I’ve just been given a witness statement mg11 as I was going through strood barriers , I had bought a ticket from higham to strood instead of Dartford to strood as I could not afford the ticket I got through the Dartford barriers with just tapping my card as I had no way of getting home , the man interviewed me I was honest in all the questions he then asked me if I have done this before and I said maybe a couple times I’ve never received anything like this before what will I expect, will I be getting fined ?
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Witness statement mg11
- Thread starter hwill
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RailUK Forums
Hello and welcome!
You’ll be sent a letter asking you to explain what you did.
They will also look at any online records, eg Trainline.
You probably committed a criminal offence, for which you could be prosecuted and receive a criminal record, but they will likely be prepared to settle out of court if you engage with them and convince them you won’t do it again.
Please read https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/please-read-before-posting-in-disputes-prosecutions.77759/ and post relevant documents, obscuring personal details of course, so we can better advise you.
Cost likely to be full single fares for any fares avoided plus ~£150 costs to settle out of court.
You’ll be sent a letter asking you to explain what you did.
They will also look at any online records, eg Trainline.
You probably committed a criminal offence, for which you could be prosecuted and receive a criminal record, but they will likely be prepared to settle out of court if you engage with them and convince them you won’t do it again.
Please read https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/please-read-before-posting-in-disputes-prosecutions.77759/ and post relevant documents, obscuring personal details of course, so we can better advise you.
Cost likely to be full single fares for any fares avoided plus ~£150 costs to settle out of court.
So I have gone from higham to strood before using Trainline if they do check my Trainline app but there’s no physical barriers at higham station to detect I have a ticket how will I explain that this wasn’t a fare evasion and was a genuine travel. Thank you for responding.
enyoueffsea
On Moderation
Well what was the nature and purpose of the travel when purchasing those tickets?
Why would you not have a ticket from Dartford?
Just sometimes I have been dropped off at higham there from work then I would get a train to strood to get picked up , just this one instance that I was at Dartford this one time I couldn’t afford the ticket from Dartford to strood at the time so I bought I ticket from higham to strood because I had no other way of getting home , but in other cases I have actually travelled from higham to strood before I was saying this as if they was to check my previous travels they would think that the previous higham to strood journeys was me fare shorting but they was genuine travels.
enyoueffsea
On Moderation
So you get a lift from Dartford to Higham to then make the 5 minute train ride from Higham to Strood?
And you were caught recently, with a short fare ticket from Higham to Strood having actually travelled from Dartford?
Higham station, in your own words, coincidentally not having ticket barriers to scan in at to evidence your 5 minute journey being legitimate.
If your story sounds as ridiculous to you as it does me, take a guess how the train operator will view it.
enyoueffsea
On Moderation
When you receive your letter, return here to post a copy of it (with your personal details removed) and people will give you advice on your response.
It’s extremely likely that you’ll be able to pay a settlement to close this without any criminal prosecution. In order to do that, you will have to have some degree of honesty without incriminating yourself.
People will support you to get that balance.
Make sure you pay the full fare from here onwards otherwise you will only make matters worse. You’re on their radar now.
Thank you , yes when I’ve received the letter I will show you on here and yes I now know the crime I have committed and I will not go through this again I can promise myself that, once again thank you for the help it is gratefully appreciated as my anxiety is through the roof at the moment.
It’s really simple - is that story true or not? If it’s not, it isn’t the end of the world, but it will affect how you deal with the train company and what you need to write when they contact you.
Yes this is true , I was honest with the man who stopped me. I will now wait on the letter and seek advice on what it says. I can say that this will never happen again as it’s so selfish of me to do what I’ve done.
We get people all the time saying they get the bus, they get a lift, all the time 90% of the way to work (!) and then inexplicably change modes to buy a one stop train ticket and it’s all above board - but just this once, they shorted their fare and oh yes, just this once it happened to be the time they got caught, which would be extremely unlucky. It’s not a story you should expect anyone intelligent to believe unless you are able to substantiate it, and if that really is your angle - you need to collect evidence of it for Southeastern.
They will be looking to collect the fares for each and every short fare they believe they can identify. And it may be expensive. If they think you’re being dishonest with them they may simply prosecute you, and that is not something you probably want. Ultimately, if you have been habitually short faring, you have lost the game, and it’s time to take some accountability.
Yes of course I understand, I will be completely honest with them and pay anything that needs to be payed and yes of course like I said previously I will never do anything like this again I just want to say thank you for helping me out on what happens I appreciate it.
Mcr Warrior
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Does help if you are completely honest with us, if you really do want best advice. If inspection of your ticket purchasing history suggests multiple other instances of short faring, you could be looking at having to stump up a fairly substantial sum, and not necessarily just the £11.00 for the one Anytime Day Single fare due from Dartford to Strood, this with respect to the one occasion when you were stopped, plus the ~£150 investigation and admin fee that @jfollows has already mentioned (upthread, in post #2).
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