Thameslink Prosecution.

[TrainFool12]

Good afternoon,

This morning I was caught on the Thameslink train travelling to Brighton without a ticket.

Not going to lie, I often get on the train for a few stops then buy a ticket to lower the cost of the fare. This isn’t right I know however times are hard and every little saved helps massively.

This morning I fell asleep and was awoken by a Thameslink ticket inspector/member of their fraud department?

He proceeded to take my name, picture of railcard, picture of journeys on the Trainline app and some other details such as address and telephone number. He didn’t give me a fine then and there either which is what I always assumed happened.

This is my first time dealing with anything like this. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what will follow and how hard they will look into previous journeys?

I also would like to know if anyone has ever been prosecuted by Thameslink and if they had to pay the full penalty all at once?

Many thanks

 

[jfollows]

Welcome to the forum!

Thameslink means GTR, who almost always agree to settle out of court, for something like £150 plus full undiscounted single fares for invalid trips.
They will look at your purchase history if you have one, yes. If this is something you have done regularly it may be easy to spot.
They will write to you, asking for your version of events. Until this letter arrives, you could research similar cases documented here.

 

[Titfield]

They will use the data you have given to research your entire booking history.

They will then write to you and ask you for an explanation. They may send you an excel spreadsheet with a list of all your journeys and ask you to comment.

Your response will need to convince them to offer you an out of court settlement which will cost the full one way single fare for each and every journey plus an admin fee of between £100 and £200.

If you do not convince them to offer you an out of court settlement they will take you to court for the one occasion when you were caught. Apart from having a criminal conviction this will cost you more as there will be a fine and victim surcharge on top of the compensation (fares avoided) and admin fee you will also have to pay.

There are a great many cases on this sub forum which will outline the type of response you should give when the letter arrives. In the meantime also research the fares you have avoided and with all due respect look at how you will get the money to pay the settlement asked.

 

[TrainFool12]

Welcome to the forum!

Thameslink means GTR, who almost always agree to settle out of court, for something like £150 plus full undiscounted single fares for invalid trips.
They will look at your purchase history if you have one, yes. If this is something you have done regularly it may be easy to spot.
They will write to you, asking for your version of events. Until this letter arrives, you could research similar cases documented here.

Will do.

Thank you.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Sep 2025 ==

They will use the data you have given to research your entire booking history.

They will then write to you and ask you for an explanation. They may send you an excel spreadsheet with a list of all your journeys and ask you to comment.

Your response will need to convince them to offer you an out of court settlement which will cost the full one way single fare for each and every journey plus an admin fee of between £100 and £200.

If you do not convince them to offer you an out of court settlement they will take you to court for the one occasion when you were caught. Apart from having a criminal conviction this will cost you more as there will be a fine and victim surcharge on top of the compensation (fares avoided) and admin fee you will also have to pay.

There are a great many cases on this sub forum which will outline the type of response you should give when the letter arrives. In the meantime also research the fares you have avoided and with all due respect look at how you will get the money to pay the settlement

Thank you for your response.

 

[jfollows]

An out of court settlement normally needs to be paid in one transaction, but we have occasionally heard of agreement to a payment plan.

 

[TrainFool12]

An out of court settlement normally needs to be paid in one transaction, but we have occasionally heard of agreement to a payment plan.

Would it be worth noting that I actually rarely get on Thameslink services? I mostly travel by great northern it has only been the last couple of weeks I have used Thameslink services?

 

[Titfield]

Would it be worth noting that I actually rarely get on Thameslink services? I mostly travel by great northern it has only been the last couple of weeks I have used Thameslink services?

Not relevant. The Train Operating Company you were caught by will look at all journeys irrespective of who the operator was.

 

[AlterEgo]

Would it be worth noting that I actually rarely get on Thameslink services? I mostly travel by great northern it has only been the last couple of weeks I have used Thameslink services?

Those are the same company (GTR). Regardless, train companies prosecute and can collect on behalf of each other.

 

[TrainFool12]

Not relevant. The Train Operating Company you were caught by will look at all journeys irrespective of who the operator was.

Oh well better to have bad luck than no luck. Thank you again.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Sep 2025 ==

Those are the same company (GTR). Regardless, train companies prosecute and can collect on behalf of each other.

Cheers mate

 

[shabranraja134]

Anyone van help me.?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Sep 2025 ==

Anyone can help me please

 

[Spaceship323]

Anyone van help me.?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Sep 2025 ==

I see you've started your own thread, please follow the good advice from @Titfield on there