West Midlands Train: Short-Fare Prosecution

[SLKHadji]

I was travelling from Euston to Milton Keynes after work and I got stopped at the barrier for having a short-fare ticket.

• Started journey: London Euston (EUS)
• Final Station: Milton Keynes Central (MKC)
• Station on ticket: Bletchley (BLY) to MKC
• Ticket Presented: Anytime Day Single
• When and where ticket(s) were purchased, including whether this was prior to the journey commencing: Ticket purchased via Trainpal app whilst journey was in motion
• What happened in any encounter with railway staff: The revenue protection officer accused me of fraud, which I tried to defend, and she got upset and said I could leave, but I said no. Eventually, she asked for my details, which I provided. She also asked how often I made the trip, and I said twice a week. She asked how
• I commute regularly for work to EUS from MKC every week. I use two different apps to buy my tickets depending on the day of the week. The Trainpal app has fewer purchase histories compared to my Trainline app, and they are from different emails.
• I have attached the slip i got from the lady

Would it be wise to reach out to WMT before I get the letter to seek an out-of-court settlement?

I did the fare shorting to support our living expenses as my wife had been out of a job for over 9months, and we now rely on just my income to keep the family afloat. I genuinely regret my actions

 

[AlterEgo]

• What happened in any encounter with railway staff: The revenue protection officer accused me of fraud, which I tried to defend, and she got upset and said I could leave, but I said no.

Why did she get upset? RPIs don’t get upset when people just say “I don’t fare evade”. Why did you refuse to leave?

Would it be wise to reach out to WMT before I get the letter to seek an out-of-court settlement?

No. You need to wait for them to contact you and see what they ask and accuse you off, lest you accidentally incriminate yourself.

 

[SLKHadji]

Why did she get upset? RPIs don’t get upset when people just say “I don’t fare evade”. Why did you refuse to leave?


No. You need to wait for them to contact you and see what they ask and accuse you off, lest you accidentally incriminate yourself.

She got upset because she was asking me some questions which I didn't understand why and I was asking her what value do they have to do with the situation. I didn't leave because she said "You can go, I'd just write up whatever and you will get the letter". Eventually, one of her colleagues came and it became calmer.

 

[AlterEgo]

She got upset because she was asking me some questions which I didn't understand why and I was asking her what value do they have to do with the situation. I didn't leave because she said "You can go, I'd just write up whatever and you will get the letter". Eventually, one of her colleagues came and it became calmer.

Which questions did you object to? The inspector will have written a witness statement which will form part of the evidence against you; it may or may not have an impact on whether they settle out of court.

 

[sqwizz]

How did she know you were short faring - did you only buy the ticket after Bletchley? (I do BLY to MKC, it's perfectly normal)

 

[SLKHadji]

I bought a ticket from BLY to MKC before I got to BLY. She said if I had come on board at BLY, some officers would have given me a special ticket to let them know I was not short-faring. She said she believes I was coming from Euston and that's what she was going to put in the report. She asked how often I made the trip, and I answered as often as required, and she said I wasn't answering her questions. I eventually said twice a week.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Ah, so there was a revenue block / sting at Bletchley

 

[Haywain]

I do BLY to MKC, it's perfectly normal

It is if you are on a train that calls at Bletchley!

 

[SLKHadji]

The train did call at Bletchley, but she claims there was a revenue team there who ought to have given me a special card or something

 

[AlterEgo]

The train did call at Bletchley, but she claims there was a revenue team there who ought to have given me a special card or something

Yes, that happens sometimes, to catch people out who shortfare.

 

[John R]

The train did call at Bletchley, but she claims there was a revenue team there who ought to have given me a special card or something

As noted above that means they were doing a revenue sting specifically to catch those committing short fare fraud. Your ticket wasn't scanned at the barrier, and neither were you given a special card, so they have all the evidence they need to prove that you did not board there.

Bluntly, the fact that you used two different ticket apps and two different emails suggests that this was a more sophisticated attempt at fraud. Nevertheless, they are likely to offer an out of court settlement in due course, which (given this was a specific exercise) is likely to include any other days where they see you purchased a ticket from Bletchley to MK. You may be lucky in that they only check the account that you used that day.

 

[Egg Centric]

Have we seen cases of Trainpal cooperating with TOCs yet?

 

[SLKHadji]

Thank you, everyone. I will wait until I get their official notice

 

[SLKHadji]

Hello Everyone,

I finally got a post in the mail today asking to pay £199.20 for a settlement offer and fare difference.

However, my surname was spelt wrongly.

What do you advise?

 

[Haywain]

Hello Everyone,

I finally got a post in the mail today asking to pay £199.20 for a settlement offer and fare difference.

However, my surname was spelt wrongly.

What do you advise?

Pay it.

 

[WesternLancer]

and keep a copy of everything to do with this and esp proof of payment - keep that long term (ie well over a year) in the unlikely event you ever need it.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hello Everyone,

I finally got a post in the mail today asking to pay £199.20 for a settlement offer and fare difference.

However, my surname was spelt wrongly.

What do you advise?

Pay it.

To amplify this a bit, my understanding is that there's nothing special in English law about a name. It's just a useful way of everyone knowing that they're speaking to the right person - particularly taken with other information. So unless the letter you received could reasonably be assumed to be for someone else (e.g. you are Mr A Smith and live at 1 The Street, Anytown: the letter was addressed to Mr A Smyth at 1 The Street, Anytown: there's no one called 'Smyth' who lives at your address so it is reasonable to conclude that it is meant for you, Mr Smith) then it's for you, and it's for you to deal with it.

 

[AlterEgo]

Hello Everyone,

I finally got a post in the mail today asking to pay £199.20 for a settlement offer and fare difference.

However, my surname was spelt wrongly.

What do you advise?

To pay the settlement to avoid being prosecuted for the offence. The fsct your name is spelt wrongly is immaterial.