I might go to court, need help

[Beatriz]

Hi there,
I am Portuguese student studying here (so excuse my poor English), and I am in a serious scary situation.

To start, this is totally my fault and I did this only to avoid the financial costs and I know I am wrong here, so please avoid the moralism lesson please

My uni is in London and throughout the course I started to date my current partner in Bristol. To go there I found this way where I would go on the last hours of the train and I would pay a ticket on my trainline account for a cheap stop near Paddington and when arriving to Bristol I would do the same or by my luck (since I choose the latest hours) the borders would be open....

This time I actually was in Stonehouse (where don't exist borders), and also nobody asked me for the tickets, so on my arrival to Paddington, I was ready to the same thing , and I bought a ticket to a cheap stop (I always used the same cheap stop), but this time someone saw me and asked me to show my ticket and my trainline records.... At that point I started to cry intensely (because I am on my student visa until June and I spent so much money to be here ) and I gave her everything she asked for....She asked for ID, and the only I had with me was my online uni ID...then she started to do a formal questionnaire, where she would write down the questions and my answers....and that moment I was so devastated (I suffer from anxiety) that I was almost in a panick attack so I told her the truth...I said that my boyfriend was in Bristol and I did this more than once in order to see him since I am from abroad and have been hard being here alone ....She then, wrote down everything and asked me to sign ....

I don't remember how many times I used this technique since I am here since 2022 and I took 2 years to take care of my nana and I came back recently....

The reason that I am here to ask for you help is..... Does anyone knows how much this would be roughly? And what happens if ignore the letter or even don't receive it until the end of my staying here ?

I need to add that on my purchase for the cheap stations in order to get out , I would use the a railcard that I don't have....


Again, I know I am wrong here. I don't agree with these exorbitant tickets prices, but it is my choice to use it. And I tried to only do this when I couldn't take the bus.

Please give me any advice or any idea of what that letter will contain.

Will they see all the trips I did without paying and ask me to pay all of them with extra fees on top ?

Sorry for sharing too much

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Mar 2025 ==

Hi there,
I am Portuguese student studying here (so excuse my poor English), and I am in a serious scary situation.

To start, this is totally my fault and I did this only to avoid the financial costs and I know I am wrong here, so please avoid the moralism lesson please

My uni is in London and throughout the course I started to date my current partner in Bristol. To go there I found this way where I would go on the last hours of the train and I would pay a ticket on my trainline account for a cheap stop near Paddington and when arriving to Bristol I would do the same or by my luck (since I choose the latest hours) the borders would be open....

This time I actually was in Stonehouse (where don't exist borders), and also nobody asked me for the tickets, so on my arrival to Paddington, I was ready to the same thing , and I bought a ticket to a cheap stop (I always used the same cheap stop), but this time someone saw me and asked me to show my ticket and my trainline records.... At that point I started to cry intensely (because I am on my student visa until June and I spent so much money to be here ) and I gave her everything she asked for....She asked for ID, and the only I had with me was my online uni ID...then she started to do a formal questionnaire, where she would write down the questions and my answers....and that moment I was so devastated (I suffer from anxiety) that I was almost in a panick attack so I told her the truth...I said that my boyfriend was in Bristol and I did this more than once in order to see him since I am from abroad and have been hard being here alone ....She then, wrote down everything and asked me to sign ....

I don't remember how many times I used this technique since I am here since 2022 and I took 2 years to take care of my nana and I came back recently....

The reason that I am here to ask for you help is..... Does anyone knows how much this would be roughly? And what happens if ignore the letter or even don't receive it until the end of my staying here ?

I need to add that on my purchase for the cheap stations in order to get out , I would use the a railcard that I don't have....


Again, I know I am wrong here. I don't agree with these exorbitant tickets prices, but it is my choice to use it. And I tried to only do this when I couldn't take the bus.

Please give me any advice or any idea of what that letter will contain.

Will they see all the trips I did without paying and ask me to pay all of them with extra fees on top ?

Sorry for sharing too much

I wanna add that she took a picture of my ID uni profile from my phone, which I don't know how right she was to do so. But during the interrogation I was so in shock, that I just being completely transparent and probably making my own grave....

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi there,
I am Portuguese student studying here (so excuse my poor English), and I am in a serious scary situation.

