Thameslink Intention to prosecute letter and potential response

[wallrug45]

Hi all,

I've just received a letter through the post for an Intention to Prosecute from Thameslink. Back at the end of December I took the tube from my partner's house in Aldgate to Farringdon, where I got on the train to Brighton. I thought I had a valid return from a monthly return from Brighton to London Stations on my trainline app, but when ticket inspectors got on at London Bridge and I presented my ticket it had already apparently been travelled on. I was apologetic and asked if I could pay the fare there and then, but I was given a witness statement and then received the letter through the post today. I've drafted a reply which I've copied below and intend to send back imminently; does this seem an appropriate response?

I'm also worried that I might have travelled on invalid return tickets like this before; is there anything else I should do?

Thanks for your help everyone!

------

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your correspondence and for providing me with the chance to reply to your letter, reference XXXXX and dated XXX.

On Monday XXth December 2024 I was rightly stopped by a Revenue Protection Inspector who boarded at London Bridge whilst I was on a train from Farringdon to Brighton, and was unable to produce a valid ticket for this entire journey.

I had taken the tube from my partner’s house near Aldgate to Farringdon, and then boarded the train to Brighton, assuming that the return ticket on my trainline app was still valid. This was not the case, as I was alerted by your member of your Revenue Protection Team.

I take full responsibility for this error and lapse of judgement, and accept that it is entirely my fault that I had not ensured that I had a valid ticket prior to boarding the train. I sincerely apologise for my actions and understand the severity of them, and the knock-on negative impact that fare evasion has on the railway industry as a whole. I am truly sorry and deeply regretful of my actions; I will not do this again and will always ensure that I purchase a valid ticket entitling travel before boarding a train.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle my misconduct with you directly without the need for court action. I am more than willing to pay the full fare of the journey that I took (as I mentioned on the day of this incident), as well as any penalties, fees, and administration costs which I have created through my misjudgement and actions.

I’d once again like to sincerely apologise for my actions and any inconvenience caused to the staff of Govia Thameslink Railway, and thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Yours Sincerely,

XXXX

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,

I've just received a letter through the post for an Intention to Prosecute from Thameslink. Back at the end of December I took the tube from my partner's house in Aldgate to Farringdon, where I got on the train to Brighton. I thought I had a valid return from a monthly return from Brighton to London Stations on my trainline app, but when ticket inspectors got on at London Bridge and I presented my ticket it had already apparently been travelled on. I was apologetic and asked if I could pay the fare there and then, but I was given a witness statement and then received the letter through the post today. I've drafted a reply which I've copied below and intend to send back imminently; does this seem an appropriate response?

I'm also worried that I might have travelled on invalid return tickets like this before; is there anything else I should do?

Thanks for your help everyone!

------

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your correspondence and for providing me with the chance to reply to your letter, reference XXXXX and dated XXX.

On Monday 30th December 2024 at 15:02 I was rightly stopped by a Revenue Protection Inspector who boarded at London Bridge whilst I was on a train from Farringdon to Brighton, and was unable to produce a valid ticket for this entire journey.

I had taken the tube from my partner’s house near Aldgate to Farringdon, and then boarded the train to Brighton, assuming that the return ticket on my trainline app was still valid. This was not the case, as I was alerted by your member of your Revenue Protection Team.

I take full responsibility for this error and lapse of judgement, and accept that it is entirely my fault that I had not ensured that I had a valid ticket prior to boarding the train. I sincerely apologise for my actions and understand the severity of them, and the knock-on negative impact that fare evasion has on the railway industry as a whole. I am truly sorry and deeply regretful of my actions; I will not do this again and will always ensure that I purchase a valid ticket entitling travel before boarding a train.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle my misconduct with you directly without the need for court action. I am more than willing to pay the full fare of the journey that I took (as I mentioned on the day of this incident), as well as any penalties, fees, and administration costs which I have created through my misjudgement and actions.

I’d once again like to sincerely apologise for my actions and any inconvenience caused to the staff of Govia Thameslink Railway, and thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Yours Sincerely,

XXXX

welcome - unless your deadline for response is today I would wait so people can review this and your question before you send it back - 24 to 48 hours will be plenty of time for people to check things

Do you think it is possible you had in fact used the ticket already (and done this on other occasions, either in genuine error or perhaps deliberately?)

