TFL Prosecution

[climbing120]

This post is regarding a misuse of a friend's TFL travelcard. I was recently travelling to South Kensington station through TFL, where an officer stopped me after tapping out and requested I show him the card I used to tap out. I showed him the card, which was not mine, and he took me to the side to take my details. I was fully co-operative during this. My friend was out of the country, and I used his pre-paid travelcard multiple times (approximately 5-6 times) on the tube before this incident.

I have now received the letter detailing that I have ten days to provide evidence against prosecution. I truthfully understand that this was a huge mistake on my part, and am deeply apologetic for the financial and administerative trouble which I have caused, and that abuse of such passes is a severe offence.

After reading many other similar posts, I understand that prosecution is very likely, however, I want to know everything that I can do to try to settle out of court or receive a final warning, since I am a 19-year old medical student with aims of potentially studying and working abroad, and a prosecution has the potential to affect my future career.

 

[JordR]

If you're dealing with TfL they won't settle out of court, they just don't do it.

In some recent cases seen here using a solicitor with railway law background has seemed to lead to a higher (but not certain) chance of a finak warning. But you'd likely need to pay them high hundreds of pounds.

 

[WesternLancer]

This post is regarding a misuse of a friend's TFL travelcard. I was recently travelling to South Kensington station through TFL, where an officer stopped me after tapping out and requested I show him the card I used to tap out. I showed him the card, which was not mine, and he took me to the side to take my details. I was fully co-operative during this. My friend was out of the country, and I used his pre-paid travelcard multiple times (approximately 5-6 times) on the tube before this incident.

I have now received the letter detailing that I have ten days to provide evidence against prosecution. I truthfully understand that this was a huge mistake on my part, and am deeply apologetic for the financial and administerative trouble which I have caused, and that abuse of such passes is a severe offence.

After reading many other similar posts, I understand that prosecution is very likely, however, I want to know everything that I can do to try to settle out of court or receive a final warning, since I am a 19-year old medical student with aims of potentially studying and working abroad, and a prosecution has the potential to affect my future career.

I think the only thing you can really do is Consider using a solicitor that is a specialist in fare evasion work. Other threads have names of three firms that do this work and will have dealt with tfl cases

Given your future earnings potential as a medic you may find the legal costs a reasonable‘investment’ when seen over the longer term in an attempt to avoid the consequences of conviction.

Having said that I doubt you are the first medical student to have been caught fare evading so not sure how serious this is considered by your professional body. You could ask them to get an idea.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Transport for London take ticket misuse very seriously and a prosecution under the TfL Bylaws is the usual outcome.

What you've been sent is TfL's Verification Letter which asks you to confirm or deny the incident and ask you to give any mitigating circumstances which you would like them to take into account when deciding how to proceed.

I suggest you mention the following in your reply:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and TfL's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

TfL do not offer out of court settlements although in some very limited circumstances they have been known to issue a final warning instead of prosecution. Prosecutions are normally done through what is called a Single Justice Procedure Notice. This means that if you plead guilty it is not necessary to attend court in person (unless you choose to do), you simply return the form to the court with any mitigation you want them to take into account and they will write to you with the details of the fine you have to pay.

If you are prosecuted and plead guilty (or are found guilty by the court) then you will have to pay:

- A fine based on your income
- A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
- A contribution towards TfL's costs
- Compensation for the fares avoided

If you are found guilty then this is a criminal conviction. If you are prosecuted under the TfL Bylaws (which is what normally happens) then the conviction isn't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and won't normally appear on Basic DBS checks although we always advise people to be honest when asked if they have a conviction.

While we cannot guarantee it, recent cases indicate that there is a far greater chance of a favourable outcome if you engage the services of a solicitor who specialises in rail fare evasion. These don't come cheap and there can be no guarantee of obtaining a warning. It is possible that TfL might still decide to prosecute, resulting in you having to pay the fine, surcharge, costs etc as well as the solicitor fee.

Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

 

[climbing120]

Thank you all for the replies, I am heavily considering at least enquiring with a solicitor to understand what my chances are to not receive a conviction.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you all for the replies, I am heavily considering at least enquiring with a solicitor to understand what my chances are to not receive a conviction.

There is no harm in seeking solicitors quotes - but I would suggest there is only any point in doing so from firms experienced in this area of work.

You should be mindful that they will no doubt promise they can help you (like any other business they must have an incentive to obtain paid for work from people)

You could ask them questions that would actively help you decide if using their services is worth the cost - eg asking something like 'how often are they successful in managing to dissuade TfL from prosecuting their clients in cases where they have been asked to act' - since I suspect you are more interested in avoiding the criminal record than the inevitable financial consequences court fine that comes with a guilty verdict or guilty plea - ie avoiding the criminal record more important than a lower fine say, which a solicitor might also be able to achieve and regard as a 'success' - which it would be.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Mar 2025 ==

Thank you all for the replies, I am heavily considering at least enquiring with a solicitor to understand what my chances are to not receive a conviction.

Here is a post I mde recently on another thread that may help you find specialist firms:

If the OP does decide to engage a solicitor regarding this I suspect they should seek quotes from the three firms we see mentioned on here who seem to have staff who specialise in fare evasion matters. Perhaps rather than just a firm with no particular experience in that area.

I am thinking of:

Makwana solicitors
Manak solicitors
Penman Sedgwick Solicitors

I have no connection nor have ever used these firms myself.

is the forum aware of any others that have been mentioned in the past?

Having said that given the levels of fare evasion that go on and the propensity of TfL to prosecute I suspect many other London area solicitors must deal with it from time to time.

 

[climbing120]

I have contacted a solicitor about this, thank you. I do have a question regarding applying for employment this summer. If I apply for a job while I am currently being investigated for prosecution, do I need to declare it?

 

[WesternLancer]

I have contacted a solicitor about this, thank you. I do have a question regarding applying for employment this summer. If I apply for a job while I am currently being investigated for prosecution, do I need to declare it?

I'm not an expert on that but I think perhaps not - logic tells me you only need to declare a criminal record when you have one (and to get one it needs you to be found guilty and sentenced by a court, - that does not happen when you are being investigated before it is heard in court.

But you should take care to carefully read what it asks you on any job application. Some jobs they may want to know about something you are being investigated about - and that probably depends on the job.

 

[Haywain]

I do have a question regarding applying for employment this summer.

You will know in a fairly short time whether you are going to be prosecuted, especially if you are using a solicitor.

 

[climbing120]

Just wanted to update everyone, I received a final warning.

 

[Hadders]

Just wanted to update everyone, I received a final warning.

Thanks for updating us. This is useful to know.

 

[thanvin]

Just wanted to update everyone, I received a final warning.

Hello mate can you please tell me about your last prosecution update Because Im also having the same trouble please lmk

 

[Hadders]

Hello mate can you please tell me about your last prosecution update Because Im also having the same trouble please lmk

Please start your own thread if you need assistance and we will be happy to help. Experience has taught us that no two cases are ever quite the same, however similar they might appear to be at first. Also, we only discuss one case in each thread to avoid confusion.