Prosecution letter from south eastern

[kunlefemo]

Hello I need an advice. I have received a letter from southern eastern stating the matter has been provisionally authorised for prosecution.

This was my fault and I have purchased short tickets for a week. I have learnt from this and I would never do this again.

Prior to this, I have been fined before. I would like to ask for out of court settlement.

I am considering using a solicitor to write the letter. Just need advise on the best cause of action as criminal record will be devastating to my life and family.


Thanks

 

[30907]

Hello I need an advice. I have received a letter from southern eastern stating the matter has been provisionally authorised for prosecution.

This was my fault and I have purchased short tickets for a week. I have learnt from this and I would never do this again.

Prior to this, I have been fined before. I would like to ask for out of court settlement.

I am considering using a solicitor to write the letter. Just need advise on the best cause of action as criminal record will be devastating to my life and family.


Thanks

Use the search to look at posts by longstanding forum member @Hadders which will suggest an outline for a reply.

Most train companies will be willing to consider settling out of court if you respond to them. If you have not come to their attention before (they will have checked your history!) I would say this is a very likely outcome, and it will cost you maybe £100 plus the full fares from Swanley to London (if that's your journey).

The general view of forum regulars is that a solicitor won't be able to achieve much more than you can yourself, and in this case would at least double your costs.

(A criminal record may be embarrassing, but I very much doubt it will be devastating - you should be able to avoid it anyway, but if not, that's when it might be worth involving a solicitor.)

 

[kunlefemo]

Thanks a lot. I will be writing to them and I will post my response before sending.

I m very worried because I have been fined by their officers before for purchasing a short train (in June 2024 in 2021), they may want to prosecute..

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks a lot. I will be writing to them and I will post my response before sending.

I m very worried because I have been fined by their officers before for purchasing a short train (in June 2024 in 2021), they may want to prosecute..

That is probably why they did not give you a penalty fare because it looks like you did not learn your lesson before.

So are you saying you evaded fares previously, got caught, but did the same thing again and got caught again? It’s not a great plan.

You now need to do something tangible to show them you have changed your way. I’d suggest buying a season or flexi season for your whole journey for the months ahead. Whatever that costs will be cheaper than the cost of being prosecuted and may help you avoid prosecution.

 

[kunlefemo]

Yes, that’s what happened. I got caught but did it again. Went through a difficult period. Thanks for the advice of buying a season ticket .

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes, that’s what happened. I got caught but did it again. Went through a difficult period. Thanks for the advice of buying a season ticket .

With help from here on what to do I think still a good chance you can avoid prosecution and get out of court settlement.

Get going with your draft after looking at a few other threads. There are solicitors who specialise in this area but that would add to your costs and may not be necessary if you can write a suitable letter yourself.