Thank you Stigy i will put my NI number down to show i really don't have anything to hide, i just really hope this doesnt go to court. Does anyone know what happens if they reject my offer to settle out of court? i will soon be umemployed and i am very scared of what this will mean with regards to my record and any hope of future jobs and also financially.

hi ive just received a letter from the rail company giving me an opportunity to explain myself and also my personal information such as NI number should i give this ? please advise me as to the steps i should take because im really worried about having to go court and face criminal charges.

I had honestly forgotten to tap in I actually assumed I had , I've done this on a previous occasion where I forgot to tap in but had tapped out and went home only to realise the next day that I was on a minus balance. I only used that excuse when the inspector was cautioning me and I got scared thinking they wouldn't believe me. Because rightly so why should they? I have a really poor memory, but why would they believe me. I really worried about the fines because I don't see a way out of not going court. I really don't want a criminal record ,.. And answer to a previous question yes this is a first time offence I have no criminal records and have never been in trouble for anything. :'(

but if they look at the history of my oyster usage they will see that i regularly tap into go to my destination but not on the journey back because i usually always have a ride back home with work colleague... but they wouldn't believe this would they , they would just use this to their advantage. I will wait for the letter and then reply to it and see if they would drop the court proceedings. Also im applying for this job where they do CRB checks would this come up on their checks ?

Ok yesterday i was on a national express train i had forgotten to tap in it had really just slipped my mind i knew that i had money in my oyster ...basically when i got off the train i was met by a large number of police officers and inspectors. obviously i had assumed that i had tapped in so i tapped out and let the guy read my oyster i was about to leave when i was pulled back because this other inspector said that my oyster said 'enter' when i had touched the oyster reader. i was of course dumbfounded i kept thinking that i had tapped in so i was trying to explain to the guy that i had no intention of not paying that i must have forgotten to tap in as i clearly just tapped out ...he says im on a minus now for a whole journey , so i again asked if i couldn't just go seen as i have then paid for my journey, i was soo scared and intimidated by the burly officers and mean looking inspectors lool. then the ticket inspecter goes im going to read you your rights at that instant i was just dumbfounded i clearly had made a mistake and even he said to me after that he can see that im a honest person but that because his boss was there he had to do it. im soo scared of getting a court summons ive only just left university and do not want a criminal record nor do i have the money to pay off heavy fines. please advise me on what i can do???? p.s i dont know if this would help me but my oyster is sometimes a bit faulty - i have proof of email when tfl have refunded me money due to their operational issues could i use this as an excuse beacuse they clearly are not sympathetic to the 'i honestly must have forgotten to tap in' reason.

Hi im new to this forum and dont really know how to post ...and i replying to this thread hoping to get a reply. This is my situation, today i came off the station and was greeted by loads of police officers and ticket inspectors .. i knew that i had money on my oyster so i tapped out .. but i got stopped by the inspecters beacuse the machine said 'enter' ...having explained to the guy that i thought i had tapped in and coulnt i go beause obviously i now will be paying a full days ticket. the guy refused to let me go so i stayed gave my real name addres etc , then the guy cautioned me ... i asked if i could just pay a penalty fine he said no that i would be given a letter to be summoned to court. i tried to tell the guy that once i had operational issues and that i was refunded money back into my oyster so it could be a problem with that - ( i tried to use an excuse that i did tap in it must have not worked) . Ok so basically i am now panicking i don't want a court notice i don't want a criminal record ... please advise me on what to do, im giving myself panic attacks just thinking about it.