Absolutely. She suggested I pay costs totaling £360, which is certainly digestible. Was definitely up to the wire though! I think the biggest hurdle I had to overcome mentally, was accepting that what I had done, for what ever reason, was wrong, and plead guilty. When I first posted on this forum, I honestly had a point to prove and thought I would succeed with a Not-Guilty plea. The best advice I can give anyone, is to accept that what you did contravened the conditions of carriage, take it on the chin, and present yourself well. The Prosecutor turned out to be of the Human variety, and when presented with documentary evidence for all the points I raised, came to a common sense conclusion. If you're intent on cheating the system, the system will come down on you. But people are falliable, and do make mistakes, and I'm glad to see that common sense, at the end of the day, often - but not always - shines through.

Ok, so, I'm now done! I managed to get to speak with the Prosecutor before the session started, and put my case to her. I was humble, yet contrite, and presented documentary evidence to show, that I was a man of good character, had a back to back history of season tickets upto the date of the offence, and my plee of mitigation was genuine. She accepted my remorse and agreed to settle out of court. I am very glad to now have this behind me, and can't thank everyone on this forum enough for their input. Thanks everyone!

Yes I did, I posted the same query at the same time as starting this thread, but hadn't seen any of the replies until now. One final question if I may. How much cash would you suggest I need to bring along on Thursday? Once again Old-CodJA and Honeybee13, I do honestly appreciate the time you've given me on this.

I'm starting to understand that I need to get this settled before Thursday, as what I'd considered to be a solid case, seems to crumbling around me! I'll just answer/respond to a few of your points if I may: The gate was indeed open. I hadn't mentioned what time it was, but the statement of facts says 9:30, which in my experience is marginally after the busy city peak period. As I walked to the gates, the gate was open. You say the wording is very precise, in that "having not previously paid his fare", and I'd agree, the wording is very precise, "having not previously paid his fare, and with the intention to avoid payment thereof". Yes, Farnham opens early and the ticketing facilities are sufficient. Yet, do I have a responsibility to purchase a ticket before boarding a train, where a ticket may happily be bought from an on-board conductor? As such, I was not able to buy a ticket, as the conductor did not make his pass. For what it's worth, there have been occasions since that day when exactly the same scenario has unfolded, yet when reaching the gates, I've approached a member of SWT staff, and the always just let me through the gates and I go and update my ticket. I can categorically say, that at all times, I conducted myself in a calm and civilised manner. Do you think I'm wasting my time OC, in defending my pride and trying to stand up to them???? If I plead guilty and be done with it, am I certain of a criminal conviction?

Well, correct me if I'm far off the mark, but a) I want to avoid a Criminal Conviction, and b) The first charge that has been brought against me, is untrue. It states that, I Did travel, or attempt to travel, upon a railway without having previously paid the fare and with the intention to avoid payment thereof This I completely refute. I'm guilty of being absent minded, naive, in a rush, and having other things on my mind, as we all are in our daily lives, but I am categorically not guilt of having had the intention to avoid paying my fare. Does this count for nothing? I can show back-to-back season ticket purchases. I fully co-operated with their overly aggressive staff. But I did not intend to defraud SWT.

Thanks OC for your input. May I ask, you say "you will need to be able to pay in full there and then" if a settlement is accepted. What do this entail exactly? Would plastic suffice? Would I likely lose the settlement option if I couldn't present the full amount, in cash, there and then. And by that I mean, popping down the road to a cash point not being allowed? Also, what evidence need I take to the preliminary court appearance? As I understand, should I plead Not Guilty, then a date will be fixed, for the trial, where I will need all the evidance I can muster. Might it be useful to take what I can, in order to satisfy the prosecutor at court as to my being a good candidate for settling out of court?

Thanks guys, I truly appreciate your time on this.

Thanks honeybee13. Appreciated. I don't mean to deflect the blame from me to SWT at all. My anger here, is the system, and the predicament I've got myself into.

But honestly people, the SWT guys admitted that they thought this a good case for prosecution, as couldn't find any season ticket evidence for me, coupled with the statement by the ticket inspector, who suggested I barged behind a fee paying customer. And yes, from that perspective it looks like I'm a fare evader. But surely presenting them with the facts, should get them to reconsider the prosecution? Is continuing to phone SWT Prosecution department pleaing for settliing out of court worth doing? And is it too late to get an out of court settlement, actually on the morning of the initial visit to court?

Thanks for your reply. I was stupid going through the gate, i'll admit, but the honest truth, is that I didn't ever intend to defraud, and they were never out of pocket at all. I intended to renew my ticket at the earliest I could, and did. From a legal stand point, surely the title of the charge cannot be proven. Or conversely, surely in a sane world, looking at my bank statements to see back-to-back season tickets purchases, should suffice to prove I'm not an habitual fare evader, that should be marked for life with a criminal conviction?

Hi All, In late November last year, I was stopped at London Waterloo, having walked through open turnstyles without a ticket. On 5th January this year I received a letter from SWT Prosecutions Department asking me to submit any mitigating factors to them within 14 days, which I did. Then a couple of weeks ago, a summons arrived, with 2 charges: 1) Did travel, or attempt to travel, upon a railway without having previously paid the fare and with the intention to avoid payment thereof, 2) Did contravene Byelaw No.9(2), in that you did without permission from an authorised person, enter or leave railway premises without passing through the manned or automatic barrier, in the correct manner. Background. In August 2014 my family moved to Farnham, Surrey, having lived in London for 15 years. From then on I began commuting into London Waterloo from Farnham, buying a weekly season ticket each week. On the day in question, I'd got on the train before realising mine had expired. Usually a ticket inspector checks everyone's tickets and offers new ones to people wanting to purchase one. The train was unusually busy, and I did not see him before arriving at London Waterloo. On approaching the ticket barriers, one was open, so I stroud through. At that point I was detained by a very hostile ticket inspector, who alledged I'd barged through behind a fee paying passenger, and the rest is history. My gut feeling for a defence here, is that the title of the first charge, simply isn't true. I never had the 'the intention to avoid payment thereof', and renewed my season ticket later that day in order to commence the return leg of my journey. I spoke to the Prosecutions department recently, who said settling out of court was unfeasible. They also said that they'd looked into whether I was a season ticket holder, but nothing turned up - as I only buy weekly tickets, as can't afford the lengthier ones - and coupled with the fact that I had barged behind a passenger, a prosecution was appropriate. The honest fact of the matter is that the gate was open, and I barged behind no-one. I simply - and niaively - said to myself, I'll renew my ticket later, which I did. I can deal with the Byelaw infringement, but have relatives in Australia and the US, and am likely in the future to need CRB checks, so am keen to avoid a conviction. I've left this rather late, as have to be in Court at 10am on thursday, so am desparate for any advice anyone can offer. Jamie