HELP PLEASE - Notice of Intention to Prosecute GTR

[learning123]

Hi,

I was caught without a ticket at Cambridge station travelling into London. Stupidly I bought a shorter journey ticket and was supposed to get off quite a few stops before Cambridge because I thought the price was too expensive at the time. I have a valid railcard so I used that for th3shorter journey ticket.

I have now received an intention to prosecute letter by Govia Thameslink Railway and I am really scared. This is my first time offence and I’m a new graduate and I really cannot afford this to go any further.

I have drafted a letter in reply, I would really appreciate any suggestions for improvement. Do GTR usually send these letters and do you also suggest me attaching my railcard and tickets? I’m ashamed to say I’ve done this before but just not caught so I don’t want to further incriminate myself.

The draft response:
Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing in response to your letter regarding the incident on (insert date here).

I would like to sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket for my full journey. I fully accept that what I did was wrong and I take full responsibility for my actions.

I am genuinely ashamed of my actions and deeply regret the poor decision I made. I understand the importance of purchasing the correct ticket before travelling and appreciate that railway rules are in place for a reason. I am very sorry for breaching them.

I respectfully ask whether this matter may be resolved without court proceedings. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any reasonable administrative costs incurred in order to settle this matter.

Please be assured that I have reflected seriously on this incident and that it will not happen again.

Yours faithfully,
(My name)

Thank you.

 

[reb0118]

Your first sentence is a bit confusing. If you were travelling to, not into as that changes the meaning, London why did you alight at Cambridge?

It appears that you were spoken to near Finsbury Park, so that implies that the interaction took place on board a train. Look over the general guidelines for the information required when posting in this section, but specifically we would need to know your actual journey details. Such things as: your origin & destination, any interchange stations, and, crucially, what ticket (or tickets) you actually held?

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,

I was caught without a ticket at Cambridge station travelling into London. Stupidly I bought a shorter journey ticket and was supposed to get off quite a few stops before Cambridge because I thought the price was too expensive at the time. I have a valid railcard so I used that for th3shorter journey ticket.

I have now received an intention to prosecute letter by Govia Thameslink Railway and I am really scared. This is my first time offence and I’m a new graduate and I really cannot afford this to go any further.

I have drafted a letter in reply, I would really appreciate any suggestions for improvement. Do GTR usually send these letters and do you also suggest me attaching my railcard and tickets? I’m ashamed to say I’ve done this before but just not caught so I don’t want to further incriminate myself.

The draft response:
Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing in response to your letter regarding the incident on (insert date here).

I would like to sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket for my full journey. I fully accept that what I did was wrong and I take full responsibility for my actions.

I am genuinely ashamed of my actions and deeply regret the poor decision I made. I understand the importance of purchasing the correct ticket before travelling and appreciate that railway rules are in place for a reason. I am very sorry for breaching them.

I respectfully ask whether this matter may be resolved without court proceedings. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any reasonable administrative costs incurred in order to settle this matter.

Please be assured that I have reflected seriously on this incident and that it will not happen again.

Yours faithfully,
(My name)

Thank you.

Good morning

Ideally it would help if you could answer as many of the questions listed here as are relevant if you feel able to do so.

Please read before posting in Disputes & Prosecutions

Guidance for those asking for advice: Please bear in mind the following, when asking for advice in this section: We need to know all relevant facts in order to assist you, including, for example: The stations* where you actually started & finished your journey The stations* where you changed...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[SECR 65]

Whilst I don't have the experience to consider details of the journey, so I'll leave that to others, I do have a few thoughts about the general proceedure and your draft letter.

I have now received an intention to prosecute letter by Govia Thameslink Railway and I am really scared. This is my first time offence and I’m a new graduate and I really cannot afford this to go any further.

It is highly unlikely that the matter would be resolved with no payment, but also highly likely that you can resolve the matter without court. GTR are normally very happy to offer a settlement offer, which would be the anytime single fare for your journey, plus an admin fee of up to about £250, but hopefully less.

