Ticket Prosecution Chiltern Railways - Lying and Past History

[Arish]

Hello everybody. I am disappointed with myself but I had bought a ticket on the spot. I bought a ticket on the train when asked and was caught lying. They had told me I would expect a letter in 6-8 weeks and I am very anxious about receiving a criminal record. My family and I had been struggling financially so I thought I would buy tickets to the next station whilst using a 16-17 railcard which I don't have to save myself money. I had started a new job and been trying to help my parents out financially and been using this method of buying a new ticket. From reading other forums, I believe they will look at past history as well which I have done for a couple weeks. I acknowledge my mistakes and will never do this again, but I am very anxious if this will cause me to have a criminal record as I only just started my first year in university and do not want to ruin my future career. I am curious if I should wait for the letter then email Chiltern's fraud line about my situation or if I should come clean and email them now and admit my mistakes to settle this situation out of court and sort out all the inconveniences. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Firstly, there is nothing to be gained by contacting Chiltern ahead of them writing to you. It could even be counter-productive. You will need to wait for them to send a letter to you which they will do in the next few weeks.

When the letter arrives it will say that they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you but asking you for any factors you want them to take into account before they decide how to proceed. It is very important that you reply to this letter. I suggest your reply includes the following:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Chiltern will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with their investigation and who haven;t come to their attention before. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fares avoided at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid tickets you did purchase. In addition you will have to pay an admin fee, typically around £150. Chiltern will research your online ticket purchasing history and they will probably factor in to the settlement amount all of the times you have travelled with invalid tickets. Paying an out of court settlement might feel like paying a fine but technically it isn't a fine. Only a court can impose a fine as a punishment upon conviction and you won't have a criminal record as a result of paying an out of court settlement.

I'm sorry to hear of your financial struggles but I suggest you start saving now as Chiltern will want full payment within a few days of a settlement being offered. Payment in installments isn't normally allowed. I also suggest purchasing a 16-25 Railcard if you regularly travel by train.

When the letter from Chiltern arrives post a copy of it in this thread (with personal details removed) along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

 

[Arish]

Welcome to the forum!

Firstly, there is nothing to be gained by contacting Chiltern ahead of them writing to you. It could even be counter-productive. You will need to wait for them to send a letter to you which they will do in the next few weeks.

When the letter arrives it will say that they have received a report and are considering prosecuting you but asking you for any factors you want them to take into account before they decide how to proceed. It is very important that you reply to this letter. I suggest your reply includes the following:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Chiltern will normally offer an out of court settlement to people who co-operate with their investigation and who haven;t come to their attention before. Expect to have to pay the cost of the fares avoided at the full Anytime rate with no credit given for the invalid tickets you did purchase. In addition you will have to pay an admin fee, typically around £150. Chiltern will research your online ticket purchasing history and they will probably factor in to the settlement amount all of the times you have travelled with invalid tickets. Paying an out of court settlement might feel like paying a fine but technically it isn't a fine. Only a court can impose a fine as a punishment upon conviction and you won't have a criminal record as a result of paying an out of court settlement.

I'm sorry to hear of your financial struggles but I suggest you start saving now as Chiltern will want full payment within a few days of a settlement being offered. Payment in installments isn't normally allowed. I also suggest purchasing a 16-25 Railcard if you regularly travel by train.

When the letter from Chiltern arrives post a copy of it in this thread (with personal details removed) along with your draft reply and forum members will proof read it for you.

Thank you for your reply. I have acknowledged my mistakes and I have got a 16-25 railway and will not be making this mistake again. The only thing I'm worried about is viewing my past history and willing to not settle outside of court due to a weeks worth of invalid tickets. I am willing to pay all previous issues and any other fees involved. Do you think baring this in mind that they will be willing to settle out of court if I'm willing to cooperate. Thanks

 

[Hadders]

Thank you for your reply. I have acknowledged my mistakes and I have got a 16-25 railway and will not be making this mistake again. The only thing I'm worried about is viewing my past history and willing to not settle outside of court due to a weeks worth of invalid tickets. I am willing to pay all previous issues and any other fees involved. Do you think baring this in mind that they will be willing to settle out of court if I'm willing to cooperate. Thanks

They will almost certainly offer you a settlement if you co-operate.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Thank you for your reply. I have acknowledged my mistakes wrongdoing and I have got a 16-25 railway and will not be making this mistake again. The only thing I'm worried about is viewing my past history and willing to not settle outside of court due to a weeks worth of invalid tickets. I am willing to pay all previous issues and any other fees involved. Do you think baring this in mind that they will be willing to settle out of court if I'm willing to cooperate. Thanks

I strongly recommend not using the term ‘mistakes’ in any response to Chiltern. It would suggest you are not taking seriously the gravity of your fare evasion.

