Thamelink caught with no railcard

[BT10]

Hi,
I was recently (25/6) on a Thameslink train to Gatwick airport with a 16-25 railcard discount on my ticket despite not owning said railcard. I did it to save £20, which was obviously stupid looking back now as I was caught.
I panicked and said I didn’t have it on me (again, stupid) and so I was given a GTREMG letter and was told I’d be contacted very shortly and had 2 weeks to provide proof of the railcard.
It’s nearly been 2 weeks and I’ve not had anything through the post so I’m a little worried about it going to court and getting a criminal record for it.
I want to email them an admission of guilt, express how sorry I am for the huge lack of judgement and I am willing to pay the fine however I know I probably shouldn’t contact them until they’ve contacted me.
How long do these things normally take to come through the post?
Is it 2 weeks from when the offence was committed or does it take a while to be processed first?
Is it likely that if I make an admission of guilt I’ll be given a £100 fine and no criminal record?

Not that it makes it any better but I have since bought a travelcard and won’t be making that error again If you can’t hack the fine, don’t do the crime…

 

[30907]

Hi,
I was recently (25/6) on a Thameslink train to Gatwick airport with a 16-25 railcard discount on my ticket despite not owning said railcard. I did it to save £20, which was obviously stupid looking back now as I was caught.
I panicked and said I didn’t have it on me (again, stupid) and so I was given a GTREMG letter and was told I’d be contacted very shortly and had 2 weeks to provide proof of the railcard.
It’s nearly been 2 weeks and I’ve not had anything through the post so I’m a little worried about it going to court and getting a criminal record for it.
I want to email them an admission of guilt, express how sorry I am for the huge lack of judgement and I am willing to pay the fine however I know I probably shouldn’t contact them until they’ve contacted me.
How long do these things normally take to come through the post?
Is it 2 weeks from when the offence was committed or does it take a while to be processed first?
Is it likely that if I make an admission of guilt I’ll be given a £100 fine and no criminal record?

Not that it makes it any better but I have since bought a travelcard and won’t be making that error again If you can’t hack the fine, don’t do the crime…

Hi and welcome to the forum

The way many train companies deal with fare evasion is to threaten prosecution, but if you engage with them honestly as you suggest they may well offer to settle for the full fare you should have paid plus a sum for admin expenses - in GTR's case it may be less than £100 but don't bank on it.

However, they will almost certainly check your online booking history (if you have one) and if you have done this (or similarly fraudulent actions) before that may affect the way they respond and/or how much they claim.

Meanwhile - give it a bit longer, but make sure you can access your post over the summer. And if you wish, post a redacted copy of the GTREMG so we can check what they have actually said.

 

[swt_passenger]

Hi,
I was recently (25/6) on a Thameslink train to Gatwick airport with a 16-25 railcard discount on my ticket despite not owning said railcard. I did it to save £20, which was obviously stupid looking back now as I was caught.
[…]
Is it likely that if I make an admission of guilt I’ll be given a £100 fine and no criminal record?

I suspect by £100 fine you’re thinking of the advertised penalty fare amount? These are not issued after the event, you won’t get a penalty fare by post. You’re in a ‘waiting situation’ where the revenue staff have reported you to their office for further investigation. They’ll also check for any previous purchases using a 16-25 railcard, eg if you’ve been using an online account.

Not that it makes it any better but I have since bought a travelcard and won’t be making that error again If you can’t hack the fine, don’t do the crime…

Hopefully you mean you’ve now bought a valid railcard. A “travelcard” is a specific type of fare to the London zonal area.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Can you upload a copy of the paperwork you were given bythe inspector, but do redact any case reference and personal details before doing so.

 

[BT10]

Hi and welcome to the forum

The way many train companies deal with fare evasion is to threaten prosecution, but if you engage with them honestly as you suggest they may well offer to settle for the full fare you should have paid plus a sum for admin expenses - in GTR's case it may be less than £100 but don't bank on it.

However, they will almost certainly check your online booking history (if you have one) and if you have done this (or similarly fraudulent actions) before that may affect the way they respond and/or how much they claim.

Meanwhile - give it a bit longer, but make sure you can access your post over the summer. And if you wish, post a redacted copy of the GTREMG so we can check what they have actually said.

This is the first time I’ve done it so there’ll be no history, is it likely to be a waiting game for 2+ months then?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Jul 2024 ==

I suspect by £100 fine you’re thinking of the advertised penalty fare amount? These are not issued after the event, you won’t get a penalty fare by post. You’re in a ‘waiting situation’ where the revenue staff have reported you to their office for further investigation. They’ll also check for any previous purchases using a 16-25 railcard, eg if you’ve been using an online account.

Hopefully you mean you’ve now bought a valid railcard. A “travelcard” is a specific type of fare to the London zonal area.

This is the first time so there won’t be any history, and yes I meant railcard not travelcard.
If I pay whatever they charge me for it, will I still end up with a criminal record or is that only if it went to court?

 

[swt_passenger]

This is the first time so there won’t be any history, and yes I meant railcard not travelcard.

Ah that’s good.

If I pay whatever they charge me for it, will I still end up with a criminal record or is that only if it went to court?

If you agree an administrative (ie out of court) settlement with GTR the courts won’t know anything about it, and there’ll definitely be no criminal record.