Short fared journey

[jmc354]

Hi,

I bought a ticket from a station that wasn’t the station I had got on at so didn’t cover the full journey, but got caught at the barriers at the other side by a ticket warden as they knew the station I had supposedly come from had barriers. First time I had made this journey so was unfamiliar with it, and for the journey I bought the ticket was only 90p cheaper than the full journey I actually made lol.

Didn’t have time to wait for the questioning as was needing to get on a connecting train, but the warden said I could get a letter through the door as he is going to have to report it. Does anyone know how likely it is that I will be prosecuted? Considering that this is the only time that I have done this, and my history on train line will back this up.

Thanks

 

[Knoodlepot]

Hi,

I bought a ticket from a station that wasn’t the station I had got on at so didn’t cover the full journey, but got caught at the barriers at the other side by a ticket warden as they knew the station I had supposedly come from had barriers. First time I had made this journey so was unfamiliar with it, and for the journey I bought the ticket was only 90p cheaper than the full journey I actually made lol.

Didn’t have time to wait for the questioning as was needing to get on a connecting train, but the warden said I could get a letter through the door as he is going to have to report it. Does anyone know how likely it is that I will be prosecuted? Considering that this is the only time that I have done this, and my history on train line will back this up.

Thanks

Hello and Welcome to the Forum.

The gurus will be around to help. But for them to do that can you give a little more information please?

Please bear in mind the following, when asking for advice in this section:
We need to know all relevant facts in order to assist you, including, for example:
The stations* where you actually started & finished your journey
The stations* where you changed trains (if applicable);
If you presented a ticket(s), the information* stated under "Ticket type", "From", "To", "Route", and any other relevant details;

Details of any Railcard(s) held;
When and where ticket(s) were purchased, including whether this was prior to the journey commencing;
What happened in any encounter with railway staff;
Upload copies of any paperwork (with personal details redacted) with your post.
We need to know what outcome(s) you would consider satisfactory

We ask that you start your own thread as we have, in general, a one case per thread policy as we have found that every case is different even if they may appear similar at first glance.

 

[alholmes]

You give your location as Glasgow. It’s very important to tell us which stations you are travelling between and at which station were you stopped?

Scottish law is very different to England & Wales on these matters, so it’s important you provide this information so we can ensure advice is correct.

 

[jmc354]

The journey was from longbridge to Birmingham new street. And I did use a railcard and presented this when asked for it. Also did not buy a ticket until after exiting the train - wasn’t aware this was against any rules as don’t think it is in Scotland but was told that in England it is.
The encounter with the railway staff was that he told me he was going to have to ask me questions and started videoing, but I realised I might not have time to make my connecting train so left before the questioning even really started, but I was able to confirm on the video that after his clarification I knew what I had done was illegal.

 

[Hadders]

If your railcard or ticket was scanned by the inspector then the train company will be able to obtain your contact details via your online ticketing account.

The train company will probably offer you an out of court settlement if you co-operate with them, and haven't comme to their attention before. If you get a letter from them then pop back here and post a redacted copy of it in this thread, along with your draft reply and we can assist with how to respond.

 

[Haywain]

Also did not buy a ticket until after exiting the train - wasn’t aware this was against any rules as don’t think it is in Scotland but was told that in England it is.

It is an offence in both England and Scotland but prosecutions in Scotland are very difficult and almost unheard of. Because of this the treatment of the offence is very different.