NIP from Chiltern Railways - short fare

[Lolly0305]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much in advance for any advice you can give.

My 22 yr old daughter has received an NIP from Chiltern Railways. She was stopped at Marylebone with a ticket from Wembley when she had actually travelled from Beaconsfield. She admitted to the officer she had done this. The letter says it has gathered information (we assume from Trainline) that she has done this before. She has told me that she did it 5-6 times in September as she was completely broke after paying for some tuition fees. The letter invites an explanation of mitigating circumstances via fraud@chilternraiways.co.uk but there is clearly none as she is guilty. The letter also states that 'the report indicates that in the absence of a satisfactory explanation, evidence does exist to warrant a prosecution'. Does this mean that if she sends an email accepting responsibility and expressing regret it will not suffice and she will be prosecuted?

I would welcome comments about the email she intends to send:

Dear Mr Ismail,

I am writing in response to the Notice of Intended Prosecution I recently received regarding my travel on [date(s)] and the associated fare discrepancies. I deeply regret my actions and wish to express my sincere apologies.

I acknowledge that purchasing tickets of a lower value than the correct fare was wrong and in breach of your policies. There is no justification for my behaviour, and I take full responsibility for my actions. I can only explain that, due to financial pressures at the time, I made poor decisions to save money. This was completely inappropriate, and I regret any inconvenience or loss caused to Chiltern Railways.

I fully understand the seriousness of this matter and assure you that I have learnt from this experience. I am committed to ensuring that this does not happen again. I have already taken steps to make certain that I always pay the correct fare for my journeys in the future.

To resolve this matter, I am willing to:

• Pay the fare difference for all journeys in question
• Cover any reasonable administrative costs

I kindly request that you consider my genuine remorse and willingness to settle this matter out of court. I hope this incident can be resolved amicably, and I am happy to cooperate fully with your department.

Once again, I apologise for my actions and any inconvenience caused. Please let me know if any additional steps are required from my side.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

 

[Gloster]

Please post all the paperwork or e-mails that she has received in this thread. Please obscure her name, address and any other identifying details, such as reference numbers.

 

[Lolly0305]

This is the body of the letter.

 

[John R]

We discourage the use of “I am willing” when asking for a settlement, as what you are willing to pay is irrelevant. Much better to ask very nicely “I would be very grateful if you would consider offering a financial settlement instead of continuing to prosecution, which I would be ready to pay promptly if offered”.

 

[Lolly0305]

Okay - thanks, I will amend! Is everything else good?

 

[SuspectUsual]

The letter invites an explanation of mitigating circumstances via fraud@chilternraiways.co.uk but there is clearly none as she is guilty

Mitigating circumstances are those which may help explain why someone commits a crime; there is only ever mitigation if someone is guilty, you can't mitigate if innocent. But more relevantly, being skint isn't going to be seen as acceptable mitigation

Otherwise, I would think about taking out the word "reasonable" as it sort of implies you'll kick back if you don't like the costs number they quote you, when in reality its what they say or a trip to court

 

[Lolly0305]

Yes I just noticed that and deleted it!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Nov 2024 ==

So without mitigation she is likely to be prosecuted?

 

[Titfield]

Yes I just noticed that and deleted it!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Nov 2024 ==

So without mitigation she is likely to be prosecuted?

Train Operating Companies usually only procced to court when the passenger (a) fails to engage (b) avoids fares on a long term basis (c) fails to demonstrate contrition (d) has been abusive or demonstrated threatening behaviour (e) has come to their attention before.

On the basis of what you have said I think there is a good chance that an out of court settlement will be offered.

 

[Lolly0305]

Thank you - that's good to hear.

 

[notmyrealname]

It would be good to put their reference number as a separate line under Dear Mr Ismail.

And finish it Yours sincerely.

 

[Lolly0305]

Will do!

 

[Hadders]

I see there are two threads about this case, and I put this in the other thread (which I've now deleted to keep everything in one place).

Welcome to the forum!

Chiltern will likely offer you an out of court settlement if you co-operate with them. Yout letter's not bad for a first draft. There's no need to go into detail about financial circumstances etc. I suggest a few amendments:

I acknowledge that purchasing tickets of a lower value than the correct fare was wrong and in breach of your policies

It's not a breach of policy, it's a breach of the law.

To resolve this matter, I am willing to:
- Pay the fare difference for all journeys in question
- Cover Chiltern Railway's administrative costs

You've no right to an out of court settlement so I suggest saying something like:

'I wondered if it would be possible to resolve this matter without the need for court action. I am willing to pay the outstanding fares plus your administrative costs in dealing with the matter'.

Note that Chiltern will want the cost of the fares avoided at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid tickets that were purchased. It's not simply the difference on fares.

I haven't seen the letter Chiltern have sent you but if it mentions they have researched, or will research, online ticket purchasing accounts then my advice is to 'fess-up' to the other occasions when the fare has been avoided. While you're not required to incriminate yourself, based on what you've told us they will soon work out what has happened so it's better to be up front and co-operate to bring matters to a favourablke outcome.