 

[Arish]

They will almost certainly offer you a settlement if you co-operate.

Alright thank you for the feedback. Just out of curiosity from your past experience within the forum. Has there been any similar situations where a person has been sandwiching tickets on an invalid railcard for around a couple weeks. I'm just anxious about receiving a criminal record. Of course I have learnt my lesson and will manage from now on. I'm not sure whether I should contact a solicitor to discuss about my past history or if I should wait for the letter and sort it out myself. Thanks

 

[Arish]

I strongly recommend not using the term ‘mistakes’ in any response to Chiltern. It would suggest you are not taking seriously the gravity of your fare evasion.

Alright. Thank you

 

[Haywain]

Has there been any similar situations where a person has been sandwiching tickets on an invalid railcard for around a couple weeks.

There have been loads of similar cases, and most have reached settlements.

 

[MotCO]

The key thing is to engage positively with them, and to reassure them that you realise that what you did was wrong and that you will not do this again. If you have bought a Railcard, this will help show that you are more aware of rail ticketing, and that there are ways to save money legitimately. ( By the way, make a note when the Railcard expires so that you can renew in good time - no one else will remind you.)

 

[SuspectUsual]

They will almost certainly offer you a settlement if you co-operate.

There have been loads of similar cases, and most have reached settlements.

The key thing is to engage positively with them

@Arish - for context this thread gives a good recent example of what can happen if you don't engage with Chiltern - https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/train-fine-ircas-chiltern-railways.273622/

 

[Hadders]

Alright thank you for the feedback. Just out of curiosity from your past experience within the forum. Has there been any similar situations where a person has been sandwiching tickets on an invalid railcard for around a couple weeks. I'm just anxious about receiving a criminal record. Of course I have learnt my lesson and will manage from now on. I'm not sure whether I should contact a solicitor to discuss about my past history or if I should wait for the letter and sort it out myself. Thanks

There have been many examples of doughnutting that have resulted in out of court settlements. As I keep saying, if you co-operate with Chiltern then based on what you have told us I'd be very surprised if you weren't offered an out of court settlement.

In my view there's no need to involve a solicitor at this stage. Should your reply to Chiltern not result in a favourable outcome then that is the point when I would consider engaging a solicitor.

 

[Arish]

Alright, thank you everybody. I was just anxious as I really don't want to receive a criminal record due to my stupid financial decisions. I guess I just have to wait until I receive the letter and draft up a response.

 

[Arish]

Hello everybody, I have been waiting for my letter to arrive and it just arrived. The letter consists of a notice of intended prosecution of which I have 2 weeks to reply to. I would grateful if somebody could help me edit up my draft email to respond. I have bunked a fair bit in the past but ever since this incident, I have not been doing it again and have reformed.

Dear Sir/Ma'am, I am writing to you in response to the notice of prosecution. I sincerely apologise for my actions as I was unable to provide a valid ticket for my journey on the 21st Oct. I panicked and bought a ticket on the spot, and I regret my actions. I assure you that I have learnt from this and promise to never partake in these activities again. My family had been struggling financially due to car crashes since I started university in September and I thought I could save some money by travelling like this, which I can ensure I will never do again. I have been utilising my 16-25 railcard for travel ever since and found a job to fund for my tickets. I deeply regret this error and understand the importance of ticket regulations. I would be sincerely grateful if you could consider settling this matter out of court. I am willing to cooperate and cover any outstanding fares and administrative costs to resolve my actions. I am a first year university student and a criminal record would hinder my future thus I am willing to rectify my actions. I would be most grateful if you would allow me to settle this matter without needing court action and I hope you could consider this request sympathetically.

 

[notmyrealname]

Hi.

Could you show us a redacted version of their letter please?

 

[Arish]

I would appreciate any help, I believe they have checked my past history too from the letter so I would appreciate any help to write a response to avoid prosecution.

 

[notmyrealname]

A quick comment about the start of your letter. Madam is more usually used then Ma'am which might not be well received, looking online.

Have you worked out yourself how many times you didn't pay the correct fare and how much money Chiltern lost? It looks as if they may have.

 

[Arish]

Alright thank you, I did it for around mid September till 21st Oct but I haven't calculated a price yet as I am unsure for how much administrative costs will be.

