WM Railway, Short Fare

[Sh13lds]

Hello, Just under 6 weeks ago i was found short fare evading from Stourbridge junction to Birmingham snow hill at the barriers. I hadn’t brought a ticket but when i saw people at the barriers i brought a ticket from a closer station. This was obviously flagged by them and i was pulled to the side. I had done this the last month and a half as i recently got a job in the city, however had not done this on every travel. I am completely in the wrong and am completely embarrassed of my actions. I only wish to rectify my actions by paying the fine so i can stop feeling so anxious as the fear of the whole situation is really eating away at me. Im just a bit worried by how long the letter is taking to get to me. I understand they have up to 6 months to send it. But was hoping i would have this sorted before Christmas, but it does not look like it will be that way. Im worried the officer took the wrong address. When he asked me for it i accidentally said the wrong house number but gave the correct street name, location and post code, then when giving him my ID realized i said the wrong number, and apologized. It was in NO WAY intentional. I have only lived at this address for 2 months as i have graduated from university this year and only just moved back home to a new house. I was also quite upset at the interview, holding back some tears as im quite an anxious person. After i asked another officer to talk to (i just wanted to make sure there was nothing else in the moment i could do to rectify it) she was quite kind, and said i was not the kind of person they typically had to deal with, calmed me down and said it would all be okay when i payed whatever i was asked to pay. I was completely compliant and answered all questions. I Was just a bit scared which resulted in me messing up saying the number, but ofcourse this was rectified when i gave my ID. Im just worried that the officer possibly forgot to change the number? I truly want to pay this fine and in no way am trying to doge it. Should i contact them to make sure they have the right one? Or is this a bad decision?

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

A couple of things to note here:

1. It's up to WMR how to deal with this, they decide whether it goes to court or offer you a settlement. Experience tells us that if you co-operate with them they will amost certainly offer you an out of court settlement.

2. The possibility of an incorrect address. Given the circumstances I think it might be worth contacting WMR to check that they have your correct details. Six weeks is not an unusual timescale to have to wait for a letter, they are a very small team and deal with lots of cases. Perhaps wait until the New Year as their iffices are likely to be closed over Christmas and reach out to them if you stil lhaven't heard from them.

 

[Sh13lds]

Welcome to the forum!

A couple of things to note here:

1. It's up to WMR how to deal with this, they decide whether it goes to court or offer you a settlement. Experience tells us that if you co-operate with them they will amost certainly offer you an out of court settlement.

2. The possibility of an incorrect address. Given the circumstances I think it might be worth contacting WMR to check that they have your correct details. Six weeks is not an unusual timescale to have to wait for a letter, they are a very small team and deal with lots of cases. Perhaps wait until the New Year as their iffices are likely to be closed over Christmas and reach out to them if you stil lhaven't heard from them.

Okay, thankyou so much for taking the time to reply. Do you think an email is best or should i call them?

 

[John R]

then when giving him my ID realized i said the wrong number, and apologized. It was in NO WAY intentional.

I'm sure you're not the first person to give them an incorrect address, and realise when subsequently providing ID that you've made a mistake, so I would expect the inspector has corrected it properly, and your case is still waiting to get to the top of the pile after 6 weeks.

I was also quite upset at the interview, holding back some tears as im quite an anxious person.

Again, I would imagine it's quite normal for those evading the correct fare to be quite upset when caught, so I doubt your demeanour was at all out of the ordinary as far as the inspector was concerned. And it's probably to be expected that you suffer from anxiety if you consistently break the law by travelling without a valid ticket - who wouldn't be anxious, so I doubt that will fly as mitigation when you come to write your letter asking for a settlement in lieu of prosecution?

In terms of preparing for the letter, it's likely (but not inevitable) that they will have studied recent data from your online ticketing account, and if they have identified other instances of short faring then will ask you about it, at which point you are advised to come clean. The Anytime Single fare between Stourbridge and Birmingham is £6.20, (so £12.40 for each day you have short fared), so multiply that by the number of times you have done this, add around £150 for admin costs, and that's the amount you are likely to have to find at short notice, if they agree to an out of court settlement. (They may knock off the fare actually paid, but don't assume they will to be on the safe side.)

 

[Sh13lds]

I'm sure you're not the first person to give them an incorrect address, and realise when subsequently providing ID that you've made a mistake, so I would expect the inspector has corrected it properly, and your case is still waiting to get to the top of the pile after 6 weeks.



Again, I would imagine it's quite normal for those evading the correct fare to be quite upset when caught, so I doubt your demeanour was at all out of the ordinary as far as the inspector was concerned. And it's probably to be expected that you suffer from anxiety if you consistently break the law by travelling without a valid ticket - who wouldn't be anxious, so I doubt that will fly as mitigation when you come to write your letter asking for a settlement in lieu of prosecution?

In terms of preparing for the letter, it's likely (but not inevitable) that they will have studied recent data from your online ticketing account, and if they have identified other instances of short faring then will ask you about it, at which point you are advised to come clean. The Anytime Single fare between Stourbridge and Birmingham is £6.20, (so £12.40 for each day you have short fared), so multiply that by the number of times you have done this, add around £150 for admin costs, and that's the amount you are likely to have to find at short notice, if they agree to an out of court settlement. (They may knock off the fare actually paid, but don't assume they will to be on the safe side.)

Ofcourse, completely agree. Wasn’t sharing my anxious state as an excuse. Was more just trying to explain the course of events, thankyou for taking the time to reply. I am happy to pay any amount they ask so that the matter is solved.