Need help with an incident involving wrong savers card

[YaBoiYORU]

Good Evening, hope you are well.

Apologies for the inconvenience. A week ago, I bought myself a normal ticket like I always do, every monday and thursday, a 16-17 savers discounted london travelcard. Unfortunately, I hadn't realised this was expired, although I was sure it was expiring soon, I didnt realise It would expire on my 18th and I thought it would expire A year after I bought it. I did just in case have my 16-25 savers card as it came with the student account I opened up with santander.

Now this issue is, recently a person on the train was checking tickets, and I didnt realise my 16-17 saver was expired, I simply pulled out the ticket then my card, then he sat down and asked for my ID. He told me what had happened and I told him I also have a 16-25 savers card, I just didn't realise I was buying the wrong ticket for the last few months since february. He told me that there was going to be an investigation and I will get a letter in 4 to 6 weeks time (but its christmas holidays soon so I doubt it). From how it seemed, he thought I was trying to use my 16-17 savers as an excuse to get out of paying the right price but I told him I would be willing to pay the fare in full price if thats required. I can understand where he comes from though and said there will be an investigation.

I have a feeling that I may be prosecuted or have a court hearing for this, but it was honestly a big misunderstanding and I hadn't realised it was expired, If possible, could anyone guide me on what to do once this letter arrives.

At the time I did have a slight panic and told him that I accidentally bought the wrong ticket at the machine, but I think that may have made things worse for me. I would be happy to pay the penalty fare and I can promise to never make that mistake again and I will definitely be more mindful and always make sure I have valid cards and make sure to pay the right price (before september I used to go to college, so until around end of june, I used to buy tickets for around £5.30, but going to london costed me £21 with 16-17 savers).

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Which train company are you dealing with? Based on your location I'm assuming it's Chiltern but if you were caught by someone working for Transport for London then the advice I'm about to give would be a but different.

What happens next is that Chiltern will write to you, saying that they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you but asking for your comments before they decide how to proceed. I suggest sending a short, concise reply mentioning the following points:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Chiltern are normally prepared to offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with their investigation, and who haven't come to their attention before. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fare avoided at the full Anytime rate, with no credit given for the invalid ticket you did purchase plus an admin fee, typically £150. Chiltern will search your online ticket purchasing history and will want to factor the cost of previous occasions into the settlement cost. How have you been buying your tickets - online or through an app or from the ticket machine or ticket office?

When it arrives, post a copy of Chiltern's letter in this thread (do redact any personal details), along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

 

[YaBoiYORU]

Thank you for your response,

Yes I am dealing with Chiltern Railways here, before July I was buying my tickets on Trainline, then after September I was buying tickets by machine, he asked for my Trainline account but after opening up the app it turned out I used to buy tickets without an account. I didn’t go very often however before September, only about once or twice a week occasionally.


Once again thank you for the response and I genuinely appreciate the help, and yes I’ll upload a copy of the letter here once I receive it.

 

[Jim the Jim]

The thing is the 16-17 card is 50% off whereas the 16-25 card is only 1/3 off, so you have saved more money here than you are entitled to.

 

[Hadders]

Thank you for your response,

Yes I am dealing with Chiltern Railways here, before July I was buying my tickets on Trainline, then after September I was buying tickets by machine, he asked for my Trainline account but after opening up the app it turned out I used to buy tickets without an account. I didn’t go very often however before September, only about once or twice a week occasionally.


Once again thank you for the response and I genuinely appreciate the help, and yes I’ll upload a copy of the letter here once I receive it.

Thanks for confirming.

It's best to assume that Chiltern will be able to get visibility of tickets purchased through Trainline, even if they were purchased as a guest rather than via an account. They're highly unlikely to be able to have visibility of tickets purchased via the ticket machine.

 

[YaBoiYORU]

Thanks for confirming.

It's best to assume that Chiltern will be able to get visibility of tickets purchased through Trainline, even if they were purchased as a gust rather than via an account. They're highly unlikely to be able to have visibility of tickets purchased via the ticket machine.

I see, either way, I know the mistake I made and it’s best to be honest with them because I truly didn’t realise the mistake I made. Thank you for your assistance

 

[YaBoiYORU]

Welcome to the forum!

Which train company are you dealing with? Based on your location I'm assuming it's Chiltern but if you were caught by someone working for Transport for London then the advice I'm about to give would be a but different.

What happens next is that Chiltern will write to you, saying that they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you but asking for your comments before they decide how to proceed. I suggest sending a short, concise reply mentioning the following points:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Chiltern are normally prepared to offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with their investigation, and who haven't come to their attention before. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fare avoided at the full Anytime rate, with no credit given for the invalid ticket you did purchase plus an admin fee, typically £150. Chiltern will search your online ticket purchasing history and will want to factor the cost of previous occasions into the settlement cost. How have you been buying your tickets - online or through an app or from the ticket machine or ticket office?

