Please help, caught trying to dodge train fare

[Khyra]

Hi guys, please can someone help me. I've read previous posts and threads and it appears I am not the only one who has committed this offence. I got caught trying to pass through the exits using an old ticket. I was caught and my rights were red out to me by the ticket inspector. I'm cooperated fully and have my correct details, he even took the old ticket as 'evidence'. I'm so scared and mortified, I know it was wrong of me and I'm so sorry but please can someone help me. I've read previous threads and have some idea what to expect. I am ready to write a gull grovelling apology and the maximum Penalty fine which I believe is around £1,000 pounds. However, I can not under any circumstance have a criminal record. I will literally lose my job.

Please can someone help me and more importantly if they have been in a similar situation as me, what they did, and what the outcome was?

This whole incident happened this morning.

Please help me

 

[Manchester77]

I don't mean to seem mean but if knew about the consequences of trying to use this ticket why did you do it?!

 

[DarloRich]

Hi guys, please can someone help me. I've read previous posts and threads and it appears I am not the only one who has committed this offence. I got caught trying to pass through the exits using an old ticket. I was caught and my rights were red out to me by the ticket inspector. I'm cooperated fully and have my correct details, he even took the old ticket as 'evidence'. I'm so scared and mortified, I know it was wrong of me and I'm so sorry but please can someone help me. I've read previous threads and have some idea what to expect. I am ready to write a gull grovelling apology and the maximum Penalty fine which I believe is around £1,000 pounds. However, I can not under any circumstance have a criminal record. I will literally lose my job.

Please can someone help me and more importantly if they have been in a similar situation as me, what they did, and what the outcome was?

This whole incident happened this morning.

Please help me

They have you bang to rights. Someone else will be able to advise you more fully but I would suggest a grovelling apology, claim a highly regrettable mistake on your part, show lots of remorse, apologise and offer a large settlement by way of an apology, to avoid further court costs and prosecution time etc.

They could quite easily prosecute you for this even if you offer the apology and payment. A conviction would be very easy for them to achieve and that will lead to a criminal record (depending on the charge)

You are in trouble. Sorry.

( some more details on the train company, actual offence etc might help with advice as to your chances of “buying them off”)

 

[Khyra]

My pass expired and I was getting paid next week. It just seemed silly to waste a few days. I know I know, hindsight and all that. Please can some tell me if they have been in a similar situation and what they did?

 

[Pyreneenguy]

I don't mean to seem mean but if knew about the consequences of trying to use this ticket why did you do it?!

I can only echo Manchester 77's sentiments !

Have you tried to negotiate a settlement ? With a bit of thought and imagination I'm sure you could come up with some mitigating circumstances.

Anyway , good luck and may it serve as a lesson ( but been there, done that ! ).

 

[Khyra]

Ohh god.... So there's nothing I can do?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I can only echo Manchester 77's sentiments !

Have you tried to negotiate a settlement ? With a bit of thought and imagination I'm sure you could come up with some mitigating circumstances.

Anyway , good luck and may it serve as a lesson ( but been there, done that ! ).

Has this happened to you in the past?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I'm literally beside myself.... Anyone please help ???

 

[Pyreneenguy]

Ohh god.... So there's nothing I can do?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Has this happened to you in the past?

Yeah, in my mispent youth when I commuted daily into Manchester with a season ticket. Everybody just flashed their Season-ticket and clever little me and probably countless others prolonged the life of their ticket by a few days / weeks ! Luckily for me, when I was caught ( twice I think) it was only the day after expiry and with my cute smile and innocence I got away with it !

 

[W230]

Ohh god.... So there's nothing I can do?

Not really, no. You will have to wait for the letter in the post detailing what they are prosecuting you with and go from there. Post back with details if you want some help in trying to encourage the TOC to accept an out of court settlement but be aware that there is no obligation on the TOC to agree to this.

However, I can not under any circumstance have a criminal record. I will literally lose my job.

