Southeastern Railway prosecution letter

[Kah]

Hi, I bought a child ticket going to London Bridge and I wanted some advice on how to write the letter to offer an out of court settlement, I have bought these before but only on the ticket machine. Any advice would be appreciated.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==

This is my draft of my letter,

Dear Sir/Madam,





I am writing to sincerely apologise for my mistake on 6th March 2025, when I wrongly purchased a child ticket to London Bridge. I take full responsibility for this lapse in judgment and deeply regret my actions.





I understand the seriousness of fare evasion and the impact it has, and I want to assure you that this was a mistake that I will never repeat. I am more than willing to pay the correct fare and cover any administrative costs incurred.





I genuinely hope to resolve this matter outside of court and would be grateful for the opportunity to make things right. Once again, I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.





Yours sincerely,

 

[dciuk]

I think we need to know more about what happened.
When did this happen?
Were you stopped on the train or at a station?
Have you received any paperwork (either when stopped or any letters/emails since)? If so please upload redacted copies to the experts here can offer the best advice
What was wrong with the ticket? (I assume you are over the age of 16 and therefore not entitled to child fares, but please confirm. Also was the ticket for the correct start and end station and which stations did you travel between)
Please can you confirm the age group you fall into: Under 16; 16/17; 18+
Which railway company has questioned you regarding this?
How was the ticket purchased - For example online such as trainline; Ticket machine; Ticket office.
If purchased online and the railway company was to search your history will they find other examples of incorrectly purchased tickets?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==

Which railway company has questioned you regarding this?

I have realised this was in the title of the thread (Southeastern) so feel free to cross that question off the list

 

[30907]

You have twice said you made a mistake. You didn't. It was deliberate, so find a different word.

It was also repeated - and SE may still find that out.

You need specifically to ask them to consider offering you an out of court settlement.

Check posts by forum member Hadders for further advice.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

You cannot offer them an out of court settlement.

By writing a sincere letter of apology and convincing SouthEastern that you won't ever do this again, you have to hope that SouthEastern will offer you an out of court settlement

 

[Kah]

I think we need to know more about what happened.
When did this happen?
Were you stopped on the train or at a station?
Have you received any paperwork (either when stopped or any letters/emails since)? If so please upload redacted copies to the experts here can offer the best advice
What was wrong with the ticket? (I assume you are over the age of 16 and therefore not entitled to child fares, but please confirm. Also was the ticket for the correct start and end station and which stations did you travel between)
Please can you confirm the age group you fall into: Under 16; 16/17; 18+
Which railway company has questioned you regarding this?
How was the ticket purchased - For example online such as trainline; Ticket machine; Ticket office.
If purchased online and the railway company was to search your history will they find other examples of incorrectly purchased tickets?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==


I have realised this was in the title of the thread (Southeastern) so feel free to cross that question off the list

It happened 6th of march 2025, I was stopped at the station ( London Bridge),
I attached the Letter, I have received no other paperwork
I bought a child ticket but im 19 ( student )
I bought it using the ticket machines at my local station, I don't buy tickets online so I don't think they could see trainline records or anything like that.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==

It happened 6th of march 2025, I was stopped at the station ( London Bridge),
I attached the Letter, I have received no other paperwork
I bought a child ticket but im 19 ( student )
I bought it using the ticket machines at my local station, I don't buy tickets online so I don't think they could see trainline records or anything like that.

Also the tickets were correct for the stations

 

[Fawkes Cat]

It happened 6th of march 2025, I was stopped at the station ( London Bridge),
I attached the Letter, I have received no other paperwork
I bought a child ticket but im 19 ( student )
I bought it using the ticket machines at my local station, I don't buy tickets online so I don't think they could see trainline records or anything like that.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Mar 2025 ==


Also the tickets were correct for the stations

OK. So if you take account of the advice that has been given above (this wasn't a mistake, and you need to ask if the railway would consider allowing you to settle out of court) you should have a letter that the railway might accept as good enough. If you'd like to show us an improved draft there will be people here who will (constructively) criticise it - but the important thing is to make sure that you do reply to the railway.

 

[Kah]

This is another draft I made, please let me know your thoughts and any changes you would make. Thanks

Dear Sir/Madam,





I am writing to sincerely apologise for my fault on 6th March 2025, when I wrongly purchased a child ticket to London Bridge. I take full responsibility for this lapse in judgment and deeply regret my actions.





I understand the seriousness of fare evasion and the impact it has, and I want to assure you that this was an action that I will never repeat. I did not fully consider the consequences of my actions, and I now understand the seriousness of this matter. This experience has been a wake-up call for me, and I guarantee I will never do this again.





I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter without the need for court action. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any administrative costs incurred by Southeastern in handling this case.





Once again, I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.





Yours sincerely,

 

[Fawkes Cat]

This is another draft I made, please let me know your thoughts and any changes you would make. Thanks

Dear Sir/Madam,





I am writing to sincerely apologise for my fault on 6th March 2025, when I wrongly purchased a child ticket to London Bridge. I take full responsibility for this lapse in judgment and deeply regret my actions.





I understand the seriousness of fare evasion and the impact it has, and I want to assure you that this was an action that I will never repeat. I did not fully consider the consequences of my actions, and I now understand the seriousness of this matter. This experience has been a wake-up call for me, and I guarantee I will never do this again.





I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter without the need for court action. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any administrative costs incurred by Southeastern in handling this case.





Once again, I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.





Yours sincerely,

That looks ok to me. You might want to see if anyone else has suggestions to improve it even more, but otherwise, get it sent to the railway. Make sure that you keep details of when you sent it (if you send it hardcopy, send it tracked or signed for (https://www.royalmail.com/sending/uk)) as Southeastern currently have a bit of a reputation for losing incoming post, so it could be important to be able to prove that you wrote to them at the right time.

 

[WesternLancer]

This is another draft I made, please let me know your thoughts and any changes you would make. Thanks

Dear Sir/Madam,





I am writing to sincerely apologise for my fault on 6th March 2025, when I wrongly purchased a child ticket to London Bridge. I take full responsibility for this lapse in judgment and deeply regret my actions.





I understand the seriousness of fare evasion and the impact it has, and I want to assure you that this was an action that I will never repeat. I did not fully consider the consequences of my actions, and I now understand the seriousness of this matter. This experience has been a wake-up call for me, and I guarantee I will never do this again.





I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter without the need for court action. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any administrative costs incurred by Southeastern in handling this case.





Once again, I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.





Yours sincerely,

Yes. Looks ok. One thing you could do to legitimately reduce your fares would buy a Railcard. You could then insert a sentence to tell them you have done this. It would demonstrate a practical step you have actually taken to both change your ways and legally reduce your train ticket costs.

Probably for you it’s a 16-25 railcard you would get but check the Railcard website.