Tho many tickets allow a break of journey so if you had done that and scanned the ticket at a barrier line is it possible that the staff thought the ticket had been used in its entirety when in fact you had used it for part of the route?

 

[Gloster]

Please post the letter that you received in this thread so that the experts know exactly how the railway is handling this. Please obscure your name, address and any other identifying details, such as reference numbers.

 

[AlterEgo]

Hi all,

I've just received a letter through the post for an Intention to Prosecute from Thameslink. Back at the end of December I took the tube from my partner's house in Aldgate to Farringdon, where I got on the train to Brighton. I thought I had a valid return from a monthly return from Brighton to London Stations on my trainline app, but when ticket inspectors got on at London Bridge and I presented my ticket it had already apparently been travelled on. I was apologetic and asked if I could pay the fare there and then, but I was given a witness statement and then received the letter through the post today. I've drafted a reply which I've copied below and intend to send back imminently; does this seem an appropriate response?

I'm also worried that I might have travelled on invalid return tickets like this before; is there anything else I should do?

Thanks for your help everyone!

------

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your correspondence and for providing me with the chance to reply to your letter, reference XXXXX and dated XXX.

On Monday 30th December 2024 at 15:02 I was rightly stopped by a Revenue Protection Inspector who boarded at London Bridge whilst I was on a train from Farringdon to Brighton, and was unable to produce a valid ticket for this entire journey.

I had taken the tube from my partner’s house near Aldgate to Farringdon, and then boarded the train to Brighton, assuming that the return ticket on my trainline app was still valid. This was not the case, as I was alerted by your member of your Revenue Protection Team.

I take full responsibility for this error and lapse of judgement, and accept that it is entirely my fault that I had not ensured that I had a valid ticket prior to boarding the train. I sincerely apologise for my actions and understand the severity of them, and the knock-on negative impact that fare evasion has on the railway industry as a whole. I am truly sorry and deeply regretful of my actions; I will not do this again and will always ensure that I purchase a valid ticket entitling travel before boarding a train.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle my misconduct with you directly without the need for court action. I am more than willing to pay the full fare of the journey that I took (as I mentioned on the day of this incident), as well as any penalties, fees, and administration costs which I have created through my misjudgement and actions.

I’d once again like to sincerely apologise for my actions and any inconvenience caused to the staff of Govia Thameslink Railway, and thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Yours Sincerely,

XXXX

This letter reads as if you travelled on an already used ticket deliberately, as you talk about misconduct and an error of judgment and the impact of fare evading, rather than making a simple mistake. If it's a mistake, simply say you are very sorry and you made a human error which meant you had failed to pay the fare due and are willing to accept the consequences of that.

If it was a mistake, it might be helpful for you to explain to Thameslink how you came to make this mistake and what you will do to avoid it in future. It's not that easy to reuse return portions if you just go "there and back", unless you are into the practice of buying returns in both directions and multiply reusing each return portion for the 30 day validity. Or, perhaps you have other combinations of tickets which mean it's easy to lose track of which tickets have and have not been used.

Was your full journey to Brighton, or some other station nearby? Exactly what ticket were you using? Thameslink may audit your past purchases and/or ticket scans, so if:

I'm also worried that I might have travelled on invalid return tickets like this before

means "I've definitely done this before and I am worried this might be detected", you need to tell us. But as it stands you can't really say you made a very simple mistake "apparently it had been travelled on before" but also write to the train company painting yourself as a fare evader and expect people to say the letter makes sense for your circumstances.

 

[wallrug45]

Please post the letter that you received in this thread so that the experts know exactly how the railway is handling this. Please obscure your name, address and any other identifying details, such as reference numbers.

Here's the letter I've received with details redacted:

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Mar 2025 ==

This letter reads as if you travelled on an already used ticket deliberately, as you talk about misconduct and an error of judgment and the impact of fare evading, rather than making a simple mistake. If it's a mistake, simply say you are very sorry and you made a human error which meant you had failed to pay the fare due and are willing to accept the consequences of that.

If it was a mistake, it might be helpful for you to explain to Thameslink how you came to make this mistake and what you will do to avoid it in future. It's not that easy to reuse return portions if you just go "there and back", unless you are into the practice of buying returns in both directions and multiply reusing each return portion for the 30 day validity. Or, perhaps you have other combinations of tickets which mean it's easy to lose track of which tickets have and have not been used.

