Govia Thameslink - Fraudulent Rail Travel

[le12345]

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice on how to handle this email I received from Govia Thameslink for fraudulent rail travel.

I'm kicking myself as I write this but basically I was avoiding paying my full fare for my commute in to work. I go from Preston park to Blackfriars but I was buying a return from London bridge to blackfriars to avoid the full fare- I believe this is called short faring but correct me if I'm wrong. I've scanned through my previous journeys/ticket purchases and it looks like I've done this for about 20 return trips.

I tried to scan my ticket and it flagged and I was interviewed by a member of staff who said I would be under investigation- during this interview I told the truth about the situation. I thought it wouldn't come through as this was almost 6 months ago but an email came through today with a letter in it (see attached screenshot).

What I did was so stupid and I fully accept responsibility for my actions- if this could be sorted without any court hearings or prosecution, that would be amazing. I'm trying to stay as calm as possible but this is really making me anxious and I don't know what to do.

This forum has been really helpful and from what I can tell they write these letters to scare people (and it works, clearly) but these cases usually get settled out of court with a fine. I thought I would make a post on here, to be sure I respond correctly and follow the right steps to get through this.

Honestly, any help or advice would be hugely appreciated; I have put a screenshot of the draft email I intend to send in response to their initial letter- if anyone can provide feedback on this, it would really help me out.

It's important to note that since I was interviewed I have bought the valid train tickets for each journey as I really did learn my lesson. I also have a 16-25 rail card but I'm not sure if this is relevant.

 

[SECR 65]

I'm not an expert in fare disputes and prosecutions, but I have read dozens of the threads on here over the past few weeks. It seems that you have also been reading other threads which is generally advised by members. If I recall there is someone else who has been in a very similar situation (from Preston Park to London) on here in the past few days. From what I've seen almost all cases with Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) seem to be settled out of court, and especially as you haven't been caught before, you should be able to settle. Other members usually emphasise the importance of cooerperation, which your letter does. As shown by the letter, it seems GTR have been through your previous ticket history and identified similar journeys that you haven't bought a valid ticket for. It is often advised in this forum to ask in your response for a list of the journeys that they have identified. I think you would be charged the anytime single fare for the entire journey you didn't have the correct ticket for on each occasion, with no regard to any short fares you did pay for. There is also an admin fee, I think often £150 but can be higher.
As I said I am not experienced in these cases so don't act directly from my advice, but I thought I would type up some of what I've gathered from forum browsing and try to help you not to panic until those who know what they're talking about have the chance to view this thread.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice on how to handle this email I received from Govia Thameslink for fraudulent rail travel.

I'm kicking myself as I write this but basically I was avoiding paying my full fare for my commute in to work. I go from Preston park to Blackfriars but I was buying a return from London bridge to blackfriars to avoid the full fare- I believe this is called short faring but correct me if I'm wrong. I've scanned through my previous journeys/ticket purchases and it looks like I've done this for about 20 return trips.

I tried to scan my ticket and it flagged and I was interviewed by a member of staff who said I would be under investigation- during this interview I told the truth about the situation. I thought it wouldn't come through as this was almost 6 months ago but an email came through today with a letter in it (see attached screenshot).

What I did was so stupid and I fully accept responsibility for my actions- if this could be sorted without any court hearings or prosecution, that would be amazing. I'm trying to stay as calm as possible but this is really making me anxious and I don't know what to do.

This forum has been really helpful and from what I can tell they write these letters to scare people (and it works, clearly) but these cases usually get settled out of court with a fine. I thought I would make a post on here, to be sure I respond correctly and follow the right steps to get through this.

Honestly, any help or advice would be hugely appreciated; I have put a screenshot of the draft email I intend to send in response to their initial letter- if anyone can provide feedback on this, it would really help me out.

It's important to note that since I was interviewed I have bought the valid train tickets for each journey as I really did learn my lesson. I also have a 16-25 rail card but I'm not sure if this is relevant.

