Southeastern Notice of Possible Prosecution

[Hadders]

Thank you all for the responses. I have contacted Reeds Solicitors and I will have them represent me. My problem is that the only available date they have for an initial consultstion is the 10th of June, and my deadline is the 13th of June. I have made that clear to them and they had advised that they can request an extension.
Now, do I request the travel log from Southeaster on my own or wait for Reeds to do it (too close of a call with the deadline).
Because of the nature of the tickets, I personally wouldn't be able to tell when I started to take the HS1, but I do remember it was since last spring. I will try to find some evidenced of that and compare with what Southeastern will give me. After doing the math, it still does not equates to that 899 trips and that huge sum.

Also, hase there been an instance before where people have recived a deadline extension and have mannaged to get the sum down? I do not wish to go to court and have this in ma record.

Again thank you all!

If you have engaged a solicitor then you should follow their advice. That is what you are paying them (a lot of money) to do.

 

[LiddiLars]

We probably shouldn't ask you to show your working here, but
- remember to count each trip to London as one journey, and each trip back as another one (so two trips a day)
- think hard about how often you have done this, starting from how many days a week you go into London. You might think that (say) you go into London three times a week and only ever fare dodge on the first time each week: think hard about whether that's really true. It's very easy to underestimate how often you do something. So be brutally honest with yourself.
- now look at the number you have come up with. Is it something like 899? Or is it maybe something like 89 or 99? I'm thinking there's a possibility that someone's finger may have slipped when they put the number of journeys into the spreadsheet with the practical result that they are trying to charge you for (very roughly) ten times as many trips as they should be doing. Of course, that will get you nowhere if you reckon you have fare dodged 25 times (or 250 times i.e. some number which is wildly different from both what the railway have said, and from an easy typo of what they have said).


In the circumstances, I think it makes sense to ask Southeastern for their figures sooner rather than later. If there's been some sort of miscalculation that may become obvious once they send it through, and you may be able to wrap the whole thing up once that's sorted out.

After my calculations, I have came up with roughly 291 return trips where I did do the fair shortage. This is still a very high number but different from the one Southeaster have come back with. I have booked an initial consultation with Makwana Solicitors for tomorrow (initially wanted to go with Reeds but they only had availability on the 10th June), and hopefully they can advice what next steps should look like.
899 trips seems more like the total number of trips I have done into London on my account, which is not right, as I always had a ticket and I started going on the HS1 one year ago. I am a bit unsure of how I will be able to prove that though.

Thank you

 

[WesternLancer]

After my calculations, I have came up with roughly 291 return trips where I did do the fair shortage. This is still a very high number but different from the one Southeaster have come back with. I have booked an initial consultation with Makwana Solicitors for tomorrow (initially wanted to go with Reeds but they only had availability on the 10th June), and hopefully they can advice what next steps should look like.
899 trips seems more like the total number of trips I have done into London on my account, which is not right, as I always had a ticket and I started going on the HS1 one year ago. I am a bit unsure of how I will be able to prove that though.

Thank you

Hi - it might help if you are consistent on numbering - you talk here about "return trips" and later about "trips"

I assume 291 return trips would be 582 single journeys (or 582 "trips") -or about 300 less than SE Trains believe.

Hopefully I have understood that correct

When you are using HS1 I assume most of the time there would be a barrier scan of your ticket at St Pancras perhaps - you should assume that SE Trains can potentially access that data of the ticket gate scans if they are minded to do so, but I realise that doesn't mean you can easily prove it

But your solicitors should be able to help in respect of what they say to the railway company on your behalf about this.

 

[John R]

And equally wouldn’t journeys on the classic route have a scan at a gateline south of the river?