Letter from TIL

[Hadders]

I think the letter's fine, I would incorporate the suggestions made by @fandroid A couple of minor amendments:

- it is a 16-25 Railcard not a 16-25 Saver
- in the sentence near the end that starts 'I plead...' I'd say 'I wondered if Chiltern Railways would consider allowing me to pay the outstanding fares and your administration costs in dealing with this case to avoid the need for this case to be dealt with in the Magistrates Court'.

Don't be surprised if this letter is met with a reply from TIL that says they see no reason why the matter should not proceed to court, and asking for further comments. This is normal for them.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[Jimmybonds007]

I think the letter's fine, I would incorporate the suggestions made by @fandroid A couple of minor amendments:

- it is a 16-25 Railcard not a 16-25 Saver
- in the sentence near the end that starts 'I plead...' I'd say 'I wondered if Chiltern Railways would consider allowing me to pay the outstanding fares and your administration costs in dealing with this case to avoid the need for this case to be dealt with in the Magistrates Court'.

Don't be surprised if this letter is met with a reply from TIL that says they see no reason why the matter should not proceed to court, and asking for further comments. This is normal for them.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Thank you.I was hoping you’d respond. Someone mentioned earlier, that you should drop some facts (like student) so that you have more to add in the second letter. Otherwise what further comments do I have!?

 

[Hadders]

Thank you.I was hoping you’d respond. Someone mentioned earlier, that you should drop some facts (like student) so that you have more to add in the second letter. Otherwise what further comments do I have!?

There's not much more you can say if you need to write a second letter to them. It's basically the same points with some different wording. I'd cross that bridge when you get to it.

 

[Jimmybonds007]

There's not much more you can say if you need to write a second letter to them. It's basically the same points with some different wording. I'd cross that bridge when you get to it.

Ok will get this re-written, printed, signed, scanned and emailed, followed by it going in the post by 1st class signed for. I suspect they won’t rush to respond.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Jul 2023 ==

Sorry one final question. I read somewhere, not on this thread, that you should/could write to the railway company as well, as TIL look to them for guidance on what they want to do as this progresses? I may have my case confused with another operator so this may not be the way to go now or at anytime, but I do have the head of frauds email, so can email him or at least copy him in if that’s an idea?

 

[WesternLancer]

Ok will get this re-written, printed, signed, scanned and emailed, followed by it going in the post by 1st class signed for. I suspect they won’t rush to respond.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Jul 2023 ==

Sorry one final question. I read somewhere, not on this thread, that you should/could write to the railway company as well, as TIL look to them for guidance on what they want to do as this progresses? I may have my case confused with another operator so this may not be the way to go now or at anytime, but I do have the head of frauds email, so can email him or at least copy him in if that’s an idea?

One minor comment - I noted the phrase 'gotten' which AFAIK is an amercanism, not English. Personally I'd amend but this is minor.

Never recall advice on here to write to railway company as well as TIL if TIL are handling the case. Chiltern have contracted TIL to do this, they won't be interested in other letters and would at best just forward it t TIL. Bear in mind fare evasion is (seemingly) endemic in UK so TIL will be dealing with hundreds of these each week for Chilterns and others - I can't see anyone at Chiltern reading a separate letter in detail and contacting TIL to say 'sounds like this chap is OK, take it easy on him'...I suspect it would just be ignored. At most you could send a copy of what is sent to TIL to Chiltern's revenue protection team but I'm not sure it's worth the stamp. Obv if others disagree their thoughts would be of value.

 

[Hadders]

I agree with @WesternLancer Do not write separately to Chiltern Railways. TIL are handling the case so there is no point in writing to Chiltern directly, it will just confuse things and could even be counter-productive.

 

[AlbertBeale]

The part of the draft saying "...paying whatever fine and administration costs..." is a bit misleading. What you're asking them is to be able to pay an out-of-court settlement to avoid having to pay a fine. Technically, only a court can issue a fine (and hence give you a criminal record). Better to say "whatever reimbursement of fares", or "whatever settlement costs", or somesuch.

 

[fandroid]

I think that it's worth leaving a few individual touches that show it's not been entirely written by a committee, even if those are not quite grammatical nor exact legal terms. As long as the basic substance is correct

 

[Jimmybonds007]

Thank you. All the comments have been incorporated and it's still very much his letter. We are fully expecting a letter back saying they will prosecute so appreciate our expectations being set - that helps. Once the letter is back (no odea how long they take), I will update and then ask for re-written help I will NOT write/copy in the fraud team at Chiltern as advised.

 

[Jimmybonds007]

Hello all,

So he got a letter back (in the post) 10 days later offering a settlement of £350 which we are 'delighted' with as we were expecting a second summons letter. The mitigation they gave was that he had a clean file basicallly.

I have no doubt that the advice on here in crafting the letter made this outcome possible and so I am hugely grateful. I do think that as he was contrite and honest about the frequency of the child ticket purchasing helped, but we will never know. I have attached below the EXACT letter we sent in case it's helpful for people in the future.

Thank you again.



Dear Ms Ashby,

I am writing to you after the arrival of a letter of prosecution on the 7th of July 2023.

I was stopped on a train going from London Marylebone to Gerrards Cross on the 19th March 2023 by a ticket inspector as I was carrying a child's ticket as opposed to an adult's ticket with my 16-25 railcard (I turned 18 in late Jan 23).

Upon receiving this letter, I have looked at my trainline history to see that I have repeated this action around 20 times from June 2022 up until the 19th March 2023. For starters, I am incredibly apologetic for my actions and apologize for any inconvenience caused. This was due to a total lack of judgement, as I have never done anything like this before. I have been using child tickets for most of my life and I got into the habit of buying them. Ever since the incident on March the 19th 2023, I have not repeated the offence and have been using the railcard.

This has been a huge leaming curve for me, not only in this instance, but life in general and can ensure you, that under no circumstance will this be repeated again. I am an 18 year old student and to be honest I am overwhelmed by the proposition of going to court and so I wondered if Chiltern Railways would consider allowing me to pay whatever settlement costs they deem is appropriate in dealing with this case.

I would really want to avoid this going to the Magistrates Court and have already started looking for a second summer job in order to pay any settlement figure you may offer me. Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely

 

[Hadders]

That’s a decent result, all things considered.

Thank you for letting us know the outcome, it really does help us to give good advice to other people in the future.