GTR Fare Evasion

[tnd123]

Hi all, I was wondering you could give me a bit of advice?

A couple of months ago I got on a train and did not have a ticket for the full journey. Once on the train, I purchased the ticket for the part of the journey I didn't have the ticket for [effectively, the journey is two trains, I had a ticket for the second, but not the first].

There was an inspector on the train who checked and correctly said i bought the ticket on the train and did not have a valid ticket. I was given the notice and this week received the standard letter that GTR seems to send out having read a fair few posts on here. Going through the posts i have drafted a letter and wondered if someone could just look over it and let me know what you think? Please find the draft below. My aim is to post it recorded delivery by mid-week. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Case Reference:XXXXXXX

Dear Prosecutions Department,

I am writing in response to your letter regarding my travel on xxx 2025.

I sincerely apologise for boarding the train without a valid ticket and understand that I should have purchased one before boarding. This was an error on my part and I am embarrassed and ashamed of this.

Since then, I have taken great care to ensure that I always hold a valid ticket before boarding any train and give myself plenty of time and planning before my journeys. I can assure you that this will not happen again.

I would be extremely grateful if you would consider resolving this matter by way of an out-of-court settlement. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare in full, along with any reasonable administrative costs incurred.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely,



Should i add more explanation? Any thopughts on anything else i should add or take away from this would be really appreciated

Thank you

 

[z444z]

Remove the word “reasonable” from the end. Other than that it looks really good, well done!

Just want to check though, and I am not saying this is the case, but if GTR look at your purchasing history, might they find previous instances of fare evasion? Was this truly a mistake, or was it deliberate? If the answer to either is yes, then you shouldn’t say it was a mistake as that might dent your credibility and you need them to see you as honest for the best chances of a settlement.

 

[furlong]

What date was this? They tried to tighten the rules recently.
Did you buy the ticket immediately after boarding or later than that?
If you already paid the correct fare for that journey, just late, why do you consider you still need to pay that fare again?
Or is the real problem that they will find data suggesting you don't always buy the first ticket?

 

[Kite159]

And how far apart time wise was buying the 2nd ticket and it getting inspected by revenue, just in case they argue you only purchased it when you saw revenue checking tickets

 

[tnd123]

On the morning of the incident, I had already purchased a return ticket from station B to station C (around £23, 3 mins before boarding). after boarding I completed the purchase for the ticket from station A to station B((around £4, 3-4 mins after boarding)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jan 2026 ==

Should I print out both ticket receipts and mail them as evidence with my letter to show my full intent to pay for the entire journey?

 

[furlong]

Why did you purchase separate tickets instead of a ticket for the complete journey?
Why did you purchase the second ticket before the first one?

 

[z444z]

Should I print out both ticket receipts and mail them as evidence with my letter to show my full intent to pay for the entire journey?

In my opinion no, your letter will do the job just fine, you’ve done a really good job with it.

However as I mentioned in my first post and as @furlong asked directly, if they will find a record of previous fare evasion you should be honest with us, not send the letter in its current form, and let us help you get the best possible outcome.

 

[tnd123]

I usually cycle directly to Station B.station A is often late or cancelled.
I checked my trainline and found two instances where I bought a ticket after getting on the train.

 

[fandroid]

And how far apart time wise was buying the 2nd ticket and it getting inspected by revenue, just in case they argue you only purchased it when you saw revenue checking tickets

That doesn't really matter. The offence was the byelaw one of boarding a train without a ticket.

It's likely that they suspected "pay only when checked", but they'd do that anyway as the OP already had a ticket from a later station, making it look very much like a short-faring attempt.

As for the OP finding that he'd previously bought tickets while already on the train, it's probably best not to mention those unless GTR do.

 

[AlterEgo]

I usually cycle directly to Station B.station A is often late or cancelled.

What are Station A and Station B and where is your final destination?

 

[tnd123]

What are Station A and Station B and where is your final destination?

Station A: St Helier, Station B: Wimbledon, Station C: Guildford

 

[z444z]

Station A t helier ,Station B:Wimbledon, Station C:Guildford

This makes sense in the context of your habits and doesn’t appear suspicious, which is good.

 

[tnd123]

The train will take about 10 minutes to reach Wimbledon. if i cycle to Wimbledon is about 10-15 minutes.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jan 2026 ==

Remove the word “reasonable” from the end. Other than that it looks really good, well done!

Just want to check though, and I am not saying this is the case, but if GTR look at your purchasing history, might they find previous instances of fare evasion? Was this truly a mistake, or was it deliberate? If the answer to either is yes, then you shouldn’t say it was a mistake as that might dent your credibility and you need them to see you as honest for the best chances of a settlement.

Thank you for the advice! I have removed the word 'reasonable' from my draft.

Regarding your question about my history: To be honest, I am concerned that if GTR looks at my online purchasing history, they might find a few previous instances that look suspicious. Because of this, I want to follow your advice and avoid saying it was a 'mistake' if that might damage my credibility.

How would you suggest I rephrase the second paragraph? Should I simply apologize for the lack of a valid ticket without categorizing it as a mistake, or is there a better way to phrase it to remain honest while still showing my willingness to settle?

new draft

Case Reference:XXXXXXX



Dear Prosecutions Department,



I am writing in response to your letter regarding my travel on xxx 2025.



I sincerely apologise for boarding the train without a valid ticket and understand that I should have purchased one before boarding. I accept full responsibility for my actions and deeply regret this incident



Since then, I have taken great care to ensure that I always hold a valid ticket before boarding any train and give myself plenty of time and planning before my journeys. I can assure you that this will not happen again.



I would be extremely grateful if you would consider resolving this matter by way of an out-of-court settlement. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare in full, along with any administrative costs incurred.



Thank you for your time and consideration.



Yours sincerely,

 

[z444z]

This looks good to me.

 

[tnd123]

Just want to update
I received a settlement which been paid, it was £59.20 total settlement. Thank you all ever so much for all your help.

 

[z444z]

Just want to update
I received a settlement which been paid, it was £59.20 total settlement. Thank you all ever so much for all your help.

Thanks for the update, glad to hear it’s resolved!