Help with being prosecuted for short fairing

[yellowtest5]

Hi,

Some background:
- I got stopped a few months ago at Waterloo when I had bought a ticket for the wrong day. I was asked to present my railcard and I couldn’t as (unknowingly to me at the time) when I purchased the online railcard it went to my appleID instead of my Trainline account email.
- a case was made and I then got an email a few days ago asking to provide my past and current railcards.
- I sent them over then I sent back a document of journeys I had made on Trainline. Suggesting I had short fared for +40 journeys
- around 10-15 are false accusations, as I just didn’t touch the barriers when I went out but the other 25 or so I did short fare. There are around 5 that I have no idea - I travel a lot and there are some journeys I can’t remember where I was going etc.

The officer has asked for me to input where I went to and from on each journey. Should I own up to all I did short fare and the ones I did not and then just leave the rest to the officer? Or shall I just tell him the ones that are inaccurate and see where he takes it. He said he doesn’t want to take legal prosecution and I’m happy to pay a fine I just don’t want to overpay for ones I did not short fare.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Jul 2025 ==

any help is very welcomed as I am obviously very nervous about court etc.

 

[Titfield]

Obviously you wish to avoid going to court as that would almost certainly result in a fine and a criminal conviction (record) which could have an adverse impact on your career especially those that are regulated and have a fit and proper person test.

To encourage the Train Operator to offer you an out of court settlement you will need to:

Draft a short, concise reply that mentions:

- 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

You need to go through the list of journeys they have sent you and comment on them truthfully. If you do not remember then say so. If you didn't touch out then you also need to say so BUT it is absolutely in your interests that they make you an out of court settlement offer. If they think you are not being totally truthful they may decide to go to court so you may want to think about how you present yourself in the best possible light. They may find it hard to believe that you didnt touch out on 10-15 occasions.

If you post your draft reply in this thread forum members will proof read it for you.