Notice of Intended Prosecution from Chiltern Railways

[internationalt]

I have received a notice of intended prosecution from Chiltern Railways. I am normally resident in New Zealand was travelling to the UK and purchased a ticket for a journey between Whitlocks End and London Marylebone, intending on purchasing a rail card using the train wifi. I was unable to connect and to purchase the rail card and on the second leg from Birmingham Moor Street was caught without the rail card. Unfortunately at the time I told the inspector I had forgotten my rail card - I purchased a rail card later that day. Particuarly as I'm planning on shifting to the UK I would like to avoid a criminal record.
I travelled using this rail card subsequently, but this was my first trip on a train in the UK and using rail card fares.
I'm looking for advice on how to respond to this.
My draft is as follows:

Dear [name letter is sent from],
I'm writing regarding a notice to prosecute customer reference ######. I am normally resident in New Zealand, but was on holiday in the UK between June and August. My journey from Whitlocks End to London Marylebone via Birmingham Moor Street was the first train journey I had made in the UK. To maximize the time my railcard was valid for in case I revisit the UK, I decided to purchase it on the train using the train wifi as there was a chance my travel plans would need to change last minute - as an international traveller I had limited mobile roaming data. I was not able to connect to the wifi and thus decided to purchase the railcard later via the trainline app. I have attached a screenshot of this.

I would like to sincerely apologise for boarding the train without a valid ticket due to the lack of a railcard before commencing the journey. I realise I ought to have purchased this earlier prior to travelling, and on any subsequent trips to the UK I will make sure to do so. I realise the serious nature of boarding a train without a valid ticket, due to the lack of a supporting railcard.

Would you consider settling this matter outside of the court system? I would like to proactively offer to pay administrative costs.

Kind Regards,
[my name]

 

[antharro]

Just need to clarify something - when you say "railcard", what exactly are you referring to? A ticket and a railcard in the UK are two very different things. A railcard can discount a ticket price by a certain percentage, but you need to be eligible for the railcard in the first place. For example, the 16-25 railcard allows people in that age group to get 1/3rd off of certain tickets.

If you bought a railcard discounted ticket without a railcard, then your ticket would not be valid.

Apart from that, pretty good for a first attempt. I would make two changes.

"Would you please consider..."

If you didn't have a ticket *at all* or you had a railcard discounted ticket, then:

"I would like to offer to pay my outstanding fare and any costs Chiltern have incurred as a result of this situation."

Lastly, replace "Kind Regards" with "Yours sincerely" if you're writing to a specific person, or "Yours faithfully" if not.

 

[internationalt]

Thanks! To clarify - I had prepurched the ticket, I purchased the relevant (25-30) railcard the same day as I took the journey but after the trip. Would I have actually needed the railcard when purchasing the ticket rather than using? Both purchase on the train line app

 

[pedr]

The law criminalises boarding a train for travel without having a valid ticket. A railcard-discounted ticket is only valid if the person using it has with them the railcard which enables the discount. So strictly speaking the offence was complete once you stepped onto the train; you should have bought the railcard while in the initial station, or bought an undiscounted ticket until you were able to buy a railcard.

 

[internationalt]

Yes I understand this now. Is there anything I should change in my response to the notice to reflect this? I realise my explonation doesn't change the legality of my actions but was hoping Chiltern would consider it when choosing whether to settle.

 

[Titfield]

Yes I understand this now. Is there anything I should change in my response to the notice to reflect this? I realise my explonation doesn't change the legality of my actions but was hoping Chiltern would consider it when choosing whether to settle.

The fact that you bought a railcard puts you in a "slightly better light" than those who claim a railcard but do not have one at all.

 

[30907]

Chiltern are increasingly, it seems, willing to settle.

Perhaps you could reword the final sentence, as you are really in no position to "offer" to pay their admin costs? Something like "I appreciate you would require a payment towards administrative costs as well as the outstanding fare."

BTW did they write to a NZ address or c/o a UK one?

 

[internationalt]

I left the address I'd stayed at in the UK with them. Yeah good points thanks!