Fare Evasion.

[KH0312]

I was travelling from Birchwood to Manchester Picadilly. I didn't have my card on me and my contactless wasn't work on my phone so I'm stuck with the Trainline app at this moment in time. I had forgotten to buy a ticket as I was in quite a bit of a rush due to personal family issues so it was a last minute thing, and the train had arrived. Once I arrived at Urmstom, I remembered I had to buy my ticket but the trainline app wasn't showing any avaliable tickets from Birchwood to Manchester. It was just blank. I started having a panic attack due to the stress of the situation of not being able to buy a ticket. When I arrived at Picadilly, I tried every station and the only ones that appeared were for Trafford Park. I stupidly bought that ticket and tried to pass with it only to be stopped due to it being a ticket for the next day. When I was being questioned regarding the matters of it, I was panicking hard and misheard the inspector's question, which most likely was, "Where did you board from?" But I misheard it as, what station did you remember to buy your ticket from so I accidentally said Urmston. I checked the receipt he gave me which says the prosecutions unit want to hear my version of events, and it says I boarded from Urmston.

I am feel incredibly ashamed and stupid for the whole situation, as I know I should've just spoken to a staff member but I genuinely thought they'd take it the wrong way and I'd get into trouble with it, hence why I had an anxiety attack during the whole situation. I haven't been sent a letter yet, but should I write to them saying that the receipt information is wrong due to my own error or will that make things worse for me? A satisfactory outcome for this would be to receive an out of court settlement.

Edited out irrelevant information.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I don't think you can do much at this stage expect to wait for the letter which could take up to many weeks, or a few months

 

[30907]

Wait for the letter to arrive. If they offer an out-of-court administrative settlement, pay it. Otherwise come back for advice.

Boarding a train without a valid ticket is an offence under the railway byelaws (the exceptions aren't relevant).
You can say that you didn't buy in advance because you were late, but you also need to say that you now know this was wrong and won't do it again, and that you realise that people travelling without tickets costs Northern/government/taxpayers a lot of money.
It will do you no harm to correct the mistake about where you started, and IMO (not an expert) it is unlikely to make a difference to how they treat your case.

Lastly, rest assured, it's not the end of the world!

 

[WesternLancer]

I was travelling from Birchwood to Manchester Picadilly. I didn't have my card on me and my contactless wasn't work on my phone so I'm stuck with the Trainline app at this moment in time. I had forgotten to buy a ticket as I was in quite a bit of a rush due to personal family issues so it was a last minute thing, and the train had arrived. Once I arrived at Urmstom, I remembered I had to buy my ticket but the trainline app wasn't showing any avaliable tickets from Birchwood to Manchester. It was just blank. I started having a panic attack due to the stress of the situation of not being able to buy a ticket. When I arrived at Picadilly, I tried every station and the only ones that appeared were for Trafford Park. I stupidly bought that ticket and tried to pass with it only to be stopped due to it being a ticket for the next day. When I was being questioned regarding the matters of it, I was panicking hard and misheard the inspector's question, which most likely was, "Where did you board from?" But I misheard it as, what station did you remember to buy your ticket from so I accidentally said Urmston. I checked the receipt he gave me which says the prosecutions unit want to hear my version of events, and it says I boarded from Urmston.

I am feel incredibly ashamed and stupid for the whole situation, as I know I should've just spoken to a staff member but I genuinely thought they'd take it the wrong way and I'd get into trouble with it, hence why I had an anxiety attack during the whole situation. I haven't been sent a letter yet, but should I write to them saying that the receipt information is wrong due to my own error or will that make things worse for me? A satisfactory outcome for this would be to receive an out of court settlement.

Edited out irrelevant information.

Try not to worry too much about this. At this stage try to write down clearly what happened and basic reasons why - when you get the letter you can clearly and simply admit your full journey from Birchwood etc. You can come back here with a draft of the reply you intend to send in response to the rail operators request for your side of the story, so that people can give you advice on how best to phrase it so that it is clear to them what happened.

Being honest in your reply about where you got on should count in your favour.

Have you ever done this before, and have you ever been caught doing it before if so?

 

[Brissle Girl]

It's important to be honest in your dealings with the authorities from now on in, and if I were a cynical investigator, the story you've told has lots of points where you had the opportunity to do the right thing, failed to do so, and your defence is that you had an anxiety/panic attack. I'd suggest that they'll have heard that defence countless times (indeed, it's used here by posters with regularity). So, unless you could produce some medical proof to support it, it will just be regarded as someone making excuses for the deliberate action of travelling without a ticket, and still not being particularly open and honest as to what happened. So I'd suggest you have a good think as to what you want to say when you engage with them.

Indeed, you've even titled the thread, Fare Evasion, evasion typically being used to describe a deliberate attempt to avoid something, which contradicts the story you're telling.

Finally, as a bit of life advice I would suggest going out without any means of payment is never a good idea, particularly if you are reliant on public transport.

 

[some bloke]

For the moment, when writing down your account you could make separate numbered paragraphs for each part that you want to explain - in case it helps to get things clear in your mind.

You could write down what you remember of the conversation - what the inspector asked and what you replied - before the memory fades.

I sympathise with making mistakes while flustered, but the company may well think,

"Even if the passenger misheard, why did they allow the conversation to end without mentioning the origin station for the fare they owed?".

When thinking what to say, bear in mind questions they may have.

 

[MotCO]

One of the defences against not having a valid ticket is if there was no means to buy a ticket at your original station. Was there a method of buying a ticket using your preferred method of payment at Birchwood? Usuallly if there is a ticket office open, you can pay by cash or card, but it seems as though your contactless app on your phone was not working, so what was your planned method of paying? On the face of it you may not have had the means to pay for a ticket; planning to buy it on-line after boarding may not be a defence. This issue may be raised by the TOC, so you may wish to consider your response.

 

[Brissle Girl]

planning to buy it on-line after boarding may not be a defence.

Far from being a defence, you're not allowed to buy a ticket having boarded, for rather obvious revenue protection purposes. So any suggestion that it was the intention would not be helpful.

 

[KH0312]

Hello again guys. I'd like to apologise for not responding, coming to the railforums was giving me anxiety so I thought it best to stay away for a while until I could make progress with the situation. I provided my version of events and received a fixed penalty notice in return. The problem is however, that the origin station is still marked as Urmston, not Birchwood. Before I proceed with any payments, should I inform them of their mistake on the letter or should I just pay it anyway? Thank you all for your help.

 

[jumble]

I would personally just pay it so you do not cause further complications
In my view You have been offered a Penalty to settle the fact that you were on a train without a ticket full stop with where you borded the train being irrelevant
In the very unlikely event that you were later challenged you could simply say you did not read the letter properly beyond the bit that says if you pay the penalty the matter is closed.

 

[js1000]

I'd echo others' views that buying a mobile train ticket on an app after boarding is not a defence. Mobile tickets are open to abuse insofar as people board but will only buy upon seeing a conductor coming down the train to check tickets, or a manned ticket check at the destination station.

Considering these circumstances, I would be tempted to apologise and pay the settlement (possibly ~£80). If this is your first offence they will always agree to this settlement as long as you're contrite as they'll always be financially better off then pursuing it through a court.