Need help, Intention to Prosecute from Thameslink

[alexxx]

Hi! I found this intention to prosecute letter from thameslink railway in my mailbox today (which was sent on 8 April, but I was traveling for the last month). It's about my trip on 25 Jan from Wembley Park to Gatwick airport, I check that I can use oyster card to tap in and out for this journey, the first part is from Wembley to Farringdon (underground), the second part is from Farringdon to Gatwick airport (Thameslink). So I tap in at Wembley park and change at Farringdon without exit the station. When I arrived at the airport I found staff checking ticket at the exit gate so I got nervous and thought maybe I need a ticket, then I bought a ticket online and show it to the staff, no superise I was asked why I bought this ticket last minute and ask some of my information. Before I leave I ask the officer is the oyster valide for this journey and receive yes answer, I state that I tap in from Wembley Park and now I want to tap out here to finish my trip, I also ask him to record that I have oyster as my ticket.

I thought I won't receive this letter anymore but now when I want to submit my oyster card history, it only store 8 weeks on the TFL system, which means now I can't prove my journey (it's too late even on 8th April). I sent the letter back today about sorry for the late reply and explain the situation and can't provide the oyster history now, but I left my oyster card number. This is the first time for me and I don't think I have any bad records on Thameslink before. Do you think they will still prosecute me cause I didn't reply within 14 days? What should I do next, do you think I should mail another letter with better format like in this forums tomorrow? So panic now. Thank you!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 May 2025 ==

I only got 2 emails sent to the thamesline saying about that I use oyster card on Feb. I think have download the ticket on my laptop but it was stolen on the Feb, I got the police reference for this case.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi! I found this intention to prosecute letter from thameslink railway in my mailbox today (which was sent on 8 April, but I was traveling for the last month). It's about my trip on 25 Jan from Wembley Park to Gatwick airport, I check that I can use oyster card to tap in and out for this journey, the first part is from Wembley to Farringdon (underground), the second part is from Farringdon to Gatwick airport (Thameslink). So I tap in at Wembley park and change at Farringdon without exit the station. When I arrived at the airport I found staff checking ticket at the exit gate so I got nervous and thought maybe I need a ticket, then I bought a ticket online and show it to the staff, no superise I was asked why I bought this ticket last minute and ask some of my information. Before I leave I ask the officer is the oyster valide for this journey and receive yes answer, I state that I tap in from Wembley Park and now I want to tap out here to finish my trip, I also ask him to record that I have oyster as my ticket.

I thought I won't receive this letter anymore but now when I want to submit my oyster card history, it only store 8 weeks on the TFL system, which means now I can't prove my journey (it's too late even on 8th April). I sent the letter back today about sorry for the late reply and explain the situation and can't provide the oyster history now, but I left my oyster card number. This is the first time for me and I don't think I have any bad records on Thameslink before. Do you think they will still prosecute me cause I didn't reply within 14 days? What should I do next, do you think I should mail another letter with better format like in this forums tomorrow? So panic now. Thank you!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 May 2025 ==

I only got 2 emails sent to the thamesline saying about that I use oyster card on Feb. I think have download the ticket on my laptop but it was stolen on the Feb, I got the police reference for this case.

Can you upload a copy of the reply you say you have sent to them recently.

And how many days after the 14 day deadline did you post that reply to them?

 

[alexxx]

Can you upload a copy of the reply you say you have sent to them recently.

Here is my hasty reply:
'Dear Sir or Madam.
Sorry for the late reply cause I was away for my arnal leave and just got this letter from my mail box.
On the 25 Jan 2025, I was travling from Wembley Park station using my oyster card to tap in and transfer the Thameslink to Gatwick airport at Farringdon. I thought the oyster card should work for this travel but when I arrived at the airport, I saw people checking the ticket, I thought maybe I need do buy a ticket on my phone. Then a staff stop me and ask why I just bought this ticket, after explain everything, I tap out with my oyster card and finished my journey. I tried to connect you many times by email or phone, I'm sorry that I can't provide the oyster card history since TFL only kept it for 8 weeks. But here is my oyster card number: xxxxxxxx.
I'm sorry about this.
Best Regards'

I know this might be a really bad reply and my hand writing is bad too, so I'm wondering if I need to write and print a new letter tomorrow.

 

[Trainman40083]

Here is my hasty reply:
'Dear Sir or Madam.
Sorry for the late reply cause I was away for my arnal leave and just got this letter from my mail box.
On the 25 Jan 2025, I was travling from Wembley Park station using my oyster card to tap in and transfer the Thameslink to Gatwick airport at Farringdon. I thought the oyster card should work for this travel but when I arrived at the airport, I saw people checking the ticket, I thought maybe I need do buy a ticket on my phone. Then a staff stop me and ask why I just bought this ticket, after explain everything, I tap out with my oyster card and finished my journey. I tried to connect you many times by email or phone, I'm sorry that I can't provide the oyster card history since TFL only kept it for 8 weeks. But here is my oyster card number: xxxxxxxx.
I'm sorry about this.
Best Regards'

I know this might be a really bad reply and my hand writing is bad too, so I'm wondering if I need to write and print a new letter tomorrow.

