Govia thameslink fare evasion + wrong details

[bstrjea]

So long story short I was on a train from Hatfield and my destination was Finsbury park but i used the trainline app and got discounted and short tickets to only the next station from hatfield, I was stopped in New barnet and i told them i was going to potters bar. Anyway I basically told them I am my brother and gave them my brothers details instead of mine, should I just wait for a letter and pay it or am i in some serious trouble here if they find out somehow. I understand this was silly but i was panicking in the moment

 

[WesternLancer]

So long story short I was on a train from Hatfield and my destination was Finsbury park but i used the trainline app and got discounted and short tickets to only the next station from hatfield, I was stopped in New barnet and i told them i was going to potters bar. Anyway I basically told them I am my brother and gave them my brothers details instead of mine, should I just wait for a letter and pay it or am i in some serious trouble here if they find out somehow. I understand this was silly but i was panicking in the moment

well, you are not going to get a letter. Your brother is presumably.

And that is going to be a letter threatening him with prosecution in court for fare evasion(it's a criminal offence) - so depending on what he's going to think of you for doing that a fairly urgent conversation with him might be a good start...

If you look at at other threads you will see they will not be sending you a letter asking for a sum of money (£100) like you see on the posters about Penalty Fares. That's not how it works if you were not given a Penalty Fare on the sport.

I suspect your details have been taken (or in reality your brothers details) for what is called a report for investigation - because it was clear to the staff member that you have undertaken deliberate fare evasion (and I'm guessing you have done this before just that this was the first time you were caught - and they will b able to find that when they look at your Trainline account which it is likely they will do). If they scanned your trainline ticket they can trace you from the scan anyway, as it will be linked back to the ticket purchase - presumably by you. Digital trail is easy for them to follow.

So in terms of damage limitation at this stage I would be

- speaking your brother to explain what happened and how you plan to put things right
- asking him to look out for a letter from the railway - it's vital that you receive and respond to this letter or it will 100% escalate to court automatically
- the letter may take some weeks or even months to arrive
- pay the correct fare 100% of the time from now on
- have a look at other threads involving the train operator concerned to see what to expect and how to deal with it

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi, welcome to the forum. You'll get good advice here.

It sounds as if you'll be able to get hold of the letter when it arrives, whenever that is. Rail companies are used to people panicking and giving wrong details, so as long as you tell them the right name and address, they should deal with you and leave your brother alone.

 

[tatitiliti]

well, you are not going to get a letter. Your brother is presumably.

And that is going to be a letter threatening him with prosecution in court for fare evasion(it's a criminal offence) - so depending on what he's going to think of you for doing that a fairly urgent conversation with him might be a good start...

If you look at at other threads you will see they will not be sending you a letter asking for a sum of money (£100) like you see on the posters about Penalty Fares. That's not how it works if you were not given a Penalty Fare on the sport.

I suspect your details have been taken (or in reality your brothers details) for what is called a report for investigation - because it was clear to the staff member that you have undertaken deliberate fare evasion (and I'm guessing you have done this before just that this was the first time you were caught - and they will b able to find that when they look at your Trainline account which it is likely they will do). If they scanned your trainline ticket they can trace you from the scan anyway, as it will be linked back to the ticket purchase - presumably by you. Digital trail is easy for them to follow.

So in terms of damage limitation at this stage I would be

- speaking your brother to explain what happened and how you plan to put things right
- asking him to look out for a letter from the railway - it's vital that you receive and respond to this letter or it will 100% escalate to court automatically
- the letter may take some weeks or even months to arrive
- pay the correct fare 100% of the time from now on
- have a look at other threads involving the train operator concerned to see what to expect and how to deal with it

This is very good advice. Honesty and transparency is the best policy and most likely to get you an out-of-court settlement (unless you’ve done this before - in which case, don’t mention or admit to that unless directly mentioned in their letter, as you’d be unnecessarily incriminating yourself).