Thanks grotesque. I didnt want to look like I could just throw money at a problem and make it go away. I have done wrong (although wrongly assumed the seriousness) and want to make amends. I have been more than deterred from doing something like this again so that in itself is a result for the TOC, plus I've also made many others aware of the potential outcome of not buying before you board, again a result for the TOC. Surely taking me to court will cost them more time and money and I'm happy to cover those costs and end this here and now. I'm not sure how many more sleepless nights I can take! Even though this is as Old-CodJA has stated, 'an offence at the lower end of the scale', I still do not want ANY convictions on my record. As I stated previously, I didnt even know until this happened that there were all these laws covering the railways. There have been others with the same story as mine and have managed to settle out of court with their first letter, I dont understand why I'm not being given the opportunity.I will write another letter, and hope that they will reconsider. Thanks all for the advice, I'll keep you updated!Robert.

Hi Old-CodJA,Could I just ask you to confirm this as I thought other threads had stated that only the bylaw breaches would show on an enhanced check and that a conviction under the RRA would always show on a standard crb check?I may be getting confused though!! ThanksRobert

Just a bit of an update, as I know you like to be kept informed. I wrote a letter to the Revenue company re-stating what I had said in my statement on the day. I apologised profusely and told them how ashamed I was of my actions and that it will not happen again. I explained that i could lose my job if I recieve a criminal record and offered to pay for the fare and admin costs as an alternative to court action.I recieve a letter back today thanking me for my letter and that they have taken into consideration what I had said but that they are going to take it to court. Although the wording in the letter is a little confusing as it just says they may proceed but dont state that they are for sure or under what charge it will go to court as. I havent read the letter myself, my partner phoned me and read it out so cant remember everything word for word. honeybee suggested earlier that all is not lost but I dont see what more I can say or do. I would still like to settle this out of court as I'm afraid of the implications a record will have! They have given me another 14 days to respond with any further comments.Is there any further advise that could be offered, I would be very grateful to you.Many thanksRobert.

Thank you for the replies. Yes I would dearly like to settle this out of court. I admit I was stupid but a criminal record could mean a termination in employment. Being out of work will just mean that I will become a burden to the state which hits all tax payers in the pocket. surely the better alternative is for me to pay an out of court settlement thus keeping me in work. There is no way I'll ever not purchase a ticket before boarding a train again, I've learnt a harsh lesson. Could anyone help with the other questions i asked, I would be most grateful.

Thank you honeybee, I couldn't quite work out how to start a new thread. Ok, short story. I got on a train and didn't buy a ticket until I reached the destination station where I said I got on at a closer station. I feel really stupid and am very ashamed by my actions. I know you say that ignorance is not a defence but I genuinely didn't know that boarding a train was an offence and have spoken to many people since who went aware either. Other threads here seem to suggest that a lot of people are falling foul to this too. That though is the least of my problems as it's the short fare that was offered that I'm most worried about for obvious reasons. It wasn't until I reached the destination station that I realised I didn't have as much money on me as I thought I had, but did have enough to cover the fare, it would have left me no money for lunch. I know i should have just bought the correct ticket and then borrowed some cash off someone when I got to work, I've been beating myself up about it ever since. But I cannot turn back the clock and just have to reply to the letter hoping that they might consider letting me settle out of court. I know I deserve to be punished and accept that but I wasn't aware that I could be prosecuted and receive a criminal record. The only experience I've had of this sort was a friend a few years back who said he received a penalty fare for a similar thing. I think thats why I just assumed things of this nature were civil matters not criminal. Getting back to my original question, I wanted to state in my letter that it has never been mentioned to me by the ticket sellers, that buying a ticket on the train or at the destination station is an offence, because had I known, I would have bought my ticket before boarding and then i would have realised i didnt have much cash on me and made the decision to use the money I had on me t pay the correct fare and hope I could borrow some when I reached work, or return home to get more money! But if I state that I have many times bought tickets after boarding the train, is this going to incriminate me further, are they likely to check back and use this against me or is it only the offences mention in the letter that I can be charged with and any past journeys won't be challenged. Also, I never received a copy of the statement I gave on the day and was told by the officer I would, should I request this, and if I do, will it impact on the 14 days I have been given to respond? I hope that someone will give me some advice, I know I probably don't deserve it but I've already been suffering for my actions and can only apologise. It's something I will certainly not risk doing again, I've been going through hell and it's just not been worth it for the small amount I saved on the day. Many thanks.

Hi, please can I ask, is offering a short fare considered worse than travelling on a train with no means to pay or are they considered the same? Also, please can I ask, when writing a response to the revenue protection company/toc, can it be mentioned that when buying tickets on the train or at the destination station, even though boarding the train at a station where you can buy tickets, no mention has ever been made that in doing this you are committing an offence. If this is mentioned would one likely to be incriminating themselves further, causing the toc to investigate where previous tickets have been purchased or will they only be interested in the one day that you are stopped and questioned? Many thanks for any replies.