Obviously I have no idea what your job is but I would suggest this is highy unlikely. How would your employers even know? I agree it could make it more difficult to get another job though.

 

[Khyra]

Not really, no. You will have to wait for the letter in the post detailing what they are prosecuting you with and go from there. Post back with details if you want some help in trying to encourage the TOC to accept an out of court settlement but be aware that there is no obligation on the TOC to agree to

If I was to write an apology to the TOC to accept an out of court settlement how could I encourage them to this? What would I say?

 

[ainsworth74]

I would firstly advise that you calm down. As hard as it may be for you to do this, there is nothing that can be done, yet, to mitigate against what has already happened. As such getting yourself worked up is pointless. Until you receive a letter from the company in question (which will likely ask for your version of events and inform what piece of legislation they're charging you under) there is very little that we can do to advise.

In general terms however, for first time offenders, TOCs are often willing to agree to an out of court settlement, an offer to pay any fare outstanding and to cover their administrative costs along with an apology and assurances that you'll never do something like this again will often secure a favourable outcome for yourself. However, they are under no obligation to accept this offer.

I suggest that until the letter arrives you do your best to put this out of mind as worrying will not do you any good. Once it arrives, come back on here and tell us what the letter says. At which point we might be able to give you better advice.

In terms of criminal record there are two pieces of legislation used. One (the Railway Byelaws) carries a fine of up to £1000 but no criminal record the other (Regulation of Railways Act 1889 Section Five) carries a fine of up to a £1000 and will leave you with a criminal record. Hence the need to wait and see what you're charged with.

 

[Khyra]

Thanks for the advice ainsworth74.


I'll try my best to sit tight and wait.

I even considered going back to the conductor and grovelling. But I really don't want to give him the satisfaction as he knows the consequences of this better than i do and if he wanted to use his discretion he would have.

I work in the financial sector so a 'criminal record' for 'fraud' would not go down well at all.

Guys can I just say I know I'm at fault and I'm entirely responsible . I'm not looking to blame anyone for doing there job I just need some advice what to do next as I'm so scared.

Please can we not make this thread for any other purpose other than what it was created for.

 

[telstarbox]

As others have said - wait until the letter arrives and do other things until then.
Which station were you stopped at?

 

[Khyra]

I was stopped at birmingham new street

 

[ainsworth74]

I have deleted some posts and comments that were dragging us off topic. These threads deal with very serious issues for the person involved and I would ask that they therefore remain on topic and dealing only with matters affecting that person. I would remind everyone that if you find something that causes concern please use the report function (

) to make the staff team aware of it rather than posting about it on the thread in question.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

@Khyra that wasn't aimed at you. I appreciate mistakes can happen. Await the letter you receive, it will be in your best interest to respond promptly. There usually is an OCS option so until you are contacted dont worry about it for now. You have done the right thing by complying with the RPO.

 

[MikeWh]

The only thing I'd add to ainsworth74's advice is to write down everything you remember about what you said to the inspector while it is still fresh in your mind. Letters can take several weeks to arrive and it doesn't look good if you contradict something that was said at the time.

Other than that, hard though it is to do, you really must try and put it out of your mind. Don't try and contact the TOC or the inspector or anyone else to do with the case because there is nothing anyone can do until the details of the report from the inspector have been examined and a decision made as to whether to proceed or not.

I also reiterate that a first offender who is apologetic and agrees to whatever settlement the company seeks will very rarely end up in court, or getting a criminal record. But do it again and the outcome will not be as favourable.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Obviously I have no idea what your job is but I would suggest this is highy unlikely. How would your employers even know? I agree it could make it more difficult to get another job though.

It's not that unlikely. My employer is automatically notified if I am convicted of an offence.

 

[Khyra]

Am I being naive in thinking I could try talking to the ticket conductor in question and ask him to please use his discreetion?

