Penalty fare - greater anglia

[420bandobaby]

Hi there,

Unfortunately I was hit with a penalty fare at Stratford as I didn’t have a ticket in May 2025 (I accept I am in the wrong)

I gave my details etc and was wondering what the next steps are?

Do I get a letter in the post or via email? How long does a fine usually take to come through?

This was a greater Anglia service

Many thanks for your help!

 

[AlterEgo]

You haven't been penalty fared.

You've been reported for prosecution. MG11 is a witness statement upon which an interview under caution would have normally been recorded.

Where on the station were you caught, and which company's staff caught you? (This is important)

Did you have any ticket at all, or any contactless tap?

 

[420bandobaby]

You haven't been penalty fared.

You've been reported for prosecution. MG11 is a witness statement upon which an interview under caution would have normally been recorded.

Where on the station were you caught, and which company's staff caught you? (This is important)

Did you have any ticket at all, or any contactless tap?

Hi,

On the platform as I got off, it was a plained clothed officer.

I was in a rush and genuinely forgot to buy a ticket (poor excuse I know) any help is appreciated!

 

[AlterEgo]

Hi,

On the platform as I got off, it was a plained clothed officer.

I was in a rush and genuinely forgot to buy a ticket (poor excuse I know) any help is appreciated!

Where did you start your journey, and where were you finishing it? Was it a TfL member of staff or Greater Anglia? (Both can roam the station and the outcomes with both companies can vary a lot).

Were you heading to make a journey on Oyster or Contactless on Tube/DLR?

 

[John R]

The advice at the moment is to wait until they contact you and then post what you have received here, with your contact details redacted. You are likely to be offered a settlement instead of prosecution, but it is likely to cost you. To get one, we advise engaging with them in a polite manner, apologising, promising not to do it again, and asking very nicely if they will consider an out of court settlement.

I presume you have not come to the railway network's attention before, which could make getting a settlement more tricky.

Edit: Picking up @AlterEgo's point, a settlement is likely if you were stopped by Greater Anglia staff, but TfL do not offer settlements, and almost certainly prosecute.

 

[420bandobaby]

Where did you start your journey, and where were you finishing it? Was it a TfL member of staff or Greater Anglia? (Both can roam the station and the outcomes with both companies can vary a lot).

Were you heading to make a journey on Oyster or Contactless on Tube/DLR?

So the journey was a greater Anglia journey from Essex to Stratford (not a London journey) I’m not sure what company they worked for as they just showed a badge

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 May 2025 ==

The advice at the moment is to wait until they contact you and then post what you have received here, with your contact details redacted. You are likely to be offered a settlement instead of prosecution, but it is likely to cost you. To get one, we advise engaging with them in a polite manner, apologising, promising not to do it again, and asking very nicely if they will consider an out of court settlement.

I presume you have not come to the railway network's attention before, which could make getting a settlement more tricky.

Ok, it’s been 7 working days since the offence, I will keep this thread posted. This is the first offence for reference

 

[AlterEgo]

So the journey was a greater Anglia journey from Essex to Stratford (not a London journey) I’m not sure what company they worked for as they just showed a badge

Which station did you start your train at? How did you plan to get out at Stratford with no ticket? The details are important because you will need to explain them to the train company and we can give advice on how it looks to them, as well as how best to word your letter or email once they write to you threatening prosecution.

The reason they do these stings on the platform is because people often arrive from unbarriered origin stations, ticketless, and then use the contactless facility to enter the TfL network , never paying for the (expensive) journey from the origin.

 

[420bandobaby]

Which station did you start your train at? How did you plan to get out at Stratford with no ticket? The details are important because you will need to explain them to the train company and we can give advice on how it looks to them, as well as how best to word your letter or email once they write to you threatening prosecution.

The reason they do these stings on the platform is because people often arrive from unbarriered origin stations, ticketless, and then use the contactless facility to enter the TfL network , never paying for the (expensive) journey from the origin.

