Short fare: How do I respond?

[kernkian]

Hello!

I have just received communication from SWR about an incident I had with them on 17th January where I travelled from Hampton Wick station to Waterloo but only purchased a ticket from Vauxhall,

I am totally embarrassed and just being caught in the station definitely shook me up enough that I haven’t done it since.

Full transparency it was not my first time doing this, but I had only done it a handful of times, and only recently within the last few months. Since being stopped I have gone back to paying full price, i see now how it really was not worth the risk at all.

I just was hoping for some help in reaching out to them, I’d like to get this sorted quickly I don’t mind paying however much they need I just hate having the stress of this hanging over my head in my day to day life.

I included a photo of the letter I received, and also this may sound stupid but I don’t fully understand who I’m supposed to be contacting, is it the email they included in the letter? Again sorry if that’s a really dumb question, also there is a thing on the back that needs my information filled in, how do I send this back to them does it have to be by post or can I email them?

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello!

I have just received communication from SWR about an incident I had with them on 17th January where I travelled from Hampton Wick station to Waterloo but only purchased a ticket from Vauxhall,

I am totally embarrassed and just being caught in the station definitely shook me up enough that I haven’t done it since.

Full transparency it was not my first time doing this, but I had only done it a handful of times, and only recently within the last few months. Since being stopped I have gone back to paying full price, i see now how it really was not worth the risk at all.

I just was hoping for some help in reaching out to them, I’d like to get this sorted quickly View attachment 202175 I don’t mind paying however much they need I just hate having the stress of this hanging over my head in my day to day life.

I included a photo of the letter I received, and also this may sound stupid but I don’t fully understand who I’m supposed to be contacting, is it the email they included in the letter? Again sorry if that’s a really dumb question, also there is a thing on the back that needs my information filled in, how do I send this back to them does it have to be by post or can I email them?

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

View attachment 202175

Welcome.

Basically you need to respond to this or it will escalate to criminal prosecution in a magistrates court

Yes you can send your response to that r mail address. Quote your ref number on the e mail.

Essentially you need to

- apologise for what you did
- make it clear you now understand the seriousness of fare evasion and the consequences for you as well as it being unfair on others who pay correctly
- make it clear you gave changed your ways
- offer to pay any fare(s) that you owe and their costs of investigation in the hope it can be resolved without court action (but don’t offer to pay fines).

You can post a draft of your reply here for people to help get the wording as good as it can be.
Also gave a look at other threads here involving swr to get the idea.

They will trawl your ticket purchase history to look for suspicious buying records and likely ask you about them as part of the process. You will need to prepare to pay for those at the punitive‘Anytime’ single fare price as part of any out of court settlement offer.

Hope this helps.

Ask any questions you like however dumb you might think they are. People here will know the answers.

 

[kernkian]

This is my current draft, is there anything that I should add or change? This is very out of my depth and so I’d appreciate all the guidance I can get

Dear Prosecutions Team,

Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere apologies for what has happened. I fully understand the seriousness of fare evasion and deeply regret my poor error of judgment.

I use TfL transport and the SWR line very often, and since the incident on the 17th I have not attempted to avoid paying my fare. I fully acknowledge that I boarded the train without a valid ticket that day, and understand that this was unacceptable. I understand now it is a stupid offence that is definitely not worth it to save only a couple of pounds.

I appreciate that the officer’s report and any available evidence will reflect the events of that day. I would also like to apologise for initially trying to resist questioning from the officer on that day, it was a moment of sheer panic and anxiety for me, but I did eventually give him all the accurate details of my journey that day.

I respectfully ask if you would consider resolving this matter by way of an out-of-court settlement. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare together with any administrative costs incurred by South Western Railway.

Thank you for taking the time to read my statement and for considering my request. I hope you will allow me the opportunity to resolve this matter amicably.

 

[WesternLancer]

This is my current draft, is there anything that I should add or change? This is very out of my depth and so I’d appreciate all the guidance I can get

Dear Prosecutions Team,

Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere apologies for what has happened. I fully understand the seriousness of fare evasion and deeply regret my poor error of judgment.

