prosecution from govia thameslink

[cheddar]

Quick question. I didn’t think you could send these responses to thameslink by e mail and they request postal hard copy. But does the letter you gave had say an e mail reply is acceptable?

Just in case you need to check that.

I got an email saying I should send it via email, but does this mean they want an interview or will they just reply back with a decision.

 

[SuspectUsual]

It says they want a discussion, which implies sort sort of interview not just an email reply, but you can’t be sure. See what they say next

 

[cheddar]

It says they want a discussion, which implies sort sort of interview not just an email reply, but you can’t be sure. See what they say next

shall i send the email if it looks alright?

 

[WesternLancer]

shall i send the email if it looks alright?

Ok. No. I think you may need to reply differently if they are seeking to meet or discuss with you. Hold fire on sending your reply for others more expert to comment.

What is your deadline to reply?

Obviously you can reply to this by e mail but it’s what you need to say that is critical.

For example they may be need you to be more forthcoming about other instances of evasion in your draft perhaps (in general terms your draft looks broadly ok however).

If you can wait until maybe tomorrow to e mail it you may get some more helpful input.

@Hadders may have some helpful advice, others too of course

 

[cheddar]

Ok. No. I think you may need to reply differently if they are seeking to meet or discuss with you. Hold fire on sending your reply for others more expert to comment.

What is your deadline to reply?

Obviously you can reply to this nice mail but it’s what you need to say that is critical.

i have two more days to reply, and they didn’t explicitly say interview they just said they’d like to discuss this further it was basically a notice of intent to prosecute letter

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2025 ==

this is the whole letter, shall i send the email?

 

[WesternLancer]

i have two more days to reply, and they didn’t explicitly say interview they just said they’d like to discuss this further it was basically a notice of intent to prosecute letter

Ok so you can wait until tommorrow to send it. To get more advice.

I’ve seen it put in here that people should be v cautious about such invites to discuss matters like this because the objective can be to secure more evidence against you, but I think we have seen cases where clear replies have avoided the need for verbal discussions.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2025 ==

i have two more days to reply, and they didn’t explicitly say interview they just said they’d like to discuss this further it was basically a notice of intent to prosecute letter

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2025 ==

this is the whole letter, shall i send the email?

No do not send your e mail draft yet. Wait for experts who have previously commented on your thread to see this and have a chance to give you advice before you send any reply.

They are clearly accusing you of multiple occasions of evasion which you don’t address in your draft so your current wording needs revision in my view.

Personally I don’t think saying you evaded on ‘some other occasions’ is the best way to address this.

It maybe that you also need to ask them if they ‘ can send you a list of instances for example, so that you can fully co operate with their investigation’ or some such phrase.

 

[cheddar]

Ok so you can wait until tommorrow to send it. To get more advice.

I’ve seen it put in here that people should be v cautious about such invites to discuss matters like this because the objective can be to secure more evidence against you, but I think we have seen cases where clear replies have avoided the need for verbal discussions.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2025 ==


No do not send your e mail draft yet. Wait for experts who have previously commented on your thread to see this and have a chance to give you advice before you send any reply.

They are clearly accusing you of multiple occasions of evasion which you don’t address in your draft so your current wording needs revision in my view.

I mention it here ‘..Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions, I fully acknowledge the seriousness of fare evasion and deeply regret my behaviour. I understand what I did was wrong, not only on the date in question but also on some other occasions..’

 

[WesternLancer]

I mention it here ‘..Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions, I fully acknowledge the seriousness of fare evasion and deeply regret my behaviour. I understand what I did was wrong, not only on the date in question but also on some other occasions..’

See my recent edit to end of post #37
You have nothing to lose by waiting for more advice for say 12 to 18 hours if you have to reply by Tuesday morning.

