Southeastern fare evasion issue - help needed

[Bonn]

Hello,

I received a letter from Southeastern following recent fare evasion case. I’ve written a statement and would be grateful for any advice as I’m extremely worried this might become a court matter. I take full responsibility that I was trying to save money and feel extremely stupid I’m in this position.

I’m debating instructing a solicitor but would appreciate any advice here first, to give the best possible chance for an out of court settlement.

I’ve included requested information below and my statement is at the bottom of this.

• Started at London zone 5 station and ended at Chatham.
• I presented a ticket from Rochester to Chatham, single journey.
• No railcard.
• The ticket was purchased on the train, during the journey.
• I gave a statement to the member of staff when stopped at the barriers, I was compliant and honest about my journey.

• I’m hoping this can be settled out of court, paying an affordable fine and cost of journey.

I write in response to your letter dated xxx.

On xxx I was questioned by a member of rail staff for not having a valid ticket for travel for my full journey and I am extremely sorry for this error in judgment.

Whilst on the train I realised there were no contactless options at my destination so I panicked and bought a ticket to avoid being stuck in the station. I was in a state of deep distress as I was on my way to visit my mother who is unwell. I was worried about my options once exiting the train and wasn’t thinking clearly, I was simply preoccupied with exiting the station to get to my mother as quickly as possible.

I am not a fare evader. I pay huge amounts of money to Southeastern in fares, and have used them to travel to work and back everyday for years - I always pay my full fare. In fact, I have just purchased an annual ticket at the value of £2216 (ref number xxx) demonstrating my significant commitment to ensuing my travel is always fully paid for. I am an upstanding member of society who believes in doing the right thing.

Under normal circumstances I would never consider not paying a full fare, this was purely a one-off due to the unique situation I was in. I have never done anything like this before and certainly do not intend to ever again, and is something I am full of regret about.

When approached by the staff member I was courteous and compliant. I fully appreciate the negative impact not paying for full fares have on Southeastern and as stated above, will never do anything like this again. To reiterate my point above, I travel on Southeastern very regularly and always pay my full fare.

I would like to settle this at the earliest possible opportunity without the need for any court involvement as this is causing me a huge amount of anxiety, and I have been experiencing physical symptoms such as insomnia and headaches as a result. I cannot stress enough how much I regret this situation and the distress it has caused me.

I am willing to pay the cost of any fare owed and any administrative costs associated with this case, such as an affordable fine. I kindly ask that you would allow me to settle this matter without proceeding to court. This has the potential to affect my entire life over a one-off incident, which I sincerely hope can be avoided.

 

[Haywain]

I am not a fare evader. I pay huge amounts of money to Southeastern in fares, and have used them to travel to work and back everyday for years - I always pay my full fare. In fact, I have just purchased an annual ticket at the value of £2216 (ref number xxx) demonstrating my significant commitment to ensuing my travel is always fully paid for. I am an upstanding member of society who believes in doing the right thing.

Cut all this out for a start, as you are a fare evader - you were caught in the act, after all - and talking about paying "huge amounts" is the sort of comment made by people who think it's legitimate to save a bit here and there.

 

[AlterEgo]

You can't expect us to say your letter is fine when it spins a yarn and you freely admit you were fare evading. They know this as well. They weren't born yesterday. Be mindful they will audit your ticket purchasing accounts to see how many times you've done this too.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello,

I received a letter from Southeastern following recent fare evasion case. I’ve written a statement and would be grateful for any advice as I’m extremely worried this might become a court matter. I take full responsibility that I was trying to save money and feel extremely stupid I’m in this position.

I’m debating instructing a solicitor but would appreciate any advice here first, to give the best possible chance for an out of court settlement.

I’ve included requested information below and my statement is at the bottom of this.

• Started at London zone 5 station and ended at Chatham.
• I presented a ticket from Rochester to Chatham, single journey.
• No railcard.
• The ticket was purchased on the train, during the journey.
• I gave a statement to the member of staff when stopped at the barriers, I was compliant and honest about my journey.
• I’m hoping this can be settled out of court, paying an affordable fine and cost of journey.

I write in response to your letter dated xxx.

On xxx I was questioned by a member of rail staff for not having a valid ticket for travel for my full journey and I am extremely sorry for this error in judgment.

Whilst on the train I realised there were no contactless options at my destination so I panicked and bought a ticket to avoid being stuck in the station. I was in a state of deep distress as I was on my way to visit my mother who is unwell. I was worried about my options once exiting the train and wasn’t thinking clearly, I was simply preoccupied with exiting the station to get to my mother as quickly as possible.

I am not a fare evader. I pay huge amounts of money to Southeastern in fares, and have used them to travel to work and back everyday for years - I always pay my full fare. In fact, I have just purchased an annual ticket at the value of £2216 (ref number xxx) demonstrating my significant commitment to ensuing my travel is always fully paid for. I am an upstanding member of society who believes in doing the right thing.

Under normal circumstances I would never consider not paying a full fare, this was purely a one-off due to the unique situation I was in. I have never done anything like this before and certainly do not intend to ever again, and is something I am full of regret about.

When approached by the staff member I was courteous and compliant. I fully appreciate the negative impact not paying for full fares have on Southeastern and as stated above, will never do anything like this again. To reiterate my point above, I travel on Southeastern very regularly and always pay my full fare.

I would like to settle this at the earliest possible opportunity without the need for any court involvement as this is causing me a huge amount of anxiety, and I have been experiencing physical symptoms such as insomnia and headaches as a result. I cannot stress enough how much I regret this situation and the distress it has caused me.

I am willing to pay the cost of any fare owed and any administrative costs associated with this case, such as an affordable fine. I kindly ask that you would allow me to settle this matter without proceeding to court. This has the potential to affect my entire life over a one-off incident, which I sincerely hope can be avoided.

I too think if it could be reduced a bit in length it would be no bad thing

ref this last bit - I think best to avoid offering to pay a 'fine' so I have suggested an edit you can consider

I am more than willing willing to pay the cost of any fare owed and any administrative costs associated with this case, such as an affordable fine. I kindly ask that you would allow me to settle this matter without proceeding to court. This has the potential to affect my entire life over a one-off incident, which I sincerely hope can be avoided.

ref the point made in post #2 I agree with this.
I can see that what you are trying to do is to show this is out of character because you are a season ticket holder in another context and not a habitual evader. I wonder if you could make that point (and cover other bits where you allude to the same perhaps in a shorter and clearer way) - I think the point to bear in mind is they won't really care that you pay the correct fare 'most of the time so it's alright if you didn't this time'.

eg something like this might cover that para and perhaps even the next one - of course use wording you are happy with


"I very much regret the error of judgment I made on this occasion* and I would like to assure you that it is out of character. For my regular journey to work I hold a season ticket [you can perhaps insert the season ref number if you want]. I apologise for this error and would like to assure you that I understand the seriousness of what happened and make it clear that I will not make the same error in future."


*note don't say 'on this occasion' if any audit of your ticket buying records they undertake might throw up anything at all that they might regard as suspicious

 

[Greyman1]

Cut all this out for a start, as you are a fare evader - you were caught in the act, after all - and talking about paying "huge amounts" is the sort of comment made by people who think it's legitimate to save a bit here and there.

In total agreement. Plus the person who will read this will be less inclined to have any form of compassion if your response is written this way.
Be honest, apologetic, confirm you will learn from your mistakes and that you wish to settle out of court if this is an option.
That would be my take.