Fare shorting advice

[matt1402]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could answer this question for me or provide me with some guidance. Yesterday I was caught shortfaring (stupid of me I was in a rush and thought I was being clever). I originally tried to blag my way out but gave in and cooperated fully. Gave all my details and had to leave as I was late for work. I asked the inspector about what would happen and he only said about an £80 admin fee and full singe fare price. Do I have anything else to worry about like a criminal record or larger fine? As you can imagine I am quite worried. I emailed the prosecutions department and they said that once I paid the fine it would be a closed matter, but the incident hadn’t yet been reported to them by the inspector so they couldn’t quote me a timescale or price. Since I am cooperating fully and have confessed are they more likely to opt for an out of court settlement?
Thanks

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@matt1402. Welcome to the forum. Which train company are you dealing with? GWR or SWR or XC, perhaps? Will inspection of your ticket purchasing history show any other short-faring instances?

And have you been issued with any paperwork at the time?

 

[matt1402]

Hi, it’s GWR. I think they would find 1 or 2 others. The amount I’ve saved whilst doing it is likely under £5. Which makes it even more stupid

 

[furlong]

Trust what he told you! It's in line with what we see on the forum and the company's published policy on their website.

If you co-operate with their investigation they won't need to use the courts to get back the money you owe them.

 

[Trainman40083]

Be careful not to short fare again.

 

[matt1402]

@matt1402. Welcome to the forum. Which train company are you dealing with? GWR or SWR or XC, perhaps? Will inspection of your ticket purchasing history show any other short-faring instances?

And have you been issued with any paperwork at the time?

No paperwork or reference number so I’m in the dark right now. Had a little correspondence with someone in the prosecutions department and they said it would likely be 7-10 days before I hear anything. I figured that if I’m upfront about the whole ordeal they will look more kindly on me

 

[WesternLancer]

No paperwork or reference number so I’m in the dark right now. Had a little correspondence with someone in the prosecutions department and they said it would likely be 7-10 days before I hear anything. I figured that if I’m upfront about the whole ordeal they will look more kindly on me

More like 7 to 10 weeks if you are lucky. Not days!

Have a read of the GWR revenue protection policy booklet which you can download from their website. Find the pdf version

Also best to stop communicating with them until they contact you formally.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Hi, it’s GWR. I think they would find 1 or 2 others. The amount I’ve saved whilst doing it is likely under £5. Which makes it even more stupid

@matt1402. In view of what you say, reckon that you still have a decent chance of negotiating an 'out of court settlement' with GWR, after you've heard from them in the fullness of time, but you may possibly now be facing a higher admin fee and a demand for multiple lots of unpaid / underpaid fares. By all means come back again when you've heard back from GWR. Good luck in sorting!

 

[matt1402]

@matt1402. In view of what you say, reckon that you still have a decent chance of negotiating an 'out of court settlement' with GWR, after you've heard from them in the fullness of time, but you may possibly now be facing a higher admin fee and a demand for multiple lots of unpaid / underpaid fares. By all means come back again when you've heard back from GWR. Good luck in sorting!

Not sure if this is me overanalysing your words but decent chance? I would’ve thought that if I pay the charges with no argument they would be happy to settle it that way. I would think that getting the courts involved and criminal charges would just bring unnecessary hassle to achieve the same outcome?

 

[WesternLancer]

Not sure if this is me overanalysing your words but decent chance? I would’ve thought that if I pay the charges with no argument they would be happy to settle it that way. I would think that getting the courts involved and criminal charges would just bring unnecessary hassle to achieve the same outcome?

That’s not really how it works. They won’t just be sending you a sum to pay. See other threads and see the policy document I advised you download and read. Read it fully.

It’s right to say decent chance because that is often achieved, but no one here can fully rule out some form of court action. But this forum is the best place for free advice to maximise your chances of avoiding court action. Those chances are decent to high I would suggest.

 

[matt1402]

That’s not really how it works. They won’t just be sending you a sum to pay. See other threads and see the policy document I advised you download and read. Read it fully.

It’s right to say decent chance because that is often achieved, but no one here can fully rule out some form of court action. But this forum is the best place for free advice to maximise your chances of avoiding court action. Those chances are decent to high I would suggest.

Okay I’m with you now. So the best thing to do now is just sit tight and wait for them to contact me?

 

[WesternLancer]

Okay I’m with you now. So the best thing to do now is just sit tight and wait for them to contact me?

Yes that’s correct
But you can prepare for things to come by eg
- looking at other threads
- reading their policy
- having a private thorough check of your on line ticket buying records to see if there are other instances of ticket buying that might be suspicious to an investigator. People often underestimate how much they have evaded over time we often see. Make a record for your own personal reference. Do not share it here.
- do not delete your online ticket buying account. It puts you at a disadvantage as they can still access it but you then can’t. Thats not to say you can’t change where you buy from should you wish to do so
- if there’s a legitimate way to reduce your fares like buying a railcard or season ticket consider doing that. It can show you have learned a lesson and changed your ways. Which is what they will want to see.

 

[matt1402]

Yes that’s correct
But you can prepare for things to come by eg
- looking at other threads
- reading their policy
- having a private thorough check of your on line ticket buying records to see if there are other instances of ticket buying that might be suspicious to an investigator. People often underestimate how much they have evaded over time we often see. Make a record for your own personal reference. Do not share it here.
- do not delete your online ticket buying account. It puts you at a disadvantage as they can still access it but you then can’t. Thats not to say you can’t change where you buy from should you wish to do so
- if there’s a legitimate way to reduce your fares like buying a railcard or season ticket consider doing that. It can show you have learned a lesson and changed your ways. Which is what they will want to see.

Okay great, thank you for your advice I appreciate it a lot