Being caught with a different ticket trying to cross the barrier

[intothetrees]

Hi,
This is my story, I was trying to buy a weekly ticket to go to wembley st, to Marylebone, coming from leamington spa, and I was caught, they took my details, also they were asking since how long I was doing that, and I said two weeks. , what is going to happen? ,I know I was wrong, and I am willing to pay the penalty fares, I just want to know if I will be taken to court or i could settle this down just paying a fine, is it going to affect my job , If I end up with a criminal record.

Any help thanks

 

[island]

At what point were you “caught”? When buying the ticket? Trying to get through the barriers? On the train?

How have you been getting through the barriers at Royal Leamington Spa without a valid ticket?

 

[intothetrees]

I have bought a season ticket form leam to banbury, and I wanted to buy a weekly ticket at london before passing the gate

 

[island]

I have bought a season ticket form leam to banbury, and I wanted to buy a weekly ticket at london before passing the gate

What you’re doing is commonly referred to as “doughnutting”, paying for a small stretch at either end of the journey and leaving a big hole in the middle. It’s an offence under section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 and if convicted you would obtain a criminal record. Whether that affects your job is dependent on a number of factors, though most employers would not be able to dismiss a staff member for one minor conviction, as long as it was honestly declared.

When you were spoken to regarding the offence, what happened? What exactly did you say? Were your details taken and were your tickets confiscated?

 

[intothetrees]

yes they took my railcard, they didnt take my season ticket form leamington to banbury. my question is, can they just fine me, or they usually go further.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Just for clarity's sake so we've all understood you have for two weeks -

Not bought a weekly season from Lemaington Spa to Marylebone via Banbury (£200.40)
Instead you've bought a Leamington Spa to Banbury weekly season for £43.60 and then have bought (or have attempted to buy) a weekly Wembley Stadium to Marylebone season for £33.00?

So you have or have attempted to defraud Chiltern of c£250.00.

 

[intothetrees]

I have bought a season ticket from leam to banbury, and i was planning to buy wembley stadium to london, yes for tow weeks.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I have bought a season ticket from leam to banbury, and i was planning to buy wembley stadium to london, yes for tow weeks.

This would seem to be a straightforward case of an offence under Section 5(3)(a) of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 in that case - providing Chiltern have the requisite evidence.

It may be possible to settle out of Court (and a fair proportion of cases which come to this forum end up that way), but Chiltern are a relatively small TOC so there is not a huge history of prosecutions/settlements to base advice on.

If you cannot come to an out of Court settlement then the sentencing guidelines for a RoRA offence can be found here. In short, a fine of 75-150% of your weekly income, in addition to a recordable conviction which is spent after one year, are the likely outcome if convicted.

 

[intothetrees]

thanks,

 

[Islineclear3_1]

What a relieve, thank you, I just want to settle down that

Are you sure you have read ForTheLoveOf's post correctly....?

You may be convicted of a criminal offence that will be recordable for at least 1 year. This could affect your job....

What is there to be "relieved" about?

Sounds like you don't give a damn

 

[RPOMan]

What a relieve, thank you, I just want to settle down that

You're in trouble, there is no way around it. This is fare evasion.

 

[intothetrees]

I reconigse my mistake, I am willing to pay to costs, and I wont do it again, I will like to settle the matter down without going to court. I just want to know what to expect

 

[6Gman]

I reconigse my mistake, I am willing to pay to costs, and I wont do it again, I will like to settle the matter down without going to court. I just want to know what to expect

Firstly, I'd suggest this wasn't a "mistake" in any legal or ticketing sense. It was a deliberate decision to defraud the railway company.

You may still be able to avoid court by reaching a settlement with the train operator. When they contact you be prepared to respond with an honest response, admitting guilt, recognising that what you did was wrong, that it won't be repeated, and that you would wish to reach a settlement which will fully reimburse them for their costs in handling the incident.

They might then offer a settlement.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I reconigse my mistake, I am willing to pay to costs, and I wont do it again, I will like to settle the matter down without going to court. I just want to know what to expect

As stated, if you cannot settle this out of Court then, unless Chiltern have been very poor at collecting/storing evidence, this is a slam dunk conviction under RoRA. The associated unspent conviction may or may not be an issue for you - but what I can say is that it will mean for example that you will find it very much harder to get insurance of any kind at all, let alone at reasonable prices. In addition to a fine you could expect to be ordered to repay the fares evaded.

 

[najaB]

I just want to know what to expect

Expect this to cost *significantly* more than £250. A settlement amount of £400-500 wouldn't surprise me, nor would a conviction.

 

[swt_passenger]

yes they took my railcard, they didnt take my season ticket form leamington to banbury. my question is, can they just fine me, or they usually go further.

Can you explain ‘railcard’ as you’ve used here. People often use the term wrongly, railcards are normally discount cards used in conjunction with ordinary tickets rather than seasons. Did you possibly mean ‘travelcard’? Did you have an out of date travelcard with you and were trying to buy another one?

 

[intothetrees]

Travem card i meant

 

[island]

To the extent it isn't already clear, the choice of whether to settle out of court or to go to prosecution is Chiltern's. Not yours.

 

[cuccir]

Just a further note - don't expect anything in the next few weeks. Train companies will get in touch by writing but it's always at least a couple of weeks and sometimes a couple of months until they do contact you.