Thameslink Intention to Prosecute

[kbizzy69]

Hey everyone, so a revenue inspector officer took my details down for short faring to St Pancras International. I got the letter today from GTR Thameslink for their intention to prosecute. I have written the response, and was hoping if this is good to send off, hoping for an out of court settlement. This was my first time this has ever happened to me. Any feedback would be very much appreciated.
I have been looking a few similar cases, and was hoping if @Hadders could aid with this.

Dear Govia Thameslink Railway,

I am writing in regard to the case xxx

I travelled on a short ticket from xxx to London St Pancras on xxx date. There is no excuse for this, and I am deeply remorseful for my action, and I am truly sorry. I now realize and understand the impact of my actions and the effect this has on the railway industry. I now also realise how wrong and foolish I was, and I can only profusely apologize. I take full responsibility for my error of judgment. Going forwards from that day, I ensure every ticket I purchase is valid for the entirety of my journey, with Thameslink or any other train company. I cannot stress enough how remorseful I am for my behavior, and I have been reflecting on myself as this is not the kind of person I am.

I am willing, given the opportunity, to pay the outstanding fare and the train company’s administrative costs in dealing with this matter and resolve this without court action. I hope my desire to settle will be sincerely considered

Yours sincerely,

 

[30907]

welcome to the forum! Please don't take offence at the critical comments that follow

"this is not the kind of person I am" rings hollow. Especially when you have already implied ("from that day...") that you have short-fared before.

Bear in mind that GTR will have taken the opportunity to investigate your ticket history - will they have found evidence of cheating before, or was this genuinely your first time? If so, you were unlucky!

To me, as an older person whose first language is British English, the letter feels a little bit padded. Others may think differently though.

 

[Hadders]

I agree with @30907 I think the 2nd paragraph could do with a bit of re-drafting.

Also it's GTR's decision whether to prosecute or offer you an out of court settlement so I suggest startig the sentence with something like 'I wondered if it would be possible to...'

 

[kbizzy69]

i welcome the critical comments, so thank you for your feedback. Should i just remove "this is not the kind of person I am"? This is the first time I have been caught short faring by a revenue inspector officer, I have never been issued with a penalty fare or anything similar in the past.

Dear Govia Thameslink Railway,

I am writing in regard to the case xxx
I travelled on a short ticket from xxx to London St Pancras on xxx date. There is no excuse for this, and I am deeply remorseful for my action, and I am truly sorry. I now realize and understand the impact of my actions and the effect this has on the railway industry. I now also realise how wrong, selfish and foolish I was, and I can only profusely apologize. I take full responsibility for my error of judgment. Going forwards, I ensure every ticket I purchase is valid for the entirety of my journey, with Thameslink or any other train company. I cannot stress enough how remorseful I am for my behaviour.


I wondered if it would be possible to pay the outstanding fare and the train company’s administrative costs in dealing with this matter and resolve this without court action. I hope my desire to settle will be sincerely considered

Yours sincerely,

Does this sound better ?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

This is the first time I have been caught short faring by a revenue inspector officer, I have never been issued with a penalty fare or anything similar in the past.

In that case, did the letter from the railway talk about other times when you had fare dodged? If not, then your response as it is now is, I think, fine. But if the railway want to know about other occasions you will need to say something, or the railway will think that you aren’t sincere in your apologies - and if they don’t think you are sincere then they are more likely to prosecute.

 

[kbizzy69]

In that case, did the letter from the railway talk about other times when you had fare dodged? If not, then your response as it is now is, I think, fine. But if the railway want to know about other occasions you will need to say something, or the railway will think that you aren’t sincere in your apologies - and if they don’t think you are sincere then they are more likely to prosecute.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Nov 2024 ==

i don't think it is asking about other occasions

 

[Haywain]

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Nov 2024 ==

i don't think it is asking about other occasions

I agree, it is only referring to one occasion.

 

[kbizzy69]

I agree, it is only referring to one occasion.

do you think it is fine to print and send off my amended letter ?

 

[Haywain]

I think your letter is fine.

 

[WesternLancer]

When you send your reply send it tracked post from a post office so that you can be certain it gets delivered, and you can prove that if necessary. You don’t need the more expensive signed for postal service however, in my view.

 

[kbizzy69]

When you send your reply send it tracked post from a post office so that you can be certain it gets delivered, and you can prove that if necessary. You don’t need the more expensive signed for postal service however, in my view.

will keep this in mind, thank you! So just a tracked without signed is fine

 

[WesternLancer]

will keep this in mind, thank you! So just a tracked without signed is fine

I would think so yes. It means you know it’s got there. But if you want to pay a bit more to have it signed then that’s ok too. It’s just that usually an unreadable squiggle from an office reception doesn’t add much imho.

 

[kbizzy69]

Hey everyone, an update on my case. I have not received a letter for an out of court settlement, but I thought i would check if I could pay an out of court settlement, and it looks like I can, but I am yet to receive a letter confirming this? The wording is a bit confusing, it says 'You currently owe this amount' and proceeds to say Settlement amount: £60.

Was hoping for further advice if this is the final settlement amount, I think I am overthinking it ???

 

[WesternLancer]

Hey everyone, an update on my case. I have not received a letter for an out of court settlement, but I thought i would check if I could pay an out of court settlement, and it looks like I can, but I am yet to receive a letter confirming this? The wording is a bit confusing, it says 'You currently owe this amount' and proceeds to say Settlement amount: £60.

Was hoping for further advice if this is the final settlement amount, I think I am overthinking it ???

The question that comes to my mind is where are you checking this?

have you been given some sort of web page link with log in? and if so how were you given that if you have not had a reply? Is it possible the reply sent to you has gone missing - eg do you have problems with your post. Have you checked your e-mail spam?

 

[30907]

Hey everyone, an update on my case. I have not received a letter for an out of court settlement, but I thought i would check if I could pay an out of court settlement, and it looks like I can, but I am yet to receive a letter confirming this? The wording is a bit confusing, it says 'You currently owe this amount' and proceeds to say Settlement amount: £60.

Was hoping for further advice if this is the final settlement amount, I think I am overthinking it ???

This is the settlement amount - GTR are usually very generous.
"Currently" covers a situation where someone has made a part payment.

 

[kbizzy69]

The question that comes to my mind is where are you checking this?

have you been given some sort of web page link with log in? and if so how were you given that if you have not had a reply? Is it possible the reply sent to you has gone missing - eg do you have problems with your post. Have you checked your e-mail spam?

So when I received the witness receipt, there was a web address on it where you can pay a the fee. I believe the reply sent hasn’t gone missing, since I received my initial letter fine. 5 weeks has passed since I sent the reply and thought I should check.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Dec 2024 ==

This is the settlement amount - GTR are usually very generous.
"Currently" covers a situation where someone has made a part payment.

Ahh I see, yes they seem to be and very grateful. Rather that than a court case. I’ll go ahead and pay it off!

 

[WesternLancer]

So when I received the witness receipt, there was a web address on it where you can pay a the fee. I believe the reply sent hasn’t gone missing, since I received my initial letter fine. 5 weeks has passed since I sent the reply and thought I should check.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Dec 2024 ==


Ahh I see, yes they seem to be and very grateful. Rather that than a court case. I’ll go ahead and pay it off!

Keep your proof if paying and a screenshot of the page if you can. Just to be on the safe side.

 

[kbizzy69]

Keep your proof if paying and a screenshot of the page if you can. Just to be on the safe side.

Yep, i saved the receipt as a PDF with my transaction ID and reference number!