Misuse of Freedom Pass - used multiple times. *SETTLED BY WARNING LETTER**

[Curlyfry123]

Hi,

 

Hope you're all well.

 

I was recently stopped by a ticket inspector, caught using a relatives freedom pass. Having gone through the threads I am in fear that they will see that I have been using it for years.

 

Someone else was stopped a few months ago using the freedom pass however they gave a fake name and address and i was wondering whether that now this is a new card and that someone else had already been stopped using it (not me and they were a woman) that that may be my saving grace as it can't be tracked?

 

I have written a letter which I have sent back today using the numerous templates. I mentioned that I support my parents and family financially, that I previously suffered from suicidal thoughts, depression and anxiety and fear that this will be brought back (have started having anxiety attacks and thoughts again already). I put together an remorseful letter outlining the above and that i'll never do it again and will pay a fine etc. 

 

I am absolutely bricking it, i had no clue it could lead to a criminal record and I am fearing for my job, livelihood, everything i'm in an absolute state of shock and do not know what to do. 

 

 

[dx100uk]

if there is a pattern to your use, then gloves will be off.

 

As the person the card belongs too had a previous  episode and a new card was issued.

 

be careful

 

dx

 

[honeybee13]

Has the card been confiscated? If the holder gets a new one then they really need to stop lending it out or they could end up with no card.

 

As far as I know TfL can track journeys made with a card going back two months. 

 

Can you show us what you sent to TfL please?

 

HB

[Curlyfry123]

Thanks both,

 

I have not used it too much in the last 2 months if it goes back that far.

 

this is what I drafted up and sent across:

 

I firstly want to thank TFL for giving me the chance to explain my behaviour. I appreciate the seriousness and stupidity of what I have done and I deeply apologise for my actions. I hope to explain how a prosecution would leave myself and my family in an incredibly tough situation. 

 

My actions are inexcusable; I know that TFL are only able to operate if everyone pays their fare and I feel so guilty about attempting to breach public trust, I haven’t been able to sleep as a result. As a Civil Servant, my job requires a high level of integrity and I have to get (enhanced) security checks as a result of my posting. According to my terms of employment I’d be obligated to report if I’m being prosecuted and a conviction would result in me losing my job. I am currently supporting my parents financially which has become increasingly difficult with the rising costs and inflation, the loss of my job would financially devastate me and my family. 

 

I have previously suffered with suicidal thoughts, depression along with anxiety. I previously suffered from panic attacks during the ages 18-19 and whilst there is no excuse for my behaviour I’d like to explain that since being stopped and questioned by the Revenue Protection Officer I have been thinking nothing but the worst and there has been a return of my panic attacks as I have been incredibly worried about the potential consequences of being prosecuted and consequently losing my job and not being able to support my family. I know this does not excuse my behaviour and I’d like to sincerely apologise to the specific officer and TFL for that, but I fear the heightened stress of being prosecuted, coupled with previous mental health issues will see me slip back into my suicidal tendencies.

 

My mother has also been unable to sleep since receiving the letter for fear of the consequences this will have on us all. I am also now carrying the guilt of putting an added and unnecessary stressor on my mother and seeing her in the current state she is in is again enough of a deterrent and I can only imagine how her health will deteriorate should I be prosecuted.

 

I have never been in trouble with the law in the past and I ensure that I won’t be in the future. I have already put money aside to ensure that I from now on budget for my TFL fares which I will continue to do and I swear that I will never do this again. 

  

I am happy to make immediate payment of the fares that I did not pay and any incurred costs that my actions have caused. Whilst I know what I did was wrong and I’d really like the opportunity to make amends, I think a prosecution/conviction would have an unfair and disproportionate impact on my health, my employment, and supporting my family. I hope that I’ve explained myself well and provided enough evidence, if you need anything further from me to help you reach your decision please let me know. Thank you again. 

 

I just want to reiterate how deeply sorry and regretful I am for what I have done and I swear as mentioned above that I will never ever do this again, the fear, shock and reality of the consequences of it all will forever deter me from ever doing this again.

And yes the card was confiscated 

 

 

also I haven’t provided any evidence as I am waiting to grt the medical records from my gp, I have also bought a monthly oyster pass would it be worth going back to t them and mentioning that I have bought a pass?

[honeybee13]

It might be worth mentioning the monthly pass but I would think about waiting until the medical records arrive so you aren't drip-feeding information. Unless you have other things to say to them?

 

HB

[Curlyfry123]

Thanks HB, will hold tight for now then. How long do they usually take to get back? I'm absolutely paralysed at the thought of getting a criminal record and as a Civil Servant i'll lose my job. 

[honeybee13]

We don't really know how long they take to respond. Someone else on here emailed their pleading letters and got replies quite quickly in the last week or two.

 

HB

[dx100uk]

to be frank, i think you need to be aware you are very very likely to get a criminal record here and p'haps even worse charged with fraud.

 

Your letter really only deals with oh poor me and the effects your stupid actions will have upon you and the people that obviously rely upon you financially.

 

you are doing yourself no favours by stating you are a civil servant and must know the law and ofcourse already knew someone almost got caught using her card a while back so know its FRAUD to use it... but you went ahead and did it...

 

my focus going fwd would be to try and explain away WHY you did it and hope for compassion.

 

i can also tell you quite bluntly that you wont get anything out of TfL bar the reply letters you are already seeing in other recent threads here in the last few weeks. they are going through big changes behind the scenes and in public too

[Curlyfry123]

Thanks Dx.

 

Honestly I was never aware it would lead to prosecution, had I known this I’d have never used it.

 

I’ve looked at the previous threads and I’ve written the response in line with those.

 

Is there anything I can do in the mean time and what do you think would be the best approach?

