Got caught by GWR inspector

[arsod]

Hi,
Today I’ve been caught by GWR inspector near barriers on London Paddington.
He asked me for my ticket which was applied as 16-17 saver discount (I’m 20) and was “short journey”. I was a bit scared so when he asked me a few questions I lied about some of them. He asked me from which station did I get here, and I said Reading, he asked how did I get through, I said that the barriers were open. Then he asked me to show the history of my Trainline account, and took photo. I had a 2 day trip to Bristol and Swansea, and used “short journeys” 3 times, during 2 days. He asked me for the rail card which I didn’t have. Also in my booking history I have 2 more cases of doing same thing in Norwich and Gillingham. I give him all the details and rejected to answer for the interview.
The inspector said that I WILL RECEIVE A LETTER WITH THE COURT DATE from 6 to 8 weeks. Is it 100% that my case will be directed to the court or I still might get chance for an ‘out of court’ offer.
Also I decided to delete my trainline account which I don’t now how will impact this situation.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,
Today I’ve been caught by GWR inspector near barriers on London Paddington.
He asked me for my ticket which was applied as 16-17 saver discount (I’m 20) and was “short journey”. I was a bit scared so when he asked me a few questions I lied about some of them. He asked me from which station did I get here, and I said Reading, he asked how did I get through, I said that the barriers were open. Then he asked me to show the history of my Trainline account, and took photo. I had a 2 day trip to Bristol and Swansea, and used “short journeys” 3 times, during 2 days. He asked me for the rail card which I didn’t have. Also in my booking history I have 2 more cases of doing same thing in Norwich and Gillingham. I give him all the details and rejected to answer for the interview.
The inspector said that I WILL RECEIVE A LETTER WITH THE COURT DATE from 6 to 8 weeks. Is it 100% that my case will be directed to the court or I still might get chance for an ‘out of court’ offer.
Also I decided to delete my trainline account which I don’t now how will impact this situation.

Welcome.

You clearly have a record of serial deliberate evasion. However if you co operate with them there is still a chance of them agreeing not to prosecute you I suspect.

The key to cooperating is responding appropriately when they write to you, likely by post. This is vital or they will automatically just take you to court.

So did you give them an accurate postal address where they can contact you contact you in coming weeks and months?

Deleting your trainline account makes no difference. Your digital fingerprints are still ‘at the scene of the crime’ but it probably just looks more suspicious if anything.

Basically the railway want you to
- stop doing this
- learn your lesson
- pay them back what you owe

However you will get help from here on next steps to try and help you avoid being taken to court.

In the meantime you need to privately work out the total of the fares you have evaded and save that money up to pay them as if they do offer you a settlement you will need to pay that quickly and in full.

 

[John R]

I'm afraid any out of court settlement is likely to be very expensive given the journeys you have undertaken.

The railway use Anytime Single fares for each journey you make, and those are eyewateringly expensive on long distance routes. So based on what you have said, you are likely to be asked to pay:-

London to Bristol: £132
Bristol to Swansea: £35
Swansea to London: £149

which totals £316. I'll let you work out the extra costs of the other journeys you mentioned. brfares.com is a good way to find out the cost of Anytime Single fares between two stations.

You'll also need to expect an administration cost to be added, which is typically £150.

Finally, you'll normally only be given 14 days to pay before they refer your case to prosecution, so you might like to consider how you can have the money ready at short notice.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,
Today I’ve been caught by GWR inspector near barriers on London Paddington.
He asked me for my ticket which was applied as 16-17 saver discount (I’m 20) and was “short journey”. I was a bit scared so when he asked me a few questions I lied about some of them. He asked me from which station did I get here, and I said Reading, he asked how did I get through, I said that the barriers were open. Then he asked me to show the history of my Trainline account, and took photo. I had a 2 day trip to Bristol and Swansea, and used “short journeys” 3 times, during 2 days. He asked me for the rail card which I didn’t have. Also in my booking history I have 2 more cases of doing same thing in Norwich and Gillingham. I give him all the details and rejected to answer for the interview.
The inspector said that I WILL RECEIVE A LETTER WITH THE COURT DATE from 6 to 8 weeks. Is it 100% that my case will be directed to the court or I still might get chance for an ‘out of court’ offer.
Also I decided to delete my trainline account which I don’t now how will impact this situation.

By the way. You won’t typically get a letter with a court date. You are more likely to get a threatening letter saying they are considering taking you to court but want to hear your version of events first. As you will see on other threads this is your chance to go about persuading the railway to offer you an out of court settlement offer.