I use TfL transport and the SWR line very often, and since the incident on the 17th I have not attempted to avoid paying my fare. I fully acknowledge that I boarded the train without a valid ticket that day, and understand that this was unacceptable. I understand now it is a stupid offence that is definitely not worth it to save only a couple of pounds.

I appreciate that the officer’s report and any available evidence will reflect the events of that day. I would also like to apologise for initially trying to resist questioning from the officer on that day, it was a moment of sheer panic and anxiety for me, but I did eventually give him all the accurate details of my journey that day.

I respectfully ask if you would consider resolving this matter by way of an out-of-court settlement. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare together with any administrative costs incurred by South Western Railway.

Thank you for taking the time to read my statement and for considering my request. I hope you will allow me the opportunity to resolve this matter amicably.

Structure looks good.

I Can think of some minor adjustments to suggest, easier to do that when not on my phone.
Others will probably pitch in also.

You don’t need to send this to them until Monday so time to get this polished up over next 24 hours.

 

[Trainman40083]

Given you mentioned TfL. Had the fare evasion been on TfL and you got caught, almost certainly you would end up in court being prosecuted.

 

[kernkian]

Given you mentioned TfL. Had the fare evasion been on TfL and you got caught, almost certainly you would end up in court being prosecuted.

I have never avoided a fair on TfL, should I take it out so that isn’t insinuated? Are they not connected, sorry again I know like nothing about this stuff? Isn’t TfL just like all of it

 

[Trainman40083]

I have never avoided a fair on TfL, should I take it out so that isn’t insinuated? Are they not connected, sorry again I know like nothing about this stuff? Isn’t TfL just like all of it

Best not mention TfL. Sounds like you use and got caught on SWR (South Western Railway).. I'd suggest you got caught, because virtually nobody would ever buy a ticket between Clapham/Vauxhall and Waterloo. They just use contactless/Oyster.

 

[SECR 65]

I have never avoided a fair on TfL, should I take it out so that isn’t insinuated? Are they not connected, sorry again I know like nothing about this stuff? Isn’t TfL just like all of it

TFL are responsible for transport within London, but they don't run all of the services. TFL run:
London Underground
DLR
Croydon Trams
London Overground
Cable Car
Elizabeth Line
Other rail operaters (e.g. SWR) also operate in London, and while you can pay with Oyster / Contactless as part of TFL's fare structure, the ultimate responsiblity for these services remains with the operators.
I hope this is helpful and that I haven't missed anything!

 

[kernkian]

Oh okay that makes sense thank you! I’ll leave TfL out of my response then, best not overcomplicate it,

 

[WesternLancer]

This is my current draft, is there anything that I should add or change? This is very out of my depth and so I’d appreciate all the guidance I can get

Dear Prosecutions Team,

Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere apologies for what has happened. I fully understand the seriousness of fare evasion and deeply regret my poor error of judgment.

I use TfL transport and the SWR line very often, and since the incident on the 17th I have not attempted to avoid paying my fare. I fully acknowledge that I boarded the train without a valid ticket that day, and understand that this was unacceptable. I understand now it is a stupid offence that is definitely not worth it to save only a couple of pounds.

I appreciate that the officer’s report and any available evidence will reflect the events of that day. I would also like to apologise for initially trying to resist questioning from the officer on that day, it was a moment of sheer panic and anxiety for me, but I did eventually give him all the accurate details of my journey that day.

I respectfully ask if you would consider resolving this matter by way of an out-of-court settlement. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare together with any administrative costs incurred by South Western Railway.

Thank you for taking the time to read my statement and for considering my request. I hope you will allow me the opportunity to resolve this matter amicably.

I suggest these adjustments as below, if you are happy with them and they are correct / true
- I hope the additions show clearly to you as well as the strikethroughs - minor stuff really as below - you also need to be prepared for the fact that they will almost certainly trawl your digital ticket buying records and if they see other Vauxhall - Waterloo tickets they will regard them as suspicious and are likely to come back to you and ask about them - if that happens come back here for more advice - but essentially they will want payment for the correct trips on those occasions too - usually at the peak Anytime Single fare for each one way trip

See below for suggested edits:


Dear Prosecutions Team,

Your Ref [insert SWR case ref number]

I am writing in reference to your letter of xxxx date

Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere apologies for what has happened. I now fully understand the seriousness of fare evasion and deeply regret my poor error of judgment in not paying my correct fare.