 

[cheddar]

See my recent edit to end of post #37
You have nothing to lose by waiting for more advice for say 12 to 18 hours if you have to reply by Tuesday morning.

ahh okay i’ve seen it, yeah ill wait for more opinions and i’ll make sure to add that into the letter too.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2025 ==

should i say something along the lines of …costs, or administrative charges required. If possible, I would appreciate it if you could provide me with a list of any offences associated with my case so that I may fully address these and settle them accordingly…’ or something else that sounds more polite i’d be open to ideas

 

[WesternLancer]

ahh okay i’ve seen it, yeah ill wait for more opinions and i’ll make sure to add that into the letter too.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2025 ==

should i say something along the lines of …costs, or administrative charges required. If possible, I would appreciate it if you could provide me with a list of any offences associated with my case so that I may fully address these and settle them accordingly…’ or something else that sounds more polite i’d be open to ideas

Yes. That sort of thing to add is probably a good idea.

 

[cheddar]

Yes. That sort of thing to add is probably a good idea.

no worries, i’ll hold off sending it before tomorrow i’ll wait for some other opinions

 

[Hadders]

Based on what you've told us, I would say that GTR want to speak to you in person because they believe you have evaded your fares over a sustained period.

You might be able to avoided having to speak to them if you research your online ticket purchasing account and tell them how many times you have evaded paying the correct fare. I'd suggest adding something like this to your reply:

I've researeched my online ticket purchasing history and between xx/xx/xx/ and yy/yy/yy I avoided paying the correct fare on zz occasions.

 

[cheddar]

Based on what you've told us, I would say that GTR want to speak to you in person because they believe you have evaded your fares over a sustained period.

You might be able to avoided having to speak to them if you research your online ticket purchasing account and tell them how many times you have evaded paying the correct fare. I'd suggest adding something like this to your reply:

would it be okay to ask them for a list of the instances instead? that way it could be done over email?

 

[WesternLancer]

would it be okay to ask them for a list of the instances instead? that way it could be done over email?

Maybe combine both eg Hadders suggested wording here but then add to that eg ‘if you were able to send me a list of occasions where you believe I may not have paid the correct fare I would do my best to check this against my own records as I am anxious to co operate regarding this matter in the hope I can resolve it by paying the fares that I owe’. Or some such wording.

 

[Hadders]

Maybe combine both eg Hadders suggested wording here but then add to that eg ‘if you were able to send me a list of occasions where you believe I may not have paid the correct fare I would do my best to check this against my own records as I am anxious to co operate regarding this matter in the hope I can resolve it by paying the fares that I owe’. Or some such wording.

Agreed! I think sonething like that could work.

 

[cheddar]

Maybe combine both eg Hadders suggested wording here but then add to that eg ‘if you were able to send me a list of occasions where you believe I may not have paid the correct fare I would do my best to check this against my own records as I am anxious to co operate regarding this matter in the hope I can resolve it by paying the fares that I owe’. Or some such wording.

something like this?

‘…To assist with this and ensure that I fully address any journeys you believe I may have not paid the correct fare, I would be grateful if you could kindly provide me with the a list of any journeys associated with this matter if possible, I am anxious to cooperate regarding this matter in the hope that I can resolve it by paying the fares I owe. Please be assured that I have learned from my mistake and I would be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to resolve this matter without formal prosecution…’

 

[WesternLancer]

something like this?

‘…To assist with this and ensure that I fully address any journeys you believe I may have not paid the correct fare, I would be grateful if you could kindly provide me with the a list of any journeys associated with this matter if possible, I am anxious to cooperate regarding this matter in the hope that I can resolve it by paying the fares I owe. Please be assured that I have learned from my mistake and I would be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to resolve this matter without formal prosecution…’

Give me a bit and I'll post more clearly what I meant in my post last night for you to consider / include if you think it will be of help.

 

[cheddar]

Give me a bit and I'll post more clearly what I meant in my post last night for you to consider / include if you think it will be of help.

no worries mate any help at all is much appreciated

 

[WesternLancer]

So you could perhaps insert the following - the thinking here being that you are being completely open that you want to consider what info they have and pay what's owed, in the hope that they are then happy to do this via e-mail rather than a verbal discussion - because verbal discussions always run the risk of you incriminating yourself and providing info that could be used against you if it did get to court.
Having said that, although we don't see many cases on here where GTR ask people to contact them to have these verbal discussions, from a couple I can recall (not looked for links to them) I seem to remember the people concerned feeding back and said the conversations had been polite, business-like and helpful to them as a person who wanted to resolve what had happened with their persistent evading.
But i suspect if you can achieve it without a conversation that might be best. It generally seems that once the railway are convinced you are being honest and co-operating the railway company behaves reasonably in terms of their willingness to settle out of court. But if they feel they are being messed about with they draw a line and move to prosecution.

