Misuse of Freedom Pass

[Buzz01]

Hi everyone,





I was recently caught using my dad’s Freedom Pass on TfL, and I’m very worried about the consequences. I know it was wrong and I regret it deeply, but I want to explain the situation honestly.





Over the past couple of months, I have used my dad’s Freedom Pass on some occasions when I was struggling financially. I just finished university and I’m currently in my overdraft. I’ve only just started a part-time job but haven’t yet received my first pay. On days when I really couldn’t afford travel, I wrongly used his pass, but whenever I could, I paid for my own travel – which is shown in my bank statements. I never intended this to be a permanent solution, just a poor decision during financial difficulty.





I now fully understand how serious this is. I didn’t steal the pass – my dad allowed me to use it – but I accept that using someone else’s Freedom Pass is fare evasion, and I am really worried about whether this could be treated as fraud.





I am prepared to apologise formally to TfL, cooperate fully, and pay any outstanding fares or costs. What I hope for most is to settle the matter without going to court, as I’m very anxious about the possibility of a criminal record affecting my future employment after just finishing uni. I start my corporate job in January full time and they have processed my DBS and any other checks and it was clear. My job is at a Big4 and I really do not want this mistake to destroy my career that I have been building for the past 3 years.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

 

[spotify95]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

Other people will be here to give more details, however:

You will receive a letter within a couple of weeks or so (TfL act quite quickly), to the name and address you gave. Hopefully you can access post at this location. It is often referred to as a "verification letter".

You'll then need to reply to the letter, apologizing for your actions. There are various examples of what has happened to other people, including those dealing with TFL and mis-use of passes.

Unfortunately, TfL do not offer out of court settlements like their National Rail counterparts, and consider pass misuse as a serious offense - they almost always prosecute under the TfL Bylaws. If this progressed to court, you'd be found guilty (or you'd plead guilty), and have to pay: a fine, a victim surcharge, court costs, and compensation for any fares owed.

You may be able to use the services of a solicitor to try and persuade TfL to issue a warning instead. However, solicitors are very expensive (upwards of £600) and if the solicitor couldn't persuade TfL to drop the case, you'd still have to pay their costs.

As an aside, don't tell TfL that your parent was involved in this, otherwise he may get into trouble as well.

This post explains the process in further detail, regarding what happens in these circumstances:

Didn’t get a penalty fine

I was at hayes and harlington station and was in a rush, i used my phone to tap but it didn’t go through and looked as if i was tailgating. The gentlemen took my details down and said i won’t make you pay a penalty because you seem honest and nice and gave me a ticket to cover my trip to...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[furlong]

Have you received a letter from TfL yet?
You need to read your contract and other regulatory requirements carefully: You might already have a duty to inform your employer that you are under investigation for fraud.
While there may be some wriggle room initially, once you have a letter, you'll need to assess what it says against your contractual and regulatory requirements.

 

[Haywain]

Further to furlong's comments above, you should also bear in mind that failure to disclose is often viewed as much more serious than the disclosure of a minor offence.

 

[Buzz01]

I dont think mine will be deemed as fraud if i do get persecuted, because it still comes under the railway act. And from what i know i don't need to notify my employer unless they ask. And additionally i havent received anything yet so this is just me being prepared.

 

[simonw]

I dont think mine will be deemed as fraud if i do get persecuted, because it still comes under the railway act. And from what i know i don't need to notify my employer unless they ask. And additionally i havent received anything yet so this is just me being prepared.

Why do you think that using a freedom card that you knew wasn't yours and that you weren't entitled to use would not be prosecuted as fraud?

 

[AndroidBango]

I dont think mine will be deemed as fraud if i do get persecuted, because it still comes under the railway act. And from what i know i don't need to notify my employer unless they ask. And additionally i havent received anything yet so this is just me being prepared.

If you are working in finance then you will have to be squeaky clean about reporting offences which are fundamentally about honesty.

 

[island]

Why do you think that using a freedom card that you knew wasn't yours and that you weren't entitled to use would not be prosecuted as fraud?

They're right. TfL don't prosecute this as fraud. They prosecute it under TfL byelaw 17.

 

[spotify95]

They're right. TfL don't prosecute this as fraud. They prosecute it under TfL byelaw 17.