 

Why I did it being the increasingly difficult times having to help my parents keep up with gas payments, food payments, paying for my sisters travel card all of this is making it difficult to pay for transport for myself.

 

 

[honeybee13]

Do you think your family are getting all the benefits you're entitled to? You could start a separate thread in our benefits forum about that.

 

So what happened to the last person who used the Freedom pass please?

 

HB

[Curlyfry123]

Nothing happened to them as they gave a fake name and address.

 

My father is on state pension.

 

is there anything else I can do to strengthen my letter if it isn’t up to scratch? And will the medical evidence be of any use about my past issues? From what dx is saying I’m in big trouble regardless?

 

If it really is as serious as fraud is it worth getting a solicitor my head is gone, 

[dx100uk]

i'd pers wait and see where they go.

and what they claim you did (time period)

 

dx

 

 

 

[Curlyfry123]

How far back can they go regarding use of the card? 

[honeybee13]

Two months, as I said. But I suppose they could have data from the previous card which I assume was confiscated.

 

HB

[dx100uk]

If they see a pattern they might go back further.  Although in the past we've 700 uses get OOC,.  So.. best to wait.

[Curlyfry123]

Is this a pattern at the station I was stopped at?

[GerkhinMuncher]

I've read about similar situations online and I would recommend consulting a lawyer. They will be able to give expert advice on what to do next and the consequences you might face.

 

Going off the assumption that tfl can only track the last 2 months of journeys you shouldn't be in worst situation. The card is also being used by a relative (assuming the owner) therefore not all the journeys can be blamed on you whereas if the card was stolen it's clear that all the journeys were clearly made by that person. 

 

In terms of your job it would be best to ask your boss about how it'd impact it

 

however you said you do work for the civil service so I did some quick googling and it says you only undergo a basic DBS check (this may be incorrect so it's best you confirm with your workplace).

 

So in the worst case scenario where you are given a criminal conviction (under the Byelaw17(1) which is what common cases to yourself are usually charged under) this should not affect your job.

 

This is because if the conviction only results in a fine (which is what will occur in your case) "it is spent after 1 year from the date of conviction" meaning on a regular DBS check it will not appear at all from the moment you get the conviction and after a year it will not appear on an enhanced DBS check (unless applying for a job as a teacher, doctor, etc.). 

 

However with all that being said I think there is hope that you will not get convicted. It is possible to get a warning letter in response to the letter you have sent them due to public interest and mitigating circumstances. 

1. The offender admits the irregular travel and;

2. The risk of re-offending is considered minimal and; 

3. The offender has provided TfL with sufficient mitigation against prosecution or in the opinion of the Appeals & Prosecutions Manager it is not in the public interest to prosecute. 

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecution-policy.pdf

 

It seems as though you have already done the first 2 (said you're guilty and purchased a travelcard). I would say the next step is to provide them with evidence of your medical records as well as the purchase of your travelcard so that they can take this into consideration. If you do end up receiving a court letter the next step would be to try get an OOC with the help of your lawyer. 

 

I understand it must be a very stressful situation for you right now but I think there's hope that you will get out of this swiftly.

 

My advice to you right now is get your medical records, send them off to tfl as your evidence, consult a lawyer and boss and hope for the best! Tfl tend to take their time with getting back to people so you could find yourself waiting for a month. With that in mind as hard as it may be, don't continue to stress for the next month and do everything in your power to get the best possible outcome!

 

Hope to hear good news soon.

 

Kind Regards,

GerkhinMuncher

 

 

[FTMDave]

I disagree with GerkhinMuncher that you should see a lawyer.  That would be a complete waste of money.  Lawyers aren't miracle workers.  You did misuse the card and there's no way out of that.  All you can do is plead for mercy and I'm sure you're capable of writing a letter yourself rather than paying money to someone to write the exact same letter.

 

Plenty of Caggers have escaped with out of court settlements, none of them wasted money on a lawyer.

Edited November 4, 2022 by FTMDave
Typo

[GerkhinMuncher]

Done a bit more research and it seems that people have been able to get OOC without the need of lawyers (tend to not do much and cost a lot)

 

instead pester tfl with continuous emails with evidence of their circumstances.

 

It's also suggested that in your letter you ask tfl if they're willing to allow you to reach a settlement of the outstanding fare(s) and their reasonable admin expenses.

 

Emailing every other week requesting further info on your case and whether new evidence had been renewed.

 

Good luck!

[Curlyfry123]

On 31/10/2022 at 22:33, Curlyfry123 said:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks both, that’s calmed me down a little bit.

 

I haven’t been eating, sleeping, had to take time off work sick this whole week, I’m completely paralysed.

 

I will sit tight for now then and wait for a reply.

 

also is there anywaY that I can edit my previous posts?blockquote widget

Edited November 4, 2022 by Curlyfry123

[GerkhinMuncher]

Honestly not something to lose sleep over, keep pestering them with your evidence and it’ll be fine.

 

TfL like to take their sweet time responding to cases so you might find yourself waiting for over a month so definitely not something to continuously stress over. Hang in there.

 

also quite new to this site so not sure on how to edit posts either!

[dx100uk]

Outside of about 10 mins, to stop people stating something then changing it, poss to create conflict, it's not allowed.

 

Dx

[Curlyfry123]

Thanks dx,

 

are you able to edit or delete the first initial post? I’m very worried they’ll come onto this thread and see what I’ve said, really playing up with my anxiety.

[honeybee13]

In all the time I've been on this forum, I've never known TfL to read someone's thread and we've never seen them quote it against someone. I'm sure they have too much to occupy them to bother looking on the internet to try to match up cases.

 

HB

[Curlyfry123]

So it’s not possible, if it is possible I’d really appreciate it.

 

apologies for being incredibly annoying, it really isn’t my intention at all, I’m just really scared.