Suggested insert text follows:

I've researched my online ticket purchasing history and between xx/xx/xx/ and yy/yy/yy I believe I may have avoided paying the correct fare on zz occasions.

To assist with this and ensure that I fully address any journeys you believe I may have not paid the correct fare, I would be grateful if you could kindly provide me with the a list of any journeys associated with this matter if possible (where you think I may not have paid the correct fare) so that I can check this against my own ticket purchasing history that I can access. I am anxious to cooperate regarding this matter in the hope that I can resolve it by paying the fares I owe.

Please be assured that I have learned from my mistake and I would be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to resolve this matter without the need for formal prosecution…

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Apr 2025 ==

So your whole reply might look like this below (note any other minor tweaks) - strikethroughs should show but minor additions not so easy to display so give it a good read through - of course you need to be happy with hit, happy with what will happen as a result of it, and for it to be the truth.


Dear Fare Evasion Manager,


I am writing in response to your letter dated on the (date), Reference number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX regarding the incident on the (date) at Luton station.


Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions, I fully acknowledge the seriousness of fare evasion and deeply regret my behaviour. I understand what I did was wrong, not only on the date in question but also on some other occasions. There is no excuse for my behaviour and I take responsibility for not paying the correct fare.

At the time, I made a very poor decision, and I now recognise the seriousness and consequences of my actions. I fully understand that fare evasions causes significant losses to the railway network and affects the system that many honest passengers rely on daily.

This has truly been a wake up call for me, I regret my actions and I assure you that this will never happen again. I have learned from this experience and have now ensured that all of my tickets are valid for the journey that I have travelled, and I will continue to ensure that I pay the full fare for every journey I take. have travelled since.

In an effort to resolve this and fully co-operate with your investigation I have researched my online ticket purchasing history and between xx/xx/xx/ and yy/yy/yy I believe I may have avoided paying the correct fare on zz occasions.

To assist with this and ensure that I fully address any journeys you believe I may have not paid the correct fare, I would be grateful if you could kindly provide me with the a list of any journeys associated with this matter from your own records if possible (where you think I may not have paid the correct fare) so that I can check this against my own ticket purchasing history that I can access. I am anxious to cooperate regarding this matter in the hope that I can resolve it by paying the fares I owe.

Please be assured that I have learned from my mistake and I would be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to resolve this matter without the need for formal prosecution.

I respectfully ask if you would consider solving this matter without court action, I am willing to fully cooperate and pay the fares owed and any costs / administrative charges required. Please be assured that I have learned from my mistake and I would be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to resolve this matter without formal prosecution.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email.

Yours sincerely,



Name

 

[cheddar]

Hi guys, i’ve sent the email, I’ll update you whenever I hear from them next, thanks for the support you all have been incredibly helpful.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Apr 2025 ==

Hey guys, quick update they’ve already replied and sent me an out of court settlement offer of £410.35, i’m going to accept the offer and have this instance closed, thank you all so much for your help and assistance, safe to say I have learnt my lesson and can guarantee that I won’t be so foolish again, stay safe guys and thank you once again.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi guys, i’ve sent the email, I’ll update you whenever I hear from them next, thanks for the support you all have been incredibly helpful.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Apr 2025 ==

Hey guys, quick update they’ve already replied and sent me an out of court settlement offer of £410.35, i’m going to accept the offer and have this instance closed, thank you all so much for your help and assistance, safe to say I have learnt my lesson and can guarantee that I won’t be so foolish again, stay safe guys and thank you once again.

Ok thanks for update - not cheap but hopefully you think it reflects the travel concerned and the fares avoided etc. Most importantly this will have been kept out of court. Great to see they got back to you so quickly.

When you pay keep proof of payment and all paperwork / messages associated with this and keep that long term (eg at least a year or longer) in case you ever need it.