How long to wait for a Fare Evasion letter?

[TomWilson2019]

Hi there. I was travelling from St Albans to London in February 2019 and a ticket inspection officer referred me to Govia for reusing a carnet ticket, which I disputed. The officer said I would receive a letter within 14 days. It has now been 6 months and I haven't received a letter. I have continued to check my mail daily and still worry that I will be prosecuted. I was wondering if there is a legal cut off where too much time has past since the initial incident for Govia to be able to prosecute? In other words, am I in the clear if I haven't received a letter in a certain number of months? Any help on this would be really appreciated.

 

[Haywain]

Any charge must be laid before the court within 6 months of the alleged offence taking place. It can then take a little time for a summons to be issued, so you are not entirely in the clear just yet, I’m afraid.

 

[some bloke]

If you get a summons, you can do various things:

1. Ask the court when the information was "laid", to check it was within the six months;

2. Ask Govia whether they sent/meant to send a letter asking for your version
(in case it was lost or there was an admin error: it's usual for companies to send a letter first, not least because they don't want to waste their or the courts' time);

3. You can put your side to them/attempt to start a dialogue;

4. If it goes to court, turn up early, ask the staff where the prosecutor is and attempt to explain with a view to them dropping the case, or in appropriate circumstances agreeing a settlement.