Started; marks tey (no barriers)
Out of Stratford - planned on tapping out (contactless)

For context I work in the city so usually get off at Liverpool st (with ticket) however just this instance I needed to get off at Stratford.

I appreciate your responses / help here!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 May 2025 ==

Also I saw this thread, something similar ish, not sure if this helps for your questions https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/greater-anglia-prosecution-letter.249765/

 

[WesternLancer]

Started; marks tey (no barriers)
Out of Stratford - planned on tapping out (contactless)

For context I work in the city so usually get off at Liverpool st (with ticket) however just this instance I needed to get off at Stratford.

I appreciate your responses / help here!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 May 2025 ==

Also I saw this thread, something similar ish, not sure if this helps for your questions https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/greater-anglia-prosecution-letter.249765/

Just to make it clear you are potentially in a much more serious situation than if you had been given a penalty fare. You are at the first stage of a process that could end up being prosecuted for a criminal offence in the magistrates court.

Which if you work in finance o the city is probably best avoided.

The forum can help you achieve that but this is quite a serious matter.

 

[420bandobaby]

Just to make it clear you are potentially in a much more serious situation than if you had been given a penalty fare. You are at the first stage of a process that could end up being prosecuted for a criminal offence in the magistrates court.

Which if you work in finance o the city is probably best avoided.

The forum can help you achieve that but this is quite a serious matter.

Thanks for your responses, I’ll keep you posted. Fingers crossed

 

[Hadders]

I suspect the OP is dealing with Greater Anglia simply because the slip of paper they were given to exit the station is simple a chit with 'MG11' written on it. I'd have expected TfL to have printed something official to get through the barriers. To be honest, I'd expect GA to do something a bit more professional than what they seem to have done as well.

@420bandobaby were you given any other paperwork? If so can you post a redacted copy of it in this thread.

The best thing to do for now is to wait for an initial letter to come. If your dealing with Greater Anglia then there's a good chance of being offered an out of court settlement if you co-operate with them. If it's TfL they don't do out of court settlements and it could be a more serious outcome.

 

[420bandobaby]

I suspect the OP is dealing with Greater Anglia simply because the slip of paper they were given to exit the station is simple a chit with 'MG11' written on it. I'd have expected TfL to have printed something official to get through the barriers. To be honest, I'd expect GA to do something a bit more professional than what they seem to have done as well.

@420bandobaby were you given any other paperwork? If so can you post a redacted copy of it in this thread.

The best thing to do for now is to wait for an initial letter to come. If your dealing with Greater Anglia then there's a good chance of being offered an out of court settlement if you co-operate with them. If it's TfL they don't do out of court settlements and it could be a more serious outcome.

Morning, nope that was all I was given just that slip that I attached at the beginning. This Thursday would’ve been 2 weeks since the incident so now just keeping an eye on my letterbox..

 

[420bandobaby]

Update - just got my letter, essentially says to reply within 7 days to potentially avoid legal action.

Took about a month to arrive for those wondering.

@Hadders I will draft a response and post here for approval, thanks!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Jun 2025 ==

Good afternoon, @Hadders @WesternLancer here's what i have drafted. Let me know if it needs any amendments!

SUBJECT LINE - case reference number

Dear sir or madam,

I am writing to respond to the letter that was sent to my address regarding an incident that took place on the ______ where I was stopped by a member of staff without a ticket.

Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions. I understand that what I did was wrong and I recognise the wider impact it has on Greater Anglia as a company but also to customers that rely on your service.

This incident has been a big lesson learned and has led to significant reflection about my actions. Since the incident, I have taken the measure to purchase my tickets the night before in order to not have a repeat of the incident that has occurred.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to resolve this incident outside of court and I am willing to cover any costs that have incurred during your investigation.

Yours faithfully,
___

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Jun 2025 ==

For reference this is what I got in the post

 

[WesternLancer]

Update - just got my letter, essentially says to reply within 7 days to potentially avoid legal action.

Took about a month to arrive for those wondering.