 

[simonw]

Hello everybody, I have been waiting for my letter to arrive and it just arrived. The letter consists of a notice of intended prosecution of which I have 2 weeks to reply to. I would grateful if somebody could help me edit up my draft email to respond. I have bunked a fair bit in the past but ever since this incident, I have not been doing it again and have reformed.

Dear Sir/Ma'am, I am writing to you in response to the notice of prosecution. I sincerely apologise for my actions as I was unable to provide a valid ticket for my journey on the 21st Oct. I panicked and bought a ticket on the spot, and I regret my actions. I assure you that I have learnt from this and promise to never partake in these activities again. My family had been struggling financially due to car crashes since I started university in September and I thought I could save some money by travelling like this, which I can ensure I will never do again. I have been utilising my 16-25 railcard for travel ever since and found a job to fund for my tickets. I deeply regret this error and understand the importance of ticket regulations. I would be sincerely grateful if you could consider settling this matter out of court. I am willing to cooperate and cover any outstanding fares and administrative costs to resolve my actions. I am a first year university student and a criminal record would hinder my future thus I am willing to rectify my actions. I would be most grateful if you would allow me to settle this matter without needing court action and I hope you could consider this request sympathetically.

See hadders answer as to the points to cover in his post above.

The railway company aren't interested in the car crash and by saying your family are short of gas will lead them to suspect you might do it again.

They also aren't interested in the impact it will have on your future.

Also break the text up, a slab of text won't get read.

 

[Arish]

I had written this before seeing your message but I will make another version with your advice.
Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in response to the notice of prosecution, and I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions. I deeply regret travelling without a valid ticket on the 21st of October and fully understand the seriousness of my mistake. In a moment of panic, I purchased a ticket on the spot, but I realised that this was the wrong course of action. I take full responsibility for my actions and assure you that I have learned from this experience.

At the time, my family was facing financial difficulties due to car accidents, and as a first-year university student, I mistakenly thought I could save money by travelling this way. However, I now recognise that this was a poor decision, and I am truly sorry. Since then, I have been using my 16-25 Railcard for all my journeys and have secured a job to ensure I can always afford my tickets.

I fully understand the importance of fare regulations and the impact fare evasion has on the railway service. This experience has been a wake-up call, and I am committed to ensuring it never happens again. I sincerely hope that this matter can be settled without the need for court action, as I am eager to rectify my mistakes. I am willing to cover any outstanding fares and the administrative costs incurred to resolve this matter fairly.

I would be extremely grateful for your understanding and consideration of my request, as a criminal record can hinder my future after university. Please let me know how I can proceed in order to settle this issue appropriately.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Mar 2025 ==

Also wondering if anybody has any pointers to add on top of hadders bullet point from before. Appreciate any help

 

[Spaceship323]

I had written this before seeing your message but I will make another version with your advice.
Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in response to the notice of prosecution, and I would like to sincerely apologise for my actions. I deeply regret travelling without a valid ticket on the 21st of October and fully understand the seriousness of my mistake. In a moment of panic, I purchased a ticket on the spot, but I realised that this was the wrong course of action. I take full responsibility for my actions and assure you that I have learned from this experience.

At the time, my family was facing financial difficulties due to car accidents, and as a first-year university student, I mistakenly thought I could save money by travelling this way. However, I now recognise that this was a poor decision, and I am truly sorry. Since then, I have been using my 16-25 Railcard for all my journeys and have secured a job to ensure I can always afford my tickets.

I fully understand the importance of fare regulations and the impact fare evasion has on the railway service. This experience has been a wake-up call, and I am committed to ensuring it never happens again. I sincerely hope that this matter can be settled without the need for court action, as I am eager to rectify my mistakes. I am willing to cover any outstanding fares and the administrative costs incurred to resolve this matter fairly.

I would be extremely grateful for your understanding and consideration of my request, as a criminal record can hinder my future after university. Please let me know how I can proceed in order to settle this issue appropriately.

I would delete the second paragraph
At the time, my family was facing financial difficulties due to car accidents, and as a first-year university student, I mistakenly thought I could save money by travelling this way. However, I now recognise that this was a poor decision, and I am truly sorry. - The railway company won't care why you are in financial difficulties
and have secured a job to ensure I can always afford my tickets. - Makes it seem that you may not pay the proper fare if you didn't have a job
and I am committed to ensuring it never happens again. - replace with "and I have purchased a 16-25 railcard"