Fare evasion - used my brothers under 16 oyster card **RESOLVED - Just Got a Warning**

[biochem]

Let me start by saying I messed up and i know that i'm completely dishonest and in the wrong…is there any getting out of this??

 

i went into the station the other day using my brothers under 16 oyster card as i was really struggling financially and wasn’t getting paid till the following day.

I am a student and had to travel that day as I had an exam and I had missed previous days of college because I didn’t have the money to top up my own 18+ student oyster card.

 

After i tapped in, i was walking towards the platform until i was stopped by an inspector.

He suspected that i had a child oyster which he must of heard when i tapped in as it makes a different sound and i clearly didn't notice him standing there.

 

I panicked and showed him my own oyster student oyster card which obviously wasn't valid claiming that was the one I used.

I denied having the child oyster card as I panicked and thought my brother would also get into trouble.

 

He then called the community police officers who were at the other entrance to the station to search me which they did and nothing was found.

The inspector then took my details, cautioned me and asked me a few questions.

 

I am over 18 and this is my first offence and i have no previous convictions as i have always been on the good side of the law until this silly mistake.

This was the first time using my brothers oyster card.

 

I know that I should have been truthful and regret it but I just panicked and didn’t want my brother to also get into trouble for my mistake.

I did not realise that you could be prosecuted and given a criminal record for this which would just be disastrous for my future career hopes as I am a student with hopes of getting into dental school.

 

know that I don’t deserve any help on here but I was just in a desperate situation financially which is why I did this to begin with.

I have received a letter asking for my version of events.

What shall I do from here and is there any chance to avoid court and conviction??

Edited May 8, 2018 by dx100uk
spacing

[biochem]

So this is what the letter says

 

On (date) you were reported to tfl for failing to produce a valid ticket, pass or photocards for your journey.

The facts of this incident are being considered and i must advise you that legal proceedings may he taken against you in accordance with tfl prosection policy

 

In order for tfl to deal with your case correctly, please return the information requested on the reverse of this letter by email or post within 10 days

 

You do not have to reply to this letter but it may harm your defence if you do not mention something now which you may later rely on in court...ect

 

Failure to respond to this letter may result in matters being progressed without further notification

 

Then on the back it says

1. If you deny committing an offence, please explain why. Please note Tfl fare evasion offences are ones of strict liability. This means that a mistake or accident is not a defence. The fact you were on a Service without a valid ticket or pass is normally sufficient for a conviction

 

2. If you accept committing an offence, please provide any exceptional reasons, including evidence as to why TFL should not proceed with prosecution

 

I would prefer anything to a criminal conviction so i would just have to somehow get the money together by starting now i suppose...thats if i have a chance of a out of court settlement

 

I do not know where to start regarding a letter of apology as its quite a complicated case...can you guys help me with that??

[biochem]

Do u think i have any chance?

 

Also is it worth calling before writing and shall i write a seperate letter to them rather than writing on the one they have sent me asking for my version of events??

[biochem]

Well the fact that i denied having a child oyster and the community police were called to search me and nothing was found...

[biochem]

So are you saying that i should not mention using the child oyster and just be more vague about it??..

 

Shall i write a seperate letter to them or on the one the one they have already sent me asking for my version of events?

[biochem]

The inspector suspected that I had a child oyster which was not found but he did include it in his notes which I read.

 

Shall I explain everything as I have done in my original post on this forum or shall I just apologise for not having a valid ticket, I'm confused...

 

I didn't sign his notes either if that makes any difference...

[biochem]

The reason i was confused was because you said earlier dont mention anything they dont need to know so i wasnt sure what to include and what not to include in my letter of apology...i will get to work on a draft letter and post it up on here so you can hopefully help me with it.