To start, this is totally my fault and I did this only to avoid the financial costs and I know I am wrong here, so please avoid the moralism lesson please

My uni is in London and throughout the course I started to date my current partner in Bristol. To go there I found this way where I would go on the last hours of the train and I would pay a ticket on my trainline account for a cheap stop near Paddington and when arriving to Bristol I would do the same or by my luck (since I choose the latest hours) the borders would be open....

This time I actually was in Stonehouse (where don't exist borders), and also nobody asked me for the tickets, so on my arrival to Paddington, I was ready to the same thing , and I bought a ticket to a cheap stop (I always used the same cheap stop), but this time someone saw me and asked me to show my ticket and my trainline records.... At that point I started to cry intensely (because I am on my student visa until June and I spent so much money to be here ) and I gave her everything she asked for....She asked for ID, and the only I had with me was my online uni ID...then she started to do a formal questionnaire, where she would write down the questions and my answers....and that moment I was so devastated (I suffer from anxiety) that I was almost in a panick attack so I told her the truth...I said that my boyfriend was in Bristol and I did this more than once in order to see him since I am from abroad and have been hard being here alone ....She then, wrote down everything and asked me to sign ....

I don't remember how many times I used this technique since I am here since 2022 and I took 2 years to take care of my nana and I came back recently....

The reason that I am here to ask for you help is..... Does anyone knows how much this would be roughly? And what happens if ignore the letter or even don't receive it until the end of my staying here ?

I need to add that on my purchase for the cheap stations in order to get out , I would use the a railcard that I don't have....


Again, I know I am wrong here. I don't agree with these exorbitant tickets prices, but it is my choice to use it. And I tried to only do this when I couldn't take the bus.

Please give me any advice or any idea of what that letter will contain.

Will they see all the trips I did without paying and ask me to pay all of them with extra fees on top ?

Sorry for sharing too much

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Mar 2025 ==


I wanna add that she took a picture of my ID uni profile from my phone, which I don't know how right she was to do so. But during the interrogation I was so in shock, that I just being completely transparent and probably making my own grave....

Welcome.

Just to reassure you that you will get the best help here to help you minimise the consequences of what you have done from this forum.

You will get good advice by tomorrow I am sure.

However the most important thing is that you must not ignore it when they write to you or you will automatically be prosecuted in court and that will result in a criminal record. It is best to avoid that.

 

[Pushpit]

Firstly, try not to worry too much. Yes this is a big mistake, but it won't wreck your life and it will be sorted out in the end. And I mention this since it may take quite a few weeks to resolve, and you do need to get on with your life too. GWR are one of the better companies to deal with here, but they will want to recover their losses.

Secondly there is not a lot you can do until GWR writes to you, and in fact there isn't a lot of advice we can usefully give until it arrives. So be sure to share a copy of that letter here, minus your personal details and any reference number. This letter will go one of two ways:
- either asking specifically and only about the journey where you were caught
- or asking about all trips that you made
And the best response depends entirely on the letter you receive. If they don't ask about your other trips, it is possible they will ask later and separately about this. So there are quite a few combinations here. Hopefully GWR has the best address for you, either because you provided it, or via The Trainline email address.

I guess all you can do is to go through your Trainline records and emails to get at least a view about how often you evaded the fare. What you did is quite common, it's referred to in other threads here as "doughnutting" since there was a hole in the middle of your tickets. So you can also look at those threads too, and short faring, so long as they involve GWR. It was inevitable that you would be caught, it's a fairly obvious fare evasion technique.

Finally it's unlikely to end up in court, so long as you working actively, honestly with GWR, and respond to their letters / emails within their deadlines.

 

[Bungle158]

I understand that this is a traumatic experience and you will get no moralising or judgement from me. That said, you have committed at least one criminal offence and the Train Operator has every right to prosecute you. On the positive side, it looks as though you are dealing with Great Western who are reasonably open to settlement. If you are honest and cooperative, you could well be able to negotiate an out of court solution. Fo now, wait for them to contact you, then post redacted copies of their correspondence on this thread. Be aware though, that a settlement would involve payment of avoided fares plus an admin charge.

There are forum experts who will willingly help you to draft responses when the time comes. In the meantime, you could perhaps scroll through similar threads to get some idea of how these cases proceed.

