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i want some advice on what exactly I should do after receiving a caution for not paying the correct fare.
I was travelling from a station where there is no ticket machine and only the option to buy a permit to travel. I had done so and was exiting the station at my final stop when approached by the inspector. I showed him the permit and said i needed to buy a ticket. The permit was still valid.
He then asked me if i had bought a permit from the same station on previous occasions. Without thinking, I said yes, once before, and showed him one i had used the previous day. He then accused me of fare evasion since if i had purchased a ticket that day i should no longer have the permit and it would have been exchanged. At this point I panicked, starting saying that i was sure i had bought a ticket. The fact is that I had not. I had intended to buy a ticket at the barrier (as i have always done at other stations) but when i arrived at the station there were no barriers or inspectors so i (now i realise foolishly) did not pay.
The inspector did not offer me the option to pay a fine. He took down all my details and said he was cautioning me. He took my permit from the previous day and said that CCTV would prove i had not paid. I told him i had money on me to pay and would have accepted a fine. He didnt seem interested in me paying a fine and once he had taken down my details he told me to go. I was feeling awful at this point and just left. In hindsight i should have questioned him about what would happen next because now i am really worried. Am I likely to receive a court summons for this? Will this mean i have a criminal record? How long is the delay before i hear from them?
Any advice/info anyone could give would be much appreciated!!
Firstly, a permit to travel must be exchanged by paying the appropriate fare at the first opportunity and at the latest, within 2 hours of issue. The station and time of issue is printed on it.
You say that he said 'he was cautioning' you. Did he speak the caution using words to the following effect?
You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned, something that you may later rely on in Court.
If he did, what happened next?
Did he ask you some questions and write down the questions & your answers?
Did you sign anything?
If you can answer those questions then I can explain what is likely to happen next.
Firstly, a permit to travel must be exchanged by paying the appropriate fare at the first opportunity and at the latest, within 2 hours of issue. The station and time of issue is printed on it.
You say that he said 'he was cautioning' you. Did he speak the caution using words to the following effect?
You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned, something that you may later rely on in Court.
If he did, what happened next?
Did he ask you some questions and write down the questions & your answers?
Did you sign anything?
If you can answer those questions then I can explain what is likely to happen next.
Hi-I got all the above today at the station-what happens now?? Very, very worried!!! Please give some advice or anything that will put my mind at rest!! Thank you
Hi-I got all the above today at the station-what happens now?? Very, very worried!!! Please give some advice or anything that will put my mind at rest!! Thank you
If you have been cautioned and a few questions & answers asked and recorded, the inspector will submit a statement to the prosecutors office and a decision will be taken as to whether there is a strong enough case to go forward to Court action
You will normally get a letter within a short time outlining the case against you.
If you can tell us what happened and where you were, maybe I can give a little more advice.
Well I know when I say it it's completely stupid and I walked mysefl into it but here goes:
I buy a weekly ticket from Preston Park to Burgess Hill every week but this morning there a big queue so I jumped on the train plannig on getting one when I arrived.When I got off at Burgess Hill saw the inspectors there I panicked as I always do even when I have a ticket and very, very stupidly told the inspector upstairs that the inspector downstairs allowed me up to buy one off the ticket office. I completely panicked and realise now what an idiot I was but stupidly thought they would fine me full stop for having a ticket. I buy a weekly ticket every week [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']showed them my previous weekly tickets for this journey and how I purchased them the Monday morning of every working week amnd the exact change on me to buy one. I have an easit card and because of that I had to go to a ticket office to get a discount.[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']I realise that having lied to the inspector upstairs is what has me in the most trouble but I was not by any means ‘evading’ the fare. I travel this route everyday so of course I get a ticket but just stress makes you do extremely stupid thingsChrist I'm so annoyed mith myself cause I know how completely stupid it all sounds and I could so easily not be in this situation!
Thank you for replying so quickly though
Well, you obviously don't need any of us to tell you how silly that untruth was.
You say that you didn't intend to avoid a fare, but of course, the fact that you failed to tell the truth at the barrier check suggests exactly the opposite and provides for the inspector the element of suspicion.
With facilities available to you at your starting station, you could face a charge of 'intent to avoid a fare' or, the lesser charge of 'fail to show a valid ticket on demand'.
Your best course of action is to do nothing until you receive a letter from the rail company and then, respond promptly in writing, apologising and ask for an opportunity to settle this administratively to avoid a court appearance.
Caution for fare evasion - confused!
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Originally Posted by Old-CodJA