I use TfL transport and the SWR line very often, and since the incident on the 17th January 2026 I have ensured I have paid the correct fare. not attempted to avoid paying my fare. I fully acknowledge that I boarded the train without a valid ticket that day, and understand that this was unacceptable. I understand now it was a foolish thing to do is a stupid offence that is definitely not worth it to save only a few couple of pounds. I understand now it was foolish to attempt to travel at an illegitimate reduced fare in an attempt to economise.

I appreciate that the officer’s report and any available evidence will reflect the events of that day. I would also like to apologise for initially trying to avoid the questions put to me by the Inspector resist questioning from the officer on that day. It was a moment of sheer panic and anxiety for me, but I did eventually give him all the accurate details of my journey that day.

I respectfully ask if you would consider allowing me to resolve ing this matter by way of an out-of-court settlement. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare together with any administrative costs incurred by South Western Railway.

Thank you for taking the time to read my statement and for considering my request. I hope you will allow me the opportunity to resolve this matter amicably.

Yours faithfully

Insert name
Insert postal address

 

[duffield]

...


I understand now it was a foolish thing to do is a stupid offence that is definitely not worth it to save only a few couple of pounds.
...

I'm not sure this is ideal. It sort of implies that although it's definitely not worth it to save "only a few pounds", it might be if you saved more than that!

I'd perhaps go for something like

I understand now it was foolish to attempt to travel at an illegitimate reduced fare in an attempt to economise.

Which doesn't have the same implication.

Anyhow, maybe this is nit-picking!

 

[jumble]

Given you mentioned TfL. Had the fare evasion been on TfL and you got caught, almost certainly you would end up in court being prosecuted.

It is not as simple as that
My understanding that TFL's policy is in most cases not involving high value passes to issue a Penalty Fare for someone who has not come to their attention in the previous 12 months

 

[WesternLancer]

I'm not sure this is ideal. It sort of implies that although it's definitely not worth it to save "only a few pounds", it might be if you saved more than that!

I'd perhaps go for something like



Which doesn't have the same implication.

Anyhow, maybe this is nit-picking!

ah yes, that's a good suggestion to improve that bit - hope the OP picks this up and adjusts stuff.
I've amended my suggested version above in post #10 to include that improved wording as will help the OP to have it one place


== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Apr 2026 ==

It is not as simple as that
My understanding that TFL's policy is in most cases to issue a Penalty Fare for someone who has not come to their attention in the previous 12 months

A point worth picking up but at least in this case the OP is not dealing with TfL anyway, so we know this won't be happening in this specific case (in case the OP is wondering)

 

[kernkian]

Thanks for the edits guys these are great points I hadn’t considered before! Thanks for being so helpful, I’ll definitely make those changes and send the email off today!

Also in regard to the previous Vauxhall - Waterloo tickets I’m already fully prepared to pay the correct fares for those as well

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Apr 2026 ==

Update on my case!

They have just sent me a letter with an amount to pay and the matter has been closed, just in case anyone is interested. They never mentioned any other short fares on my account, so I assume that it’s over? Or is there a chance they are going to bill me multiple times?

I’d just really like this to be officially settled now so any insights would be appreciated!

 

[WesternLancer]

Update on my case!

They have just sent me a letter with an amount to pay and the matter has been closed, just in case anyone is interested. They never mentioned any other short fares on my account, so I assume that it’s over? Or is there a chance they are going to bill me multiple times?

I’d just really like this to be officially settled now so any insights would be appreciated!

Thanks for update - sounds good outcome

You can't totally rule out that they might never contact you about other instances in future - but I suspect it is unlikely. However, you should keep an eye on post / e-mail etc in case they do.

If that happens I guess best to return here so people can tell you your options.

You should keep proof of payment for this, all the paperwork including copy of your reply / their letters etc - and keep them long term - I think probably 6 years at least as that might be the limit for them to pursue other fare debts in civil court - tho I may be wrong. Hopefully you will never need any of it but best to have it if you do need it.