We are often contacted by clients who are seeking independent and professional advice after receiving correspondence from Transport Investigations Limited (TIL).
TIL are a private company, who are employed to act as an agent on behalf of various train companies (Chiltern Railways, Cross Country and Transport for Wales). They are tasked with revenue recovery as well as the prosecution of certain cases in the Magistrates’ Court.
In our experience, their staff are extremely knowledgeable in relation to the rules and Regulations that govern fare evasion offences as well as the complex case law in this area.
Generally, TIL’s involvement indicates that the ‘Revenue Protection Officer’ decided against issuing a Penalty Fare, which would have resolved the matter at the time of the incident. Penalty Fares are often not offered where intentional fare evasion is suspected.
The initial letter from TIL could lead to a summons to a Magistrates’ Court unless relevant and persuasive mitigation is provided.
Why are Transport Investigations Limited Contacting Me?
There are a wide variety of scenarios in which a person can be accused of fare evasion by a Revenue Protection Officer. You will have been questioned (on a train or at the barriers) about your journey, most likely under caution.
It is common for train companies (sometimes in conjunction with TIL) to conduct operations at certain stations, where fare evasion is a common problem for the train company. They “set rules” at the barriers, which means that certain tickets are rejected and then checked by the staff. In particular, they are targeting people who have not brought a ticket for the whole journey. They will also be interested in finding people who are travelling with a discounted fare yet cannot produce the supporting Railcard.
The same, of course, applies where tickets are checked on the train and a person is unable to produce a valid ticket.
What Offences Could I be Prosecuted For?
- S5(3) of the Regulations of Railway Act – Intentionally travelling on the Railway without having paid the fare
- Railway Bye Law 18(1) – Entering a train for the purpose of travel without a valid ticket. This offence does not require any intention to avoid paying the fare – only that you had the opportunity to buy a ticket before boarding (i.e. at the machine or kiosk)
- S.5(3c) of the Regulations of Railway Act – gives in reply to a request by an officer of a railway company a false name or address.
- Byelaw 6.2 No person shall behave in a disorderly, indecent or offensive manner on the railway – a commuter may face this additional offence if they were particularly uncooperative or rude to the staff member.
But it Was Only a Few pounds I Avoided Paying – Will I Really be Prosecuted For That?
In short, yes. It is estimated that fare evasion costs the rail industry over £200 million a year. A large number of the cases prosecuted in court involve small sums of money. Prosecutors generally argue that the Public Interest Test is met, even where tiny sums are involved, because these small amounts add up to the huge losses that train companies incur. The prosecutions in court act as a deterrent to those who may evade paying their fares.
I Have Received a Letter From Transport Investigations Limited – What Should I Do?
TIL sends out an initial letter to make contact with the person being accused of fare evasion. The letter allows 21 days for a reply and affords the opportunity to set out any mitigation.
This is the ideal stage for Reeds Solicitors to get involved to write a letter of representation on your behalf, setting out the reasons why you should not be prosecuted and seeking to settle the matter out of court.
If you have corresponded with TIL yourself by email, they may have rejected your response and indicated that the matter will proceed to court. We are able to intervene at this point on your behalf and ask TIL to review the decision in light of our detailed representations.
I Have Received a Court Summons From TIL – What Should I Do?
It is essential that you do not complete the paperwork before speaking to a solicitor, if you want to avoid a criminal record.
Even if the court date is just around the corner, urgent representations can still be made and an out of court settlement is still a possibility. However, it is important to note that your costs will be reduced if you act at an early stage, rather than after the summons paperwork has been issued. This is because of the additional work that TIL would have undertaken.
What Would Reeds Solicitors Do for Me?
We would need to write a detailed letter to TIL, setting out the arguments why the matter should be settled out of court. Every case is different, and representations must be specifically tailored to each case.
We generally meet with our clients over video conferencing Apps, such as Zoom. We therefore can take instructions from clients anywhere in the country without difficulty.
Many people panic when questioned by the Inspector and give misinformation. This would need to be addressed with careful consideration.
It is also common that you may be under suspicion of having failed to pay the full fare on other previous occasions. Again, this must be carefully considered and may need to be covered in our response.
Fare evasion is a specialist area, with a long list of relevant case law to consider. Should you wish to seek the advice of our expert fare evasion solicitors, please contact us…
