Greater Anglia Letter

[Biskit]

I received a letter in the post recently, it's content goes as follows:

"On {date} at {station name} a person giving the above name and address was questioned by a member of rail staff about the payment of a rail fare.

All the available evidence is being considered as to whether legal proceedings are appropriate... If you wish to make any further comments about the incident, please do so on the reverse of this letter."

A month ago, I was on my way to work in a rush, because I feared being late. As I was getting out the station I spotted some prosecution officers when I realised that I forgot to swipe my oyster when boarding. I naively tried to run back up the stairs which didn't go down well with the officer. He asked me a series of questions & I gave him my details. I tried to explain that I forgot to swipe in, was not trying to avoid paying for my journey etc but he said that my course of action in attempting to run signified the intent, which he made me admit to in his notes (I obliged just for arguments sake).

I want some advice on how I should approach this situation. I don't want to go to court & definitely don't want a criminal record. I am willing to pay a fine of some sort if possible.

The letter doesn't have a contact number. Just the address of the prosecutions unit & a section for me to confirm my details and add any further info.

 

[cuccir]

Hello, and welcome to the forums.

Your situation sounds fairly straight forward - you were found to be attempting to travel without a valid ticket. The letter is to tell you that the rail company ('TOC') involved is considering prosecuting you. As part of this, they are writing to you to gather evidence/confirm existing evidence, in order to make a decision over whether to prosecute, and if so under which laws.

As you did not have a valid ticket, you have committed a 'strict liability' offence under Railway Byelaw 18. Even if you've done this accidentally - ie there was no intent - you've still committed an offence here. If prosecuted, you are likely to be fined, but should not receive a criminal record. The TOC may also consider prosecuting you under the Regulations of the Railways Act. This is a more serious offence which comes with a higher fine and a criminal record if found guilty. A successful prosecution requires proof of intent to avoid paying a fare. Attempting to avoid the rail officer, as you admitted to, may be taken as proof of intent.

The good news is that with a sincere apology and an offer to pay both the fare-owed and any administrative costs, most TOCs are willing to accept an out of court settlement for first offences, though they have no obligation to accept this. The cost of the settlement would vary.

The best approach is therefore probably to respond to the letter factually, but not to admit to anything that you've not already admitted to, and to make an offer to settle the fare and admin costs.

That said, there may be other mitigating circumstances that you've not mentioned - an unusual layout of the station, Oyster scanners not working - though I suspect you would have raised them? If you let us know which company the person who interviewed you was working for, the station you were at and the journey you were attempting to make, we may be able to provide additional/altered advice.

 

[jon0844]

The OP has already admitted not touching in and, I presume, that going to work suggests the station isn't that confusing.

I wouldn't recommend giving advice (even if not openly) to perhaps attempt to use any of the above as a way of getting out of it - especially as such a defence is unlikely to work.

Far better to be totally honest. In a rush, forgot to touch in, panicked and 'ran' when seeing revenue staff. Totally sorry, will never do it again etc etc.

Almost certainly an offer of an out of court settlement will come, as it's now very clear that TOCs prefer this over going to court - as they keep more (all) of the money.

 

[Harlesden]

One question springs to mind.
If you had managed to "run back up the stairs" unobserved,what would have been your next move?
More experienced members may well advise on whether your attempted flight might affect the TOC's decision on whether to offer an Out of Court Settlement

 

[bb21]

One question springs to mind.
If you had managed to "run back up the stairs" unobserved,what would have been your next move?
More experienced members may well advise on whether your attempted flight might affect the TOC's decision on whether to offer an Out of Court Settlement

This could well be construed as an attempt to avoid paying the correct fare. I am not sure whether this would be sufficient to establish "intent" but it is hardly evidence that the intent was to pay the correct fare.

An out-of-court settlement is always a possibility, even if the case is nailed on for an RoRA conviction, as the financial implications for the TOC could be more beneficial so it is always worth trying.

 

[Biskit]

One question springs to mind.
If you had managed to "run back up the stairs" unobserved,what would have been your next move?
More experienced members may well advise on whether your attempted flight might affect the TOC's decision on whether to offer an Out of Court Settlement

I wasn't thinking straight. As jonmorris0844 noted, I panicked when I saw the revenue staff in uniform.

When I got on the train, I had run for it as I was in a rush & forgot to swipe in with my oyster card. Usually, in these situations I would reach my destination & swipe out. I would be charged the maximum fare for the journey, seeing as there is no record of where I entered from. I would subsequently claim a refund via the oyster card website by entering the departure station for that particular journey.

I was trying to avoid the officers and not the fare.

I think settling out of court would be the best solution. Can anyone help me in putting together a good reply?

 

[ian959]

When I got on the train, I had run for it as I was in a rush & forgot to swipe in with my oyster card. Usually, in these situations I would reach my destination & swipe out. I would be charged the maximum fare for the journey, seeing as there is no record of where I entered from. I would subsequently claim a refund via the oyster card website by entering the departure station for that particular journey.

Probably not the wisest thing to admit given that you could easily claim the original journey started at a departure station closer to the destination than might actually be the case? Humans are amazing creatures of habit - we generally form them very easily and find them very hard to break. What you have said above indicates that you may have a habit of not touching in at the start of your journey, which does not help your situation much at all.

 

[bb21]

Probably not the wisest thing to admit given that you could easily claim the original journey started at a departure station closer to the destination than might actually be the case? Humans are amazing creatures of habit - we generally form them very easily and find them very hard to break. What you have said above indicates that you may have a habit of not touching in at the start of your journey, which does not help your situation much at all.

Agreed.

Is this a regular occurrence? If so, this could look highly suspect to the train company. It could dramatically reduce your chance of an out-of-court settlement if there is a pattern emerging.

Do you regularly find yourself running for the train? If so, you need to leave home a couple of minutes earlier.

 

[jon0844]

Not having time to buy a ticket is vaguely understandable but not having time to touch an Oyster pad?

Surely that takes all of 1-2 seconds?

 

[sarahj]

This might have even been a sting. Finding a pass who often swipes out, then goes on line to claim a refund, they might have been looking out for you. Plus with your running, that will have added to the situation. As has been pointed out, not having enough time to buy a ticket is one thing, not enough time to swipe is another.
Reply, give your story, and perhaps offer, but be prepared that it might go further.

 

[Biskit]

Probably not the wisest thing to admit given that you could easily claim the original journey started at a departure station closer to the destination than might actually be the case? Humans are amazing creatures of habit - we generally form them very easily and find them very hard to break. What you have said above indicates that you may have a habit of not touching in at the start of your journey, which does not help your situation much at all.

It's only happened once or twice & my stop is about 5 stops away from the station I get off at. I don't deliberately claim to have entered at a nearer station. He took my Oyster card number so they can easily check the pattern.

 

[Be3G]

I'm not condoning regularly failing to touch in/out whatsoever, but for what it's worth, my understanding is that the TfL online refund tool only allows a limited number of refunds to be claimed within a particular time period. I also get the impression that it's designed for people who make regular journeys so there'd be some kind of check that the station entered as the origin fits with the recorded pattern.