SWR short faring prosecution - how to respond?

[trainfella1234]

Hey, just wondering how best to respond to this, to note: I am not a frequent rail user so this isnt going to be every day since 2021. What is the best course of action to have this dealt with as quickly as possible and out of court preferably!

All advice is appreciated.

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Could you tell us more about your ticket buying history please? I'm not one of the experts here but SWR seem to think you haven't paid the full fare on a number of occasions. Have you been back over your own records to see how many times this happened?

Any information you can give us will help the experts to advise you.

 

[trainfella1234]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Could you tell us more about your ticket buying history please? I'm not one of the experts here but SWR seem to think you haven't paid the full fare on a number of occasions. Have you been back over your own records to see how many times this happened?

Any information you can give us will help the experts to advise you.

Hey, definitely has happened around 15-20 times upon looking through my history. i have only ever done this in one direction due to no barrier at my station and rushing aboard without a ticket (I know this is wrong and have I going for me that I haven't done this since the 20th apr and have bettered my timekeeping) thanks!

 

[WesternLancer]

Hey, definitely has happened around 15-20 times upon looking through my history. i have only ever done this in one direction due to no barrier at my station and rushing aboard without a ticket (I know this is wrong and have I going for me that I haven't done this since the 20th apr and have bettered my timekeeping) thanks!

You will get some good advice here.

But essentially what you are saying is you rushed aboard (15 to 20 times) without a ticket because you were in a hurry - but then when buying a ticket on 15 to 20 occasions opted to buy the cheapest short distance ticket to get you through the barriers on arrival at Waterloo, ie a ticket from eg Vauxhall, not from where you commenced your journey.

You know, we know and they will know that this is deliberate evasion of the fare due - complete with digital fingerprints left as evidence.

They also say the believe from the data they have that you have done this in both directions when you say you have only ever done it in one direction. So do you think they are wrong about that? I suspect that if you think they are wrong you will need some plausible evidence as to why you travelled Waterloo to Vauxhall / Clapham Jct but did not scan your ticket to get out of the barriers at those stations.

If you want them to agree to settle this out of court (and it's likely that they will be prepared to do so) -

- you need to reply to this e-mail and that reply needs to be honest. Do not be tempted to lie to them
- apologise for what you have done
- demonstrate you understand the seriousness of the offence (because this is a criminal offence that can potentially be prosecuted in court)
- make it clear you have changed your ways and will not be doing this in future
- ask them if they will be sympathetic enough to allow you to pay the fares owed and their costs in dealing with this rather than needing to take the matter to court.

Have a look at some other threads (ideally with SWR) for examples of responses and how this usually works out, then it's usually best to post the draft of your reply here for checking before you send it off to the railway company.

The single fare from Claygate to London is £9.60 so they will want that for every time they think you have not bought the correct ticket plus c£150 admin fee, if they agree to settle out of court.

Hope this info helps.

 

[trainfella1234]

You will get some good advice here.

But essentially what you are saying is you rushed aboard (15 to 20 times) without a ticket because you were in a hurry - but then when buying a ticket on 15 to 20 occasions opted to buy the cheapest short distance ticket to get you through the barriers on arrival at Waterloo, ie a ticket from eg Vauxhall, not from where you commenced your journey.

You know, we know and they will know that this is deliberate evasion of the fare due - complete with digital fingerprints left as evidence.

They also say the believe from the data they have that you have done this in both directions when you say you have only ever done it in one direction. So do you think they are wrong about that? I suspect that if you think they are wrong you will need some plausible evidence as to why you travelled Waterloo to Vauxhall / Clapham Jct but did not scan your ticket to get out of the barriers at those stations.

If you want them to agree to settle this out of court (and it's likely that they will be prepared to do so) -

- you need to reply to this e-mail and that reply needs to be honest. Do not be tempted to lie to them
- apologise for what you have done
- demonstrate you understand the seriousness of the offence (because this is a criminal offence that can potentially be prosecuted in court)
- make it clear you have changed your ways and will not be doing this in future
- ask them if they will be sympathetic enough to allow you to pay the fares owed and their costs in dealing with this rather than needing to take the matter to court.

Have a look at some other threads (ideally with SWR) for examples of responses and how this usually works out, then it's usually best to post the draft of your reply here for checking before you send it off to the railway company.

The single fare from Claygate to London is £9.60 so they will want that for every time they think you have not bought the correct ticket plus c£150 admin fee, if they agree to settle out of court.

Hope this info helps.

Thanks so much for the response, will reply as suggested and see what the outcome is.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks so much for the response, will reply as suggested and see what the outcome is.

as I say, you might want to post your draft reply here before you send it to get it as good as it can be. I imagine they would accept a reply within 7 days of the e-mail they sent you so hopefully you have some time to get it right. It's best not to rush these things.

 

[trainfella1234]

as I say, you might want to post your draft reply here before you send it to get it as good as it can be. I imagine they would accept a reply within 7 days of the e-mail they sent you so hopefully you have some time to get it right. It's best not to rush these things.

How does this sound as a starting point?

 

[WesternLancer]

View attachment 186198How does this sound as a starting point?

The usual advice on here is not to call this sort of thing a mistake (two examples) - you did it deliberately (I assume) - a mistake implies it was something you did by accident.

You might want to call it 'an error of judgement'

I would offer to pay 'any fares that you owe' rather than any 'compensation' or 'fees'

I would wait 24 hours before sending in case other people have suggestions to make on your first draft.

 

[trainfella1234]

Great points and thanks, will hold on for more suggestions. Thanks for being so helpful

 

[WesternLancer]

@trainfella1234
Have a look at post #11 in this thread - which is a different train company and a different situation but you will see the tone and the sorts of points made in what is a good reply to the equivalent of the e-mail you have had (albeit not specifically about multiple journeys which is what they have clearly written to you about and that you rightly address in your draft)

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