Are all SWR prosecution reports taken at stations acted on?

[mc_bocey]

Hi there, first time posting in the forum. Before asking my questions I will provide necessary context:

This morning I travelled on a South Western Railway train from Clapham Junction to Ashford (Surrey). When I arrived at Ashford, I saw revenue protection officers blocking the exits. I then (in a slight panic) proceeded to buy a ticket on my phone (I'd assumed Ashford was within the reach of contactless travel payments), then approached the officers blocking the exit. I'd just bought a ticket from Feltham to Ashford, and the officer scanned the ticket, and asked me to present my 16-25 rail card which I did. He then asked me why I'd bought the ticket a couple of minutes prior (I had done it out of sight of the officers, he showed me what time the ticket had been bought on his scanner), and I explained the situation I found myself in. He then noted all of this down on his report, ask for my ID which I provided.

He then asked for my email, which I again provided, and printed off a kind of receipt of the incident for me to sign. I asked him what would happen next and he explained that SWR "might" get in contact asking for more details, and that I should tell them what happened. I have only recently started a job in Ashford, and was not aware of the end of the contactless zone.

However he then went on to say that the procedure (rough paraphrase) looked scarier than it was, and said that SWR may look at the report and not act on it (not entirely sure of the wording here).

My questions are:
1- Are absolutely all cases reported acted on?
2- If this is acted on, should I expect a letter or an email?
3- Is there any truth to the officer's words?

Would really appreciate some answers, also happy to provide any more details necessary. I am aware that I may be able to achieve an OOC settlement thanks to other threads in this forum, and understand what I must put in a letter/email responding to such a letter/email

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi there, first time posting in the forum. Before asking my questions I will provide necessary context:

This morning I travelled on a South Western Railway train from Clapham Junction to Ashford (Surrey). When I arrived at Ashford, I saw revenue protection officers blocking the exits. I then (in a slight panic) proceeded to buy a ticket on my phone (I'd assumed Ashford was within the reach of contactless travel payments), then approached the officers blocking the exit. I'd just bought a ticket from Feltham to Ashford, and the officer scanned the ticket, and asked me to present my 16-25 rail card which I did. He then asked me why I'd bought the ticket a couple of minutes prior (I had done it out of sight of the officers, he showed me what time the ticket had been bought on his scanner), and I explained the situation I found myself in. He then noted all of this down on his report, ask for my ID which I provided.

He then asked for my email, which I again provided, and printed off a kind of receipt of the incident for me to sign. I asked him what would happen next and he explained that SWR "might" get in contact asking for more details, and that I should tell them what happened. I have only recently started a job in Ashford, and was not aware of the end of the contactless zone.

However he then went on to say that the procedure (rough paraphrase) looked scarier than it was, and said that SWR may look at the report and not act on it (not entirely sure of the wording here).

My questions are:
1- Are absolutely all cases reported acted on?
2- If this is acted on, should I expect a letter or an email?
3- Is there any truth to the officer's words?

Would really appreciate some answers, also happy to provide any more details necessary. I am aware that I may be able to achieve an OOC settlement thanks to other threads in this forum, and understand what I must put in a letter/email responding to such a letter/email

Thanks in advance for your time.

Hello and welcome

I am afraid you need to assume they will act on it. It's possible staff intimate they may not in order to try to diffuse conflict situations or not unduly distress people at the moment of questioning.

I am assuming here you were planning to not pay a fare at all or to short fare to get through barriers at your destination?

You have checked other threads so will know what to expect (including checking if you have done things like this before potentially via on line digital ticket checking) - so be sure to watch out for hard copy post or e-mails including in your spam folder, and if you are likely to change address in the next 6 months make arrangements for your post to be forwarded - eg via Royal Mail.

 

[mc_bocey]

Hello and welcome

I am afraid you need to assume they will act on it. It's possible staff intimate they may not in order to try to diffuse conflict situations or not unduly distress people at the moment of questioning.

I am assuming here you were planning to not pay a fare at all or to short fare to get through barriers at your destination?

You have checked other threads so will know what to expect (including checking if you have done things like this before potentially via on line digital ticket checking) - so be sure to watch out for hard copy post or e-mails including in your spam folder, and if you are likely to change address in the next 6 months make arrangements for your post to be forwarded - eg via Royal Mail.

Hi there, thanks for your reply.

I thought this too but I thought I presented myself in a calm and orderly manner, but point taken: assume they will.

I am assuming here you were planning to not pay a fare at all or to short fare to get through barriers at your destination?

Not entirely sure what this means, but I will say I bought a ticket to appease the inspectors, and probably wouldn't have if they were not there

So essentially I should just prepare for an apologetic response?

