 Fare evaded on bus - I am at fault
Hello,
On the 31st May I was walking to a tube station in West London to check the balance of my pre-pay Oyster card as it had not been used for a while.
As I was about to walk into the station I turned around and noticed a bus approaching the bus stop so I ran back to get it. I even had a £5 note in my hand to top up!!!
At the next stop, TFL inspectors boarded and yes, I had insufficent funds to make my journey. My details were taken and I admitted to the inspector that I thought I had funds on my card and that it was my fault.
Yesterday I received a Court Summons and have the option to plead by post, guilty in person, not guilty in person, disputing the claim for costs and disputing the claim.
I was thinking of just pleading guilty by post, pay the fine and risk a criminal record. I've never been arrested or fined (apart from a few parking tickets).
However, after reading the inspectors statement I am tempted to plead guilty in person but want to know if I can argue the statement given by the inspector or am I wasting the courts time.
Extract from the TFL inspectors statement:
Is this the pass you are using for your journey? Passenger says yes. I said, this pass has 40p remaining which is insufficient funds for your journey. Passenger makes no comment. Correct details gievn by passenger. I said, I will be submitting a report to the Investigations and Prosecutions section of TFL. Passenger made no comment.
On both occassions at where he had written No Comment, I had acknowleged the inspector and even said I was at fault. I know there is no case for this but can I argue what was written in his statement or am I better off pleading guilty by post and leaving it to the court to decide.
Also, is there a chance I will receive a criminal record for a first offence?
Regards, | 
