Got caught buying an early stop

[Don Diesel]

As the title suggests, I bought an earlier stop on my way from Northampton to London Euston. I haven’t used the Trainline app in over a year and there’s nothing for them to find in terms of me doing this before, since it was my friend who bought the ticket for me since he knew where we was going. On the train we got stopped by a lady who was very nice and understanding, and told me to not worry about paying the difference in person on the train. I was willing to do so, but she insisted it’d be easier if I just responded to whatever letter/email I’d get. Me hearing this I assumed all that would happen is I’d have to pay the difference online or something, so I hadn’t even given it any thought until this letter has some through. Firstly the letter says it needs to be back in 14 days and I just got it on Friday, which barely leaves me any time to return it on time. Secondly, is there any way out of me paying the ridiculous sum of money for what would’ve been a £25 trip, but is now £194.70. Honestly guys this has never happened to me in anyway and this is absolutely ridiculous, I literally offered to pay the difference and she assured me whatever process she was doing wouldn’t be an issue for me. And now here I am £200 in debt to the railway company, which no one will be able to convince me that this is correct. I mean what kind of legal costs could even amount to £175??? I’m sorry if I sound naive, but could anyone give me any advice on how to handle this? I’m already maxed out on my overdraft and paying off a university maintenance loan that I have to pay off early. There’s no feasible way I can put together £200 for this ridiculousness, so I’d appreciate any advice.

 

[AlterEgo]

As the title suggests, I bought an earlier stop on my way from Northampton to London Euston.

Do you mean your ticket didn't cover the full journey? Where was the ticket valid from? Which stations did it cover?

I haven’t used the Trainline app in over a year and there’s nothing for them to find in terms of me doing this before, since it was my friend who bought the ticket for me since he knew where we was going.

This does not make any difference to how the company will treat you for this single offence; it's your responsibility to have the correct ticket.

Firstly the letter says it needs to be back in 14 days and I just got it on Friday, which barely leaves me any time to return it on time. Secondly, is there any way out of me paying the ridiculous sum of money for what would’ve been a £25 trip, but is now £194.70.

You need to tell us about the ticket you held first.

 

[John R]

Basically you have a choice between paying what they ask for or being prosecuted for breaking the law, with a slam dunk conviction (as you did) which will give you a criminal record.

Does £175 seem so bad when you put it like that? Ultimately you can call it ridiculous, but fare evasion on the railways is a big problem, and the rail companies have to spend a lot of money fighting it.

I’d recommend you pay what they are asking and regard it as a costly lesson, as the alternative will be more painful. Remember they can withdraw the offer if you argue about the amount asked for.

 

[Elecman]

The £175 is presumably the £25 fare evaded and a £150 administration fee which is quite normal in these circumstances. I would strongly advise you to pay within the stated timescale or they will prosecute and you will be convicted thus having a Criminal Conviction plus paying a fine based on your income a surcharge off 40% of the fine levied the outstanding train fare and the £150 costs that the train company will as the court for

 

[Don Diesel]

The £175 is presumably the £25 fare evaded and a £150 administration fee which is quite normal in these circumstances. I would strongly advise you to pay within the stated timescale or they will prosecute and you will be convicted thus having a Criminal Conviction plus paying a fine based on your income a surcharge off 40% of the fine levied the outstanding train fare and the £150 costs that the train company will as the court for

Basically you have a choice between paying what they ask for or being prosecuted for breaking the law, with a slam dunk conviction (as you did) which will give you a criminal record.

Does £175 seem so bad when you put it like that? Ultimately you can call it ridiculous, but fare evasion on the railways is a big problem, and the rail companies have to spend a lot of money fighting it.

I’d recommend you pay what they are asking and regard it as a costly lesson, as the alternative will be more painful. Remember they can withdraw the offer if you argue about the amount asked for.

well considering I have no job and am £1500 into my overdraft and I have to pay this back in the next 4 days, yes it does sound quite bad. Especially when you add to that the fact that I offered to pay the difference on the train and the ticket inspector said I ‘don’t have to worry’ because I’ll get a simple email and I’ll just have to pay the difference from there. They have given me an option for mitigating circumstances, I’m obviously wondering if I could provide any mitigating circumstances or what could count as any. I literally have no way of paying that money right now.

 

[Pushpit]

well considering I have no job and am £1500 into my overdraft and I have to pay this back in the next 4 days, yes it does sound quite bad. Especially when you add to that the fact that I offered to pay the difference on the train and the ticket inspector said I ‘don’t have to worry’ because I’ll get a simple email and I’ll just have to pay the difference from there. They have given me an option for mitigating circumstances, I’m obviously wondering if I could provide any mitigating circumstances or what could count as any. I literally have no way of paying that money right now.

What this will boil down to is that unless your ticketing was legitimate, you either pay £194.70 now, or write to West Midlands and ask for a payment plan (which is only rarely offered), or go to court. If it ends up in court it will cost around £400 or so, plus or minus £50 or so, depending on your personal circumstances. Plus a criminal record. At the moment the £194.70 is the best idea, unless there is something by way of mitigation not so far mentioned. It seems that train inspectors try to avoid escalation on trains, and one way is by a set of tactics which you saw for yourself. But this is how they deal with fare evasion.