I have drafted a letter in reply, I would really appreciate any suggestions for improvement. Do GTR usually send these letters

It would be helpful to see a copy of your letter with personal details redacted. However, assuming you have the standard Notice of Intention to Prosecute as seen on many other threads, this letter is very common, and not something to be massively worried about. Whilst you have committed a criminal offence, which is a serious thing, on this occasion, it shouldn't be to hard to sort it out with a settlement.

and do you also suggest me attaching my railcard and tickets?

I would suggest attaching your railcard, but probably not ticket if it was a short fare.

I’m ashamed to say I’ve done this before but just not caught so I don’t want to further incriminate myself.

I would suggest that you don't mention previous occurences in your reply letter (which I see you haven't mentioned in the draft). The Railway may look back throught your ticketing history, but GTR often don't bother. Did you purchase these short fare tickets online? Tickets bought from machines or ticket offices are much harder to trace.

The draft response:
Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing in response to your letter regarding the incident on (insert date here).

I would like to sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket for my full journey. I fully accept that what I did was wrong and I take full responsibility for my actions.

I am genuinely ashamed of my actions and deeply regret the poor decision I made. I understand the importance of purchasing the correct ticket before travelling and appreciate that railway rules are in place for a reason. I am very sorry for breaching them.

Perhaps refer to this last bit as an 'error of judgement'?

I respectfully ask whether this matter may be resolved without court proceedings. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any reasonable administrative costs incurred in order to settle this matter.

I would suggest leaving out the word 'reasonable'; GTR will decide what's reasonable, and seeing as they are threatening to take you to court, it's probably best to agree!

Please be assured that I have reflected seriously on this incident and that it will not happen again.

Yours faithfully,
(My name)

Thank you.

Otherwise good letter with the information provided so far. Others may have other suggestions to make once we know more info. Let us know if you have any further questions.

 

[Swedenorer]

What was the exact journey you were making and journey and the fare paid for the ticket you actually held? Will there be a ticket buying paper trail?

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi,

I was caught without a ticket at Cambridge station travelling into London. Stupidly I bought a shorter journey ticket and was supposed to get off quite a few stops before Cambridge because I thought the price was too expensive at the time. I have a valid railcard so I used that for th3shorter journey ticket.

I have now received an intention to prosecute letter by Govia Thameslink Railway and I am really scared. This is my first time offence and I’m a new graduate and I really cannot afford this to go any further.

I have drafted a letter in reply, I would really appreciate any suggestions for improvement. Do GTR usually send these letters and do you also suggest me attaching my railcard and tickets? I’m ashamed to say I’ve done this before but just not caught so I don’t want to further incriminate myself.

The draft response:
Dear Fare Evasion Manager,

I am writing in response to your letter regarding the incident on (insert date here).

I would like to sincerely apologise for travelling without a valid ticket for my full journey. I fully accept that what I did was wrong and I take full responsibility for my actions.

I am genuinely ashamed of my actions and deeply regret the poor decision I made. I understand the importance of purchasing the correct ticket before travelling and appreciate that railway rules are in place for a reason. I am very sorry for breaching them.

I respectfully ask whether this matter may be resolved without court proceedings. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any reasonable administrative costs incurred in order to settle this matter.

Please be assured that I have reflected seriously on this incident and that it will not happen again.

Yours faithfully,
(My name)

Thank you.

Also just to note because you need to be honest with yourself

This isn’t your first offence. You say you have done this before. Each time you’ve done this is an offence.

It’s just the first time you’ve been caught and have had to face the consequences.

This is important because it’s very easy for them to look at your digital ticket buying records and see the records of you doing this before. In fact you should assume they may well do that. If so the would want paying for all the other occasions that look suspicious to them as part of any settlement offer they might make. So this may not happen, but prepare yourself in case it does.

By prepare yourself I mean save up the money to pay them back what they will consider that you owe.