West Midlands Trains Short Faring

[gir0011]

Hello everyone

Apologies if this is a repost. I have posted a hour ago but the thread disappeared from my account, so I was unsure about whether it has gone through.

I am deeply regretful of what I have done and acknowledge that this was fully my fault and misconduct. I have been short faring from Gravelly Hill to Birmingham New Street (single journey), selecting Duddeston as the outward station which saves me 20p. I have done this for 7 times on Uber.

The officer stopped me at the gate and I lied saying that I was traveling from Duddeston, but he easily found out that the train did not stop there. I panicked and said that I regularly buy tickets from Duddeston but today have travelled from Gravelly Hill because I went to my GP there. However that was again a easily found lie as I could not describe structure of Duddeston station when I could for Gravelly Hill.

He then turned on the recorder and started interviewing me, which I stupidly said the same thing again without telling honest truth. I signed and provided my information and was given a notice with reference number.

I have read other threads on the forum, I will very happily pay any cost if they are willing to settle out of court. However I am really worried about them not even giving me the chance to write a genuine and honest letter like others did and send me to court directly.

Would you advise to contact them at this stage to rectify the lie that I have told today? Many thanks for any opinions from you.

 

[Titfield]

There is no point trying to contact them at this stage as any email you send is unlikely to be matched to the incident file they will create. Some TOCS even ask that you do not even contact them unless it is to correct a contact address.

You will have to wait for the letter to arrive and respond at that time.

The Train Operating Companies are fully aware that people are not always truthful in their initial interaction with a ticket inspector. Unless you were abusive or aggressive this will not affect the chance of resolving the issue out of court.

 

[gir0011]

There is no point trying to contact them at this stage as any email you send is unlikely to be matched to the incident file they will create. Some TOCS even ask that you do not even contact them unless it is to correct a contact address.

You will have to wait for the letter to arrive and respond at that time.

The Train Operating Companies are fully aware that people are not always truthful in their initial interaction with a ticket inspector. Unless you were abusive or aggressive this will not affect the chance of resolving the issue out of court.

Thank you very much for the advice - I will wait for their letter and reply to that when it arrives.

 

[gir0011]

Hi all,
I’ve received my letter today, looking like a generic first contact letter (please see attached).
I have drafted my response as followed, I would really appreciate any opinion for suggestions:
===============
REF: XXXXXXX
Name: XXXXX
Postcode: XX XXX
Address: XXXXX
Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing in response to the letter dated 4th September 2024.

I want to apologise sincerely for my offence of buying short-fare tickets from Duddeston to Birmingham New Street, when it should have been from Gravelly Hill to Birmingham New Street. I was stopped by a Revenue Protection Inspector on 30/8/2024 and produced a dishonest statement when he questioned further on what has happened.

I am truly sorry and ashamed of myself for the offence, I acknowledge that this behaviour is fully unacceptable. I want to also apologise for trying to hide and not tell the truth when I was approached by the Revenue Protection Inspector at the station, which created extra work for the officer and your team. I deeply regretted my misconduct and dishonesty, I wholly understand that my behaviour was both damaging to the railway service and taxpayers, and unfair for other passengers who travel with full fare.

I have since been purchasing right tickets, I promise that I will never misconduct in anyway in my future journeys for the rest of my life, and you will never see my name on your file report again. I would be the most grateful for the opportunity to settle this matter without involving the court, through a financial settlement or however your team feels is most appropriate. I accept full responsibility for my actions and would really appreciate any chance to rectify them.

Thank you very much for the time spent reviewing my case, I want to apologise again for my misconduct and I hope to hear back from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Sep 2024 ==

Update - Response sent on 19th, letter arrived in prosecution office on 20th. Received a settlement amount of £177.70 after checking on the website today. I have paid and now waiting for the actual letter response.