Wrong railcard prosecution letter

[olliec1234]

Hi all,

I’m 21 and I used the wrong rail card to make my train journeys cheaper through the uber app. I used the job saver + railcard as it was the cheapest and have never had an actual railcard. I got the Orpington to London Bridge train and it cut it down from £16.30 to £8 a day.

I got caught after doing it 37 times in June and was given a fine which I paid on the spot. It’s now October and I have just gotten a letter saying they may press charges (photo attached). But I haven’t done it since then

I’ll happily pay whatever I owe I just don’t want to have a criminal record.

I haven’t replied to their letter yet and will do soon, i have written out a draft letter accepting responsibility and asking for it to be an out of court settlement. Do I send it?

Please help me asap I’m really scared.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Hi all,

I’m 21 and I used the wrong rail card to make my train journeys cheaper through the uber app. I used the job saver + railcard as it was the cheapest and have never had an actual railcard. I got the Orpington to London Bridge train and it cut it down from £16.30 to £8 a day.

I got caught after doing it 37 times in June and was given a fine which I paid on the spot. It’s now October and I have just gotten a letter saying they may press charges (photo attached). But I haven’t done it since then

I’ll happily pay whatever I owe I just don’t want to have a criminal record.

I haven’t replied to their letter yet and will do soon, i have written out a draft letter accepting responsibility and asking for it to be an out of court settlement. Do I send it?

Please help me asap I’m really scared.

Welcome to the forum.

Your letter doesn't seem to be attached: unless that's our settings delaying it, please have another go, although make sure you hide anything that identifies you. That way we'll know exactly what you are being asked about.

And we can comment more on your proposed reply if you show us that - so please show us your draft!

 

[Western Gaffer]

Your letter doesn't seem to be attached: unless that's our settings delaying it, please have another go, although make sure you hide anything that identifies you. That way we'll know exactly what you are being asked about.

OP originally posted it but in unredacted form, so it was removed...

 

[olliec1234]

Welcome to the forum.

Your letter doesn't seem to be attached: unless that's our settings delaying it, please have another go, although make sure you hide anything that identifies you. That way we'll know exactly what you are being asked about.

And we can comment more on your proposed reply if you show us that - so please show us your draft!

Hi it was just a letter saying they will press charges if I don’t reply. What’s the chances of getting it taken to court since it was 37 times and I’m 21

 

[soccermad]

You need to post the letter with your details redacted to enable us to give the best advice and not incriminate yourself any further by your response

 

[olliec1234]

Hi all,

I’m 21 and I used the wrong rail card to make my train journeys cheaper through the uber app. I used the job saver + railcard as it was the cheapest and have never had an actual railcard. I got the Orpington to London Bridge train and it cut it down from £16.30 to £8 a day.

I got caught after doing it 37 times in June and was given a fine which I paid on the spot. It’s now October and I have just gotten a letter saying they may press charges (photo attached). But I haven’t done it since then

I’ll happily pay whatever I owe I just don’t want to have a criminal record.

I haven’t replied to their letter yet and will do soon, i have written out a draft letter accepting responsibility and asking for it to be an out of court settlement. Do I send it?

Please help me asap I’m really scared.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Today at 21:44 ==

Hi it was just a letter saying they will press charges if I don’t reply. What’s the chances of getting it taken to court since it was 37 times and I’m 21

 

[Fawkes Cat]

In your initial post, you say

I got caught after doing it 37 times in June and was given a fine which I paid on the spot.

Were you given anything before or when you paid this fine? If so, even better, do you still have it? Did you pay by credit/ debit card? If so, does it show up on a statement

The reason I ask is that it seems to me that if you have already paid a penalty then that should be the end of the matter. But Southeastern's prosecutions are in a bit of a mess at the moment so I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they have sent out the wrong letter. If you can show that you have already paid a penalty, then that may be what you should tell them.

 

[olliec1234]

In your initial post, you say

Were you given anything before or when you paid this fine? If so, even better, do you still have it? Did you pay by credit/ debit card? If so, does it show up on a statement

The reason I ask is that it seems to me that if you have already paid a penalty then that should be the end of the matter. But Southeastern's prosecutions are in a bit of a mess at the moment so I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they have sent out the wrong letter. If you can show that you have already paid a penalty, then that may be what you should tell them.

I’m thinking they may have back tracked the previous wrong railcard usages here. Is that even possible? I also have email confirmation where I paid the £59.40 that they charged me but not the original fine. That was given on paper in person

 

[WesternLancer]

In your initial post, you say

Were you given anything before or when you paid this fine? If so, even better, do you still have it? Did you pay by credit/ debit card? If so, does it show up on a statement

The reason I ask is that it seems to me that if you have already paid a penalty then that should be the end of the matter. But Southeastern's prosecutions are in a bit of a mess at the moment so I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they have sent out the wrong letter. If you can show that you have already paid a penalty, then that may be what you should tell them.

Good point.

I suspect if no response is sent this will escalate.

Given SE trains standard wording now refers to ‘incident’ a reply could incriminate oneself.

So while I suspect a reply is necessary the wording needs to be carefully drafted. Presumably in order to get them to clarify what they accuse the op of.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 36 minutes ago ==

I’m thinking they may have back tracked the previous wrong railcard usages here. Is that even possible?

They can certainly trawl your on line ticket buying records to see if there is a history of buying tickets with such a railcard. Whoever you buy tickets from.
Trainline regularly provides such information to investigators.

 

[olliec1234]

Good point.

I suspect if no response is sent this will escalate.

Given SE trains standard wording now refers to ‘incident’ a reply could incriminate oneself.

So while I suspect a reply is necessary the wording needs to be carefully drafted. Presumably in order to get them to clarify what they accuse the op of.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 36 minutes ago ==


They can certainly trawl your on line ticket buying records to see if there is a history of buying tickets with such a railcard. Whoever you buy tickets from.
Trainline regularly provides such information to investigators.

What do I even reply with? Some places say it’s best to accept fault and be honest then they won’t take me to court other places say to ask, will they even reply to me or just take my next reply as the last bit of evidence and leave it there?