Lost weekly travel card

[pink1234]

Hi,

 

I have got a persecution threat , the inspector given me the little bottom of his page , didn't understand until I have looked at it closely , it says

" if fail to carry , passenger to send a copy of their seasonal ticket within 14 days to the address below , failure to do so may lead to prosecution.

 

 

The platform was too noisy and I said I have a weekly card but I can not find it , than he has given me this and ask me to send a copy of my card , but i can not find my weekly card even if I find it but it was not a seasonal card , I am so scared could you please help , what can I do?

Edited March 28, 2013 by Conniff

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I hope the forum guys will be along soon, but you may not get replies straight away because of the Easter holidays. Please bear with us.

 

Just to clarify, you bought a weekly ticket but now you don't know where it is? I could be wrong and hopefully the guys will clarify, but I thought a weekly ticket would count as a season ticket.

 

You definitely can't find your weekly ticket? I think it would helpful.

 

My best, HB

[Conniff]

Not an expert on this but I would say that if you cannot find your card at home and have no other means of proving that you have a valid one, then as far as the regulations are concerned, you do not have one and will have to suffer the consequences.

[pink1234]

please tell me what is the consequances?

[honeybee13]

I have got a persecution threat , the inspector given me the little bottom of his page , didn't understand until I have looked at it closely , it says

" if fail to carry , passenger to send a copy of their seasonal ticket within 14 days to the address below , failure to do so may lead to prosecution.

 

 

The platform was too noisy and I said I have a weekly card but I can not find it , than he has given me this and ask me to send a copy of my card , but i can not find my weekly card even if I find it but it was not a seasonal card , I am so scared could you please help , what can I do?

 

please tell me what is the consequances?

 

Hello again.

 

Conniff and I are not railway industry experts, as we said. I don't know how soon the transport guys will be able to get here, as it's Easter weekend.

 

From reading this forum, I think the problem is going to be something like being unable to produce a valid ticket when asked. Are you sure you can't find your ticket anywhere? This would solve the problem.

 

If you can't send them a copy of a ticket, then it's possible that you will be prosecuted and taken to court, unless you can negotiate to settle with the train company before it gets that far.

 

Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will arrive before long.

 

HB

[pink1234]

many thanks for this info , hope they will replay me soon as I am having difficult time and so scared

[pink1234]

Hi,

 

is there anyone there to advice me please regarding the below problem I am facing and need a resolution ?

 

thank you

[firstclassx]

Ultimately, it goes like this

 

1) Send them a copy of your ticket within the appropriate timescale and face no further action - or;

2) Don't send them a copy of your ticket and face prosecution, especially if it is First Capital Connect or London Underground.

3) No further action, but generally only if they lose your paperwork.

 

You have committed two offences, one or both could be used to prosecute you:

 

Byelaw 18(1) - Travelling on a train without a valid ticket

Byelaw 18(2) - Failed to hand over a ticket for inspection when asked to do so

 

You will have to wait for a letter from the appropiate Train Operating Company. Until you receive a "Notice of Intended Prosecution", you'll have to sit tight.

 

Maximum fine is £1000 per offence, but for a Byelaw conviction, including costs etc, you're probably looking at around £400-£500, and a trip to the local Magistrate's Court unless you plead guilty by post.

 

You could even avoid court entirely through negotiation, but you need to receive a letter from them first.

[pink1234]

Many thanks , I guess I got no more choice but to wait for the letter

[pink1234]

Hi , I have got my letter from .But my surname is written wrong on the letter , would that work in my favour ?

 

it says " unfortunately we have been unable to find proof that you were in possession of a valid railway ticket , relating to the date you were spoken to . With this in mind we will be obliged if you would send a copy to this department by return . This can be done by post , email or fax. Failing to do so may result in prosecution through a magistrates court "

 

Also I now found a travel card from my partner for that date.

[firstclassx]

Don't send your partners ticket whatever you do! You will have far worse problems then!

 

The name being slightly wrong makes zero difference.

 

If you've lost your own ticket, you'll have to come clean. Maybe provide a bank statement showing the transaction?

[pink1234]

Hi ,

 

I will come clean and wiling to pay my penalty , could you please help me to write a letter to them to reduce my penalty fee as minimum please?

 

thanks

[pink1234]

how about this template below:

REF: [Number]

 

Dear [name edited]

 

I’m writing to you regarding the penalty ticket I have been given in Herne Hill station .