First paragraph... Annual leave.

 

[Pushpit]

OK, can I suggest the following changes for you. It did actually read quite well but a bit more attention to detail may make it easier to understand. I have added a couple of extra sentences. Only use those sentences if it is 100%, don't be led on by my choice of wording (or semi-colons!).
===

Dear Sir or Madam,

[Reference number]

I am sorry for the late reply because I was away for my annual leave and I have only just got this letter from my mail box.

On the 25 Jan 2025, I was travelling from Wembley Park station using my Oyster card to tap in and transfer via the Thameslink to Gatwick Airport at Farringdon. I thought the Oyster card should work for this travel but when I arrived at the airport, I saw people checking the ticket; I thought maybe I need to buy a ticket on my phone. Then a staff stopped me and asked why I just bought this unnecessary ticket. After I explained everything, I tapped out with my Oyster card and finished my journey. As far as I know, I paid in full the correct fare and used the Oyster in line with the conditions of travel.

I tried to contact you several times by email and phone. I'm sorry that I can't provide the Oyster card history since TFL only kept it visible for 8 weeks. But here is my Oyster card number: xxxxxxxx.

I'm sorry about this, but can I please ask you to review this case in the light of the above information.

Yours faithfully

 

[StarCrossing]

OK, can I suggest the following changes for you. It did actually read quite well but a bit more attention to detail may make it easier to understand. I have added a couple of extra sentences. Only use those sentences if it is 100%, don't be led on by my choice of wording (or semi-colons!).
===

Dear Sir or Madam,

[Reference number]

I am sorry for the late reply because I was away for my annual leave and I have only just got this letter from my mail box.

On the 25 Jan 2025, I was travelling from Wembley Park station using my Oyster card to tap in and transfer via the Thameslink to Gatwick Airport at Farringdon. I thought the Oyster card should work for this travel but when I arrived at the airport, I saw people checking the ticket; I thought maybe I need to buy a ticket on my phone. Then a staff stopped me and asked why I just bought this unnecessary ticket. After I explained everything, I tapped out with my Oyster card and finished my journey. As far as I know, I paid in full the correct fare and used the Oyster in line with the conditions of travel.

I tried to contact you several times by email and phone. I'm sorry that I can't provide the Oyster card history since TFL only kept it visible for 8 weeks. But here is my Oyster card number: xxxxxxxx.

I'm sorry about this, but can I please ask you to review this case in the light of the above information.

Yours faithfully

I strongly suggest NOT sending this.

If you do write to them again, it needs to be a brand new letter which firstly requests that they disregard your previous one (and explains the reasons why) and then immediately after that makes clear that you had a valid Oyster card - this detail should not be hidden in the middle of the letter.

However, before sending anything else, it would helpful to share the following info with us:

1. What offence are they accusing of you of committing? Does it say on the back of the letter?
2. What ticket did you buy? Was it Wembley to Gatwick or a shorter ticket?
3. Could you please share the emails you sent them? And did they email you? I can't tell from your post. Did they answer the phone when you called them? If so, how did the conversations go, and do you have a call log that proves you called them?

 

[alexxx]

I strongly suggest NOT sending this.

If you do write to them again, it needs to be a brand new letter which firstly requests that they disregard your previous one (and explains the reasons why) and then immediately after that makes clear that you had a valid Oyster card - this detail should not be hidden in the middle of the letter.

However, before sending anything else, it would helpful to share the following info with us:

1. What offence are they accusing of you of committing? Does it say on the back of the letter?
2. What ticket did you buy? Was it Wembley to Gatwick or a shorter ticket?
3. Could you please share the emails you sent them? And did they email you? I can't tell from your post. Did they answer the phone when you called them? If so, how did the conversations go, and do you have a call log that proves you called them?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 May 2025 ==

I strongly suggest NOT sending this.

If you do write to them again, it needs to be a brand new letter which firstly requests that they disregard your previous one (and explains the reasons why) and then immediately after that makes clear that you had a valid Oyster card - this detail should not be hidden in the middle of the letter.

However, before sending anything else, it would helpful to share the following info with us:

1. What offence are they accusing of you of committing? Does it say on the back of the letter?
2. What ticket did you buy? Was it Wembley to Gatwick or a shorter ticket?
3. Could you please share the emails you sent them? And did they email you? I can't tell from your post. Did they answer the phone when you called them? If so, how did the conversations go, and do you have a call log that proves you called them?

