Thameslink railway witness statement query

[gstar]

Hello,
So today I got a witness statement receipt. I have never had a fine before nor one of these. I did have a valid railcard for the ticket bought. Admittedly I did not have a ticket before boarding and bought one when the inspector came. I know this was wrong and I regret it deeply. What happens now? Across my student days I have a history of buying ‘short tickets’. I know they will look at my ticket history see the pattern and I’m likely looking at a hefty fine or court. Is it a good idea to send a preemptive email admitting wrongdoing and the want to settle out of court? Extremely worried because of what it could mean for my career if it goes to court. I would not be explaining away anything because I know what I did was wrong and being short of money is not an excuse. Thank you

 

[jfollows]

Wait for them to write to you, and respond to the issues they raise. Do not incriminate yourself on a whim, no.

 

[gstar]

Wait for them to write to you, and respond to the issues they raise. Do not incriminate yourself on a whim, no.

Okay I will leave it alone for now. Thank you for your reply.

 

[jfollows]

Please read and act on https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/please-read-before-posting-in-disputes-prosecutions.77759/ if you want more advice.

Thameslink/GTR are usually willing to settle out of court.

 

[gstar]

Please read and act on https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/please-read-before-posting-in-disputes-prosecutions.77759/ if you want more advice.

Thank you

 

[z444z]

Is it a good idea to send a preemptive email admitting wrongdoing and the want to settle out of court?

No.

Extremely worried because of what it could mean for my career if it goes to court.

GTR are extremely likely to settle out of court. Just wait for the letter then come back to us for help

 

[gstar]

No.

GTR are extremely likely to settle out of court. Just wait for the letter then come back to us for help

Thank you are they likely even if the fine is £2000 for example? Sorry for all
questions I’m an extremely anxious person and frustrated with myself for being in this position due to my own actions. I’m able to pay now that I am working but unlikely to be able to pay in full all at once. Do they negotiate payment plans at all?

 

[jfollows]

Yes, they will settle.
Yes, for £2,000.
No, they do not normally agree to payment plans, but it’s not unheard of.
Put the money aside now, in case!

 

[gstar]

Yes, they will settle.
Yes, for £2,000.
No, they do not normally agree to payment plans, but it’s not unheard of.
Put the money aside now, in case!

Alright I will do. My mum has offered to help so we may just go half/half and I pay her when I get paid.

 

[z444z]

Thank you are they likely even if the fine is £2000 for example?

Yes

Sorry for all questions I’m an extremely anxious person and frustrated with myself for being in this position due to my own actions.

All good!

I’m able to pay now that I am working but unlikely to be able to pay in full all at once. Do they negotiate payment plans at all?

Not often but we have seen it happen, especially with very large settlements. Start saving now though.

You can calculate how much they’re likely to ask for by looking up the Anytime Single fare for each journey you’ve made and adding them up. A return journey will be charged as 2x singles. They are unlikely to take account of the incorrect fares you did pay, or apply any railcard discounts, but we have seen these happen on occasion in very large settlements so it may be worth asking. But assume the worst so you’re prepared.

 

[gstar]

Alright I will do. My mum has offered to help so we may just go half/half and I pay her when I get paid.

Yes, they will settle.
Yes, for £2,000.
No, they do not normally agree to payment plans, but it’s not unheard of.
Put the money aside now, in case!

thanks so much for

Yes

All good!

Not often but we have seen it happen, especially with very large settlements. Start saving now though.

You can calculate how much they’re likely to ask for by looking up the Anytime Single fare for each journey you’ve made and adding them up. A return journey will be charged as 2x singles. They are unlikely to take account of the incorrect fares you did pay, or apply any railcard discounts, but we have seen these happen on occasion in very large settlements so it may be worth asking. But assume the worst so you’re prepared.

Alright I’ll start putting money aside for this. Thank you very much for your help. It’s likely to be quite a large sum if my calculations are correct but it is money I owe and I can only blame myself. Thank you again

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Feb 2026 ==

Is it 100% they will look at my Trainline history then?

 

[z444z]

Is it 100% they will look at my Trainline history then?

If the ticket you were caught with was bought on that Trainline account then it’s quite likely but not guaranteed, maybe around 80% likely? That’s a complete guess based on vibes from cases on here though and is not likely to be very accurate.

Ironically you’d have been better off having not bought a ticket at all, but as you said it is money you owe the railway. Oh well.

