It was reported recently that South West Trains were conducting a crackdown on short ticketing. Hundreds of passengers each year obtain our advice and assistance when they have been accused of fare evasion. Often this can be using a discount pass belonging to anther or which they are not eligible to use but travelling beyond the area for which they have been paid (short ticketing) is increasingly common . the article refers to fixed penalty notices , but the use of prosecutions is very common as the rail companies establish that the offence is often in their opinion, part of a pattern. They look at the journey, for example from Vauxhall to Waterloo or even further out and then review the customer’s home address . they then assume that the commute if from their home station where the barriers may have been open and therefore not any form of scanning . Many such offenders do not become aware of the intended prosecution until they open their post some weeks after the reply deadline .
Case study Student
We recently advise a student who was stopped by ticket inspector on part of journey travelling from London to a station near Cambridge where their parents lived. They had bought a ticket from Kings Cross to Finsbury Park and Royston to Cambridge, failing to pay for the middle section of this journey. Client was stopped on the train. They were not given the opportunity to pay the full journey there and then. Or even a fixed penalty notice. Client was then sent a request for further information by the network, the network had investigated their Trainline account and discovered more than 20 suspected offences of short ticketing. The client was then sent a notice of intention to prosecute.
Their future employment in a highly regulated sector at risk (client predicted a 1st class degree) because of regulatory body. Having gathered supporting evidence of mitigation including a letter of remorse , we drafted detailed representations to persuade the rail company against proceeding based on the public interest . Thus, the client avoided the conviction and paid a fee by way of settlement.
Please contact us if we can assist with a fare evasion issue on 0207 8373456