These letters aren't to scare people - but they are designed to make people realise they should take them seriously and the consequences of not doing so are indeed escalation to court prosecution (which happens in lots of cases and is guaranteed if people ignore them)

Your draft response isn't bad but it needs some adjustment (for example you do not want to be offering to pay a 'fine' as they don't fine people - what you need to ask them is if they will settle the matter without court action by allowing you to pay the fare(s) that you owe. (A fine is a punishment which happens if it gets to court - Thameslink usually just want you to pay what you should have paid originally, as it were).

It would help people comment / suggest amends on your draft if you could past it into the body of a post as opposed to a screen shot.

You have probably seen it on other threads but replies generally need to include the following in case this helps you edit your draft a bit further - you can send it back on Monday so you have a bit of time to get it right:

You'll find lots of example letters you can use in this section of the forum but the reply basically needs to mention:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident and will not do this again
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the railway company’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter

If they e-mail this to you are they permitting you to respond by e-mail too?
They usually ask for responses in hard copy post but perhaps they will accept a reply by e-mail if that is how they have contacted you?

 

[SECR 65]

If they e-mail this to you are they permitting you to respond by e-mail too?
They usually ask for responses in hard copy post but perhaps they will accept a reply by e-mail if that is how they have contacted you?

At the bottom of the letter it requests that OP responds "by email to the address above" so I assume that's GTR's favoured option in this case?

 

[John R]

Remove the first sentence. It’s inappropriate for a letter to someone threatening to prosecute you.

 

[WesternLancer]

Remove the first sentence. It’s inappropriate for a letter to someone threatening to prosecute you.

Indeed - could be replaced with their ref number too

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Apr 2026 ==

At the bottom of the letter it requests that OP responds "by email to the address above" so I assume that's GTR's favoured option in this case?

Thanks - well spotted. I agree with you that obviously an e-mail response is therefore acceptable

 

[le12345]

These letters aren't to scare people - but they are designed to make people realise they should take them seriously and the consequences of not doing so are indeed escalation to court prosecution (which happens in lots of cases and is guaranteed if people ignore them)

Your draft response isn't bad but it needs some adjustment (for example you do not want to be offering to pay a 'fine' as they don't fine people - what you need to ask them is if they will settle the matter without court action by allowing you to pay the fare(s) that you owe. (A fine is a punishment which happens if it gets to court - Thameslink usually just want you to pay what you should have paid originally, as it were).

It would help people comment / suggest amends on your draft if you could past it into the body of a post as opposed to a screen shot.

You have probably seen it on other threads but replies generally need to include the following in case this helps you edit your draft a bit further - you can send it back on Monday so you have a bit of time to get it right:

You'll find lots of example letters you can use in this section of the forum but the reply basically needs to mention:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident and will not do this again
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the railway company’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter

If they e-mail this to you are they permitting you to respond by e-mail too?
They usually ask for responses in hard copy post but perhaps they will accept a reply by e-mail if that is how they have contacted you?

Yes you're right, I am taking this seriously and realise the gravity of the situation. Thank you for your response; I have went through the bullet points and I believe I have covered them. Would you be able to take one more look at the email before sending it off? It's here below:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this email in response to the letter received on the 10th of April 2026. I am accepting full responsibility for my actions; I made an extremely foolish judgement by not having valid tickets for my journeys.

I deeply regret what I have done and have learned my lesson about the importance of adhering to rail regulations and the impact of my actions. Since being interviewed in November I have bought the valid tickets for each subsequent trip; I hope this shows I have reflected and learned my lesson. My actions go against my personal morals and I can reassure you that this will never happen again.

I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider allowing me to resolve this matter without the need for court action. I fully accept what I did was incorrect and I am fully prepared to co-operate and pay for the outstanding travel costs and any administrative costs the company has incurred. I hope my desire to settle will be sincerely considered.

Yours faithfully,
xxx

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Apr 2026 ==

Remove the first sentence. It’s inappropriate for a letter to someone threatening to prosecute you.

Done, thank you!

Indeed - could be replaced with their ref number too

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Apr 2026 ==


Thanks - well spotted. I agree with you that obviously an e-mail response is therefore acceptable

I was thinking of putting the reference number in the subject of the email. How could I add the reference in the email body?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Apr 2026 ==

As a follow-up, does anyone know how these interactions with the Thameslink fraud team go? Will the next part be me receiving the value to pay back or is there another intermediary step? Thanks again for the help

 

[John R]

Almost certainly a value to pay up, based on what we see.

