and don't provide them with information they haven't explicitly requested or may not yet have evidence for.
• Avoid Admitting to Unproven Offences: You stated that WMT doesn't have evidence for those earlier trips, and WMR is now trying to gather evidence. Disclosing them now would be an admission that could be used against you, potentially leading to further demands for payment for those specific journeys, or even separate prosecutions. You are only obligated to respond to the particular allegations for which they present evidence for.
• The Season Ticket: While buying a season ticket shows good intent for the future, mentioning it could implicitly suggest that your past travel habits were not compliant. In a legal context, it's best to avoid any information that could be interpreted as an acknowledgement of previous evasion beyond the incident being investigated. Your future compliant travel is for your benefit, not for WMT to use as evidence of past wrongdoing.
• Burden of Proof: The burden of proof for any alleged offence lies with West Midlands Trains. Don't provide them with evidence to strengthen a case they may not even have or could not otherwise prove for those other trips.

Stick strictly to the incident they've raised. Your goal is to resolve this specific matter with a settlement and avoid further complications.

I'm sure others on the forum will be here soon to add to the above.

 

[6Gman]

"I arrived on the train and fell asleep immediately" doesn't really make sense.

Presumably you arrived at a station (where in relation to your journey?), and then boarded a train (presumably heading to where you wanted to go) - without a ticket - and fell asleep.

The obvious question is why didn't you buy your ticket before boarding the train?

As is required by law (assuming there were ticket facilities available).

 

[Kite159]

"I arrived on the train and fell asleep immediately" doesn't really make sense.

Presumably you arrived at a station (where in relation to your journey?), and then boarded a train (presumably heading to where you wanted to go) - without a ticket - and fell asleep.

The obvious question is why didn't you buy your ticket before boarding the train?

As is required by law (assuming there were ticket facilities available).

And another obvious question is how did you manage to get past the barriers at Richmond (assuming they were in operation at the time of day the OP was stopped)

 

[saismee]

I think most of you are misinterpreting what OP said in their initial post. I read it as that they didn't buy a ticket as they weren't expecting to be revenue checked (intentional fare evasion) and then slept on the train assuming they'd wouldn't be woken up. They never said sleeping was an excuse for not paying in their post.

 

[Murkysneaky18]

I think most of you are misinterpreting what OP said in their initial post. I read it as that they didn't buy a ticket as they weren't expecting to be revenue checked (intentional fare evasion) and then slept on the train assuming they'd wouldn't be woken up. They never said sleeping was an excuse for not paying in their post.

youve hit the nail right on the head! Yes i intentionally didnt buy a ticket, and I got to richmond via the tube.