Adult caught travelling on a child ticket: What do I do?

[SD_78882]

Hi there, this is my first post on here and I just wanted to ask for general info and advice.

Last friday me and two of my friends went to Bath to hang out. We boarded on a station 20 minutes away, and we got tickets prior to boarding.
I turned 18 in June, but I'm very small and loads of people say I look under 16. Whenever I travel I always buy an adult ticket, and I honestly can't remember the last time I bought a child one.
I have never before been questioned about my age. My friend was appalled at the price of the tickets and convinced me to get a child ticket because she didn't want me sending that much money. STUPIDLY I agreed, and both of us got child tickets (my friend is even older than I am). I regret doing this wholeheartedly.

When we arrived to bath, my ticket got spat out by the gates. A kind GWR lady by the gates took me aside, checked my ticket and asked about my d.o.b . I panicked and I adjusted my birth year which made me sounds as if I just turned 16. I started panicking and apologizing, but she said that's okay, wrote it down in her notepad and asked for my name, address and my mum's name. I gave all the correct details. She just asked for something that would confirm my name, and she just checked it on my gym card that I had on me at the time. She was really nice, and informed me that unfortunately she would have to report this incident and told me that it would all be okay and I would just be asked to pay the full price of an adult ticket. I agreed and apologized again. She gave a little 'Reported for prosecution' card, and let me through the gates. This is the first time anything like this has happened to me.

I've done loads of reading on this forum and I'm so so scared. I know I made a massive mistake, and I doubt lying about my age made this any better, although at no point did she ask about anything to confirm my age. I'm now waiting for a letter, and I'm ready to pay any fees I receive, but I'm terrified of being faced with a massive amount money for of an out of court settlement. I don't know if GWR has ways of tracking debit cards or ages of people they've stopped. If I could I'd take everything I did back in an instant. It was a stupid thing to do and I'm so upset with myself for caving into my friends suggestion.

Any help or advice would be muchly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[mikeg]

First of all, you may wish to change your username.

Secondly, it is GWRs policy to prosecute as a last resort. They generally offer out of court settlements If you engage with them, but it'll cost you.

Thirdly if you travel by rail frequently or sometimes if you make one long journey, a 16-25 Railcard may work to your advantage going forward.

I've got work in a few minutes but others and myself can give further advice later.

 

[SD_78882]

Ah sorry I will do!!
A railcard might definitely be a good option as I often travel to see my boyfriend.
Thank you!

@yorkie Hi! I was wondering if you could help me out with changing my username

 

[30907]

Just to say that the "going rate" for a first-time administrative settlement seems to be £90 plus the full fare due. Not the end of the earth I hope.

You may have to wait some time before you hear from GWR, so don't panic, and come back here for advice about how to reply.

 

[SD_78882]

Just to say that the "going rate" for a first-time administrative settlement seems to be £90 plus the full fare due. Not the end of the earth I hope.

You may have to wait some time before you hear from GWR, so don't panic, and come back here for advice about how to reply.

yeah I guess I've got to pay the price for doing something stupid.... do you know how long does it normally takes to receive a letter?

 

[mikeg]

Usually a few weeks to a couple of months but they have up to six months to lay papers before the courts. Usually between 1 and 8 weeks though it depends how busy they are. There's been a few GWR cases on here recently, it may be coincidence or they may be having a bit of a clampdown, which could lead to it taking a little longer

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

I've put below the advice I normally give to people who request help from the forum in similar circumstances to yours.

You are likely to receive a letter from the train company (or an investigation company acting on their behalf) which will probably take a few weeks to arrive saying that they have received a report, are considering prosecuting you and asking for your version of events. It is important that you engage with and reply to this letter. You might want to include the following in your reply:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Make sure your reply is short and concise, don't give a sob story - they've heard it all before. Most train companies are usually prepared to offer an administrative settlement (commonly known as an out of court settlement) for people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. There is no guarantee of this and the train company would be well within their rights to prosecute you in the magistrates court.

