Thameslink - Notice of Intention to Prosecute (RESOLVED)

[GreenGrass]

Hi all,

My housemate and I have received notices of intention to prosecute from Thameslink, after buying tickets while on board the train and being noticed by a ticket inspector. We boarded a train at Coulsdon South going toward Hitchin, intending to buy a ticket on the train - then got distracted with work and completely forgot. When we noticed the ticket inspector, we panicked and bought tickets from Finsbury Park instead, having recently passed the station. The inspector noticed and took our details.

This was stupid, wrong, and a complete lapse of judgement made out of panic. I've never done this before and certainly will not be doing it again.

I've been stressed out of my mind waiting for the letter, and so have been reading a lot of this forum. It's my understanding based on similar cases here that GTR is one of the more pragmatic train companies, and will often agree to out-of-court settlements. There seem to have been several far more serious cases discussed here, involving historic fare evasion, that have nonetheless resulted in out-of-court settlements. Given this, and the high cost of a solicitor, it seems sensible to focus on writing an apology letter to GTR.

I have attached a copy of the letter with identifying information crossed out. GTR does not know about the short-faring, only that we bought tickets on the train. The letter also states we were inspected at Hitchin, which is not the case - it was while on the train. But I want to be completely honest. This was a ridiculous thing to do and I hope it can be resolved swiftly.

I would be grateful to receive some input on the apology letter, which I am attaching below. Given this involves two people, I am unsure whether to reflect that in the letter, or for us to write differently-worded letters.

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

Dear Govia Thameslink Railway,

I am writing in response to your notice of intention to prosecute, dated [DATE]. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond.

Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise to GTR for the damage caused by my actions. I am deeply ashamed and disappointed in myself, and I am grateful for the chance to explain what happened from my point of view.

On [DATE], my friend and I boarded a train from Coulsdon South to Hitchin without a valid ticket, intending to purchase one online on the train. This was wrong, and we should have purchased tickets in advance. When on the train, we subsequently allowed ourselves to become distracted with work. Upon seeing a ticket inspector, we remembered we had not bought valid tickets. In a complete lapse of judgement, we panicked and instead bought tickets from Finsbury Park to Hitchin, short-faring rather than paying the correct fare. The inspector noticed this and took our contact details, which we provided.

I am deeply sorry for my actions. These were wrong, and I accept that my forgetfulness and panic are no excuses for failing to buy the correct train ticket. This was a terrible mistake and it will not happen again.

In the time since this incident, I have researched the impact of fare evasion on GTR and other train companies. I now understand the financial damage that fare evasion causes, and I am deeply ashamed to have contributed to this.

I have learned a valuable lesson to not be so careless when travelling on trains, and going forward, I am committed to being a better passenger and a better person. I would like to reiterate how very sorry I am for what I have done.

I would be grateful for the chance to settle this matter out of court. I am fully willing to pay the full outstanding fare as well as any and all administrative costs this has incurred. I accept that my actions were wrong, and I would highly appreciate the opportunity to correct these mistakes I have made outside of court.

Additionally, I wanted to let you know that I will soon be moving house. As such, please could any subsequent correspondence be addressed to:

[ADDRESS]

Thank you for your understanding and consideration.

Yours sincerely,

[NAME]

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi all,

My housemate and I have received notices of intention to prosecute from Thameslink, after buying tickets while on board the train and being noticed by a ticket inspector. We boarded a train at Coulsdon South going toward Hitchin, intending to buy a ticket on the train - then got distracted with work and completely forgot. When we noticed the ticket inspector, we panicked and bought tickets from Finsbury Park instead, having recently passed the station. The inspector noticed and took our details.

This was stupid, wrong, and a complete lapse of judgement made out of panic. I've never done this before and certainly will not be doing it again.

I've been stressed out of my mind waiting for the letter, and so have been reading a lot of this forum. It's my understanding based on similar cases here that GTR is one of the more pragmatic train companies, and will often agree to out-of-court settlements. There seem to have been several far more serious cases discussed here, involving historic fare evasion, that have nonetheless resulted in out-of-court settlements. Given this, and the high cost of a solicitor, it seems sensible to focus on writing an apology letter to GTR.