 

@Bazza

 

Sorry if ive come across this way, this whole situation has just been really stressful for me and its all happened at the wrong time as i have exams to revise for also but its my mistake and ive brought in on myself. I have a bad habit of over thinking and focusing on every little detail which is why i keep asking questions...i will write up a draft letter and i hope you will still be willing to help

[biochem]

Thankyou

 

This is my first draft letter

 

Dear sir/madam

 

I wish to offer my sincere and unreserved apology for travelling without a valid train ticket on...I apologise profusely for my actions and feel shameful for my moment of very poor judgement. As a hopeful young student with dreams of getting into dental school, a criminal record would be devastating and would end any hopes of this becoming a reality.

 

I had been struggling financially this past month which is what led me to make this grave mistake which i wholeheartedly regret and wish i could take back if i had the chance. This is my first offence and i have never previously been on the wrong side of the law.

 

I was due to be paid from my part time job the following day after this incident occured. I had no choice but to travel that day as i had an exam to sit which is why i used my brother oyster card. I had previously missed several days of college simply because i did not have enough money to cover the fare. I panicked when i was confronted by the ticket inspector which is why i was not honest at the time which i deeply regret and i know that this only made matters worse. I was fearful that my brother would also get into trouble for what was my mistake. I made a very bad choice which has haunted me since. Desperation can sometimes lead you to make decisions which are completely out of character and ultimately wrong. I usually always purchase a valid ticket when travelling and i have never done anything like this before. I am so so sorry for my actions and for the inconvenience caused to all those involved. I was in a difficult situation financially but i did wrong which i hold my hands up to and wholeheartedly regret. I have certainly learnt from this experience and would never ever think of doing anything like this again.

 

I wish to offer any monetary sums equivalent to any related fines and admistrative fees you have incurred to avoid going to court as a potential criminal record would destroy my future career and employment hopes.

 

Once again i sincerely apologise for my actions for which i am deeply ashamed.

 

Yours sincerely....

[biochem]

Dear sir/madam

 

I wish to offer my sincere and unreserved apology for travelling without a valid train ticket on..i have had financial difficulties of late due to unexpected payments that were due. I was due to be paid from my part time job the following day after this incident occured but i had to travel that day as i had an exam to sit which is why i made the the terrible mistake to use my brothers under 16 oyster card. I had previously missed many days of college simply because i did not have enough money to cover the fare. I panicked when i was confronted by the ticket inspector which is why i was not honest at the time which i deeply regret and i know that this only made matters worse. I was fearful that my brother would get into trouble for what was my mistake. I have been using my own oyster card since being paid and i will never use his or anyones oyster card other than my own again.

 

I made a very bad choice which has haunted me since. Desperation can sometimes lead you to make decisions which are completely out of character and ultimately wrong. I usually always purchase a valid ticket when travelling and i have never done anything like this before. I am so so sorry for my actions and for the inconvenience caused to all those involved. I was in a difficult situation financially but i did wrong which i hold my hands up to and wholeheartedly regret. I have certainly learnt from this experience and would never ever think of doing anything like this again.

 

I apologise profusely for my actions and feel shameful for my moment of very poor judgement. As a hopeful young student with dreams of getting into dental school, a criminal record would be devastating and would end any hopes of this becoming a reality. This is my first offence and i have never previously been on the wrong side of the law.

 

I wish to offer any monetary sums equivalent to any related fines and admistrative fees you have incurred to avoid going to court as a potential criminal record would destroy my future career and employment hopes.

 

Once again i sincerely apologise for my actions for which i am deeply ashamed and i look forward to hearing from you

 

Yours sincerely....

 

Is this any better?

 

Other people ive spoken to seem to say i am incriminating myself by saying that i was infact using a child oyster but the inspector knew i was using one eventhough it wasn’t found and i just want to be honest ablut what happened.

 

What do you think and is there anything you would include or not include?

[biochem]

Bills that i didnt know were due this month

[biochem]

thank-you i will change it

 

What do u think of my chances if an out of court settlement?

[biochem]

This was what i was confused about earlier which is why it took me a while to get started on an apology letter

 

How else do i explain everything then?..

.The ticket inspector suspected that i had a child oyster as he heard it when i tapped in as it makes a different sound.

He included it in his notes and also wouldnt it be easy to gain proof by using cctv.

 

I don't wanna be more dishonest then i already have been which may just give them more reason to prosecute.

