PLEASEEE HELP ME

Recently I was Travelling from london victoria to brighton... got stopped at brighton barrier

Inspector asked for my railcard and i stood to the side looked at the ticket and said i do not have one all i have is my student card.

She told me she would have to write a fail to carry ticket and started up convo about why i was in Brighton started askin about my uni and what i study even suggested i work for sourthern rail lol.

She was very nice

The ticket was a single w 16/25 rail discount

She told me all i needed to do was produce a railcard and scan it to the email she went me within 14 days which i have done....

I wasnt offered a penalty fare

The reason the discount was on there in tbe first place was bc i’d used my trainline account to book a ticket for my friend who had a railcard then i forgot to remove it for myself as i was in a rush, my mistake completely, i travel a sourthern rail a lot of typically buy full priced tickets. Altho i have now bought a railcard It was purchased on the day of the incident

The whole conversation was brief and i was not questioned and i believe there was some confusion ...

Now i am wondering whether i should send them a. Email before they send me a letter (if they do which i think they will)

Dear sir/madam,

I am writing you regarding my previous email and an event that took place on the 5th June 2018 at Brighton station.

Upon getting to the barriers I was stopped by an officer who looked at my ticket and asked to see my 16-25 railcard.

I stood to the side and was confused for a moment and I told her I did not have one, I only had my student card, she took me to the side further and said she would have to write a fail to carry slip, she did not caution me or ask me any questions, only asked for ID which I gave and told me to produce a railcard and scan it to this address.

Afterwards she pointed me towards a man who let me out.

However, I believe a mistake was made as I told her I did not have a railcard only a student card.

Initially when I went to book my ticket to brighton I booked it online however having previously used my account to book my friend a ticket who has a railcard, the discount was still there but I did not realise.

This is because you have to manually remove the discount and at the time I was in a rush and must have overlooked it. It was my mistake and I sincerely sincerely apologise.

I have never had any ultercations with ticket inspectors previously, always having valid tickets. I done what the woman told me however and bought a railcard and scanned it.

However, since I was still confused I went online and after looking at sourthern’s website I realise that usually a £20 penalty fare is issued for such an incident.

I was not given the choice of a penalty fare and I am not sure if the inspector misheard me or if there was general mis communication as the whole conversation was very brief.

I must stress that I am sincerely sorry for what has occured and I take full responsibility for my mistake.

I understand that I need to be more vigilant and have since purchased a railcard to avoid myself ever making the same mistake.

I am willing to pay the full price of the original fare and any additional admin costs.

I have just completed a degree in Psychology and do not want this to effect anything in the future.

I understand the seriousness of this incident but it was a genuine mistake I respect and appreciate the services offered by sourthern and GTR and hope you accept my sincerest apologies.

Is this okay? Should I mail it also?

Thanks

that will do

though I wold not be using text speak.

proper English might be better

Sorry can you help, where have I used text speaker?

Oh, yes I won’t be saying things like ‘askin’ and ‘lol

or BC but that s not par of your replt

its in polite to use the words 'that woman' or akin.

inspector.. p'haps?

red above

Ah yes I understand. Thank you. Do you thinn I am saying anything incriminating?

Im debating whether to send an email before receiving a letter or not.

if you've received their letter asking for your side of the story then send it 1st class royal mail

no need for email...

Hi,

I have not received anything yet.

Hi. Don't write until you hear from them with a case reference, they won't be able to match up your letter with their file before that.

A couple of things from me about your letter. Towards the end of it, you mention 'effect anything in the future'. It's affect and I would go into more detail about how this could be detrimental to you. I'm not sure you should be criticising their procedures over not offering you a penalty fare, this rarely ends well.

HB

The rail company is Southern, not sourthern.

HB

Yes sit on you hands till we know what they are intending to charge you with

hows this doing?