Thank you for your reply,
1. In the letter it says 'That you on 25 Jan 2025, Did enter a train for the purpose of travelling on the railway, and upon inspection at Gatwick Airport (GTW); did not produce a vaild ticket entitling travel.' But I'm sure I mentioned to the officer I'm using oyster and ask to tap out.
2. I bought a ticket from Farringdon to Gatwick Airport.
3. After spoken to the officer I immediately called the customer severice of Thameslink, state that I'm actually using Oyster as my ticket, I think this call might be recorded but I don't have it. Then I sent a email to 'gtr.prosecutions@gtrailway.com' as following

Dear Prosecution Department

I'm writing regarding a witness statement receipt (No: xxxxxxx) which issued with the MGxx. I had contact with the customer severice proving that I was using my Oyster as the valid ticket, but they advice me to contact you to cancel the prosecution cases.

Now I haven't received any penalty notice, but can you please send any further notice to the new address: xxxxxxxxx, since I can't get access to the old address or let me know if there is any penalty fares. Please let me know if I need to do anything or providing any other documents.

Best Regards

They do reply to me that 'Thank you for your email the correspondence address has been updated.'

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 May 2025 ==

OK, can I suggest the following changes for you. It did actually read quite well but a bit more attention to detail may make it easier to understand. I have added a couple of extra sentences. Only use those sentences if it is 100%, don't be led on by my choice of wording (or semi-colons!).
===

Dear Sir or Madam,

[Reference number]

I am sorry for the late reply because I was away for my annual leave and I have only just got this letter from my mail box.

On the 25 Jan 2025, I was travelling from Wembley Park station using my Oyster card to tap in and transfer via the Thameslink to Gatwick Airport at Farringdon. I thought the Oyster card should work for this travel but when I arrived at the airport, I saw people checking the ticket; I thought maybe I need to buy a ticket on my phone. Then a staff stopped me and asked why I just bought this unnecessary ticket. After I explained everything, I tapped out with my Oyster card and finished my journey. As far as I know, I paid in full the correct fare and used the Oyster in line with the conditions of travel.

I tried to contact you several times by email and phone. I'm sorry that I can't provide the Oyster card history since TFL only kept it visible for 8 weeks. But here is my Oyster card number: xxxxxxxx.

I'm sorry about this, but can I please ask you to review this case in the light of the above information.

Yours faithfully

Hi, thank you so much for the review, this looks better!

 

[Haywain]

Thank you for your reply,
1. In the letter it says 'That you on 25 Jan 2025, Did enter a train for the purpose of travelling on the railway, and upon inspection at Gatwick Airport (GTW); did not produce a vaild ticket entitling travel.' But I'm sure I mentioned to the officer I'm using oyster and ask to tap out.
2. I bought a ticket from Farringdon to Gatwick Airport.

You have no evidence of having used Oyster and the fact that you bought and presented a ticket from Farringdon to Gatwick does nothing to help your case, as it is the behaviour of someone seeking to avoid paying the correct fare. I regret to say that in my opinion you will need to seek a settlement to avoid prosecution. Had you taken steps to obtain your Oyster records while they were available your position would be stronger.

 

[StarCrossing]

I don't think it's worth saying anything more to them about your Oyster card if you can't prove you tapped in and out.

That leaves you with two choices:

1. Do nothing, and wait to see how they respond to the letter you sent yesterday.
2. Send a follow up letter, asking them to disregard your previous letter, apologising for failing to present a ticket that was valid for your whole journey and that was only bought at the end of the journey, promising not to do this again, and asking if they'd consider settling this out of court if you were to pay the full fare from Wembley to Gatwick and cover their costs.

If you do decide to take option 2, I suggest posting a draft here and asking people to review it for you.

 

[John R]

Have you actually tried asking TfL if it will provide confirmation of your use of Oyster on that day, as you are being threatened with prosecution by GTR, and the first correspondence from them came outside the 8 week window for you to check your account.

It doesn’t seem unreasonable in that situation that they should provide you with the data needed to defend yourself, as GTR accepts Oyster as a form of payment.

 

[Pushpit]

I also wonder if there is some supporting payment transaction that would indicate you had paid the correct fare. That's a £13 to £22 adult fare, depending on the time of day, so it may have triggered a clear payment for a relatively high ticket cost.

 

[alexxx]

Hi everyone, sorry I didn't reply to all of you but I would like to thank you for the suggestions post here, they really help me a lot.
I have received the out of court settlement about £70 and I'm going to pay it. After this I think the only advice here is to set a regular monthly travel report from TFL since they only kept it for you for 8 weeks.

Thank you all!

 

[StarCrossing]

Hi everyone, sorry I didn't reply to all of you but I would like to thank you for the suggestions post here, they really help me a lot.
I have received the out of court settlement about £70 and I'm going to pay it. After this I think the only advice here is to set a regular monthly travel report from TFL since they only kept it for you for 8 weeks.

Thank you all!

I'm glad to hear it's sorted. Thanks for letting us know.