Others have suggested to be more vague about it but how do i explain tapping in and getting past the barriers then as well as the inspectors suspicion..

.what would you do and how would you explain everything then?

[biochem]

Thanks for the help and support, i really appreciate it

[biochem]

Ok thanks for the advice, i will update the letter and post it up before sending off today...also do i just send a covering letter with the letter they sent me asking for my version of events or shall i send a seperate letter entirely

[biochem]

Dear sir/madam

I wish to offer my sincere and unreserved apology for travelling without a valid train ticket on... I did not have a valid ticket due to recent financial difficulties and I was due to be paid from my part time job the following day after this incident occurred. I had to travel that day as I had an exam to sit which is why I made the mistake of not purchasing a valid ticket for my journey. I had previously missed many days of college simply because I did not have enough money to cover the fare.

 

I made a very bad choice which has haunted me since. Desperation can sometimes lead you to make decisions which are completely out of character and ultimately wrong. I usually always purchase a valid ticket when travelling and I have never done anything like this before. I was in a difficult situation financially but I did wrong which I hold my hands up to and I wholeheartedly regret. I have certainly learnt from this experience and would never think of doing anything like this again.

 

As a hopeful young student with dreams of getting into dental school, a criminal record would be devastating and would end any hopes of this becoming a reality. I hope that you will take into consideration that this is my first offence and I have never previously been on the wrong side of the law.

 

I wish to offer any monetary sums equivalent to any related fines and administrative fees you have incurred to avoid going to court as a potential criminal record would have a disproportionate effect on future career and employment hopes.

I sincerely apologize for my actions and for the inconvenience caused to all those involved.

 

Yours sincerely....

 

Is this any better?

[biochem]

Thankyou honeybee

 

The letter has been posted. Im not confident about my chances but i can only hope for the best i suppose. I certainly have learnt my lesson thats for sure! I will keep you updated as to what happens next. Thankyou all for your help and input thus far

[biochem]

Hi guys, Just a quick update...i received a letter today saying the following:

 

Thankyou for responding to out enquiry letter. Your comments will be taken into consideration when reviewing this case and we will contact you once we have reached a decision

 

I note that you presented three different oystercards for inspection, none of them contained sufficient funds for a journey and therefore were not valid

 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if i can assist you further

 

Yours sincerly...

 

I dont think i mentioned in my original post that i presented three different oystercards - my regular student oyster card and two normal blue oyster cards which i always keep in my wallet just incase i lose one. What are your thoughts and what shall i do from here?i

[biochem]

I didnt have the money to top up so i used my brothers oyster card.

What do you think i should do from here?..

.shall i call the prosecutor dealing with my case and ask to settle or not?

[biochem]

Ok will do, thankyou

[biochem]

Hi guys

 

Just a quick update. As expected, i got the letter today informing me that tfl do intend to prosecute and i can either plead guilty and not come to court , plead not guilty and come to court or plead not guilty and attend a trial. They have charged me with the following:

 

On (date), you did enter a compulsory ticket area without having with you a valid ticket. Contrary to byelaw 17 (1) of the Transport for London Railway Byelaws Made under Paragraph 26 of schedule 11 to the greater london authority act 1999 and confirmed under section 67 of the transport Act 1962.

 

I just wanted to know if there was anything i could do from here. Also how would this conviction affect me in the future with regards to employment and travel. I am applying to university later this year with the hope of studying dentistry and univeristies carry out an enhanced dbs criminal record check so will this show up.

[biochem]

hows this going?

 

Hi guys

 

I wanted to update you all as to what happened with my case.

 

After receiving the letter asking me to either plead guilty or not guilty, i decided i had to seek the help of a solicitor. They wrote to TFL on my behalf emphasising how a criminal record would have an adverse effect on my future career and employment hopes as i am a young person applying to university later this year. Thankfully, TFL withdrew the case and just issued me with a warning...no criminal record or fine.

 

I certainly have learnt a valuble lesson from this and i am grateful for the help and advice i received on this forum.

 

Thank-you all