Happy to make a donation. This forum was very helpful. In short, I called them directly and shared what happened along with my mitigating circumstances. I then sent an email to them referencing my account of the incident and they settled. They shared that first-time offenders, who were courteous to their revenue inspection officers with mitigating circumstances had a chance of settling.

Hi all Thank you for all your help. Thameslink settled out of court.

Thank you, all, especially Old-Codja for refining my response. I will take a look and come back with questions if I have them.

Its just signed off by the prosecutions manager, but it makes sense to address it to them. Thanks. One thing I forgot to mention is that I asked the inspector if it would help if I checked my diary to see if I actually travelled using the pre-dated ticket as I knew the week prior I had filled out a ticket then not travelled due to work. He took this in my statement as I said 'I didn't travel on the pre-dated ticket'. I later checked my diary and I did travel using the predated ticket in question but didnt the day prior (effectively wasting a ticket). I appreciate this could be construed as I didnt previously travel using a ticket when I had filled it out and I was cheating the system for retribution. This was not the case and I regret mentioning it to the inspector.

Hi all, What are your thoughts on this response to the train company; To whom it may concern, I apologise profusely for my regretful actions. I pride myself on my integrity and honesty and I feel shameful for my moment of very poor judgement. As a family man and the sole income earner for the family (my wife is on maternity leave), a criminal record would be completely devastating on us, as my employment relies upon a clean criminal record. I was having a particularly forgetful week during the week of my caution, as I was very sleep deprived after the recent birth of our first child (I am happy be provide a birth certificate). I had lost my coat (I can share my missing report filed with Thamleslink), my gloves, amongst other forgetful mishaps that week due to a lack of sleep and stress. I had a particularly bad nights sleep on the 28th and had to leave the house earlier than usual for a job interview for a role I really wanted (the company I work for had recently been acquired). Extremely tired & stressed, I was running late for the interview and left the house in a rush. I consequently forgot to pick up a blank carnet ticket as I left my house. I rushed to and through the station in an attempt to make the train I needed to make my interview on time. I grabbed a ticket from my wallet assuming it was a new blank ticket which I would populate as I rushed for the train. I usually fill in the ticket before I enter the barriers but this morning I was rushing and was focused on making the train. I boarded the train and sat down. I then realised to my horror the mistake I had made of unintentionally using an old ticket, which I had failed to check. I was panic-stricken and then began to try and find a new ticket in my bag, which I couldn’t find. In my complete stupidity and panic as my mind raced, I changed the date of a previously dated ticket to the date of travel. In my haze of sleep deprivation and panic & stress, I made a very bad choice that's haunted me since. I tried to explain to the Revenue Protection Inspector that it wasn't premeditated and it was my circumstances. I admitted my mistake to the Revenue Protection Inspector and explained that I was very rushed and I apologised. This is the first caution or notice to prosecute I have ever received in my life. I regularly use the train service and I can provide bank account statements to confirm I am a regular paying customer and have never done this before. I am just so sorry for my actions and the inconvenience caused to all involved. I am happy to make immediate payment of the unpaid fare and any incurred costs that my actions have caused. I am also happy to purchase an annual pass immediately so my personal circumstances will never cause me to make a mistake like this again. I have also recently finished a year long voluntary mentoring programme with the charity, Chance UK (Registered charity number 1046947), where I worked with children with behavioural difficulties. A criminal record would prevent me from mentoring ever again, which would make me very sad indeed as its my passion in life. I can’t lose my job & passion in life for a moment of utter stupidity. I would appreciate your consideration and I sincerely hope that you can show some leniency in this matter.

Thank you for all your insight, I will post my intended response on here today and I would appreciate your thoughts prior to me posting it back to Thamleslink.

Hi HB, Based on similar cases, do you have any thoughts on what the penalty might be? I am worried sick! Will they be more lenient based on my honesty?

Correct, letter arrived today and I have 21 days to respond.

Hello, all Today I received an intention to prosecute from Thamleslink railway in relation to an incident some weeks ago. To provide some background, I was having a pretty forgetful few days... I left my coat & gloves on the train, forget my suit when attending a wedding and in relation to this post, I forget to get a train ticket. For context, I was extremely sleep deprived as I recently became a father for the first time and was under a ton of pressure. At around 6am, I arrived at my train station late for my train which I was under pressure to make as I had a job interview (the company I work for has been recently bought so I don't have job security & I have bought a new house). I use carnet tickets where I fill in the ticket with the appropriate date. I had forgotten to pick up a new blank ticket that morning and proceeded to use an old ticket unintentionally to enter the barriers and board the train (I didnt check). I suddenly realised the mistake I had made and in my panic, I changed the date of the old ticket to the day of travel. I appreciate this is an error of judgement but in my haze of sleep deprivation and panic, I made a bad choice. A revenue inspector asked me to produce my ticket, which I did and he accused me of changing the dates. I attempted to explain myself and convince him it wasn't premeditated but he informed me of rights and took my details. I admitted my mistake to the officer and admitted to changing the dates. This is my first caution and I am now obviously worried about the outcome (fine, criminal record, prison sentence etc). I am obviously happy to pay a fine as I did a bad thing but I dont want to lose my job over this. I have tickets to prove I had a blank ticket at home and have never done this before. My offences are listed as; - Altering a ticket with intent - entering a train for the purpose of travelling without a ticket Any advice on how I should respond to the prosecution letter and guidance on what penalty they could impose would be appreciated. Thank you so much.