Transport for London has its own extensive process for dealing with fare evasion across its transport network. Its robust approach to penalties and prosecutions has resulted in 14,406 criminal convictions for fare evasion between April 2025 and March 2026.
With several distinct rules and regulations in play alongside the standard legal framework, knowing your rights and responsibilities is key to ensuring a favourable outcome.
At Manak Solicitors, we take a bespoke approach to each case, using the individual circumstances of your situation to inform our strategy and determine the most appropriate course of action.
This tailored approach to fare evasion has enabled us to achieve consistent results for our clients, with 75% of our cases involving Transport for London not going to court between 2021 and 2024.
Whatever stage your case has reached, our team can evaluate the circumstances and provide you with the guidance and representation needed to help you make informed decisions.
1. Contact us as early as possible
You do not need to wait for a letter from Transport for London (TfL) before contacting us. If you have been stopped by a Revenue Inspector, questioned about your journey or told that you have been reported, we recommend seeking legal advice as early as possible. Where appropriate, we can proactively approach TfL on your behalf before you receive formal correspondence.
This gives us more time to understand what happened, review what you said when you were stopped and start gathering supporting mitigation. Evidence such as letters from doctors, employers or other professionals can take longer to obtain than the deadline TfL may eventually give you to respond.
Our solicitors have dealt with transport prosecutors for many years and can communicate with them directly on your behalf. In appropriate cases, early intervention may allow us to make representations before the investigation progresses further and seek to resolve the matter without prosecution.
2. TfL may send you a Verification Letter
If TfL is considering prosecution, its prosecutors may send you a Verification Letter asking you to provide an explanation or comments about the alleged offence. TfL’s Revenue Enforcement and Prosecutions Policy confirms that these responses are considered when deciding whether to prosecute. It is therefore important not to treat this as a routine administrative letter. What you say at this stage could have a significant bearing on what happens next. We can review the allegation and any evidence available, advise you on your position and prepare a carefully considered response on your behalf.
3. TfL may investigate your travel history
TfL increasingly uses journey and ticketing data when investigating suspected fare evasion, particularly where it believes there may be a pattern of repeated behaviour. TfL says its Irregular Travel Analysis Platform uses ticketing and journey data, passenger information and CCTV to identify suspected persistent fare evasion. It also analyses contactless journey patterns and transaction history as part of its revenue protection activity.
If TfL raises concerns about multiple journeys rather than a single incident, we can review the journeys being questioned, establish the relevant circumstances and advise you before further information is provided.
4. You may be questioned or invited to an interview
Depending on the circumstances, TfL may question you under caution where it is investigating a suspected offence. TfL’s policy states that investigators will administer a PACE caution where questions are likely to result in admissions or confessions that could be prejudicial to the suspect’s case. TfL also confirms that suspected contactless fraud can result in an invitation to attend a formal interview. You should seek legal advice before answering questions or attending a formal interview. Depending on when you instruct us and the circumstances of your case, we may be able to approach TfL directly and make representations with the aim of resolving the matter without the investigation progressing further.
An example of an Interview Under Caution invitation.
5. We prepare representations to TfL
Once we understand what happened, we can prepare detailed representations to TfL on your behalf. These may address the alleged offence, explain the circumstances, provide relevant mitigation and include supporting evidence. Our aim, where appropriate, will be to persuade TfL that prosecution is not necessary.
TfL’s own enforcement policy confirms that explanations and comments provided by the passenger are taken into account when deciding whether to prosecute. TfL also says that after reviewing the evidence and supporting information, it may determine that prosecution would be disproportionate and issue a formal warning instead. The earlier you instruct us, the more opportunity we have to prepare your case before TfL makes its decision.
6. If TfL decides to prosecute
If TfL decides to prosecute, you may receive court documentation under the Single Justice Procedure. The real TfL court pack supplied to Manak shows how extensive this can be. It includes a covering letter, charge sheet, Single Justice Procedure guidance, plea form, financial information and the Revenue Control Officer’s witness statement.
That witness statement can be particularly important because it records the Revenue Control Officer’s account of what happened when you were originally stopped, including questions asked and answers given. If proceedings have already begun, it is not necessarily too late to seek legal advice. We can review the prosecution evidence, advise you on your plea and options, prepare representations or mitigation where appropriate and represent you throughout the proceedings.
An example of a TfL Single Justice Procedure Notice sent after a fare evasion case has progressed to prosecution.
An example of a Revenue Control Officer’s witness statement included within a TfL prosecution pack, recording the circumstances of the alleged offence and what was said when the passenger was stopped.