Edited Whilst I was typing this, a post from @Pushpit has been published which my entry duplicates in many ways. Whilst I defer to their greater experience in these matters, I feel we are in agreement

 

[JBuchananGB]

It may help you to know that the Anytime Day Single from London to Stonehouse is £105. The least you may expect to pay is that amount plus a fee of about £150. However if GWR investigate your ticket history, then you may be invited to pay £105 for each journey (round trip will be £210) for which you used short tickets. Fares have just gone up, so GWR should use the fares applicable for the dates you travelled which will be a bit less.

 

[John R]

It may help you to know that the Anytime Day Single from London to Stonehouse is £105. The least you may expect to pay is that amount plus a fee of about £150. However if GWR investigate your ticket history, then you may be invited to pay £105 for each journey (round trip will be £210) for which you used short tickets. Fares have just gone up, so GWR should use the fares applicable for the dates you travelled which will be a bit less.

This is a really important point. The Anytime Single fare from London to Bristol is currently £139, and so for every return trip the OP has done they are very likely to be asked for £278 (adjusting downwards for pre - fare increase fares). Given the frequency of journeys that I’ve assumed from the OP’s post, that could be a very substantial sum of money that will be needed quickly to avoid prosecution. I’m also guessing that the OP may well not have that sort of money available.

 

[WesternLancer]

The reason that I am here to ask for you help is..... Does anyone knows how much this would be roughly? And what happens if ignore the letter or even don't receive it until the end of my staying here ?

See post #6 above

I need to add that on my purchase for the cheap stations in order to get out , I would use the a railcard that I don't have....

So you have essentially been doing what is called 'doughnutting'
- i.e. failing to have a ticket for the full journey - just short tickets to get through the barriers at the start and end of your journey
and
- deliberately claiming a discount for a Railcard recued fare, when you do not won the railcard.

Clearly this is deliberate pre planned ticket evasion that you have been doing for some time

In England failing to have a valid ticket for your railway journey is a criminal offence, and you can be prosecuted in court for just one incidence of this. You would be found guilty, be fined (this is the punishment for the crime) and charged costs. You would also receive a criminal record. If you fail to respond to the railway company about all this they will simply prosecute you anyway and you will be found guilty in your absence.

They can track you through the details on your ticket I would think (your 'digital fingerprints') as well as via the information you probably gave them when you were stopped without a valid ticket.

You should also know the railway can examine your ticket buying going back for several years and if they see suspicious patterns they may ask you about that and seek money for other fares evaded

However

What the railway company really want you to do is:

- stope doing this and never do it again
- learn from your mistake
- pay them what you owe them for the fares evaded

This means that they are often prepared to agree to an 'put of court settlement' in exchange for a commitment that you do the above points. An out of court settlement is an agreement you make with the railway company in this case, before they decide to prosecute you.

If you look at many other threads on this forum you will see that this often happens, and people are advised here on how best to go about this, even though you must understand this can not be guaranteed.

Your objective should be to try to get an out of court settlement and avoid being prosecuted in court if at all possible

The first part of this process is that they will write to you (most likely in hard copy post to the address you gave them). You must not ignore that letter. When you receive the letter you should head back here for advice on how to reply. It is vital that you reply if you want to try and avoid being prosecuted in court

It may take some weeks (or even months) before you get the letter - so you should arrange to have your post forwarded if you move address or go away (eg back to Portugal) for a period of time such as university holidays, as you need to reply promptly

It is worth you reading the GWR Revenue Protection Policy which is here. Read all of this. This will help explain their approach to what you have been doing

https://www.gwr.com/-/media/gwr-sc-website/files/revenue-protection-policy/GWR-Revenue-Protection-Policy-January-2023.pdf

In the mean time these are things you can do now:

- travel with a valid ticket every trip
- buy a railcard to legitimately reduce the costs of your fares - this is not an expensive thing for you to do and it is something you can say to show you have changed your ways
- go back through your ticket buying records and calculate the total of the fares evaded (you do not have to share that here)
- save up the money for the fares evaded, and make sure you can access it easily and quickly if they offer you a settlement
- as you are a student, go to your university / student union advice service to ask if they have any access to free help about this - eg they may have access to a free or reduced charge solicitor / legal advice that could potentially help you resolve this problem

I hope this answers your questions and tells you what to expect and what to do.

If you have any further questions please post them for people to answer.

 

[aviationgeek]

You have been offered some great advise here, please follow it.

Can I ask please, when are you due to leave the UK and will you be leaving for good?