Hi all, less than a week ago I was traveling in the London underground (zone 2 to 1; usual journey to school), tapped in and got stopped by a revenue control officer. I am an international student still doing my degree, and at the time I was caught I tapped with my friend's unused 18+/annual oyster. Regretted to say that I had been using my friend's oyster for about a month with her knowing. I have an 18+ oyster myself but not the annual subscription. I received a verification letter today and have been reading other threads for advice. I am really anxious and stressed about how this will affect my future employments in the UK (records, etc.), process of plea guilty/conviction, and the amount of fine & admin fees that I will be paying. Please if someone has been through this situation or has seen something like this please let me know. Any form of help and advice are deeply appreciated!
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caught using friend's annual oyster
- Thread starter piemonte
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I will leave advice on how to respond if and when you receive a letter from TFL, to the usual posters on the matter. @Hadders @Fawkes Cat
Though it would be remiss of me to mention that TFL treat this sort of offence seriously and often seek to prosecute. But you must first wait for any correspondence from TFL before anything further can be done.
The final point is that we are unable and it is in fact illegal for us to give you any advice in relation to your immigration status and thus right to remain in this country. Section 84 (1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Requires that anyone giving immigration advice must be regulated, which as far as I know nobody on this forum is.
The required regulatory bodies are OISC/LSC. (Along with certain others) Which can be researched using Google, if you feel the need to take such advice on immigration matters.
Last of all try not to worry, it is very unlikely to be the end of your life even if convicted.
Welcome to the forum!
Presuming the letter you have been sent is the 'initial letter' from TfL asking for your version of events, then we would normally advise that you respond to this letter bearing the following points in mind:
Unfortunately, TfL do take misuse of oyster cards/passes extremely seriously and rarely offer out of court settlements for this type of offence. It is likely that you will be prosecuted under the TfL Byelaws.
We cannot comment on the impact on your immigration/employment status unfortunately (as we are not authorised to do so) so if you do wish to seek advice on this it would be advisable to contact a legal professional/authorised individual.
If you post a draft of your letter on here, we will happily offer amendments before you send it to TfL.
This is my draft. Please read it and give some advice. Does a written or an email version of this letter differ a lot? This is very much appreciated.
Special thanks to @Www111888 for the reference.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing in response to the letter I received from TfL regarding the criminal offence charge on the [date]. On the [date], I was traveling with an 18+ oyster card with annual travel card from a friend of mine. I would like to express my deepest apologies for the incident that led to this charge and all the inconveniences that occurred. Fare evasion has caused a huge revenue loss for TfL and it is surely an unacceptable act.
I understand the seriousness of the charge and how it could impact my future. As a result, I would like to take this opportunity to ask that this is settled without a court action.
I am currently a student pursuing my degree in [subject] in a graduate institution and have no criminal offence in the past. I aspire to start a career in [subject] and am volunteering in a [] charity. I am currently in the process of intense job search, and any criminal record may jeopardise my future. I have learnt from this experience and understand that I am accountable for my wrongful action. I sincerely hope that you could take this into consideration.
I assure you that this will not happen again and I will follow the rules entirely while travelling with public transportation. Furthermore, I am genuine to resolve this matter as smoothly as possible without court action. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any administrative costs for TfL in dealing with this case. Please could you kindly consider my request and settle this matter out of court.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Yours faithfully,
[name]
Special thanks to @Www111888 for the reference.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing in response to the letter I received from TfL regarding the criminal offence charge on the [date]. On the [date], I was traveling with an 18+ oyster card with annual travel card from a friend of mine. I would like to express my deepest apologies for the incident that led to this charge and all the inconveniences that occurred. Fare evasion has caused a huge revenue loss for TfL and it is surely an unacceptable act.
I understand the seriousness of the charge and how it could impact my future. As a result, I would like to take this opportunity to ask that this is settled without a court action.
I am currently a student pursuing my degree in [subject] in a graduate institution and have no criminal offence in the past. I aspire to start a career in [subject] and am volunteering in a [] charity. I am currently in the process of intense job search, and any criminal record may jeopardise my future. I have learnt from this experience and understand that I am accountable for my wrongful action. I sincerely hope that you could take this into consideration.
I assure you that this will not happen again and I will follow the rules entirely while travelling with public transportation. Furthermore, I am genuine to resolve this matter as smoothly as possible without court action. I am willing to pay the outstanding fare and any administrative costs for TfL in dealing with this case. Please could you kindly consider my request and settle this matter out of court.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Yours faithfully,
[name]
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I think the letter is ok.
TfL take this sort of thing very seriously and they rarely settle out of court. Occasionally they give a final warning but again, this is unusual.
It's likely that they will prosecute under the TfL Bylaws. A Bylaw conviction isn't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and won't normally appear on a DBS check. That said we always advise being honest with a potential employer - a Bylaw conviction for a minor railway ticketing matter is highly unlikely to adversely affect your life or career prospects.
As mentioned above we are unable to provide advice in relation to your immigration status.
TfL take this sort of thing very seriously and they rarely settle out of court. Occasionally they give a final warning but again, this is unusual.
It's likely that they will prosecute under the TfL Bylaws. A Bylaw conviction isn't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and won't normally appear on a DBS check. That said we always advise being honest with a potential employer - a Bylaw conviction for a minor railway ticketing matter is highly unlikely to adversely affect your life or career prospects.
As mentioned above we are unable to provide advice in relation to your immigration status.
I’ve suggested a few amendments you may wish to make.
As we have stated previously, TfL do take this type of offence very seriously and very rarely do not take the matter to court, but there’s always a small chance so we can only be as cooperative and constructive as possible and hope for the best.
Hi, have you had an update on your case?
Please start your own thread and we will be happy to advise. We ask that each case is kept in a separate thread because no two cases are ever the same.
@piemonte has not returned to give us an update but it would be good to know if there is any update.
I receive a requisition to be at the court at the end of January. They have listed the trips I took under my friend's oystercard (those were correct) and requested a ~650£ fare/surcharge plus 375£ of court fee (they didn't list any other numbers, will I need to pay more than this number?). I'm concerned, at this point, is that whether the conviction will impact any form of DBS check and how long does it take to "spend" the conviction.
AlterEgo
Veteran Member
If it’s a Bylaw offence it won’t appear on a Standard DBS and will only appear on an Enhanced DBS under very rare circumstances.
If you are not a citizen of the UK or don’t have indefinite leave to remain then you should explore how this conviction will affect your immigration status.
If you are not a citizen of the UK or don’t have indefinite leave to remain then you should explore how this conviction will affect your immigration status.
Assuming you plead guilty, or are found guilty by the court following a trial you will have to pay:
- A fine which is the punishment which is based on your weekly income (usually discounted by a third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity)
- A surcharge equal to 40% of the value of the fine which goes to assist victims of crime
- A contribution towards TfL's costs (this is the £375 figure mentioned above)
- Compensation for the fares avoided (this is the £650 mentioned above)
I'm afraid it's going to be expensive.
Hello, how this case solved? My sister is in same position and not UK citizen. She also had an application in parallel for residence permit. Now, she is so worried if this record will be in DBS and her application will get affected. Or, she may face to losing her job if this will be in DBS records.
She did not get the letter yet but for the last 3 months, she was using her husband's oyster (who is a student and has lower fares)
Anyone can help on this? We are really worried.
She did not get the letter yet but for the last 3 months, she was using her husband's oyster (who is a student and has lower fares)
Anyone can help on this? We are really worried.
Please create your own post to ask about your own issue. No two cases are alike, and we prefer to have each person's case in their own thread so that people do not find themselves talking at cross-purposes.