thats very kind of you. much appreciated thanks again postggj.

thanks for your swift reply postggj! yes we both had valid and registered oyster cards at that time. i forgot to mention that my girlfriend's card was a student oystrcard. which i only noticed when the inspector asked me to see the inside of the oyster wallet. ishould have checked the wallet if it was mine before rushing off to work. anyway what's done is done.. i will keep quiet for now and wait for any letters. btw do you know anything about the 6 months limited period for court proceedings mentioned in my first message? thank you again

Dear CAG members hope all is well. I will try explain my situation briefly. On the 28th may this year,i got caught using my girlfriend's oyster card by a tfl inspector. I have mistakenly picked up the wrong oyster card on that day in a rush to go to work. (my girlfriend and I have both the same oyster card wallets). I have explained to the inspector it was a genuine mistake, i should have checked before hand and it was a first time offence. He carried on with the process of taking my details etc. In the first week of September, I received tfl's letter saying they are considering taking legal actions for my fare evasion case and if i want to add anything in my defence... So i sent them a groveling apology letter with evidence of good and regular use of my own registered oyster card (obtained from tfl's records upto 8 weeks) among other documents that would help my case etc.. Its been 6 months since the date of the incident, and nearly two months since i sent my apology letter. I haven't heard from TFL or the courts since then. is there still a chance of tfl prosecuting me? or even recieving a letter from the courts (court summons)? have read that after 6 months from the date of the incident if i dont recieve a court summons, I can assume that the time limit for bringing forth proceedings has elapsed. Is this true? Your help will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Ceylon

many thanks for your advice SRPO. ill let you know how i get on.

thank you SRPO. ill start doing that straight away:). i have found in this forum the contact details of Tim Caig who is the prosecution support manager. according to the thread he is very helpful. I'm thinking of contacting him directly through email first then phone call etc. i might be an unknown case at the moment (no ref number etc.) since it takes time to put together cases .. he would be dealing with 100s of cases at the mo. would you advise me to wait till i recieve the first letter or shall i just start contacting him straight away just giving my name and explaining my situation? he might also wonder where i got his details from.. thanks

thanks dx i will start writting a letter now. the only thing is i dont have their addresses or contact details so shall i wait for the letter first? in th mean time shall i gather some evidences e.g. bank statements showing weekly payments for my oystercard, journey statement from tfl (which im still wating for, the operator said it would take upto 72 hrs to recieve it), proof that im a teacher etc. what do you think?

if i have proof to show that i had an registed oyster card topped up at that time altough it wasnt on me and that i made regular journeys weekly using my own card, would that help at all?

im pretty sure ill get first a letter to confirm that it was me who commited the offence, then a letter from prosecution asking for my plea, for which i will say i am guilty, but i dont want to attend court and would like to settle this by paying a fine. the lenghty wait for court hearings would increase the stress and thats the last thing you want when you are a teacher.

thank you dx100uk (sorry if this message appears many times)

my girlfriend's name was on her oyster card as well as her picture since it was a students oystercard

dx100uk

hi conniff well he opened the oyster card wallet and he saw my gfs student oyster in there. i told him we have the same oyster wallet. obviously he didnt believe me. i ve only used it because i was late to work. that was my big mistake:(

I am someone who is totally new to forums and i'm here because i am seeking help. I am sorry in advance for taking your time but i am in desperate need of help. here's what happened to me.. . on friday 28th i have mistakenly picked up my girlfriend's student oyester card. i was running late for work. i only realised this when i gt to southfields station that i had her oyester. i decided that it was going to be a 'one-off' and since i was late for work i decided to use it. this was my bigest mistake!! what happened next is only predictable. i was stopped by a tfl inspector on my way back from work at west ham station. i explained to him that i took it by mistake.we both have the same oyster wallet. the inspector carried on wrtting and didn't let me explain myself further. he never asked me to sign anything just took my name and address (i gave my mum's address and told him that im looking to move out so it's better for correspondence) and gave me a number to report my gfs card lost. i did ask him about criminal record etc to which he said i wont get one (this was confusing??) but after reading tfl info i realised it is a criminal offence. my own registered oyester card was mistakenly left at home. i top up regularly as a 7 day travelcard to travel from zone 1 - 3. the worst thing is i had my card topped up ready to go even on that day. i can show proof that it was topped up regularly through bank statements (even had credit on 28th friday) and i have requested mine and my girlfrend'stravel history (statements) from tfl during the past 8 weeks. this can prove that we have made different journeys over the past 8 weeks or if they can check this over the past months. i am very scared about the criminal record because i work as a teacher and having a criminal conviction would jeoprdize my career. now i do know that i decided to carry on using even after i realised it was my gfs and i have no excuses for this. i was totally wrong to do so. it was a very stupid mistake. i have never commited any offences before and it is my first time. i am awaiting a letter from the prossecution dept. i totally admit it is my own fault and i am willing to pay any costs, fine for my offence, to settle outside court as long as i dont get a criminal record is there anyway of settling outside the courts? how do i go about doing it? your help will be greatly appreciated. many many thanks.