@Hadders I will draft a response and post here for approval, thanks!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Jun 2025 ==

Good afternoon, @Hadders @WesternLancer here's what i have drafted. Let me know if it needs any amendments!

SUBJECT LINE - case reference number

Dear sir or madam,

I am writing to respond to the letter that was sent to my address regarding an incident that took place on the ______ where I was stopped by a member of staff without a ticket.

Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions. I understand that what I did was wrong and I recognise the wider impact it has on Greater Anglia as a company but also to customers that rely on your service.

This incident has been a big lesson learned and has led to significant reflection about my actions. Since the incident, I have taken the measure to purchase my tickets the night before in order to not have a repeat of the incident that has occurred.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to resolve this incident outside of court and I am willing to cover any costs that have incurred during your investigation.

Yours faithfully,
___

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Jun 2025 ==

For reference this is what I got in the post

Your reply looks ok to me

I read their letter as an indication they are prepared to settle out of court if you engage with them and your reply does this imho so hopefully a settlement will be offered.

Technically I guess you can’t always buy your ticket the day before on every occasion (you might make a train journey on the spur of the moment) so maybe saying eg ‘I will always buy my ticket before boarding a train and now generally aim to do this the day before travel where circumstances permit’

But I’m being pedantic here and it probably won’t make a difference.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

You stated in post #3 that ‘I was in a rush and genuinely forgot to buy a ticket’ but you later stated you planned on tapping out.
I don’t know Marks Tey station. You say ‘no barriers’, but it must have contactless pads to tap in, surely?
You are aware that a tap out with no tap-in would have incurred a Maximum Fare?

Greater Anglia may ask the same question

 

[saismee]

You stated in post #3 that ‘I was in a rush and genuinely forgot to buy a ticket’ but you later stated you planned on tapping out.
I don’t know Marks Tey station. You say ‘no barriers’, but it must have contactless pads to tap in, surely?
You are aware that a tap out with no tap-in would have incurred a Maximum Fare?

Greater Anglia may ask the same question

I don't think it really matters. Greater Anglia stopped OP for travelling without a ticket but they aren't giving any excuses in their response. I doubt Greater Anglia will ask about this because OP is admitting to travelling without a ticket, so their way of exiting the station is irrelevant.

Marks Tey is beyond the contactless area so it wouldn't be valid for contactless anyway, so OP would've just tapped out to effectively fare dodge. Whether this is intentional evasion or not doesn't matter, as the offense is still the same. I agree with WesternLancer and think the response is fine.

 

[Hadders]

The letter looks fir to me. Please do let us know the outcome of the case.

 

[420bandobaby]

Afternoon all, so I received my letter image above ^ on the 7th June however the date on the letter says 30th May with a first class stamp etc.

I responded via email with the draft above on the 8th so less than a day after receiving my letter however I’m worried that they will think I responded late as I didn’t reply within the 7 day period as stated on their letter.


Is anyone able to help or give some advice here please? Thank you

 

[Hadders]

That’s fine. Greater Anglia know there are often postal delays and this isn’t going to impact the likelihood of a favourable outcome.

 

[420bandobaby]

Perfect thank you hadders, will update you all once I hear back

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Jun 2025 ==

Afternoon folks, I have just got my settlement email (today) and have paid instantly, a big lesson learned for sure and an incident I will not be repeating. I have taken screenshots of the relevant receipts etc and the money has been taken out of my account. Thank you to everyone that replied to my thread with advice etc it helped massively.

 

[WesternLancer]

Perfect thank you hadders, will update you all once I hear back

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Jun 2025 ==

Afternoon folks, I have just got my settlement email (today) and have paid instantly, a big lesson learned for sure and an incident I will not be repeating. I have taken screenshots of the relevant receipts etc and the money has been taken out of my account. Thank you to everyone that replied to my thread with advice etc it helped massively.

This is good to hear

Obv I'm sure you have thought of this but keep all the correspondence / related paperwork and proof of payment and keep that long term (longer than a year at least)

 

[420bandobaby]

Yes definitely, will keep all screenshots etc thanks again!