Also as I have never had any trouble with anything like this in the past, will that be taken into account?

 

[skyhigh]

When I arrived at Ashford, I saw revenue protection officers blocking the exits. I then (in a slight panic) proceeded to buy a ticket on my phone (I'd assumed Ashford was within the reach of contactless travel payments)

This doesn't really add up. If you thought you could use contactless, surely you'd have approached them and shown your card, not immediately bought a ticket? It will look to SWR as a classic case of 'pay when challenged'.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi there, thanks for your reply.

I thought this too but I thought I presented myself in a calm and orderly manner, but point taken: assume they will.

Not entirely sure what this means, but I will say I bought a ticket to appease the inspectors, and probably wouldn't have if they were not there

Short fare = buying a ticket from a station close to your destination to get through barrier line where you arrive (but it sounds like you were not intending to buy any ticket at all perhaps until you saw inspectors which is known as 'buy when challenged'

So essentially I should just prepare for an apologetic response?

Yes, see the general formal given on other threads, and you need to ask them if they will be prepared to settle the matter out of court

And you should save up the money they will be asking for

Also as I have never had any trouble with anything like this in the past, will that be taken into account?

Only in the sense that it may mean more likely they are prepared to settle out of court rather than prosecute perhaps, but do not excpect them to let you off if that is what you mean

Also be prepared for them to investigate any on line ticket purchasing records they can now find, having go your on line details form the ticket they did scan. They will wan to look for suspicious things like short fares, tickets bought from stations not close to where you live on a regular basis etc

 

[mc_bocey]

This doesn't really add up. If you thought you could use contactless, surely you'd have approached them and shown your card, not immediately bought a ticket? It will look to SWR as a classic case of 'pay when challenged'.

I think I mentioned "oyster/contactless" when speaking to the officer

and as mentioned I did panic when I realized I didn't have a ticket and saw them all with scanners

 

[LA50041]

Hi there, first time posting in the forum. Before asking my questions I will provide necessary context:

This morning I travelled on a South Western Railway train from Clapham Junction to Ashford (Surrey). W

Thanks in advance for your time.

How did you get through the barriers at Clapham Junction?

 

[mc_bocey]

Short fare = buying a ticket from a station close to your destination to get through barrier line where you arrive (but it sounds like you were not intending to buy any ticket at all perhaps until you saw inspectors which is known as 'buy when challenged'



Yes, see the general formal given on other threads, and you need to ask them if they will be prepared to settle the matter out of court

And you should save up the money they will be asking for


Only in the sense that it may mean more likely they are prepared to settle out of court rather than prosecute perhaps, but do not excpect them to let you off if that is what you mean

Also be prepared for them to investigate any on line ticket purchasing records they can now find, having go your on line details form the ticket they did scan. They will wan to look for suspicious things like short fares, tickets bought from stations not close to where you live on a regular basis etc

Sorry just a couple of follow up questions,
firstly is it very likely that this will be settled out of court?
Secondly if they do find anything in their investigation, should I own up to any other instances they may find?
And thirdly, would it be better to mention that it was a pay when challenged situation?

How did you get through the barriers at Clapham Junction?

Hello,
I scanned my contactless card

 

[LA50041]

Hello,
I scanned my contactless card

This doesn't make sense. If you touched in and believed that contactless was valid, why did you not attempt to touch out at Ashford?

 

[skyhigh]

You don't have to incriminate yourself, but do not lie.

If they find other instances and present them to you, it will not help your case if you don't engage with them.

To be honest- the story isn't really believable (and I think your follow up questions admit this).

 

[mc_bocey]

This doesn't make sense. If you touched in and believed that contactless was valid, why did you not attempt to touch out at Ashford?

the inspectors were in front of the contactless scanner at the exit

 

[LA50041]

the inspectors were in front of the contactless scanner at the exit

They would have to be, they cannot inspect a contactless card after the journey is completed.

I really don't understand if you thought contactless was valid why you compounded the issue with a short fare, unless you knew it wasn't valid.

Im sure others will be able to assist further, but you have to be totally honest otherwise it will be difficult to advise

 

[Gloster]

the inspectors were in front of the contactless scanner at the exit

In which case the normal action if you believed contactless was available would have been to have attempted to use the scanner in the normal way, but failed. Then a conversation with the inspectors might have started.

As Hadders (and my father) might say: When in a hole, stop digging.

 

[mc_bocey]

In which case the normal action if you believed contactless was available would have been to have attempted to use the scanner in the normal way, but failed. Then a conversation with the inspectors might have started.