Was your full journey to Brighton, or some other station nearby? Exactly what ticket were you using? Thameslink may audit your past purchases and/or ticket scans, so if:

means "I've definitely done this before and I am worried this might be detected", you need to tell us. But as it stands you can't really say you made a very simple mistake "apparently it had been travelled on before" but also write to the train company painting yourself as a fare evader and expect people to say the letter makes sense for your circumstances.

These are fair points. Part of the problem is that I use a mixture of day travelcards to London, and then also open monthly returns to either victoria or one of the thameslink stations, depending on which fits for my travel up to London that day. I then get left with random open returns which I use. I also end up going to both Brighton and London Road (Brighton); the latter doesn't have exit barriers and so I don't end up scanning those returns on leaving the train.

Also, being honest here: there have been times where I have ended up reusing the monthly portion of an open return back to Brighton as I've not been checked on a journey and had to tap in/out at either end. It's not a super regular occurrence, but I have done it before. This is often after I've used a day travelcard one day to go to work, have stayed at my partners, and then have travelled back down the next day.

In this instance, my full ticket was to Brighton, and I'd intended to use the open return that was on my trainline app. And it was honestly a mistake; I'd stopped doing the dodging as I was worried it was going to backfire on me (as it has here). When confronted by the Revenue Protection people, I honestly had thought I had a valid ticket for return, and I mentioned as such to them.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Mar 2025 ==

Just giving this a little bump; if anyone has any advice, that'd be fantastic.

 

[WesternLancer]

Here's the letter I've received with details redacted:

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Mar 2025 ==


These are fair points. Part of the problem is that I use a mixture of day travelcards to London, and then also open monthly returns to either victoria or one of the thameslink stations, depending on which fits for my travel up to London that day. I then get left with random open returns which I use. I also end up going to both Brighton and London Road (Brighton); the latter doesn't have exit barriers and so I don't end up scanning those returns on leaving the train.

Also, being honest here: there have been times where I have ended up reusing the monthly portion of an open return back to Brighton as I've not been checked on a journey and had to tap in/out at either end. It's not a super regular occurrence, but I have done it before. This is often after I've used a day travelcard one day to go to work, have stayed at my partners, and then have travelled back down the next day.

In this instance, my full ticket was to Brighton, and I'd intended to use the open return that was on my trainline app. And it was honestly a mistake; I'd stopped doing the dodging as I was worried it was going to backfire on me (as it has here). When confronted by the Revenue Protection people, I honestly had thought I had a valid ticket for return, and I mentioned as such to them.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Mar 2025 ==

Just giving this a little bump; if anyone has any advice, that'd be fantastic.

I think given @AlterEgo very good points in post above it's these paras I have copied below you need to re-draft after considering those observations- if you are apologising for you being genuinely confused and having made a mistake then couch it in those terms by toning down some of your phrases but still fundamentally accepting you made an error and it was your own responsibility to check your tickets before travel. Obv don't mention any past history of deliberate evasion - let them come back to you about that if they suspect it

for example don't use 'misconduct' - say eg 'settle the matter by paying any fare I owe along with your costs of looking into this, in order to resolve the matter without the need for court action'

I take full responsibility for this error and lapse of judgement, and accept that it is entirely my fault that I had not ensured that I had a valid ticket prior to boarding the train. I sincerely apologise for my actions and understand the severity of them, and the knock-on negative impact that fare evasion has on the railway industry as a whole. I am truly sorry and deeply regretful of my actions; I will not do this again and will always ensure that I purchase a valid ticket entitling travel before boarding a train.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle my misconduct with you directly without the need for court action. I am more than willing to pay the full fare of the journey that I took (as I mentioned on the day of this incident), as well as any penalties, fees, and administration costs which I have created through my misjudgement and actions.