 

[gstar]

If the ticket you were caught with was bought on that Trainline account then it’s quite likely but not guaranteed, maybe around 80% likely? That’s a complete guess based on vibes from cases on here though and is not likely to be very accurate.

Ironically you’d have been better off having not bought a ticket at all, but as you said it is money you owe the railway. Oh well.

I know in buying a ticket I made the situation worse but nevermind. The ticket I bought was ‘authorised by the inspector’ and he also scanned my valid railcard. I know it’s a bit silly to be optimistic and hope it just stops here and they charge me a fine for this journey which I will happily pay

 

[flitwickbeds]

I’m likely looking at a hefty fine

are they likely even if the fine is £2000 for example

hope it just stops here and they charge me a fine

What you receive will not be a fine. It will be a sum of money the train operating company believe you evaded - ie what you should have paid anyway to use their services, plus reimbursement for their costs of investigating you.

 

[z444z]

What you receive will not be a fine. It will be a sum of money the train operating company believe you evaded - ie what you should have paid anyway to use their services, plus reimbursement for their costs of investigating you.

To add to this, the sum of money will be an “out-of-court settlement” which is an amount that you agree to pay them in exchange for them not prosecuting you. It’s completely voluntary on both sides but GTR almost always do offer up front or accept a request to settle, and it’s generally in your interests to take it too.

 

[gstar]

To add to this, the sum of money will be an “out-of-court settlement” which is an amount that you agree to pay them in exchange for them not prosecuting you. It’s completely voluntary on both sides but GTR almost always do offer up front or accept a request to settle, and it’s generally in your interests to take it too.

Okay thank you for this. My primary worry is going to court. I can handle paying the money that I owe them. Thank you

 

[z444z]

Okay thank you for this. My primary worry is going to court. I can handle paying the money that I owe them. Thank you

Cool. That should work out just fine. In really expensive cases it can actually be cheaper to accept a criminal conviction and the costs that come with it (£300-£800ish) because they only have proof to the required standard for the singular offence they caught you committing, but very few people want to do this, understandably!

 

[gstar]

Cool. That should work out just fine. In really expensive cases it can actually be cheaper to accept a criminal conviction and the costs that come with it (£300-£800ish) because they only have proof to the required standard for the singular offence they caught you committing, but very few people want to do this, understandably!

I can’t risk a conviction at all with my job! So unfortunately I’ll have to pay whatever they charge! Thank you for your time

 

[z444z]

I can’t risk a conviction at all with my job! So unfortunately I’ll have to pay whatever they charge! Thank you for your time

No worries! Do come back to us when you get the letter and we can help. Alternatively come back around 6 months from the incident if you haven’t heard anything so we can help navigate what that could mean.

 

[gstar]

No worries! Do come back to us when you get the letter and we can help. Alternatively come back around 6 months from the incident if you haven’t heard anything so we can help navigate what that could mean.

Thank you so much! I will do

 

[gstar]

Hello everyone, so I haven’t heard anything as of yet. I’m just wondering what the general wait time is? Looks like it could be up to 3 months plus? Thank you

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello everyone, so I haven’t heard anything as of yet. I’m just wondering what the general wait time is? Looks like it could be up to 3 months plus? Thank you

Frustratingly we’ve seen some cases go close to the six months limit for commencing court action recently. Problem with that is they send court papers to ensure they don’t miss the deadline which creates more hassle for the passenger.

Are you confident your post is reliable and you’ve checked e mail and spam?
If you want to check your post is reliable send yourself a letter with a second class stamp preferably from another town, and see how long it takes to reach you.

 

[z444z]

Hello everyone, so I haven’t heard anything as of yet. I’m just wondering what the general wait time is? Looks like it could be up to 3 months plus? Thank you

This isn’t at all surprising, 3-5 months is the norm for GTR. I’d say come back here at around the 5.5 month mark to see if we recommend taking any action but for now it’s not in your interests to do anything but wait

 

[gstar]

Frustratingly we’ve seen some cases go close to the six months limit for commencing court action recently. Problem with that is they send court papers to ensure they don’t miss the deadline which creates more hassle for the passenger.

Are you confident your post is reliable and you’ve checked e mail and spam?
If you want to check your post is reliable send yourself a letter with a second class stamp preferably from another town, and see how long it takes to reach you.