 

[z444z]

Yes you're right, I am taking this seriously and realise the gravity of the situation. Thank you for your response; I have went through the bullet points and I believe I have covered them. Would you be able to take one more look at the email before sending it off? It's here below:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing this email in response to the letter received on the 10th of April 2026. I am accepting full responsibility for my actions; I made an extremely foolish judgement by not having valid tickets for my journeys.

I deeply regret what I have done and have learned my lesson about the importance of adhering to rail regulations and the impact of my actions. Since being interviewed in November I have bought the valid tickets for each subsequent trip; I hope this shows I have reflected and learned my lesson. My actions go against my personal morals and I can reassure you that this will never happen again.

I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider allowing me to resolve this matter without the need for court action. I fully accept what I did was incorrect and I am fully prepared to co-operate and pay for the outstanding travel costs and any administrative costs the company has incurred. I hope my desire to settle will be sincerely considered.

Yours faithfully,
xxx

Looks good.

I was thinking of putting the reference number in the subject of the email. How could I add the reference in the email body?

Just put it right at the top before the rest of the content.

As a follow-up, does anyone know how these interactions with the Thameslink fraud team go? Will the next part be me receiving the value to pay back or is there another intermediary step? Thanks again for the help

It’ll almost certainly be a settlement offer next.

 

[le12345]

Thank you for the advice, I have some follow-up questions and not sure if I should open a new thread but I'll put them in here for now.

I have received a value to settle with GTR so a part of me is relieved that this can be sorted. However, after looking at the excel they sent me they list the ticket price that I should have paid as £55 for an anytime day return ticket from Preston Park to London Blackfriars.

I've had a look and the price for a ticket on both Trainline and Greater Anglia is substantially lower than £55 - this is taking into account my railcard and removing it's discount from the ticket price on trainline/GA.

I want to ask where they are getting this ticket price from as this would have a big impact on the money I would pay back, however, I am skeptical as I don't want this to escalate to anything serious.

Does anyone know the correct way of going about this? I have about 48 hours to reply to the proposed amount- am I able to ask for a breakdown of ticket prices and why the price they use seems higher than what's available?

Any help would be massively appreciated again! Thank you

 

[z444z]

£55 is the Anytime Day Return for that route.

You’re actually being charged less than usual - it’s standard for the amount owed to be calculated using Anytime Singles only and those are £31.80 each way so £63.60 return.

They don’t charge you the lowest fare available because they think it wouldn’t be sufficient deterrent - why would you buy a ticket if you can just pay the same amount if you get caught?

If you want us to check the spreadsheet you’re welcome to attach it here (make sure to redact any personal details) but so far what you’ve described sounds entirely standard.

 

[Haywain]

I've had a look and the price for a ticket on both Trainline and Greater Anglia is substantially lower than £55 - this is taking into account my railcard and removing it's discount from the ticket price on trainline/GA.

In which case I'm afraid the answer is that you should have bought that ticket when you travelled. They are actually doing you a favour by using the return fare and not two singles. You need to accept that you are the one at fault and GTR do not have to do you any further favours

 

[duffield]

Thank you for the advice, I have some follow-up questions and not sure if I should open a new thread but I'll put them in here for now.

I have received a value to settle with GTR so a part of me is relieved that this can be sorted. However, after looking at the excel they sent me they list the ticket price that I should have paid as £55 for an anytime day return ticket from Preston Park to London Blackfriars.

I've had a look and the price for a ticket on both Trainline and Greater Anglia is substantially lower than £55 - this is taking into account my railcard and removing it's discount from the ticket price on trainline/GA.

I want to ask where they are getting this ticket price from as this would have a big impact on the money I would pay back, however, I am skeptical as I don't want this to escalate to anything serious.

...

I just looked on the National Rail site, and £55 is the correct anytime day return fare. That's the amount they will expect for an out of court settlement, no railcard discounts or credit for anything already paid would be given. This sort of approach is standard for most (not all) rail companies.
Edit: comments to this effect already posted while I was typing, of course!