Govia railcard help

[trainstraintra]

Hello forum.

I have changed / omitted some details below to protect my privacy but greatful for your assistnce on my situation.

I was stopped on a Thameslink train a couple of months ago and asked for my ticket. I had the full journey ticket but with an expired railcard attached. I own a separate valid railcard , and I admit to having been careless and acted on autopilot in not updating Trainline with the accurate railcard and simply “rebooking” prior journeys. I have had my tickets and valid railcard checked frequently over the past year and these have been accepted by the inspector so I admit that this gave me the mistaken belief that it didn’t matter what railcard was attached to the tickets I was purchasing (which I accept was entirely on me to check and rectify).

I am devastated and embarrassed to now be waiting for a letter to come through. I have audited my history there are a small number of shorted / donut fares and I have no justification for these. Based on my understanding of any potential out of court settlement I might reach, given the time period use of expired railcard this will be in four figure territory.

All journeys I have made to date have been completely correct and with my valid railcard (which I have checked and double-checked each time!).

I am willing to pay whatever it takes to avoid this proceeding to court as I work in finance which is regulated and this will almost certainly cause me to lose my job - and future career - if convicted. I am the breadwinner and my family relies on me and so this would ruin my life.

My questions are as follows:

• Is there any hope at all that the letter WON’T arrive eg due to a backlog (or won’t arrive within 6 months, and does that make a difference?)
• How long are letters tending to take now? It has been two months already - I am beside myself. It seems that 4 -6 months is not unusual.
• Am I right in thinking it would be highly unlikely for this letter to NOT refer to any other instances?
• I am due to be out of the country and not in a fixed location for a few months soon. Should I write to them (and if so by email or hard copy or both?!) and ask for a redirect address to my family or would they send comms via email? I am so nervous about not receiving the letter at all / or not receiving anny follow up letter re setttling and this escalating without the chance to seek resolution with Govia without a court hearing.
• If they do go with court proceedings, what are the likely timescales on this? For example is there a chance of court matters taking place within the next six months when I am not in the country for part of this time or does it take longer for papers to be issued etc and a hearing date set? I am completely clueless on such legal matters!
• I assume my best course of action until the letter is to sit tight and prepare my response - is there anything that will put me in a better position to obtain an out of court settlement ?

Very appreciative of any guidance here.

 

[30907]

Would the journey you have made have cost the same had you selected the correct railcard? (In many cases the answer would be yes, but not always. It would help to know what your valid railcard is.)
Did you show the inspector your valid railcard, and what was their reaction?

6 months is the deadline for starting the most common court proceedings. You are already aware that letters can take at least 3 months.

It would be very sensible in the circumstances (a "small" number of short fares amounting to a 4-figure sum) to set up a Royal Mail redirection order for your correspondence (make sure that your family are aware of the issue!).

You could also contact GTR by post or mail - someone on here will have details - quoting the reference if you have one or at least the exact time and train/station.

 

[trainstraintra]

Thank you @30907 - I later calculated the journey was around £10 difference (network rail versus 26-30 railcard, but in offpeak times I understand would have been roughly the same) - I should clarify my calculation of potential settlement is based on this, and not the small number of historical short fares! Inspectors reaction was to take a picture of my valid railcard and note that it was wrong for the ticket I had. I asked him what the difference was as if there was one I would of course repurchase my ticket etc and he said “a lot” and said that wouldn’t be an option.

 

[Hadders]

It sounds as though you've been deliberately evading paying the correct fare. GTR are entitled to prosecute you in the Magistrates Court if they want to but they will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with their investigation and who haven't come to their attention before.

To answer your sepecific questions:

Is there any hope at all that the letter WON’T arrive eg due to a backlog (or won’t arrive within 6 months, and does that make a difference?)

If your details were taken then it would be unusual for them simply to forget about the case. I assume you gave your correct contact address.

How long are letters tending to take now? It has been two months already - I am beside myself. It seems that 4 -6 months is not unusual.

Two months is not unusual. The team dealing with this sort of thing is small and has a very big workload.

Am I right in thinking it would be highly unlikely for this letter to NOT refer to any other instances?

You need to be prepared for it to refer to other instances. GTR do check online purchase history.

I am due to be out of the country and not in a fixed location for a few months soon. Should I write to them (and if so by email or hard copy or both?!) and ask for a redirect address to my family or would they send comms via email? I am so nervous about not receiving the letter at all / or not receiving anny follow up letter re setttling and this escalating without the chance to seek resolution with Govia without a court hearing.

Will anyone have access to your post while you are away? If so can they forward a copy of the letter to you via email, whatsapp etc.

If ot then it will be best to contact GTR Prosecutions department (not customer services) before you go advising them of contact details.

If they do go with court proceedings, what are the likely timescales on this? For example is there a chance of court matters taking place within the next six months when I am not in the country for part of this time or does it take longer for papers to be issued etc and a hearing date set? I am completely clueless on such legal matters!

GTR has to lay papers before the court within six months of the date of the offence.

You would be sent a court summons or Single Justice Procedure Notice, you normally have 21-days to respond to that.

I assume my best course of action until the letter is to sit tight and prepare my response - is there anything that will put me in a better position to obtain an out of court settlement ?

That's right.

 

[trainstraintra]

Thank you @Hadders - given the backlog in that case it seems that it would be unlikely for there to be any court movement this side of Christmas (given the timescales to respond etc and the fact that they have until close to then to lay papers). there is someone who can collect post but it may be safer for me to put a redirect in place to a family member’s permanent address I suspect.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I have changed / omitted some details below to protect my privacy but greatful for your assistnce on my situation.

I was stopped on a Thameslink train

Just to check on this point: we understand your desire for privacy, but you have told us about the right train company, haven't you? We need to know because the approach taken varies between train companies - and if it turns out it wasn't one of GTR's trains then it might be that we're not giving you the right advice.

 

[trainstraintra]

Yes it is definitely GTR and I was on a Thameslink train - thank you.

 

[Hadders]

GTR's initial letter will give you 14-days to respond so you do need to make sure you have access to this.

 

[trainstraintra]

GTR's initial letter will give you 14-days to respond so you do need to make sure you have access to this.

Thanks @Hadders - I am tempted to utilise Royal Mail redirect service and do you think it is worth ALSO writing to them to ask them to use an alternate address?

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks @Hadders - I am tempted to utilise Royal Mail redirect service and do you think it is worth ALSO writing to them to ask them to use an alternate address?

One thing they do accept by e mail is change of address details.
Tho a redirect is a good idea in general.