Fare Evasion - Next Steps

[BigBodybuildin]

Good evening, this my first and hopefully last post on here; no disrespect intended.
To keep a long story short as the issue stressed me out I was caught without a valid ticket on a train leaving Birmingham New Street to Cheltenham Spa earlier on today.
I was asked by the Revenue Protection Officer on the train for my ID, which I reluctantly agreed, and to fill in a form with my personal details on.
I explained to her I suffer my mental health issues (no excuse just to add) and would be grateful if she could advise on the next steps.
All I was advised was a letter would be sent out to be address and that I might have to go to court to face criminal charges; despite being told by another Revenue Protection Officer that this was actually a civil matter and couldn’t result in any criminal proceedings e.g. prosecution and potentially going to jail occurring.

Any advise on the next steps would be of the utmost appreciation.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Titfield]

Welcome to the forum. All you can do at this stage is wait for the letter to arrive. Did they say it would be via post or via email? Either way keep a close eye out for it and upload to here with your personal details and reference number obscured.
The forum members can then give you advice tailored to the exact issue.
Assuming that what you have said is correct then matters such as this can normally be resolved out of court by paying the full fare for the journey taken plus an admin fee of between £120 and £200.
The letter may take some time to arrive depending upon how busy the revenue protection department is.
Try not to worry as these matters do get resolved.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==

In brief the next steps are:
They send you a letter for your side of the story.
You reply following this forums advice.
They decide whether to offer you an out of court settlement or not.
If offered an out of court settlement then pay it and matter is closed.
If they decide to go to court then return to this forum for further advice based on what they have said in their letter advising you of this.

 

[BigBodybuildin]

Welcome to the forum. All you can do at this stage is wait for the letter to arrive. Did they say it would be via post or via email? Either way keep a close eye out for it and upload to here with your personal details and reference number obscured.
The forum members can then give you advice tailored to the exact issue.
Assuming that what you have said is correct then matters such as this can normally be resolved out of court by paying the full fare for the journey taken plus an admin fee of between £120 and £200.
The letter may take some time to arrive depending upon how busy the revenue protection department is.
Try not to worry as these matters do get resolved.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==

In brief the next steps are:
They send you a letter for your side of the story.
You reply following this forums advice.
They decide whether to offer you an out of court settlement or not.
If offered an out of court settlement then pay it and matter is closed.
If they decide to go to court then return to this forum for further advice based on what they have said in their letter advising you of this.

Thank you for your swift reply and welcoming words, Titfield.

I was advised that I would potentially receive a letter in the post within the next to two-to-three weeks, but understandably was advised it could take longer. I very much appreciate you running me through the process, that was previously unaware to me, so smoothly and comprehensively.

Again to keep a long story short, I left Stafford, not Birmingham New Street as stated in my original post (it’s been one of those forgettable days), but only brought a ticket from Wolverhampton, because of the cost of the ticket in the early morning from Stafford to Wolverhampton; stubborn on my behalf, but equally as stupid as well. I then should of just brought a ticket (either on my phone or in-person in Birmingham), but didn’t do so as my train from Stafford was delayed by several minutes due to being stuck in a tunnel close to Birmingham New Street which caused me to panic thinking I would miss by train to Cheltenham.

So, that was probably longer than I intended it to be, but I’m now just wanting to pay whatever I need to do so to put this issue to bed.

Out of asking do you know if you can ultimately end up going to prison for travelling without a train ticket; considering this will be my first criminal (?) offence of any nature??

Many thanks in advance,
Chris.

 

[skyhigh]

Out of asking do you know if you can ultimately end up going to prison for travelling without a train ticket

You will not go to prison.

 

[Cuthbert]

You won't go to prison

 

[BigBodybuildin]

Appreciate the replies Upon doing a bit of quick research it looks like I have committed something called ‘short-faring’ (?). If this is the case what is likely going to be the worst case scenario?? Many thanks in advance.

 

[Titfield]

Worst Case Scenario: If it went to court then it would be a fine based on your income, a victim surcharge based on your income and then the amount for the rail company (the fare avoided and any admin fees they incur).

The most likely scenario is the out of court settlement of the fare avoided plus the admin fee.

The fare avoided is the full adult single fare with no credit for the fare paid already or any railcard discount.

 

[Haywain]

Appreciate the replies Upon doing a bit of quick research it looks like I have committed something called ‘short-faring’ (?). If this is the case what is likely going to be the worst case scenario?? Many thanks in advance.

Can you be clear on exactly what journey you made and what ticket or tickets you bought?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Appreciate the replies Upon doing a bit of quick research it looks like I have committed something called ‘short-faring’ (?). If this is the case what is likely going to be the worst case scenario??

Have you done similar before, i.e. travelled from Stafford to Birmingham New Street, or vice-versa, with a ticket only valid between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street? Easy enough for the train company to check this if you've routinely bought (and used) previous tickets using the likes of Trainline.

 

[BigBodybuildin]

Thank you for all your replies.

Titfield - Again it’s very much appreciated

Haywain - No problem. I travelled from Stafford to Cheltenham Spa - changing trains at Birmingham New Street. I purchased an Anytime Day Return from Worcester Parkway to Cheltenham Spa a couple of days ago in anticipation for the said journey and a Anytime Single from Wolverhampton to Birmingham from Stafford train station. Using the both terminology, I short-fared from Stafford to Wolverhampton and then Birmingham New Street to Worcester Parkway without any valid form of a ticket as I’m always struggling for money.

Mcr-Warrior - No, because I rarely travel anywhere in the mornings.

 

[Cuthbert]

They are more revenue checks now for the Cheltenham races.

 

[BigBodybuildin]

Admittedly, that just make me feel more stupid Knoodlepot. Completely my own fault. As soon as I am in receipt of the impending letter I'm going to hold up my embarrassed hands, admit my liability, and offer to pay the entirety of the fare (Stafford to Cheltenham Spa – £68.00) and any additional administrative charges on top of that as well.

 

[Cuthbert]

Admittedly, that just make me feel more stupid Knoodlepot. Completely my own fault. As soon as I am in receipt of the impending letter I'm going to hold up my embarrassed hands, admit my liability, and offer to pay the entirety of the fare (Stafford to Cheltenham Spa – £68.00) and any additional administrative charges on top of that as well.

Best you post the letter here for the pros to help out.
They might see something or give you better advice.

They will definitely help with a letter to obtain an out of court settlement. Draft a letter here and get the help.

I just know Cross Country work with others at Cheltenham and on trains for the races.

Also Grand Nationals at Liverpool Lime Street and the other one nearer to the station as I think they have coaches there now.

 

[BigBodybuildin]

Sounds like that will be the best process to follow as soon as I have that letter from Cross Country. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if I wasn't the only person to have received an unseen conversation with Revenue Protection this afternoon, and there will probably be many more next month as well at Aintree.