GTR Witness Statement Receipt

[mik1969269926]

Hi All.

So many threads similar to this, just need a bit of reassurance for my case if anyone can help.

I travelled recently from London Victoria to Hassocks, tapping in at Victoria with my Zone 1-3 travel card.

I was being an idiot and planning to try and short ticket the trip, just buying a ticket at the other end to get me through Hassocks barrier.

When the train arrived at East Croydon, a ticket inspector walked past so I quickly purchased a ticket from East Croydon to Hassocks.

Around 10 minutes later an officer (not ticket officer, a fare enforcement officer) asked to see my ticket. He instantly said I had not got on at East Croydon, and stupidly I lied saying I had and someone had let me through the barrier as I was late for my train.

After a minute he sat down and started taking details and issued me with a Witness Statement Receipt. Stupidly I lied and said someone had let me through the barriers at East Croydon which is why it said it hadn’t been scanned and stuck with the lie.

I’m assuming I’ll receive a letter of prosecution from GTR, and I’m stressing about the outcome.

Reading the other forums, obviously I’ll 100% admit to my offence, offer to pay fines & admin fees etc as per other replies. It genuinely has taught me a lesson - I won’t be doing it again.

What’s the likelihood I’ll get an out of court settlement? This is what I am stressing about the most.

I’m worried as I blatantly lied and stuck with the lie, when I should have just admitted what I did and taken the penalty fair.

Really nervous of any court visit or conviction.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[30907]

GTR consistently offer to settle if people engage with them, and they don't charge as much in admin fees as some.

However, they routinely check people's travel history, so if you have "previous" that may affect how much they ask for.

 

[mik1969269926]

GTR consistently offer to settle if people engage with them, and they don't charge as much in admin fees as some.

However, they routinely check people's travel history, so if you have "previous" that may affect how much they ask for.

I do have a couple of intermittent previous offences, however they are so infrequent I struggle to find them myself Also not on the same journey, mainly to Gatwick or Luton Airport.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

GTR will almost certainly offer you an out of court settlement as long as you co-operate with their investigation. They will write to you in the next few weeks saying that they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you but asking for your version of events before they decide how to proceed.

When GTR's letter arrives, post a redacted copy in this thread along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

 

[mik1969269926]

Welcome to the forum!

GTR will almost certainly offer you an out of court settlement as long as you co-operate with their investigation. They will write to you in the next few weeks saying that they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you but asking for your version of events before they decide how to proceed.

When GTR's letter arrives, post a redacted copy in this thread along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

Thanks very much. Will post once received.

 

[mik1969269926]

It’s been over 3 weeks and still not letter. Should I expect it by now? I feel like I read somewhere that is usually takes 7-14 days…

 

[island]

It can take a number of months.

 

[mik1969269926]

Hello,

I have just returned from holiday and received the letter in the post (attached).

I have drafted a response below using inspiration from other forum links:

Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I value the opportunity you have given me to respond to the letter dated ********** with reference ************.

On Saturday 08th February, I was stopped by a Revenue Inspection Officer between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport and was unable to produce a valid ticket for the entire duration of my journey.

I offer no excuse for the above. I entered the platform at London Victoria using my Zones 1-3 Travelcard on my Oyster Card. I made a short-sighted decision when not purchasing a ticket for the entire journey that morning. When arriving at East Croydon, I realised my mistake and purchased a ticket from East Croydon to Hassocks (my destination). In hindsight, I should have told this to the Revenue Inspection Officer and purchased the correct ticket, however I panicked and confirmed that I had only travelled from East Corydon.

I have taken time to reflect on this decision following the investigation and I won’t undertake any action like this again. I regularly use the railway and tube network for work purposes and wish to continue to contribute to the upkeep and maintenance. I understand the impact of my actions on the railway network, and the impact that fair evasion has across the industry.

I apologise unreservedly for my actions and for the time it has taken you to investigate and contact me. This incident shocked me and made me realise the gravity of the mistake I made. I will ensure I always purchase the full correct ticket for any future journeys I take using the rail network.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to pay the full and correct fare for this journey and any administrative costs that I have created so that I may settle this matter without the need for court action.

Yours faithfully,

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello,

I have just returned from holiday and received the letter in the post (attached).

I have drafted a response below using inspiration from other forum links:

Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I value the opportunity you have given me to respond to the letter dated ********** with reference ************.

On Saturday 08th February, I was stopped by a Revenue Inspection Officer between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport and was unable to produce a valid ticket for the entire duration of my journey.

I offer no excuse for the above. I entered the platform at London Victoria using my Zones 1-3 Travelcard on my Oyster Card. I made a short-sighted decision when not purchasing a ticket for the entire journey that morning. When arriving at East Croydon, I realised my mistake and purchased a ticket from East Croydon to Hassocks (my destination). In hindsight, I should have told this to the Revenue Inspection Officer and purchased the correct ticket, however I panicked and confirmed that I had only travelled from East Corydon.

I have taken time to reflect on this decision following the investigation and I won’t undertake any action like this again. I regularly use the railway and tube network for work purposes and wish to continue to contribute to the upkeep and maintenance. I understand the impact of my actions on the railway network, and the impact that fair evasion has across the industry.

I apologise unreservedly for my actions and for the time it has taken you to investigate and contact me. This incident shocked me and made me realise the gravity of the mistake I made. I will ensure I always purchase the full correct ticket for any future journeys I take using the rail network.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to pay the full and correct fare for this journey and any administrative costs that I have created so that I may settle this matter without the need for court action.

Yours faithfully,

Your draft looks OK to me - if you are not hard up against the response deadline you may wish to wait a bit longer eg 24 hours to see if others comment on your draft

Keep a copy of all paperwork, and if you are responding by post (which you usually must do with GTR) get tracked postage from a post office counter so you can be sure it was delivered.

 

[mik1969269926]

Your draft looks OK to me - if you are not hard up against the response deadline you may wish to wait a bit longer eg 24 hours to see if others comment on your draft

Keep a copy of all paperwork, and if you are responding by post (which you usually must do with GTR) get tracked postage from a post office counter so you can be sure it was delivered.

thanks for your assistance, all sent off now.

Do you know roughly how long I can expect the process to take before I receive a reply?

 

[WesternLancer]

Do you know roughly how long I can expect the process to take before I receive a reply?

It's hard to know for sure as I suspect it depends on case complexity, numbers of cases coming in at any time, numbers of staff working on them etc

But the question gets regularly asked and you can work it out from other cases if people update their threads at the key stages - this is one I did that for late last year - you can see the timeline from when a person says they have been stopped and questioned to the point they tell us they have received a letter about it etc

- the person (OP) was stopped on or around 1 Nov 2024
- The OP got the letter from GTR / Thameslink on 21 Jan 2025
- The OP replied to that letter around 24 Jan 2025
- The OP was offered an Out of Court settlement and paid it on 12 March

Whole process took just over 4 months which included the Christmas holiday period.

 

[mik1969269926]

Hi All,

Letter received today with out of court settlement for £94.30. Thanks for everyone’s help I really appreciate it.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi All,

Letter received today with out of court settlement for £94.30. Thanks for everyone’s help I really appreciate it.

That’s good. Speedy response too. Keep proof of payment long term. At least a year