Short Faring - Settlement reached

[JJ0693]

Good morning and thank you for having me.

I just wanted to share my recent experience with the forum to give others the insight that I have taken from using this site. First all of thank you to all who contribute to this forum, for me it was very useful in making my own decisions.

In January of this year, I was caught sharing faring at Birmingham New Street by a WMR/TWM attendant. I had a shorter ticket from my original journey and this was obvious as on this occasion I was still quickly trying to purchase walking up to the barriers.

I gave my name and my address to the attendant and he looked over my trainline account to see I'd done this 4 times already this year previous to the date I was stopped. He made note of this and told me I would get a letter through and sent me off. I had done this quite a few times last year also but did not disclose at the time. They scanned my railcard also.

Approx 3 weeks later I received the standard WMR I have seen on this site asking for mitigation and to confirm details. I responded the next day with a letter apologising and realising the seriousness of the offence. I apologised for that singular incident and made clear I would pay all outstanding fees to a timeframe set by the company.

Approx 10 days after I received another letter saying though they have the right to take legal action on this occasion they would be willing to settle. Total in all came to £156.50. This was paid in full the day I received the letter. I believe this to be the end of it all.

I wanted to share this experience as mentioned earlier without this forum I wouldn't have been able to make the decisions I did. Knowing the amount of times I had done this last year also I expected the figure to be greater than it was and expected my accounts to be checked by powers above. I know this is a revenue collection process.

Goes without saying I have travelled since and done so correctly.

Thank you.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@JJ0693. Welcome to the forum. This sort of info is useful to know, when others come on here, who find themselves in a similar pickle and are asking for advice.

By the way, of the £156.50 paid, how much was admin and investigation fees and how much was unpaid fares?

 

[JJ0693]

@JJ0693. Welcome to the forum. This sort of info is useful to know, when others come on here, who find themselves in a similar pickle and are asking for advice.

By the way, of the £156.50 paid, how much was admin and investigation fees and how much was unpaid fares?

From memory, maybe 50p +/- it was around £6.50 for the fare and the rest was administrative.

I hope this helps!

 

[Titfield]

Yes thank you for taking the time and trouble to provide this information. It helps build the picture of how TOCS are currently acting.

Your experience could possibly indicate that prompt and suitably worded responses "allow" the TOC to forego some "fares evaded" (as long as the total sum is relatively small) if they can obtain a very quick settlement.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Your experience could possibly indicate that prompt and suitably worded responses "allow" the TOC to forego some "fares evaded" (as long as the total sum is relatively small) if they can obtain a very quick settlement.

But without wanting to worry the OP, on a few occasions we have seen the rail company come back later to ask about previous journeys, and seek payment (plus admin fees) for them. So it's important to keep an eye out for any further letters or emails from the railway in case they decide to follow that route.

 

[Titfield]

But without wanting to worry the OP, on a few occasions we have seen the rail company come back later to ask about previous journeys, and seek payment (plus admin fees) for them. So it's important to keep an eye out for any further letters or emails from the railway in case they decide to follow that route.

Yes I agree there is a slight risk of them coming back. It would be most useful if anyone who had a "follow up demand" advised us of this occurrence and gave some indication of how many times they had evaded the fare so we could ascertain if there was a threshold or tipping point for further action.