Help - letter from TIL

[Altgr]

Hope someone can help me here/offer advice. I've been an idiot and not looking for sympathy...

I travel 2 times a week to London and for several months now have been purchasing a return ticket (using the train company's App) from a station further up to try and save money. There are no barriers at the station that I get on at and you just walk on to the platform, but there is a ticket office.

A month or so ago I was travelling home and, at my actual station and unseen to me, were Inspectors. I completed panicked and told them that I had been in a rush and did not have a ticket and had got on at London. I did not want to show them the ticket that I had purchased in case they started questioning me why I was getting out at a later station and arouse suspicion, etc.. I offered to purchase a ticket but was told that was not possible. I co-operated fully and gave them proof of ID, etc...

I have now had a letter from TIL advising " a person giving your name and details was spoken to in connection with a journey between London and X for which I failed to produce a valid ticket for the journey that I was making, or had made"

Should I attach the ticket that I had purchased and said that I missed my stop or should I just stick to the story that I did not have a ticket?? My worry is that they already have a record of the journeys I have previously made, as assuming using their App has given them this information. I feel sick with worry how much they are going to look into me and it's really taught me a lesson.

I have started to compose my response to them which just says I did not have a valid ticket, how sorry I was, what I have learnt, will not do again and would like to settle out of court.

Any advice would be helpful - thanks

 

[dakta]

"Should I attach the ticket that I had purchased and said that I missed my stop "

The forum has some good advisors and they will be along, but nobody is going to advise you to lie.

 

[skyhigh]

Should I attach the ticket that I had purchased and said that I missed my stop or should I just stick to the story that I did not have a ticket??

Do not lie to them. If you get found out it will make things much worse for you.

If there are barriers at the London end they will know you got through them somehow and that you probably had a ticket. If you tell them you missed your stop they'll wonder why you didn't tell them that on the day, show your ticket or just turn round and travel back. If they have your home address which is closest to the station you were stopped at they will also wonder why you were planning to get off at a station further away.

From your details they are probably able to find your booking history. Depending on the stations (e.g. if it happens to be classics for short faring such Marylebone and Wembley) they may have a fair idea what you were up to anyway.

You don't have to incriminate yourself in any replies but it is a very bad idea to lie.

 

[island]

I'm going to go out on a limb and based on the OP's profile stating a location of Buckinghamshire and the involvement of TIL, I'm going to guess that a ticket was held between Marylebone and Wembley Stadium.

You've already said you've been doing this for some time. Supplying the ticket held would be a big mistake: it would allow TIL to trace your history of purchases and make things considerably more costly.

Focus on the one incident at hand until and unless TIL make further allegations.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

We are seeing lots of incidents like this at the moment. My normal advice is to mention the following points in your reply:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Make sure your reply is short and concise, don't give a sob story - they've heard it all before. Chiltern/TIL are usually prepared to offer an administrative settlement (commonly known as an out of court settlement) for people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. There is no guarantee of this and the train company would be well within their rights to prosecute you in the magistrates court. Sometimes it's necessary to write to them a couple of times to get them to agree to a settlement.

An aggravating factor in your case is that you have done this before. TIL will be able to search your purchase history and you will need to be careful how you reply to the letter. You should answer the questions they ask for truthfully but you are not required to incriminate yourself either. If their letter mentions previous occasions then it would be wise to tell them about previous occasions, on the other hand if the letter only mentions the specific incident where you were caught then confine your answer to this incident only and do not volunteer any further information. I would not send them the ticket you purchased

If you are offered a settlement the amount tends to be around £150 plus the outstanding fare. An out of court settlement might appear to be a fine, but it isn't and you won't have a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

Feel free to post a copy of your draft reply in this thread and forum mmebers will be happy to proof read it for you.