 

I was really ill on the 28 th March and hardly hear the railway staff when he was talking to me , the platform was too noisy and the trains were arriving non stop , unfortunately I couldn’t find my weekly ticket in my bag at that moment and I have been given this penalty as a result.

 

 

I wish to settle this matter paying my penalty fee.

 

 

I know that I should always ensure I have my tickets with me since the incident I have ensured that I am fully aware that I require a ticket .

 

Please let me know the appropriate arrangements to fulfill the outstanding fare and admiration charges outstanding.

 

 

Signed

[firstclassx]

how about this template below:

REF: [Number]

 

Dear [name edited]

 

I’m writing to you regarding the penalty ticket I have been given in Herne Hill station .

 

I was really ill on the 28 th March and hardly hear the railway staff when he was talking to me , the platform was too noisy and the trains were arriving non stop , unfortunately I couldn’t find my weekly ticket in my bag at that moment and I have been given this penalty as a result.

 

 

I wish to settle this matter paying my penalty fee.

 

 

I know that I should always ensure I have my tickets with me since the incident I have ensured that I am fully aware that I require a ticket .

 

Please let me know the appropriate arrangements to fulfill the outstanding fare and admiration charges outstanding.

 

 

Signed

 

Not really going to work that one!

 

From a prosecutions point of view:

 

Never heard such a poor excuse! You couldn't hear the rail staff??! What difference does it make? What difference does being ill make? Do you have medical certificate or a doctors note? If you were travelling to work, you can't have been that unwell.

 

I suspect you will be paying a lot more than a Penalty Fare, probably £100+ or, alternatively, prosecution.

 

They will want to get to the bottom line of whether you actually purchased a ticket for that journey - as you presumably told them you had a weekly season ticket that you couldn't locate.

Did you actually buy a weekly ticket for that journey? It's not difficult for the Prosecutor to find out, by using a database called LENNON.

 

My impression of you is that you are not telling the whole truth about the situation, especially since you mentioned sending of other peoples tickets to try and wriggle out of it.

[pink1234]

All i need a decent letter , i was thinking that i would get help from you , i am happy to pay the fine , not trying to get out of it

 

would you be able to give me advice on what to state on the letter i would be sending them ?

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I agree with a lot of what firstclassx says. To have any hope of lessening the penalty, from what I've read on this forum in the past, you need to sound contrite and mean it. The TOC don't have to accept an out of court settlement, it's their choice. I think you need to sound more sincere, unless of course as firstclassx says, there is more to the story.

 

By the way, it's an administrative penalty, not admiration charge.

 

HB

[pink1234]

Thanks HB

 

After reading everything in the form , I have decided i will be sending them a letter stating that unfortunately I have lost the ticket and I will be discussing this matter further with them.

 

please let me know if you have any more suggestions on what I need to include in this letter

[firstclassx]

If it was me, I would be writing something like this:

 

Dear TOC,

 

On xxx date, an Inspector asked me to produce my ticket for the journey I had made. Unfortunately, on this occasion, I was unable to produce the ticket for inspection.

 

I can confirm, however, that a valid ticket was purchased for my journey from xxx booking office/self service machine on , at approximately using . I am confident that any internal records you keep of ticket purchases will support this assertion.

 

That said, I fully accept that I appear to have breached the Railway Byelaws and/or the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, and understand, fully, that it is my responsibility to ensure the safekeeping of my tickets. I can assure you that this incident has enabled me to fully appreciate the seriousness of failing to produce a valid ticket, and I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience I may have caused you.

 

I would respectfully ask that in light of the above, this matter may be concluded by covering any administrative costs you may have incurred from my actions.

 

Yours Faithfully,

 

Mr. Person

 

... don't actually use that exact letter though! Something along those lines.

 

Even if they won't settle the matter out of court etc, you can demonstrate to the court that you have made efforts to rectify the situation, prior to court action.

[Old-CodJA]

Thanks HB

I have lost the ticket and I will be discussing this matter further with them.

 

I think that I must add one important point that you need to keep in mind.

 

The tone of your letter really does need to be contrite. Telling the rail company that 'you will be discussing the matter further with them' might be counter productive.

 

As HB has made clear, the decision as to whether they settle without Court action is up to the rail company, and they will call the shots I'm afraid.

 

If you want to get this dealt with a.s.a.p and with a minimum of fuss, please remember it was your actions that got you into this and now you need to try to mitigate that action.

[pink1234]

thank you