I believe it’s reliable, I get all other things come through! Oh that’s not great, so do those people get ‘Notice of intent to prosecute’ letters or a court summons? I’ve checked my email and spam, nothing there.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Apr 2026 ==

This isn’t at all surprising, 3-5 months is the norm for GTR. I’d say come back here at around the 5.5 month mark to see if we recommend taking any action but for now it’s not in your interests to do anything but wait

Oh I see. Okay I will do! Thank you very much

 

[WesternLancer]

I believe it’s reliable, I get all other things come through! Oh that’s not great, so do those people get ‘Notice of intent to prosecute’ letters or a court summons? I’ve checked my email and spam, nothing there.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Apr 2026 ==


Oh I see. Okay I will do! Thank you very much

it would be a court summons from the court (usually an SJPN - a Single Justice Procedure Notice - which allows you to plead guilty or not guilty by post) - these would not come by e-mail only hard copy AIUI.

If you get one come back here ASAP for advice

For context here's a case like that you can look at - but obviously you are some way off this at the moment - but you can see the timeline of events and the advice given

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...onths-later-what-do-i-do.300502/#post-7737062

Meanwhile it sounds like your post seems reliable so chances are they have not sent you anything yet and your case is waiting to reach the top of the pile and get attended to.

 

[gstar]

it would be a court summons from the court (usually an SJPN - a Single Justice Procedure Notice - which allows you to plead guilty or not guilty by post) - these would not come by e-mail only hard copy AIUI.

If you get one come back here ASAP for advice

For context here's a case like that you can look at - but obviously you are some way off this at the moment - but you can see the timeline of events and the advice given

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...onths-later-what-do-i-do.300502/#post-7737062

Meanwhile it sounds like your post seems reliable so chances are they have not sent you anything yet and your case is waiting to reach the top of the pile and get attended to.

Thank you that is very very helpful. Calms the anxiety a bit as I know what to expect.

 

[gstar]

I got my letter today. See attached. So far I’ve drafted the below. Thank you.

I am writing to provide my representation regarding the incident at ******* station on *******. First of all I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to reply with my statement of events.

On ******** I was approached by a ticketing officer. I fully accept that on this journey, I did not hold a valid ticket before the time of travel. I fully recognise it was a mistake and an error in judgment to not have a valid ticket entitling travel, and recognise that one purchased after my journey had begun does not count.

My professional integrity is paramount to me, and I have taken this incident extremely seriously. Since that day, I have strictly ensured that I am in possession of the correct ticket for my entire journey, purchased at the station before boarding the train.

I am very eager to rectify this mistake and avoid a formal legal process. I would like to respectfully request a private out-of-court settlement and am prepared to pay the outstanding fare and any administrative costs immediately.

Please accept my sincerest apologies for my actions and any inconvenience caused by this. I can assure you I will not make this mistake again.

 

[SECR 65]

I got my letter today. See attached. So far I’ve drafted the below. Thank you.

I am writing to provide my representation regarding the incident at ******* station on *******. First of all I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to reply with my statement of events.

On ******** I was approached by a ticketing officer. I fully accept that on this journey, I did not hold a valid ticket before the time of travel. I fully recognise it was a mistake and an error in judgment to not have a valid ticket entitling travel, and recognise that one purchased after my journey had begun does not count.

My professional integrity is paramount to me, and I have taken this incident extremely seriously. Since that day, I have strictly ensured that I am in possession of the correct ticket for my entire journey, purchased at the station before boarding the train.

I am very eager to rectify this mistake and avoid a formal legal process. I would like to respectfully request a private out-of-court settlement and am prepared to pay the outstanding fare and any administrative costs immediately.

Please accept my sincerest apologies for my actions and any inconvenience caused by this. I can assure you I will not make this mistake again.

Looks generally good. Other members may have refinements to suggest but seems to cover the main points.

 

[jfollows]

Personally, I wouldn’t bring up “integrity” because this flies in the face of what you did previously. I would also change “mistake” to “error of judgement“ or similar because it wasn’t a mistake to wait until the inspector appeared before buying a ticket.

 

[MotCO]

On ******** I was approached by a ticketing officer. I fully accept that on this journey, I did not hold a valid ticket before the time of travel. At the time, I did not realise that I had to have a valid ticket before boarding. I now fully recognise it was a mistake and an error in judgment to not have a valid ticket entitling travel, and recognise that one purchased after my journey had begun does not count.

Maybe add in the words enboldened to emphasise that you only realised after the event that you needed to have a ticket before boarding.