 

[John R]

Especially when you add to that the fact that I offered to pay the difference on the train

What you are saying is equivalent to being caught shoplifting and feeling aggrieved because they didn’t agree to your offer to pay for the goods when caught. You have to realise that you were caught breaking the law. And you’re being offered a way to avoid getting a criminal conviction for less than £200. They don’t know or care about your financial situation - all they know is that you tried to fare dodge.

Sorry if that’s blunt, but it is the reality of the situation you are in.

 

[Puffing Devil]

The meeting with the inspector on the train and soothing comments about waiting for a letter are standard conflict avoidance techniques for the inspector.

Unfortunately, as others have said, you have broken the law, possibly without an eye to the potential consequences, which you are now painfully aware of. Read the forum - many people know that fare evasion is wrong, so go ahead and try to save money. Like you, they didn't look to the potential outcome, which can be pretty shocking.

Your best option is to gather the funds and pay the settlement offered. If you fail to do that, you will be taken to court. You will be convicted, as it is an absolute offence, and you've been caught. Going to court will cost you approximately £250, and you will have a criminal conviction against your name.

tldr; Pay up, move on, don't do it again.

 

[WesternLancer]

As the title suggests, I bought an earlier stop on my way from Northampton to London Euston. I haven’t used the Trainline app in over a year and there’s nothing for them to find in terms of me doing this before, since it was my friend who bought the ticket for me since he knew where we was going. On the train we got stopped by a lady who was very nice and understanding, and told me to not worry about paying the difference in person on the train. I was willing to do so, but she insisted it’d be easier if I just responded to whatever letter/email I’d get. Me hearing this I assumed all that would happen is I’d have to pay the difference online or something, so I hadn’t even given it any thought until this letter has some through. Firstly the letter says it needs to be back in 14 days and I just got it on Friday, which barely leaves me any time to return it on time. Secondly, is there any way out of me paying the ridiculous sum of money for what would’ve been a £25 trip, but is now £194.70. Honestly guys this has never happened to me in anyway and this is absolutely ridiculous, I literally offered to pay the difference and she assured me whatever process she was doing wouldn’t be an issue for me. And now here I am £200 in debt to the railway company, which no one will be able to convince me that this is correct. I mean what kind of legal costs could even amount to £175??? I’m sorry if I sound naive, but could anyone give me any advice on how to handle this? I’m already maxed out on my overdraft and paying off a university maintenance loan that I have to pay off early. There’s no feasible way I can put together £200 for this ridiculousness, so I’d appreciate any advice.

The only real alternative to this is going to court and debating the matter with the magistrate. But I would predict that you would not be successful and the end result would be worse than what is on offer.

You have stolen from the railway company and they want you to never do this again. This is how they try to ensure that.

Sorry if this isn’t what you want to hear.

 

[LowLevel]

well considering I have no job and am £1500 into my overdraft and I have to pay this back in the next 4 days, yes it does sound quite bad. Especially when you add to that the fact that I offered to pay the difference on the train and the ticket inspector said I ‘don’t have to worry’ because I’ll get a simple email and I’ll just have to pay the difference from there. They have given me an option for mitigating circumstances, I’m obviously wondering if I could provide any mitigating circumstances or what could count as any. I literally have no way of paying that money right now.

"I pinched something and offered to pay for it when the authorities turned up but they're still being horrible to me" is your current situation - why would you pay the difference when you've admitted intent to commit a criminal offence?

You either pay the lump of money in recompense for your actions or you go to court having knowingly committed a crime.

The sooner you accept that reality the better you'll be equipped to deal with it.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

I am sorry to hear about your Travelling with a short ticket is a criminal offence and WMT are entitled to send the case to the Magistrates Court if they want to. If everyone was able to simply pay the difference no-one would every buy the correct ticket, they would all buy short fares and ask to pay the difference if they were challenged.

WMT are offering you the opportunity to settle the case without going to court if you pay them £194. While this sounds steep it is much less than you would have to pay if you were found guilty in court. They are also offering you the chance to give mitigation so if I were you I would write a short, concise letter explaining what happened and maybe giving some detail about your personal situation (but don't turn it into a sob story). It is possible that they might reduce the admin fee or offer a payment plan.

I strongly suggest you put your draft reply in this thread so that we can proof read it and suggest amendments to maximise the chance of a favourable outcome.

 

[AlterEgo]

well considering I have no job and am £1500 into my overdraft and I have to pay this back in the next 4 days, yes it does sound quite bad. Especially when you add to that the fact that I offered to pay the difference on the train and the ticket inspector said I ‘don’t have to worry’ because I’ll get a simple email and I’ll just have to pay the difference from there. They have given me an option for mitigating circumstances, I’m obviously wondering if I could provide any mitigating circumstances or what could count as any. I literally have no way of paying that money right now.

What mitigating circumstances do you think you have?

For the second time - where was your ticket valid from and to?

 

[JordR]

You'll want to try and come up with the smaller amount of money now I'd suggest. If you're convicted, and you almost certainly would be, courts have nastier ways of coming after a larger amount of money later.

 

[KNN]

Especially when you add to that the fact that I offered to pay the difference on the train and the ticket inspector said I ‘don’t have to worry’ because I’ll get a simple email and I’ll just have to pay the difference from there.

Given your tone here, they were most likely trying to avoid further conflict. Paying the difference when it's deliberate isn't usually an option.