But they will still prosecute, meaning a guilty plea (or being found guilty) will mean having to declare to employers (not declaring this is, as mentioned, way more serious than the offence itself) - and also if TfL find the OP doing this on multiple occasions, they may also be issued with a court summons to deal with "offences taken into consideration".

 

[Buzz01]

if i do get prosecuted, may i know how it comes up on my criminal record and how do employers use this

 

[AlterEgo]

if i do get prosecuted, may i know how it comes up on my criminal record and how do employers use this

Is your job a regulated profession? It may be an immaterial question if you have to report the matter to your registering body anyway.

 

[Buzz01]

Is your job a regulated profession? It may be an immaterial question if you have to report the matter to your registering body anyway.

I do not work that job right now, i have simply onboarded after my summer internship and i start early next yr. Its not regulated like the gmc for doctors or SIRA for solicitors but i guess my firm does have their own internal policies like a dbs check. But i just wanted to know how does it appear, what are the conditions and what should i know and be mindful about if i catch this minor offence.

 

[John R]

Have you, at the very least, checked that when you stated that you were free of any criminal convictions in your application that there is no ongoing obligation before you start to notify them of any change?

 

[Buzz01]

Have you, at the very least, checked that when you stated that you were free of any criminal convictions in your application that there is no ongoing obligation before you start to notify them of any change?

I mean I have submitted my application over a year ago so i do not remember. I have done everything through experia and at that time there was nothing ongoing. I don't work for them YET. And nothing has changed yet either, this is all hypothetical and I wanted to know what kind of affect it could have, i read it somewhere that it dosent appear on a dbs check and only the police can access it and only appears if it is an enhanced dbs check for certain things. Could you inform me on that?

 

[simonw]

I do not work that job right now, i have simply onboarded after my summer internship and i start early next yr. Its not regulated like the gmc for doctors or SIRA for solicitors but i guess my firm does have their own internal policies like a dbs check. But i just wanted to know how does it appear, what are the conditions and what should i know and be mindful about if i catch this minor offence.

If you are joining a big 4 is accounting firm you will have to declare it when applying for student membership of icaew

 

[Buzz01]

If you are joining a big 4 is accounting firm you will have to declare it when applying for student membership of icaew

Yeah but im not doing accounting. Im on consulting. But of course if they ask I will tell them the truth.

 

[Titfield]

Yeah but im not doing accounting. Im on consulting. But of course if they ask I will tell them the truth.

With all due respect you need to be very careful taking this position.

Many contracts of employment state as a condition of employment that you abode by the staff handbook.

Staff handbooks often contain the requirement that you disclose any conviction or where you are subject to legal proceedings ie you have to tell them, not wait for them to ask you.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

With all due respect you need to be very careful taking this position.

Many contracts of employment state as a condition of employment that you abode by the staff handbook.

Staff handbooks often contain the requirement that you disclose any conviction or where you are subject to legal proceedings ie you have to tell them, not wait for them to ask you.

There must be fora like this devoted to graduate jobs with the big 4 accountants. At the very least, see if any of those have a steer on this sort of thing.

My personal view is that it's better to advise your (potential) employer sooner rather than later: if the worst happens and they let you go it's much easier to explain not having had a job than it is to say why you were chucked out after six weeks or so.

 

[island]

Having worked in a management position at a big 4 I can confirm that my erstwhile firm would be much less happy about an employee with a criminal conviction were we to find out about it other than from the employee. And there are ways other than DBS checks for these things to be found out.

 

[John R]

Having worked in a management position at a big 4 I can confirm that my erstwhile firm would be much less happy about an employee with a criminal conviction were we to find out about it other than from the employee. And there are ways other than DBS checks for these things to be found out.

And likewise, at a major insurance group we discovered that someone had been convicted of a offence prior to joining and had not disclosed it in their application. They left the following day and have not worked in the sector since. Had they disclosed the conviction at application stage it may not have been a problem - it was the non-disclosure which was the issue.

 

[Skymonster]

Yeah but im not doing accounting. Im on consulting. But of course if they ask I will tell them the truth.

In a large consulting company you've got to consider the possibility you may be assigned to an overseas project in the future. Things could become a tad difficult if you needed a visa for the assignment and the visa application asks about criminal records (especially if the company was sponsoring / applying for the visa on your behalf). I suggest you need to think rather carefully, especially once you know the outcome of your misuse of the pass.