If you are offered a settlement the amount varies depending on the train company and circumstances but tend to be around £100 plus the outstanding fare. An out of court settlement might appear to be a fine, but it isn't and you won't have a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

 

[SD_78882]

Welcome to the forum!

I've put below the advice I normally give to people who request help from the forum in similar circumstances to yours.

You are likely to receive a letter from the train company (or an investigation company acting on their behalf) which will probably take a few weeks to arrive saying that they have received a report, are considering prosecuting you and asking for your version of events. It is important that you engage with and reply to this letter. You might want to include the following in your reply:

- That you are sorry for what has happened
- What you have learned from the incident
- That you are keen to settle the matter without the need for court action
- Offer to pay the outstanding fare and the train company's administrative costs in dealing with the matter

Make sure your reply is short and concise, don't give a sob story - they've heard it all before. Most train companies are usually prepared to offer an administrative settlement (commonly known as an out of court settlement) for people who engage with the process and who haven't come to their attention before. There is no guarantee of this and the train company would be well within their rights to prosecute you in the magistrates court.

If you are offered a settlement the amount varies depending on the train company and circumstances but tend to be around £100 plus the outstanding fare. An out of court settlement might appear to be a fine, but it isn't and you won't have a criminal record as a result of accepting one.

Thank you so much for the info! I just wanted to ask.... is there always a guarantee of a letter in which you have to state what happened etc? or is there a possibility that you'd be presented with any fees that you'd have to pay straight away?

 

[island]

Thank you so much for the info! I just wanted to ask.... is there always a guarantee of a letter in which you have to state what happened etc? or is there a possibility that you'd be presented with any fees that you'd have to pay straight away?

Nothing is absolutely guaranteed, but it is very much the norm that you get a letter asking for your side of the story.

 

[SD_78882]

Nothing is absolutely guaranteed, but it is very much the norm that you get a letter asking for your side of the story.

I understand. I was also wondering, would the letter be addressed to my mum or myself, considering the lady asked for my mum's name as well as my own?

 

[island]

It ought to be addressed to you as you’re an adult, but nothing is absolutely certain.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I understand. I was also wondering, would the letter be addressed to my mum or myself, considering the lady asked for my mum's name as well as my own?

It ought to be addressed to you as you’re an adult, but nothing is absolutely certain.

Although note that you told the railway that you were 16 - which is an age at which you pay an adult fare, but one which is still legally a child. This might make it more likely that the railway will write to your mother.

So if you haven't mentioned the whole incident to your mother and you're concerned about her finding out, you might want to start preparing the ground with her in case the first she knows is a letter from the railway.

 

[SD_78882]

Although note that you told the railway that you were 16 - which is an age at which you pay an adult fare, but one which is still legally a child. This might make it more likely that the railway will write to your mother.

So if you haven't mentioned the whole incident to your mother and you're concerned about her finding out, you might want to start preparing the ground with her in case the first she knows is a letter from the railway.

Although note that you told the railway that you were 16 - which is an age at which you pay an adult fare, but one which is still legally a child. This might make it more likely that the railway will write to your mother.

So if you haven't mentioned the whole incident to your mother and you're concerned about her finding out, you might want to start preparing the ground with her in case the first she knows is a letter from the railway.

Thank you, I'm going to have to tell her about it but idk how yet.
The only thing I'm confused about is the fact that the lady who took me aside told me that I would only need to pay the full ticket price (for an adult ticket) and she hadn't mentioned anything about prosecution or anything similar. She have me the little card and said to scan the QR codes to find out more about what happened today. So now I'm really confused in terms of what I should be expecting. Is there a way to contact the prosecution department and ask? Or should I just wait for the letter and just go from there...

 

[island]

As you mention Bath Spa station I assume you were spoken to by GWR. It’s been mentioned on another thread that GWR gives those cards to anyone whose details are taken regarding ticket irregularities as they contain links to the privacy policy which they’re obliged to give, and they are still using up old stocks of pre-printed forms which does not contain them.

