Issued a ticket for prosecution

[gmoore1]

Hi and thank you in advance,

I travelled today and was issued with a slip informing me that I would be prosecuted by the inspector. I had travelled without a ticket but as the inspector was issuing a ticket to someone else, i bought a ticket on an app for £17 The inspector informed me I had bought the ticket after my journey which I denied and explained there was an internet issue which might explain the issue with the ticket purchase time. I was asked for my details and I originally gave an incorrect name as was frightened. The inspector said it was a fact you bought the ticket after the journey which I again denied. Another inspector intervened and was much more friendly and just asked how I got through the station. As was true I said the ticket officer waved me through as there was an issue with commuters using ticket machine. My train ticket was for 9.05 train which I later obtained and the slip ticket time for prosecution was 9.25. Can I have advice on best way forward please. I'm really worried and something that has never happened before.

 

[jfollows]

Hello and welcome!

If you bought your ticket on the train then you’re guilty of the by-law offence of joining a train without having a valid ticket.

So wait until they write to you, post the letter here with personal details obscured and we’ll be able to help you with a reply. Look around the forum for similar cases. Essentially you’re guilty but if you “engage” with them in due course you should be able to agree a settlement, which will be for ~£150 plus the ticket cost.

 

[John R]

Never happened before, or never been caught before?

I ask because they are likely to review your account for any evidence of other fare evasion, such as buying short tickets to get through gatelines. If they do find some then they are likely to base any settlement taking account of other suspected cases.

 

[gmoore1]

I've never been caught before. I didn't often use the train but my car has been having repairs so I've been on the train more recently. There are some short journeys( one stop)but there are as much longer journeys.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Dec 2024 ==

I use an external application for the train. Can they access that to look at my journeys?

 

[WesternLancer]

I use an external application for the train. Can they access that to look at my journeys?

They can look at everything from any retailer that sells tickets. There is no data protection reason why they can not investigate your ticket buying history.

The rule is you must 'buy before you board' using your chosen method of purchase (on line, ticket machine, or ticket office if there is one) - there are a very few exceptions. if you name the station you boarded at we can advise if you had a valid reason to buy on board which would mean they would not be able to prosecute you for example (you are not required to buy on your phone if there is no way to buy a ticket before boarding, but 'no way' does not mean you were in a rush for the train).

the rule is that the moment you step on the train if you have not bought a ticket before that you can in theory be prosecuted. If they think you have often done this they will suspect deliberate evasion (because you only buy a ticket when you see the inspector coming down the train checking tickets, or that is what they think, and in this case what it reads to me as you saying you essentially did do - which is known as 'pay when challenged' behaviour) and they will be more inclined to prosecute if they can find evidence of deliberate and persistent evasion.

With help from here people can advise you how to legitimately avoid this, but it will require you to engage with them and pay what you owe.

It would help if you could mention what stations were involved and what train company you were travelling on / whose staff inspected your ticket (eg Thameslink, Southern, Great Western, Greater Anglia, TfL etc)

 

[gmoore1]

Thank you. The Trainline was Thameslink. The stations were Rochester and Woolwich

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Dec 2024 ==

Sorry I meant to say the stations were Gillingham and Deptford.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you. The Trainline was Thameslink. The stations were Rochester and Woolwich

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Dec 2024 ==

Sorry I meant to say the stations were Gillingham and Deptford.

OK - well all of those stations would have had ticket buying facilities at them I'm sure - so no get out clause for you in that regard.

More positively, if you engage with them Thameslink are likely to be amendable to settling the matter with you and not prosecuting than some other train operators. You will need to be prepared to engage with them (i.e. watch out for a letter posted to you hard copy and it is vital you reply to that to seek an outcome that is not prosecution - see other threads for examples) and to pay the costs of the fares not correctly paid / evaded plus an admin fee for investigation all this - eg £150. If they agree not to prosecute then you will need to be prepared to pay the sum they request promptly so make sure you have money saved up.

They may also look at things like your postal address and if they see tickets bought from stations not near your home that they think are 'short fares' - ie buying a ticket for part of the journey - they may ask you about that / ask you to explain why you were not commencing your travel from your home.

You just have to wait and see what they ask you about and get advice from here on how to best reply.

 

[AlterEgo]

It'll look to them like you just buy short tickets to enter or exit the system without pushing the barriers, and only bought a ticket for your full journey on the rare occasion you were approached by inspectors. It makes no sense why you would deny buying the ticket after boarding - I mean, why tell a lie?

 

[gmoore1]

It'll look to them like you just buy short tickets to enter or exit the system without pushing the barriers, and only bought a ticket for your full journey on the rare occasion you were approached by inspectors. It makes no sense why you would deny buying the ticket after boarding - I mean, why tell a lie?

I panicked and tried to buy the ticket on the app so I did not receive a fine..and here I am

 

[MotCO]

As others have said, if you engage positively with them, accept you were in the wrong, and can persuade them that you have learnt your lesson and will not reoffend, you should be offered an out of Court settlement. Just make sure you always buy the correct ticket in the future - if in any doubt, pop back here for advice. You may want to think about buying a railcard to reduce your ticket costs, but there are some restrictions.

 

[gmoore1]

As others have said, if you engage positively with them, accept you were in the wrong, and can persuade them that you have learnt your lesson and will not reoffend, you should be offered an out of Court settlement. Just make sure you always buy the correct ticket in the future - if in any doubt, pop back here for advice. You may want to think about buying a railcard to reduce your ticket costs, but there are some restrictions.

Thank you

 

[WesternLancer]

I panicked and tried to buy the ticket on the app so I did not receive a fine..and here I am

Yes, their hand held ticket readers are set up so they can see the exact time of purchase and the scanner is programmed with the train time so it flags any ticket bought after the train has departed the station concerned so the staff can question the passenger, or so I believe.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Yes, their hand held ticket readers are set up so they can see the exact time of purchase and the scanner is programmed with the train time so it flags any ticket bought after the train has departed the station concerned so the staff can question the passenger, or so I believe.

The position seems to be that if you travelled from a station with no available ticketing facilities, then you can buy a ticket on the train from the conductor or guard. Also you may be able to pay at an excess fares window on arrival. Otherwise you committed an offence when boarding the train without a ticket and buying a retrospecive ticket whilst on the train doesn't change this. If there's no inspection and the ticket was for the full journey (by specifying a later train), presumably the exit barriers aren't sophisticated enough to detect that you must have boarded without a ticket.