Bought Wrong Train Ticket, Thameslink Notice of Intention to prosecute

[honeybee13]

You could start by taking out any repetitions. 

HB

[a.l.h]

Thanks HB, I will give it a go

In terms of the deadline to respond, am I right to assume it is 14 business days?

 

 

[Grotesque]

13 hours ago, fkofilee said:

Be careful with how you go back to them - I saw on Railforums that some GTR ticket investigations have been going back through a past history.

I certainly wouldn't be surprised, as with electronic ticketing it's so easy to follow. Like a digital thumbprint. If @a.l.h was using a paper ticket they should be OK though.

[a.l.h]

Hi Grotesque, I used a digital ticket

[fkofilee]

Did you sign into any website to buy it? 

GTR site which includes thameslink etc? 

Ticketline? 

[a.l.h]

Hi fkofilee it was on the "TRAIN" app

[a.l.h]

Hi 

 

I have made some changes and cut the letter down to 352 words, appreciate your honest feedback

Many thanks

-------

Dear Govia thameslink Team,

 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain my actions relating to the incident that took place on August 16.

I would like to sincerely apologise to Govia Thameslink and all members of staff for the time and administration costs my actions have caused.

On the day, I boarded the train under the belief I had the correct ticket for my Journey, but to my shock, I only realised I had the wrong ticket when the Inspector checked it. 

My actions are inexcusable and I am extremely regretful for my mistake. Reflecting back on my actions, I feel ashamed, extremely stressed, anxious, and unable to sleep at night.

I’m the sole breadwinner and recently lost my job, my kids and a disabled brother depend on me financially, therefore, if this matter were to escalate further to court, a criminal conviction will certainly compromise my search for employment, impact my future, will be devastating to my family, myself and will further complicate my mental health.

I have always been on the right side of the law and never had any kind of trouble, I guarantee that this will not happen again as I have learned a big lesson; since the event I make sure to check that my ticket cover the whole of my journey prior to boarding a train; I have also purchased a rail card which I plan to use every time I buy a train a ticket.

Whilst my words above do not serve as an excuse, I take full responsibility for my carelessness and fully understand now the impact Fair evasion has on Train companies and how unacceptable it is. 

Furthemore, I am keen to resolve this matter as quickly and smoothly as possible without the need for court action if possible, if you would allow me to pay the outstanding fare and any administrative costs incurred by Govia Thameslink in dealing with this matter.

Once again, I would like to express my holehearted apologies for the inconvenience caused to the staff and assure that it will not happen again.

 

Many thanks for your understanding

[jk2054]

I would say that’s a lot better

Only tweak I’d make is

 

1) change fully understand now to and now fully understand (where the fare evasion bit and hm it costs is - just flows better / easier to read that way imo) 

 

2) assure that to I assure you that (last para)

Also ite FARE evasion not fair evasion

other than that a LOT better than before

Edited October 20, 2023 by jk2054

[jk2054]

also just thinking maybe thank you for your understanding should be replaced with something like

 

”Yours Sincerely 

NAME”

since your asking them to mitigate thanks for your understanding seems more something I’d say after they accept OOC settlement

 

[honeybee13]

Well done for persevering, you're getting there. I think it was Grotesque who said to run the final version through spellcheck because you still have some misspellings.

See what Grotesque thinks about the length of the letter because I can see a few things that could be a word or two shorter.

HB

[Grotesque]

Agree with Honeybee and jk2054. A good rule of thumb regarding letters is to keep them to one side of paper where possible; then there's no chance of losing your audience. Re. details (and sorry HB, I know...), I suggest something like this. This omits a lot of things, as I said before, and will not, unfortunately, be as persuasive as it might think (for instance, they might think that the money they lost on their ticket would have been spent on headphones or plane tickets - even though you're unemployed. See what I mean?) Anyway.

Quote

Dear Govia Thameslink Team,

 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain my actions relating to the incident that took place on August 16. On the day, I boarded the train under the belief I had the correct ticket for my journey, but to my shock, I only realised I had the wrong ticket when the Inspector checked it. 

My actions were inexcusable, and I sincerely regret them. I feel ashamed at the trouble my carelessness has caused everyone.

I’m the sole breadwinner in my family and recently lost my job. I seriously fear a criminal conviction would compromise my search for employment and impact my future and that of those who rely on me.

I have always been on the right side of the law and never had any kind of trouble. I can guarantee that this will not happen again as I have learned a big lesson; since the event, I make sure to check that my ticket covers the whole of my journey prior to boarding a train. I have also purchased a rail card which I plan to use and carry with me every time I travel.

Whilst my words above do not serve as an excuse, I take full responsibility for my carelessness and now fully understand the impact fare evasion has on train companies and how unacceptable it is.

I am keen to resolve this matter as quickly and smoothly as possible, hopefully without the need for court action. I would very much like to pay the outstanding fare and I owe any administrative costs Govia Thameslink have incurred because of me.

Please allow me to express my wholehearted apologies and regret for putting you to this trouble, and please pass on my apologies to all staff involved.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

[a.l.h]

Many thanks all for the valuable advice 

[a.l.h]

Good morning

 

Can I please check, does the 14-day deadline to respond includes weekends? their letter was dated 11/10 so my deadline could either be 25/10 or 02/11

 

Thank you

[honeybee13]

See what Grotesque thinks, they seem to be hovering. The letter doesn't say working days so if you're ready with the letter, you might as well send it now.

HB

[fkofilee]

Assume 14 calendar days to be safe!

[a.l.h]

understood thank you

[Grotesque]

I am indeed hovering! @honeybee13 and her magic eyes! But always - per @fkofilee - assume working days (odd that the letter doesn't specify: if you think about it, it's generally ubiquitous with these sorts of letters, like parking offences? But I don't know about that). If you're going to assume anything, in fact, assume ASAP!

Remember, you're offering to make things cheaper for them by removing the need to prosecute, although don't actually say you're doing them a favour, of course.

Edited October 23, 2023 by Grotesque

[Kyosanto]

As a rule of thumb, calendar deadlines are more often than not set in multiples of 7

...and business day deadlines in multiples of 5 

 

Just need to set your deadlines to 6 days or 19 days to make folks extra confused  

[a.l.h]

Thank you all for your assistance with the matter, 

I have now sent the response and I shall provide an update once I receive any further communication from Thameslink.

 

[dx100uk]

any news?