As such I would not read a great deal into all that for the time being.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thank you, I'm going to have to tell her about it but idk how yet.
The only thing I'm confused about is the fact that the lady who took me aside told me that I would only need to pay the full ticket price (for an adult ticket) and she hadn't mentioned anything about prosecution or anything similar. She have me the little card and said to scan the QR codes to find out more about what happened today. So now I'm really confused in terms of what I should be expecting. Is there a way to contact the prosecution department and ask? Or should I just wait for the letter and just go from there...

I think best you wait for the letter and go from there, and come back here for more advice as you need it.

I also think it may be that staff who discuss this with people they stop tend to play down the worst case scenarios to prevent panicking people and / or creating conflict situations face to face. The letters tho can seem the opposite. But wait for the letter and then people can help you as needed. I'm not sure they will just let you 'pay the adult fare' however. There may be an admin charge on top and that can seem quite high in some cases.

Ref your mum, tell her sooner rather than later I reckon. She will probably appreciate that and hopefully then try to help you out with it.

 

[SD_78882]

Hi y'all!
I just received my letter, and just thought I'd give you an update just in case this helps anyone who's in a similar situation
I have paid the asked amount as soon as I could and certainly know that I will never do it again - I've definitely learnt my lesson.
Thank you all for your help and advice!

 

[mikeg]

That's a very reasonable settlement if I read that right, in fact one of the smallest I've seen. Consider yourself lucky but I'm sure you're right that it's a lesson learnt.

 

[SD_78882]

That's a very reasonable settlement if I read that right, in fact one of the smallest I've seen. Consider yourself lucky but I'm sure you're right that it's a lesson learnt.

Same here! I was genuinely preparing myself for the worst, after reading some posts on here I was expecting something over the £100 mark. Although I am very relieved and very happy with the outcome, I'd never even think of doing something like that again.

 

[robbeech]

Whilst I truly feel it’s unacceptable that staff say things like “you’ll just have to pay the full fare due” as a way of wiping their hands of the situation, it is clear in this case that you have definitely got off lightly there so it’s good that you’ve paid it straight away and hopefully learnt your lesson.

Did your friend also have issues with their ticket on the day in question ?

 

[contrex]

Maybe GWR could spend some of the money on spelling lessons for their head of revenue protection development - "One of our member's of staff..."

 

[SteveM70]

Maybe GWR could spend some of the money on spelling lessons for their head of revenue protection development - "One of our member's of staff..."

I’d assumed they’d offered a bad grammar discount

 

[SD_78882]

Whilst I truly feel it’s unacceptable that staff say things like “you’ll just have to pay the full fare due” as a way of wiping their hands of the situation, it is clear in this case that you have definitely got off lightly there so it’s good that you’ve paid it straight away and hopefully learnt your lesson.

Did your friend also have issues with their ticket on the day in question ?

Nope, they didn't have any issues, they passed straight through the gates without anyone questioning anything :/

 

[6Gman]

I’d assumed they’d offered a bad grammar discount

Without wishing to be pedantic, this is surely a failure of punctuation rather than of spelling or grammar?

 

[contrex]

Without wishing to be pedantic, this is surely a failure of punctuation rather than of spelling or grammar?

Most dictionaries classify it as a punctuation mark, but some linguists maintain that the apostrophe is not strictly a punctuation mark, but more a part of a word to indicate possessive case, contractions, or omitted letters. Oxford University Press says, of it's - "the pronoun its was first introduced in the 17th century to replace an earlier form his, which overlapped unhelpfully with the masculine pronoun. Because it was formed by adding a possessive ending to the subject pronoun it, the new pronoun was initially written it’s; a spelling which persisted until the 19th century". So it's for its is arguably a spelling error, since the mark is inserted into a word. But I concede that it is more common to classify the humble apostrophe along with commas, full stops and the like.