Thameslink Intention to Prosecute

[barmanknows10]

Hi all,
Looking for a bit of advice on the below.
I received a letter that I knew probably was coming, a bit of background.
I was travelling on the Thameslink service in October catching a flight out of Gatwick Airport, my intended train was cancelled earlier up the line so I rushed to get an earlier train because if I caught a later one I would be cutting it fine with my flight departure time.
I took the decision to go to get on the earlier train (the disabled barriers were open) and purchase the ticket whilst on board. This was then when I was caught by the inspectors, due to purchasing my ticket after the time of travel (which I have no issue with), I was kind, polite and just honestly explained and weighed up the consequences that catching the flight was more important than potentially missing it whilst waiting to purchase a ticket at London Bridge and then missing the flight. (Yes, I know I should have left more time to get to the airport before a flight, This is my fault)

I now have the Intention to Prosecute letter come through, and was wondering if there was a standard reply/response that people send back to explain my situation at the time and apologise so I could settle this without court proceedings, this is the first time I have been caught and been in this situation.

I am also worried that the will check all previously travel history as I will be honest, me and my mates have been silly boys when travelling for the football up and down the country and have not always bought the right ticket, however have never been caught in the situation.

Appreciate everyone’s help.
Regards.

 

[AlterEgo]

Which date was this, and what train were you hoping to take that was cancelled?

Did you have a ticket for that train?

When did you buy the ticket, and what time were you stopped?

How did you get through the barriers at London Bridge?

 

[barmanknows10]

Which date was this, and what train were you hoping to take that was cancelled?

Did you have a ticket for that train?

When did you buy the ticket, and what time were you stopped?

How did you get through the barriers at London Bridge?

18th October was looking to take 07:05 from LDN Bridge arriving 07:34 at Gatwick Airport.

I did not have a ticket for the 07:05 train.

I bought the ticket once I settled on the train at around 07:20 not long after it departed from East Croydon. I was stopped shortly after this.

I got through the disabled barriers at London Bridge at the bottom of Platform 4 that were left open.

 

[AlterEgo]

18th October was looking to take 07:05 from LDN Bridge arriving 07:34 at Gatwick Airport.

This train ran exactly on time, and was not cancelled.

 

[barmanknows10]

This train ran exactly on time, and was not cancelled.

Apologies!
Looking through old screenshots as it was a while ago!
It was the 05:46 am from Bedford calling at LDN Bridge 07:05 on Tuesday 14th October.

 

[John R]

Let me see if I can get the timings straight here, as I'm a bit confused.

You caught the train before the 0705 from London Bridge, but still hadn't bought a ticket by the time it departed East Croydon.

But not sure how that tallies with

I bought the ticket once I settled on the train at around 07:20 not long after it departed from East Croydon

which implies you bought the ticket as soon as you had settled, but it shouldn't take you all that way to get settled

Why do I say this? Because GTR will (accurately?) assume that you were deliberately trying to evade paying the correct fare. Which from your admission about your past behaviour seems not improbable. So when you write your letter of apology you should avoid any pretence that it was all a mistake, as they are unlikely to believe you, and it's very important that your letter comes across as sincere and truthful.

Also, assuming you do get an out of court settlement (and it is very likely with GTR), you will now be on their radar, and possibly that of other rail companies too, and any future fare dodging is likely to lead to you being prosecuted. And they don't call you a silly boy if convicted, but a criminal. Which you really don't want.

 

[fandroid]

Your story is not helped by the fact that you could have used a contactless bank card at the barrier to ensure that you had a ticket before before boarding the train.

 

[barmanknows10]

Let me see if I can get the timings straight here, as I'm a bit confused.

You caught the train before the 0705 from London Bridge, but still hadn't bought a ticket by the time it departed East Croydon.

But not sure how that tallies with

which implies you bought the ticket as soon as you had settled, but it shouldn't take you all that way to get settled

Why do I say this? Because GTR will (accurately?) assume that you were deliberately trying to evade paying the correct fare. Which from your admission about your past behaviour seems not improbable. So when you write your letter of apology you should avoid any pretence that it was all a mistake, as they are unlikely to believe you, and it's very important that your letter comes across as sincere and truthful.

Also, assuming you do get an out of court settlement (and it is very likely with GTR), you will now be on their radar, and possibly that of other rail companies too, and any future fare dodging is likely to lead to you being prosecuted. And they don't call you a silly boy if convicted, but a criminal. Which you really don't want.

I understand where you are coming from, I think it’s personal judgement how long it takes to settle, as flying and travelling can be extremely stressful, especially when you throw in that an initial train you planned to get gets cancelled, and you are rushing to get an earlier train to catch a flight. Like I say my personal judgement at the time was to get on a that flight.
I will take notes of your comment when I respond in my letter.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jan 2026 ==

Your story is not helped by the fact that you could have used a contactless bank card at the barrier to ensure that you had a ticket before before boarding the train.

Very true, I am not defending my actions but just purely explaining how I got in this situation.
I wanted to catch the flight and this was decision that was chosen at the time.
As i find flying and airports stressful, I was most likely not thinking straight when I was passing through the barrier.

 

[John R]

travelling can be extremely stressful,

Bearing in mind your admission about previously having dodged fares on numerous occasions, I'd suggest ensuring you always have the correct ticket before boarding is a good way to reduce your stress levels when travelling.

 

[barmanknows10]

Bearing in mind your admission about previously having dodged fares on numerous occasions, I'd suggest ensuring you always have the correct ticket before boarding is a good way to reduce your stress levels when travelling.

Couldn’t agree more John.
Mistakes were made lessons will be learnt, I can’t change the past now and can only look to the future.
Thank you for your response !

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Jan 2026 ==

Hi all,

I have drafted this response to the prosecutions department, if anyone has any advice on how they approached this previously it would be much appreciated.

Dear Prosecutions Department,



I am writing to respond to your letter date (letter date) regarding the incident at (location and date of incident).



I sincerely apologies for making the decision to not purchase a train ticket prior to boarding the train for my journey.



I have reflected upon my actions and can now appreciate how wrong they were. I fully understand how unfair it is to other train users to not pay the fare on time, and how much revenue loss this can result in for the train companies. For this I am incredibly sorry.



This is something that I will not repeat and have since learnt from my actions and ensured that my ticket is bought ahead of my journey.



Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond. I would be grateful if you would consider resolving this matter without court proceedings. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and associate administrative costs incurred.



Regards,

xxx

 

[barmanknows10]

Sent my letter as detailed above, waiting to hear back from GTR.
Will let you know the outcome and how long they take to reply.

 

[barmanknows10]

Hi all,

Received a letter back from GTR offering me an out of court settlement of £70.10.
Which is good news all round, I was expecting the usual £150 that i’ve seen others on the forum receive.

Thanks for everyone’s help in this process.

 

[z444z]

Good news, thanks for the update. GTR do seem to have shifted to charging £50 admin fees in cases where no history of fare evasion is detected.

 

[fandroid]

Yes it looks as if they're adopting a quasi Penalty Fare approach for simple one-off problems.

 

[Haywain]

Good news, thanks for the update. GTR do seem to have shifted to charging £50 admin fees in cases where no history of fare evasion is detected.

They have been charging lower admin fees than other TOCs for a long time in simpler cases.