Hello, all Today I received an intention to prosecute from Thamleslink railway in relation to an incident some weeks ago. To provide some background, I was having a pretty forgetful few days... I left my coat & gloves on the train, forget my suit when attending a wedding and in relation to this post, I forget to get a train ticket. For context, I was extremely sleep deprived as I recently became a father for the first time and was under a ton of pressure. At around 6am, I arrived at my train station late for my train which I was under pressure to make as I had a job interview (the company I work for has been recently bought so I don't have job security & I have bought a new house). I use carnet tickets where I fill in the ticket with the appropriate date. I had forgotten to pick up a new blank ticket that morning and proceeded to use an old ticket unintentionally to enter the barriers and board the train (I didnt check). I suddenly realised the mistake I had made and in my panic, I changed the date of the old ticket to the day of travel. I appreciate this is an error of judgement but in my haze of sleep deprivation and panic, I made a bad choice. A revenue inspector asked me to produce my ticket, which I did and he accused me of changing the dates. I attempted to explain myself and convince him it wasn't premeditated but he informed me of rights and took my details. I admitted my mistake to the officer and admitted to changing the dates. This is my first caution and I am now obviously worried about the outcome (fine, criminal record, prison sentence etc). I am obviously happy to pay a fine as I did a bad thing but I dont want to lose my job over this. I have tickets to prove I had a blank ticket at home and have never done this before. My offences are listed as; - Altering a ticket with intent - entering a train for the purpose of travelling without a ticket Any advice on how I should respond to the prosecution letter and guidance on what penalty they could impose would be appreciated. Thank you so much.

From May 20th 2018 - TL and GN started running a new timetable which was much publicised. However for 2 months they had severe operating issues which fell below the usual standards of service that is expected. A statement can be found below; Millions of people will have been affected by this - Whether you are a tourist or a regular season ticket holder then you will have had to endure persistent overcrowding due to cancelled trains / revised trains, lack of rolling stock / trained drivers, etc. Thameslink and Great Northern are offering up at a maximum of 1 months season ticket financial compensation for the poor service. More info can be found below; If you have been affected the the scheme will run in 3 phases... This is correct as of the 24th September 2018. A further scheme for Northern will open soon and people should keep an eye out for that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Would appreciate to hear anybody else's experiences.

And Hello everyone, I have just registered on the Forum and this is my first post! I was hoping to pick your brains a little regarding a similar issue I have found myself in. I have travelled from St Pancras to St Albans on the Saturday just gone. My partner and I have stupidly used my bank card - thinking that St Albans was still covered by the London zone! It's a complete mistake on our part which I have admitted to the staff at St Albans station, and apologised. I have asked if it's an option for us to purchase a ticket now (hoping they would exercise the discretion) which they have not. In fact, the first officer said that I ought to pay the penalty of £25 which I thought was too much (given the standard penalty is £20). I have simply asked him to explain to me why it is more than £25 pounds. At the same time my partner was speaking to the second officer who said to him that he can pay the amount £11.80 now, and the rest he can appeal later. When I heard this, I asked "my" officer if I could pay the same to which he said no. I asked why that was the case but he just said that was up to him - essentially charging me more than my partner, and for the same offence. I though it was not fair, and refused to pay the £25. He automatically started filling in the MR 11 notice (the "witness statement"). I had no idea what that was, and asked if he could explain which he just said - this is a legal document. I asked if he could please confirm that he is indeed entitled to serve this to me - I asked for his employee reference number and to show me a badge with his picture on. He told me his employee number, and refused to show any documentation to support it and said that I would just have to believe him. At this point I said I would rather pay the £25 penalty fare (I did not understand the MR11 but it sounded scary), but "my" office said that it was too late. I suspect I will be receiving the notice to prosecute very soon. My question is whether I should wait for it to arrive, or should I contact the Prosecutions department now, before the notice arrives. I never not wanted to pay the penalty fare, I just wanted to be treated in the same way my partner was - i.e. pay £11.80 penalty fare rather than £25. I still want to pay for the journey I made/penalty fare, but I can't do that via Thameslink Customer Department (because Penalty Fares Department is independent to GTR). I would be grateful for your thoughts, Many thanks in Advance Majka13