When it arrives, post a copy of Chiltern's letter in this thread (do redact any personal details), along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

Just an update, its been roughly 5 weeks since the incident so the letter should be arriving within this next week

 

[Haywain]

Just an update, its been roughly 5 weeks since the incident so the letter should be arriving within this next week

There is no certainty of that. They have up to 6 months to bring the matter before a court, so you could be waiting quite a while to hear from them.

 

[YaBoiYORU]

There is no certainty of that. They have up to 6 months to bring the matter before a court, so you could be waiting quite a while to hear from them.

Oh I didn’t realise, the told me that I’ll get a letter in 4 to 6 weeks time and I have to tell them the situation. I’m mainly hoping I get a chance to talk to them first before they move it on to a court case or something similar because I’ve seen some similar incidents on the forums. I didn’t give them my address, or specifically he didn’t ask for it, he basically just took a photo of my provisional license at the time which had my address on it

 

[YaBoiYORU]

Good Morning, hope you are well, I just received the letter today. I will be writing up a short response in a minute. I would appreciate any help.

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi.

Post your draft letter when you're ready and people will proofread it for you. Hadders gave you some tips on what to write early on in the thread.

 

[YaBoiYORU]

Hi.

Post your draft letter when you're ready and people will proofread it for you. Hadders gave you some tips on what to write early on in the thread.

Okay I have written a draft letter.

Good morning,

Hope you are well, This email is regarding the letter I received for Prosecution. The Customer Reference is (NUMBER), My name is (NAME), The incident was on Thursday 12th December 2024, and my address is (ADDRESS). In the letter, my name has been misspelled to (MISSPELLED NAME), in case you can't find the report.

First of all, I would like to apologise from the bottom of my heart. It was an honest mistake on my part, I had my 16-17 saver and misunderstood the Terms and Conditions, at the time, from what I understood was that it would last for a year even if I buy it before I turn 18, however I did not realise it expires when I turn 18. Genuine mistake on my behalf. Furthermore, it was the only time I had taken a train for a long time, it had been a few months since I went on the train before then.

I did show the 16-17 saver to the staff, and I had a 16-25 saver on me as well which I showed after I panicked a little. I received that with my Santander student account. I showed my old travel history to the staff as well from back around February and March. I stopped travelling around this time too and started travelling again in December.

I have definitely learned from the incident and I can assure you that this has not happened again and will never happen again on my part.

If possible, I would like to settle the incident without the need for court action, and I would be willing to pay the outstanding fare.

Once again, I apologise for the trouble I have caused.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

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[30907]

Okay I have written a draft letter.

Good morning,

Hope you are well, This email is regarding the letter I received for Prosecution. The Customer Reference is (NUMBER), My name is (NAME), The incident was on Thursday 12th December 2024, and my address is (ADDRESS). In the letter, my name has been misspelled to (MISSPELLED NAME), in case you can't find the report.

First of all, I would like to apologise from the bottom of my heart. It was an honest mistake on my part, I had my 16-17 saver and misunderstood the Terms and Conditions, at the time, from what I understood was that it would last for a year even if I buy it before I turn 18, however I did not realise it expires when I turn 18. Genuine mistake on my behalf. Furthermore, it was the only time I had taken a train for a long time, it had been a few months since I went on the train before then.

Is this what the train company will find when they check your history? It's not quite what you said upthread.

I just didn't realise I was buying the wrong ticket for the last few months since february

I did show the 16-17 saver to the staff, and I had a 16-25 saver on me as well which I showed after I panicked a little. I received that with my Santander student account. I showed my old travel history to the staff as well from back around February and March. I stopped travelling around this time too and started travelling again in December.

I don't think you need this paragraph.

I have definitely learned from the incident and I can assure you that this has not happened again and will never happen again on my part.

If possible, I would like to settle the incident without the need for court action, and I would be willing to pay the outstanding fare.

"grateful if you would consider offering a settlement, including covering your administrative costs"
They will certainly not just demand one fare - while you should not incriminate yourself, you should equally not suggest there was only one offence.

 

[YaBoiYORU]

Is this what the train company will find when they check your history? It's not quite what you said upthread.



I don't think you need this paragraph.

"grateful if you would consider offering a settlement, including covering your administrative costs"
They will certainly not just demand one fare - while you should not incriminate yourself, you should equally not suggest there was only one offence.

Good Afternoon, Thank you for your response, In my history I went travelling until april/may and thats when I stopped travelling. I was not travelling every day, it was once every two weeks or so and yes I agree I will word the last few paragraphs differently. When I said february, I meant feb 2024 to april/may 2024, then started travelling again in december 2024.