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Back in May I boarded the train without a ticket - stupid of me I know but I was late for work. There were ticket inspectors on the train so I went up to one of them and asked if i could buy a ticket. He refused and so I offered to pay the penalty fare. Out of desperation I produced my Oyster card which I use to travel on the underground. Unfortunately this is only zone's 1-2 and i was travelling from zone 6. He took this as I deliberately fare evade between zones 6 and 2 (not true) and do on regular occasions (also not true). However, I offered to pay the penalty fare, he refused and proceeded to place me under caution and interogate me in full view of the other passengers for the 40 minute journey to Waterloo. He then confiscated my oyster card and sent me on my way saying that I would hear from the prosecution office.
They sent me a letter last month inviting me to state whether there were any mitigating circumstances. They didn't tell me what they were going to charge me with, so I sent one back saying can I see the officers report so I can respond specifically to the points raised. They then sent me one back saying they;re taking me to court (I didn't get a chance to respond to the report).
Anyway - long story: I need a lawyer - does anyone know of anyone who has experience in this matter?
What exactly are they taking you for did they advise? Obviously, they have no criminal powers so they must be looking to make claim for compensation for you not wanting to use their, in my opinion crap, train service. Document what has happened so far. A judge is likely to be unsympathetic to them as court should be a last resort. I think you could quite reasonably state that they have not explored every avenue in order to resolve the matter before court action. Also, have a look at the technicalities - was their signage stating that you must have a ticket before you board?
Even the fact that you looked to buy a ticket as soon as physically possible will look good in your favour.
Make sure that you find out the nature of the summons - they have reported this as a criminal offence to the police; however, I would expect that you would have had a knock on the door before any mention of court action. Get some more info and update me - we'll see where we go from there - i will do all I can to help you
BTW, don't panic and jump on the 'I need a lawyer' case. Any average joe lawyer could deal with this. The fact is that you are unfortunately in the wrong. However, what you rightfully must dispute is that true legal process has not been followed in order to resolve the matter.
hi - sorry for the very late reply Mike. Thanks for your advice.
A quick update on this case - it seems the prosecutor didn't take kindly to my letters and have taken a dislike to me and is determined to prosecute. I've gotten a solicitor who has dealt with this prosecutor before and said that said prosecutor has agreed to settle out of court for many of his other clients for much worse offenses - yet he's seems to be unwilling this time.
It seems very unfair and his decision to prosecute or not seems based on personal judgement rather than the facts of the case.
Given that this will result in a criminal record - which I have to declare when applying for jobs/going travelling etc - I'm not entirely sure what to do... my solicitor has made an offer to settle which has been rejected.
I'm a bit fed up really and I'm not sure that I can do anything about it - I haven't been arrested or had any contact with the police over this matter, so how can I get a criminal record? It doesn't seem very fair
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/legis...aysbyelaws.pdf
Read section 17 and see swt havent bad a **** up. Write a letter with mitigating factors to swt and offer to pay a penalty + all costs involved in dealing with this matter. If this then goes to court the judge will see you have tried to be reasonable and hopefully will think swt are wasting the courts time.
hi and thanks for your responses... I've already written a letter and offered to pay the penalty fine several times (once when I was being cautioned and every time in my subsequent communication with the prosecutor)
it just seems like they're determined to prosecute - which technically they can because i did get on without a ticket. However, what really gets me is their inconsistency: if they prosecuted everyone that would be fine but some people get away with a penalty fare, some people are allowed to settle out of court with cases much worse than mine, but me - because he's taken a dislike to me, I'm being prosecuted. Slightly unfair I think...
I guess that's what happens when you have power: you can't help but play God with people's lives.
edit: oh and I don't travel all the time to zone 6 hence the zone 1-2 oyster
hi and thanks for your responses... I've already written a letter and offered to pay the penalty fine several times (once when I was being cautioned and every time in my subsequent communication with the prosecutor)
it just seems like they're determined to prosecute - which technically they can because i did get on without a ticket. However, what really gets me is their inconsistency: if they prosecuted everyone that would be fine but some people get away with a penalty fare, some people are allowed to settle out of court with cases much worse than mine, but me - because he's taken a dislike to me, I'm being prosecuted. Slightly unfair I think...
I guess that's what happens when you have power: you can't help but play God with people's lives.
edit: oh and I don't travel all the time to zone 6 hence the zone 1-2 oyster
I have experienced a similar problem. There are grave inconsistances but this doesn't matter.
If I were you I would write a well considered letter to the person prosecuting you highlighting that it is your first offence etc and plead for an out of court settlement (which is what I did). I would find it odd if they don't agree to this.
I have experienced a similar problem. There are grave inconsistances but this doesn't matter.
If I were you I would write a well considered letter to the person prosecuting you highlighting that it is your first offence etc and plead for an out of court settlement (which is what I did). I would find it odd if they don't agree to this.
It appears this has already been done, suggested earlier.
Help - I'm being taken to court by SW Trains
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Originally Posted by zerosandones