 

[telstarbox]

Yes. It won't be in his control anyway - the matter will have been passed to the prosecutions department.

 

[Khyra]

But it happened this morning? Couldn't be processed that quickly? Surely ?

 

[ainsworth74]

It will most likely be passed to the prosecutions department once the inspector's shift finished. At that point it's out of their hands.

Another reminder to everyone else that this thread should only be used to provide helpful advice to the OP. I have just deleted another post that added nothing to this topic.

 

[Monty]

What ainsworth74 says is correct, I would write up and submit reports to prosecutions by the shifts end. After this point I would have no further dealings in the matter unless I was summoned to give evidence in court (should things go that far). I would seriously suggest against approaching the inspector about the incident otherwise they may just submit a further witness statement and report that you have tried to interfere in the proceedings, which would not go down well in court.

 

[michael769]

Am I being naive in thinking I could try talking to the ticket conductor in question and ask him to please use his discreetion?

Most likely you would incriminate yourself and make matters worse, or worse it might be viewed as interfering with a witness, and well you don't want to go there! Your best option is to follow the advice to await contact from the TOC, and then apologise and try to agree an out of court settlement, which will need to conver both the fare and the ToCs costs.

Many ToCs give a hint as to what costs they are looking for when they write, but they will be less than what you have to pay in court

 

[broadgage]

Lots of good advice above, to which I would add, save up by living cheaply and postponning any non urgent expense.
They might accept an out of court settlement, and it would be well to have the money to hand to do this promptly.

 

[bb21]

I can only echo Manchester 77's sentiments !

Have you tried to negotiate a settlement ? With a bit of thought and imagination I'm sure you could come up with some mitigating circumstances.

Anyway , good luck and may it serve as a lesson ( but been there, done that ! ).

Erm, no.

I sincerely hope you are not suggesting that the OP lies about the circumstances, which will likely land him in more trouble. If there are no mitigating circumstances then there are no mitigating circumstances. Making things up as you go along does not help and is likely to leave your story full of holes.

Be honest when you reply to their letter.

 

[Pyreneenguy]

I've already apologised to ainsworth74 for being out-ofline, but I'm only human and ( this is totally hypothetical) imagine for one moment that someone does this on a regular basis ( and in saying this, I am in no way accusing the O.P ), but has only been caught the once. He might have already planned in advance what he would say to the inspector. There are a lot of crafty people out there and for many, fare-evasion is a game. It's the same for shop-lifting; most people caught could easily have paid for the goods they have stolen , but still steal them.

I'm not suggesting that the O.P should lie, but perhaps, have prepared a credible story if he was caught out.

I didn't want to continue posting on this thread, but your intervention didn't give me much choice.

 

[bb21]

My comments were aimed at helping the OP, especially when what you said could have been misinterpreted whatever your intentions were.

 

[Pyreneenguy]

No problem, feel free to remove my posts.

Reading throught the Disputes & Prosecutions section I do get the impression that quite a few people do try it on though !

 

[bb21]

No problem, feel free to remove my posts.

Reading throught the Disputes & Prosecutions section I do get the impression that quite a few people do try it on though !

No problem. I just don't want the OP to get the wrong idea.

We are not in a position to judge whether someone is guilty, but statistically it wouldn't surprise me if some people coming on here did try it on. Our position is to help people if we can, and serial offenders will eventually end up in trouble whatever we do so there is no reason why we shouldn't help people.

 

[Swirlz]

Easy Byelaw 18(1) case (non-recordable).

However, Section 5(3)(a) Regulation of Railways Act 1889 is likely to be the pursued offence.

I am assuming the lift exit offers some sort of way to "avoid" the ticket barriers, and by handing over an expired/invalid ticket, perhaps heading towards an exit, rather than a ticket office, those type of actions are likely to point to "intent to avoid".

The OP has, however, NOT breached Byelaw 18(2). There is no need to import the word "valid" into that particular Byelaw.