 

[Titfield]

Truth will out.

 

[35B]

With all due respect you need to be very careful taking this position.

Many contracts of employment state as a condition of employment that you abode by the staff handbook.

Staff handbooks often contain the requirement that you disclose any conviction or where you are subject to legal proceedings ie you have to tell them, not wait for them to ask you.

This.

When you signed up, you will have been provided with information by your future employer, which will include conditions you need to abide by for them to honour the job offer. You need to read that carefully - very carefully - and think whether there is even the slightest implied obligation to tell them early.

I work for a large consultancy (not part of the Big 4 accountancy firms) and, if in your situation, would be very careful indeed. The HR policies are all about whether you can do your job - and give the employer a lot of latitude to dismiss if that's in question. If you need them to sponsor you for a visa, or work that involves security clearance, you may find that you don't have a choice about what comes out about your history - at which point things could get very sticky indeed if HR think you've not played by their rules.

 

[Buzz01]

i want to get a solicitor, anyone know any good ones? I received the verification letter today

 

[WesternLancer]

i want to get a solicitor, anyone know any good ones? I received the verification letter today

solicitors that get mentioned on the forum by other people (I have never used any of them myself nor have any connections) are listed below - you can look for mentions of them in the search facility to see what people say. You can presumably get quotes from them. There may be other firms of course.

Manak Solicitors

Fare Evasion Solicitors | Kent & London | Manak Solicitors

Manak Solicitors: Skilled legal defence for fare evasion cases. Rely on our experienced team to protect your rights, challenge penalties, and guide you through the process.

manaksolicitors.co.uk

Makwanas

Fare Evasion Solicitors London | High Success Rate | TFL Solicitors

Facing prosecution for fare evasion? Our expert fare evasion solicitors in London fight to protect your record. With deep expertise in TFL solicitors' defence, we help you avoid fines, criminal convictions, and lasting consequences. Act now—secure expert legal representation today!

www.makwanas.co.uk

Gray Hooper Holt

www.grayhooperholt.co.uk

We have a specialist fare evasion legal team that are ready and waiting to help you.

 

[Buzz01]

Do you guys advise getting a solicitor? Because I want to avoid a conviction and Im going to start my corporate job in January since i just graduated and it is not a good look if they find out before i even begin my employment

It is a non recordable offence so do you think its worth not getting a solicitor since it dosent guarantee a warning

 

[simonw]

Do you guys advise getting a solicitor? Because I want to avoid a conviction and Im going to start my corporate job in January since i just graduated and it is not a good look if they find out before i even begin my employment

It is a non recordable offence so do you think its worth not getting a solicitor since it dosent guarantee a warning

Please upload a copy of the letter you have received, with any identifying info removed so people can see what has been sent to you.

 

[Wolfie]

What l haven't seen mentioned is that @Buzz01 stated that their father was aware of their improper use of the Freedom Pass. That could well, if it was said to TfL, result in at best the father having the Pass removed and at worst facing action from TfL themselves.

 

[Spaceship323]

Only you can decide if getting a solicitor is in your best interests, the only thing I would say is (if you decide to) make sure you use someone experienced in TFL fare evasion cases such as the ones listed above

 

[WesternLancer]

Do you guys advise getting a solicitor? Because I want to avoid a conviction and Im going to start my corporate job in January since i just graduated and it is not a good look if they find out before i even begin my employment

It is a non recordable offence so do you think its worth not getting a solicitor since it dosent guarantee a warning

Only you can decide if you want to spend the money on solicitors fees that this will cost (so do get quotes before committing yourself). That's a balance I suspect between the risk of messing up your future job, and the income that will come from that (presumably several £k salary), vs the cost of a solicitor.

Obviously we only see a tiny fraction of the cases that TfL must act on in this forum, but it does seem - perhaps anecdotally - that where people update us and say they have used a solicitor, it seems more likely that they have achieved the outcome of a warning and not prosecution by TfL as a result of the solicitor acting on the person's behalf.

If you put the names of the firms on the forum search you can read the cases where people have used those firms and updated and then you can see the circumstances involved, which may help you weigh the decision up in your mind.