I have attached a copy of the letter with identifying information crossed out. GTR does not know about the short-faring, only that we bought tickets on the train. The letter also states we were inspected at Hitchin, which is not the case - it was while on the train. But I want to be completely honest. This was a ridiculous thing to do and I hope it can be resolved swiftly.

I would be grateful to receive some input on the apology letter, which I am attaching below. Given this involves two people, I am unsure whether to reflect that in the letter, or for us to write differently-worded letters.

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

Hello and welcome
I'm sure people will check your draft. I'm not sure if it is better that you and your friends responses are not word for word exactly the same - but of course they do need to include the same sort of content.

Just I also note your point about moving house. As well as giving them the new address (it might help to state the date of your move) you should strongly consider setting up a Royal Mail postal forwarding arrangement (see Royal Mail website) if you have not heard back from the railway company say a week before you move. This is because it is vital that you get their reply and act on it because if they offer you a settlement it needs prompt payment to close the case or it will get escalated to court prosecution and be much more hassle for you to then sort out.

Some recent GTR cases have been resolved within about a week or so of responses going in according to updates on here today - so it may be you only need to pay for a Royal Mail forward if it gets close to your move date and you have not heard back from them. But Royal Mail need a few days notice to set up a forward so you may need to organise that a week ahead of moving (see their website for timescales)

Also you should be aware they will be checking your online train ticket purchases to see if they spot other short fares or evasions and that might delay them responding to you whilst they check / investigate that.

 

[John R]

Are you really sure that both of you forgot to buy tickets for 45 minutes and only remembered once an inspector appeared? I don’t think GTR will believe you, (especially as you then tried to short fare) and will think you are lying, which won’t help your chances of getting an offer of an out of court settlement.

 

[GreenGrass]

Hello and welcome
I'm sure people will check your draft. I'm not sure if it is better that you and your friends responses are not word for word exactly the same - but of course they do need to include the same sort of content.

Thank you. I think wording our apologies differently would be sensible, no?

Just I also note your point about moving house. As well as giving them the new address (it might help to state the date of your move) you should strongly consider setting up a Royal Mail postal forwarding arrangement (see Royal Mail website) if you have not heard back from the railway company say a week before you move. This is because it is vital that you get their reply and act on it because if they offer you a settlement it needs prompt payment to close the case or it will get escalated to court prosecution and be much more hassle for you to then sort out.

Some recent GTR cases have been resolved within about a week or so of responses going in according to updates on here today - so it may be you only need to pay for a Royal Mail forward if it gets close to your move date and you have not heard back from them. But Royal Mail need a few days notice to set up a forward so you may need to organise that a week ahead of moving (see their website for timescales)

This is a very good point, thank you. I'll amend accordingly.

Also you should be aware they will be checking your online train ticket purchases to see if they spot other short fares or evasions and that might delay them responding to you whilst they check / investigate that.

This makes sense - like I said, I haven't done this before, so hopefully it shouldn't take too long.

Are you really sure that both of you forgot to buy tickets for 45 minutes and only remembered once an inspector appeared? I don’t think GTR will believe you, (especially as you then tried to short fare) and will think you are lying, which won’t help your chances of getting an offer of an out of court settlement.

I'm not lying. It is ridiculous, I know. My phone was dying, barriers were open, and then on the train I allowed myself to get distracted with charging my phone, then distracting both of us with work. I have ADHD and am prone to such forgetfulness and distractions; in this case, I distracted my friend too. I didn't think it would be worth going into detail as, judging from discussions on here, train companies aren't looking for a sob story.

 

[alholmes]

It’s a good reply, but you should only be talking about yourself in it. Don’t make any mention about your friend - by mentioning them you are effectively incriminating them, which you aren’t required to do. So don’t mention them at all.

 

[GreenGrass]

It’s a good reply, but you should only be talking about yourself in it. Don’t make any mention about your friend - by mentioning them you are effectively incriminating them, which you aren’t required to do. So don’t mention them at all.

OK, noted.

We plan to send letters today. Thank you all.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Aug 2024 ==

Hi all,

By way of an update, we today received letters confirming an out of court settlement of £74.60 each, which has been paid.

Thank you all.