Hello there I need your kind advise on the issue stated below: Passenger Notice Issued on 24 November 2014 (Thameslink) I am a regular traveller to Luton on Thameslink for academic purpose. Usually I purchase ticket online from National Rail website to avoid rushing at the station. I did the same on 23 Nov 2014, purchased an off peak day return ticket online from Elephant & Castle to Luton with ticket collection from Balham station. The next day I had to leave early at 6am due to some urgent event at my university and I was aware that I might need to change my ticket at counter to pay extra for peak hour. During the collection of tickets at Balham station, I was wearing gloves due to freezing weather and by sheer mistake I left the outbound ticket in the machine's ticket holder, took only 2 tickets instead of 3: i) the 2-part return journey ticket (Luton-Ele&Cas) and ii) the reservation confirmation ticket. Boarded Northern line from Balham to reach E&C just to realise the ticket office at E&C was not yet opened for me to change the ticket. And there were no ticket barrier for validation for me to check if I had the correct ticket. Assuming I had all the tickets I boarded the Luton bound train. Half way through a ticket checker caught me for not having outbound ticket. He was more than sure that I had no ticket at all. I showed him my return ticket, the email confirmation of ticket purchase, pleaded for the mistakes I have made for not collecting all the tickets. I even offered if we could disembark at St. Alban's station and go to ticket counter to check the system if indeed I had the ticket. I also told him if he was willing to charge me for peak hour fare which is extra £9+. He refused on the ground that I did not have any ticket at all and demanded £30+. Assumed that I had no other way but to accept passenger notice (which mentioned I should return my season ticket or proof of ticket to prosecution department within 14 days), I asked him what I should do. He did advise accordingly and mentioned someone from revenue department will contact me. I filled the form and signed. I was not given any further chance to continue the negotiation in the pretext of anything I have said could be used in court against me. I was scared enough. Having the tiny passenger notice slip which has no contact details except a postal address, I wasted no time in writing to the prosecution department with the evidences mentioned above and posted it from a post office in White City on 3 December 2014. I also requested if they could give me a call or at least an email to provide status on my case. Shortly after that, I left for abroad for whole month and I completely forgot about the thing. Meanwhile, I did not receive any response from the prosecution department at all (my phone was on roaming during my travel abroad) nor even by post. As always I am still travelling to Luton for my University which I have been doing for the last 1.5 years now. I have always been a law abiding commuter, followed all the rules I am aware of, paid correct fares every time I travelled and continue doing so. I have no other records of penalty/offence as my tickets get checked almost every day I travel on National Rail. I was just told yesterday that even though I did not receive any letter/call from the prosecution department confirming my case has been solved, there is a chance that I had been prosecuted by now with god knows what penalty. This will almost certainly create the very first criminal record against my profile which I don't want to be there in the first place. My question is: 1) If they indeed brought my issue to a court without my knowledge, which court it is likely to be? CCJ or Criminal court? I just checked my record with CCJ and there is nothing registered under my name. 2) I have since moved out from previous location, is it still possible for them to pursue me for that matter? Your advise will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi, I hope you can provide me with some advice. I have just received an intention to prosecute letter from Govia Thameslink Railways. Offences listed are: giving a false name & address & entering a train without a ticket. They are asking for my side of the story. I feel really scared about this! I always travel with a Zone 2-5 travel card & use the tube & overground, not rail. When I come into Zone 1 on the tube I always have approx. £10 on extra just in case & if short, just keep topping up the £10 when it prompts me at the barriers. I went out with my partner after work and came back on Thameslink from Blackfriars to Kings Cross. I didn't really take much notice & assumed it was like the Overground. My oyster card did not beep at the barrier & I proceeded assuming I had the required amount to cover me for Zone 1 travel. Arriving at Kings Cross my oyster card beeped at the barrier & I asked a member of staff where I could top up my card. I was then passed to another member of staff to one side and that is when it all went wrong.... The officer was a very poor communicator & coupled with my rising panic and stress levels it was a recipe for disaster. I heard the words '£20' penalty, caution, prosecution and panicked. Two other officers joined in and were not helpful. I couldn't understand why they couldn't explain the full process to me & my options and I was adamant that I would not pay a fine when I had nothing wrong. I had no intent to fare evade and it all seemed complete nonsense. I explained that if they looked at my oyster history they could see my travel patterns which would corroborate my story. The officer started filling in a form and was asking me to sign & pay & I refused. He asked for my name & address as it was a prosecutable offence & In a moment of madness I gave him a false one, however I told him it was a false one at that time because I didn't feel I should be prosecuted when I hadn't tried to evade paying my fare. After nearly 45 minutes of heated discussion I asked them to call the transport police, which they did. The police woman calmly explained the full process to me, including the purpose of cautioning me to answer questions. I told her I was unhappy with the customer service and communication I had received and why I had been questioned for so long before this part happened. The rail officer then cautioned me- which was awful. He then tried to get me to sign the form stating he would fill the answers later, which I protested about and showed the police officer. I then made him complete every field before I would sign- this took two more attempts. I still don't really understand why I was going to be fined £20 for being £2.80 short on my travel card, which I was more than happy to pay but never given the chance other than that is our policy. I know my actions were stupid, but I was stressed, scared and a bit outraged. I'm still scared & have been ever since, whilst watching the post for a letter. I'm 48 year old mother, who works a 50 hour week running a busy public sector department with over 200 staff. I would have to declare this criminal record & could potentially lose my job, ruin my credit rating, never get another job or mortgage & bring shame on my family. My family also live in the USA & this would also prevent me from being able to visit them, even though my step mom is unwell. The last 18 months have been very stressful as my father died suddenly, mother is end stage Alzheimer's, my brother has been diagnosed with early onset dementia and his wife has just died. I am applying for deputy ship & LPA for them and trying to support my nieces & nephews through a difficult time. My ex partner has been sectioned in a mental health unit post suicide attempt and I am still trying to ensure my daughter maintains some form of healthy relationship with him and she is starting her GCSE's. I have been on anti depressants and therapy but feel this could be the last straw. Please, please, can you tell me what to do as I don't feel I deserve this for an unintentional mistake followed by a moment of panicked madness? Thank you