No GTR letter after 11 weeks

[fin23493]

Hi all,

Back on March 21st, I travelled from Wivelsfield to Farringdon and mistakenly boarded without buying a ticket first. I genuinely thought I could buy one on the train, and when the inspector came around, I immediately paid the full fare. I wasn’t fined, but was told I’d get a letter from GTR to explain my side.

It’s now been just over 11 weeks and I still haven’t received anything. I contacted them, and they just said they’re busy and the letter will be sent “in due course.” I’ve also emailed again recently but had no further update.

Has anyone else experienced this? Could they just drop it? Or should I follow up again?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Haywain]

When you say you paid the full fare, do you mean thst you purchased a ticket from the inspector? And, if you did, did that cover the whole of the journey you were making? If the answer to both of these is yes, it is difficult to see why you would be receiving a letter.

 

[fin23493]

When you say you paid the full fare, do you mean thst you purchased a ticket from the inspector? And, if you did, did that cover the whole of the journey you were making? If the answer to both of these is yes, it is difficult to see why you would be receiving a letter.

I noticed the inspector on the train and then quickly went onto my phone to buy a ticket from wivelsfield to farringdon, the inspector noticed that i bought the ticket whilst on board and he said that he would have to still report it to the company and that they will check cctv to see if my story was accurate and that I'll receive a letter. He gave me a receipt that had a MG000 number on it despite him not fining me on the train.

 

[WesternLancer]

My instinct is it’s not in your interest to keep contacting them about this. Assuming they took your address correctly and you have not moved house.

 

[fin23493]

My instinct is it’s not in your interest to keep contacting them about this. Assuming they took your address correctly and you have not moved house.

Unfortunately I emailed them today because i got worried that maybe they sent out the letter and I missed it so i wanted to 100% make sure that wasn't the case. Am i right in assuming that if they go ahead with this the most I'll get is a fine?

 

[WesternLancer]

Unfortunately I emailed them today because i got worried that maybe they sent out the letter and I missed it so i wanted to 100% make sure that wasn't the case. Am i right in assuming that if they go ahead with this the most I'll get is a fine?

Well yes but a fine comes from the court along with a criminal record as the outcome from them prosecuting you so that’s the most you would get.

But that’s not what you want to happen.

Your objective should be to avoid that which involves seeking an offer of an out of court settlement which is a sum you pay them in exchange for which they don’t take you to court. That might seem like a fine but it isn’t one.

See lots of other threads to get the idea.

If they reply to you head back here for advice on how to respond before you send them your reply.

Making sure you get their letter is an important step in solving this so no great harm in you contacting them.

But can you clarify on the questions in post #2 from Haywaine

 

[Fawkes Cat]

The main thing to bear in mind is that the railway have six months from the incident to take the matter to the magistrates' court - and if (unusually) they chose to do that without contacting you first, it could then take a few weeks for you to be notified of what the court needs you to do.

The practical upshot of this is that it's possible that you won't hear anything before six or seven months have passed (so until mid October or so). This is stressful, but economically the best outcome for you is for the railway not to decide to take things forward. And the best way to get that is not to poke the bear: be ready to reply when/if they write to you - but don't disturb them with emails or letters which will remind them about you.

At the same time, make sure you get the right tickets at the right time i.e. before boarding the train. Another report from an inspector could again draw your March problem to their attention.

 

[fin23493]

Well yes but a fine comes from the court along with a criminal record as the outcome from them prosecuting you so that’s the most you would get.

But that’s not what you want to happen.

Your objective should be to avoid that which involves seeking an offer of an out of court settlement which is a sum you pay them in exchange for which they don’t take you to court. That might seem like a fine but it isn’t one.

See lots of other threads to get the idea.

If they reply to you head back here for advice on how to respond before you send them your reply.

Making sure you get their letter is an important step in solving this so no great harm in you contacting them.

But can you clarify on the questions in post #2 from Haywaine

My journey was to Swansea but I mistakenly bought two tickets, one from Paddington to Swansea then I had to buy one from wivelsfield to Farringdon. I had a valid ticket from Paddington to swansea but because of the refund process I had to just buy a separate ticket to get to London.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Jun 2025 ==

The main thing to bear in mind is that the railway have six months from the incident to take the matter to the magistrates' court - and if (unusually) they chose to do that without contacting you first, it could then take a few weeks for you to be notified of what the court needs you to do.

The practical upshot of this is that it's possible that you won't hear anything before six or seven months have passed (so until mid October or so). This is stressful, but economically the best outcome for you is for the railway not to decide to take things forward. And the best way to get that is not to poke the bear: be ready to reply when/if they write to you - but don't disturb them with emails or letters which will remind them about you.

At the same time, make sure you get the right tickets at the right time i.e. before boarding the train. Another report from an inspector could again draw your March problem to their attention.

Okay thank you. I will no longer contact them. The only reason why I contacted them yesterday was because of was worried I may of missed the letter. Do you think the most likely outcome is an out of court settlement? I feel like this is a really minor incident in the grand scheme of things. It’s also my first offence in terms of having an invalid ticket on a train.

 

[WesternLancer]

My journey was to Swansea but I mistakenly bought two tickets, one from Paddington to Swansea then I had to buy one from wivelsfield to Farringdon. I had a valid ticket from Paddington to swansea but because of the refund process I had to just buy a separate ticket to get to London.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Jun 2025 ==


Okay thank you. I will no longer contact them. The only reason why I contacted them yesterday was because of was worried I may of missed the letter. Do you think the most likely outcome is an out of court settlement? I feel like this is a really minor incident in the grand scheme of things. It’s also my first offence in terms of having an invalid ticket on a train.

Out of court settlement is highly likely but dependant on you getting letter and responding. So you are not doing the wrong thing.

Just head here for advice on exactly how to respond when you hear from them

 

[fin23493]

Okay cool, am I right in assuming it only really goes to court/you get a criminal record if you fail to comply, fail to take responsibility and don’t respond to the letter?

Really appreciate the advice

 

[WesternLancer]

Okay cool, am I right in assuming it only really goes to court/you get a criminal record if you fail to comply, fail to take responsibility and don’t respond to the letter?

Really appreciate the advice

Broadly correct. I suspect persistent offenders more likely to go to court eg been found evading before and offered settlement but then continue to evade. Ie lesson not learned and habits not changed etc.