As Hadders (and my father) might say: When in a hole, stop digging.

What is advisable then?

 

[Gloster]

What is advisable then?

Be honest to us, because we can’t help if you aren’t, and be honest to the railway company. If you tell them something that they believe to be untrue they are much more likely to take you to court. If you tell them the truth, although there is no need to tell them anything they haven’t asked you about (but don’t lie or use weasel words), they are more likely to offer you an out of court agreement as they accept that you have learnt your lesson and won’t do it again. But don’t do it or anything similar again: they are much more likely to come down on you like a ton of bricks if they don’t think you have learnt your lesson.

 

[mc_bocey]

Be honest to us, because we can’t help if you aren’t, and be honest to the railway company. If you tell them something that they believe to be untrue they are much more likely to take you to court. If you tell them the truth, although there is no need to tell them anything they haven’t asked you about (but don’t lie or use weasel words), they are more likely to offer you an out of court agreement as they accept that you have learnt your lesson and won’t do it again. But don’t do it or anything similar again: they are much more likely to come down on you like a ton of bricks if they don’t think you have learnt your lesson.

I understand, I'm sorry. I was trying to get advice based on what I told the officer. I got on a southern train from mitcham eastfields to Clapham junction, and then took the train to Ashford. Then I panic -purchased a ticket. I just wanted to tell you guys what I told the officer and see what the reaction would be based on that. I'm sorry and I hope you still feel able to help

 

[MotCO]

Also as I have never had any trouble with anything like this in the past, will that be taken into account?

As in never short-fared before, or never been caught before?

As others have said, the best approach is to be truthful with them, engage positively, show remorse and that you have learnt your lesson, and if there is anything you can do to show you won't do it again - e.g. buy a season ticket, get an age-appropriate railcard (and always buy tickets for that same age-group and set up a reminder on your phone to renew it before it expires.)

 

[WesternLancer]

You'll be needing to focus in your reply to them around the apology for not having a valid ticket and that you now understand the consequences of that etc and won't be doing it again (as opposed to getting into the detail of what happened when stopped and why you didn't have a valid ticket I suspect).

When you hear from them and draft up a reply to whatever it is they ask you you can ask for advice here on checking the content of your draft reply to help get it as good as it can be to get the least worst outcome available.

 

[mc_bocey]

Can I just check by least worst you mean an ooc settlement?

You'll be needing to focus in your reply to them around the apology for not having a valid ticket and that you now understand the consequences of that etc and won't be doing it again (as opposed to getting into the detail of what happened when stopped and why you didn't have a valid ticket I suspect).

When you hear from them and draft up a reply to whatever it is they ask you you can ask for advice here on checking the content of your draft reply to help get it as good as it can be to get the least worst outcome available.

Can I just check by least worst you mean an ooc settlement?

 

[WesternLancer]

Can I just check by least worst you mean an ooc settlement?

Can I just check by least worst you mean an ooc settlement?

Yes, I guess that is the likelihood of least worst in my view (I guess in theory they could let you off with a warning but since we rarely see examples of that here I suspect it's something you can probably discount) - so persuading them to settle out of court is probably the least worst - with the worst being prosecuted, fined and receiving a criminal record.

I suppose there is the option of paperwork getting lost and them never contacting you but that would be an admin error on their part which is a bit different than an active decision not to purse the matter.

 

[MikeWh]

So, to get this clear, your journey is from Mitcham Eastlands to Ashford via Clapham Junction. The ticket you bought in panic was from Feltham to Ashford. This suggests that you know that contactless isn't valid beyond Feltham. Did you touch out at Feltham, potentially stepping back a train? Did you touch at all at Clapham Junction? What did you do on the way back? Do you know what charges have been made by TfL to your bank account?

If you can explain exactly what you've been doing at each point of both journeys to and from work it will help to assess the scale of the problem. This is something that SWR may also be looking in to, potentially in cooperation with TfL.

 

[Haywain]

So, to get this clear, your journey is from Mitcham Eastlands to Ashford via Clapham Junction. The ticket you bought in panic was from Feltham to Ashford. This suggests that you know that contactless isn't valid beyond Feltham. Did you touch out at Feltham, potentially stepping back a train? Did you touch at all at Clapham Junction? What did you do on the way back? Do you know what charges have been made by TfL to your bank account?

If you can explain exactly what you've been doing at each point of both journeys to and from work it will help to assess the scale of the problem. This is something that SWR may also be looking in to, potentially in cooperation with TfL.

I'm going to take a wild stab at this and say that there wasn't a touch in or out. The OP's story isn't full of holes, it is just one big hole.