If you an do a bit of a revision on your draft I'm sure people will check and advise to allow you to catch the morning post on Saturday so you can get it off tracked postage from your local post office (probably get to your lost office by about 10am Saturday)

 

[wallrug45]

I think given @AlterEgo very good points in post above it's these paras I have copied below you need to re-draft after considering those observations- if you are apologising for you being genuinely confused and having made a mistake then couch it in those terms by toning down some of your phrases but still fundamentally accepting you made an error and it was your own responsibility to check your tickets before travel. Obv don't mention any past history of deliberate evasion - let them come back to you about that if they suspect it

for example don't use 'misconduct' - say eg 'settle the matter by paying any fare I owe along with your costs of looking into this, in order to resolve the matter without the need for court action'



If you an do a bit of a revision on your draft I'm sure people will check and advise to allow you to catch the morning post on Saturday so you can get it off tracked postage from your local post office (probably get to your lost office by about 10am Saturday)

Thanks so much for the advice. I've taken a bit of time to redraft the letter with these points in mind. Any further thoughts would be much appreciated!

---------

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your correspondence and for providing me with the chance to reply to your letter, reference XXX and dated XXX.

On XXX December 2024 at XXX I was rightly stopped by a Revenue Protection Inspector who boarded at London Bridge whilst I was on a train from Farringdon to Brighton, and was unable to produce a valid ticket for this entire journey.

I had taken the tube from my partner’s house near Aldgate to Farringdon, and then boarded the train to Brighton, assuming that the return ticket on my trainline app was still valid. This was not the case, as I was alerted by your member of your Revenue Protection Team.

I take full responsibility for this error, and accept that it is entirely my fault that I had not ensured that I had a valid ticket prior to boarding the train. My commuting schedule means I often have open return tickets depending on whether I’ve travelled from Brighton to London Victoria or somewhere on the Thameslink line, and I’d made the assumption that this return ticket was fine to be used. However, I understand that it was up to me to check my tickets prior to travel, which I did not sufficiently do. This experience has frankly put the fear of God in me, and I am very keen to make sure that I will not make that mistake again.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle the matter with you directly without the need for court action. I am more than willing to pay the full fare of the journey that I took (as I mentioned on the day of this incident), as well as any fees and administration costs which you may have incurred in looking into this.

I’d once again like to sincerely apologise for my mistake and any inconvenience caused to the staff of Govia Thameslink Railway. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Yours Sincerely,

 

[Hadders]

This looks ok to me. Please do let us know the outcome of your case.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thanks so much for the advice. I've taken a bit of time to redraft the letter with these points in mind. Any further thoughts would be much appreciated!

---------

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your correspondence and for providing me with the chance to reply to your letter, reference XXX and dated XXX.

On XXX December 2024 at XXX I was rightly stopped by a Revenue Protection Inspector who boarded at London Bridge whilst I was on a train from Farringdon to Brighton, and was unable to produce a valid ticket for this entire journey.

I had taken the tube from my partner’s house near Aldgate to Farringdon, and then boarded the train to Brighton, assuming that the return ticket on my trainline app was still valid. This was not the case, as I was alerted by your member of your Revenue Protection Team.

I take full responsibility for this error, and accept that it is entirely my fault that I had not ensured that I had a valid ticket prior to boarding the train. My commuting schedule means I often have open return tickets depending on whether I’ve travelled from Brighton to London Victoria or somewhere on the Thameslink line, and I’d made the assumption that this return ticket was fine to be used. However, I understand that it was up to me to check my tickets prior to travel, which I did not sufficiently do. This experience has frankly put the fear of God in me, and I am very keen to make sure that I will not make that mistake again.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to settle the matter with you directly without the need for court action. I am more than willing to pay the full fare of the journey that I took (as I mentioned on the day of this incident), as well as any fees and administration costs which you may have incurred in looking into this.

I’d once again like to sincerely apologise for my mistake and any inconvenience caused to the staff of Govia Thameslink Railway. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Yours Sincerely,

Good work

 

[wallrug45]

Thanks folks. I've posted off the letter today with tracked 24, and will keep you updated as to how things progress. Thanks for all your help and assistance!

 

[wallrug45]

Hi everyone. A quick update; I received a new letter in the post today offering an out of court settlement for a fee of £85.40 in total. The single ticket would have been £15.40, so it seems the total cost of other fees was £70. Also it was roughly a three week turnaround from when my letter was received by Thameslink.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped me with this, it's really appreciated!

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi everyone. A quick update; I received a new letter in the post today offering an out of court settlement for a fee of £85.40 in total. The single ticket would have been £15.40, so it seems the total cost of other fees was £70. Also it was roughly a three week turnaround from when my letter was received by Thameslink.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped me with this, it's really appreciated!

Sounds like good news