Tfl fare evasion - outcome

I have been asked by a few people about my experience with fare evasion so I’ll give a a brief overview. I was caught by chiltern an evading a fare and was given an intended prosecution letter, the same happened to my friend recently. I will say I was highly anxious about this, but my advice would be not to worry… as long as you respond to the letter and show you are highly apologetic asking to settle outside of court you’ll be fine! I mentioned how a criminal charge would look very bad for future job prospects. I received an offer of £300 which I had to pay, my friend received an offer of £70. Once you pay that it’ll all go away. I received no criminal charge thank god.

Hi I have a similar situation where i was caught using my dads freedom pass and have received a second letter saying ive been charged and should enter my plea. If i was to answer guilty is there still a possibility that it doesnt lead to a criminal record

Hi I have a similar situation where i was caught using my dads freedom pass and have received a second letter saying ive been charged and should enter my plea. If i was to answer guilty is there still a possibility that it doesnt lead to a criminal record

Hi there,

It sounds like you have recieved an SJPN (Single Justice Prosecution Notice).

If you have committed the offence (and it sounds like you have on this occasion) then I would advise pleading guilty, as well as offering any mitigating circumstances you can (such as financial struggles, personal circumstances etc) as this can lessen the penalty imposed by up to 33%.

It may also be worth contacting the train company again. If you choose to do this, you should:

Offer a sincere apology for your actions and recognise that you were in the wrong.

Offer to pay the unpaid fare, as well as TfL’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter.

Keep it concise and don’t give a sob story (they’ve heard it all before) - they just want to see genuine remorse and an offer to resolve the matter amicably.

If you do this, there is a chance they could still accept a settlement without the matter going through court.

Hello,
I was caught using my brothers oyster and received a letter saying i need to go magistrates court. They stated that it’s been used 50 times by me but after looking at the zip card records i’ve only realistically used it 13 times. What do i do i’m really stressed and this whole thing has affected my mental health a lot.

Hi there!

Can you confirm you have received a SJPN (Single Justice Procedural Notice)? This seems most likely given what you’ve said but it always helps to know what we’re dealing with!

Also, is it possible that someone else has been using the card but they’ve mistaken all instances as you using it?

Realistically, what you can do is write to TfL and ask (or ask again, if you already have) for the opportunity to settle the matter outside of the courts. In your letter, I would advise you include the following:

- State you are sorry for what happened.
- State what you have learned from the incident.
- Assure them it will never happen again.
- Offer to pay the unpaid fares and their administrative costs in dealing with the matter.

Unfortunately, TfL rarely ever offer settlements and almost always prosecute under their byelaws for incidents like this.

What I would say, is try not to worry about the conviction. It will be “spent” immediately and won’t show up on the police national computer or a standard DBS check, so it’s extremely unlikely to affect employment prospects.

Finally, I advise you to create a thread here (this forum is home to many experts who have decades of experience and very thorough knowledge on this):

https://www.railforums.co.uk/forums/disputes-prosecutions.152/

Hi there,

It sounds like you have recieved an SJPN (Single Justice Prosecution Notice).

If you have committed the offence (and it sounds like you have on this occasion) then I would advise pleading guilty, as well as offering any mitigating circumstances you can (such as financial struggles, personal circumstances etc) as this can lessen the penalty imposed by up to 33%.

It may also be worth contacting the train company again. If you choose to do this, you should:

Offer a sincere apology for your actions and recognise that you were in the wrong.

Offer to pay the unpaid fare, as well as TfL’s administrative costs in dealing with the matter.

Keep it concise and don’t give a sob story (they’ve heard it all before) - they just want to see genuine remorse and an offer to resolve the matter amicably.

If you do this, there is a chance they could still accept a settlement without the matter going through court.

Hi, I received a letter asking me to plead guilty or not and I pled guilty. They said they’ll get back to me and they then sent me another letter asking me to go court. Do you know what will happen when I do go and plead guilty. What’s the procedure like? And is there a way to get out of going to court and just paying the fine?

hello did you get any other letter? Any update about your case . I am also in same situation as your.

No I just have to send the forms back and go court. I don’t know what else I can do.

I have been asked by a few people about my experience with fare evasion so I’ll give a a brief overview. I was caught by chiltern an evading a fare and was given an intended prosecution letter, the same happened to my friend recently. I will say I was highly anxious about this, but my advice would be not to worry… as long as you respond to the letter and show you are highly apologetic asking to settle outside of court you’ll be fine! I mentioned how a criminal charge would look very bad for future job prospects. I received an offer of £300 which I had to pay, my friend received an offer of £70. Once you pay that it’ll all go away. I received no criminal charge thank god.

Me too bro. I received a letter to summons to court.

is your court date anytime soon mines next month and I’m so nervous. I’m hoping when I go they’re just going to fine me and that’s it.

is your court date anytime soon mines next month and I’m so nervous. I’m hoping when I go they’re just going to fine me and that’s it.

Can you please let us know what happened with tje court?

The original fine was like 200 and something pound. They added on so many other costs and a contribution to tfl. I had to pay a fine of nearly £700. I very much doubt they’d let anyone off or reduce the fine as there was A LOT of people in the court for tfl cases like mine. They’re taking it really serious now.

But they don’t write it in criminal record yeyv