Thread: Court date for no ticket due to lost purse! Help!

Afternoon All,

I'm wondering if you can offer some much needed advice!

Whilst on a night out in london, I lost my purse which had my bank cards, cash and tickert inside. Being late at night and a lone traveller, I boarded a train home with the intention of explaining the situation to the conductor (if I happened to run into one, if I'm honest!) and hoping I would be issued with some sort of I.O.U to the train company (FCC) Having not been in this situation before and having never evaded fares before,I thought I might get some sort of penalty notice for this,£20 perhaps......

As my luck would have it, I was asked to produce my ticket, which of course I couldn't. I explained the situation about having lost my purse but as I had no other means to pay for the ticket, was questionned (MG11 form?) and told that I would receive a letter in the post. I perhaps, naively, admitted that I had intended to board without a ticket and without the means to pay for it! D'oh!

I did receive the letter and was told to prove that I had lost my purse. My overly useful bank wouldn't provide me with a letter so all I could do was reply explaining that I wa happy to pay the fare if given the oportunity but unforutnaltey had no means to prove that I had lost my purse / cards/ticket etc...

I have now received summons to court for this which I am extremly worried about. I have no probelm in admitting I was wrong to board the train without the ticket but feel the situation I was in left me with little choice! I was polite to the RPI and answered all her questions without hesitation.

I would appreicate some advice on how I should proceed now; I am planning to plead guilty with mitigation.

With my bank letter to prove I cancelled my card at 1am that morning,do you think the court will look kindly on my situation?

any info would be very much appreciated,

Many Thanks in advance,

Amy Loo x

"I perhaps, naively, admitted that I had intended to board without a ticket and without the means to pay for it! D'oh!"

From your description of the event you have truthfully admitted that is what you did.

Having signed an admission that you intended to avoid a fare and the fact that you knew that you did not have a ticket or, means of paying, I have to say it is very likely that you will be convicted if this case proceeds to court.

Travelling home from London on FCC means that you have started a journey at a main London station and there would have been someone there to ask for assistance, but it appears that you did not do so.

I know it might seem harsh, but like it or not, if we get stuck without money or ticket, we cannot just jump on a train and hope to get off without paying without facing the inevitable consequences if we get caught..

I strongly suggest that before entering your guilty plea with mitigation, you write to FCC prosecutor's office and ask if they will alow you to pay the fare and their costs so far to protect your good name.

They may say 'No', but you could then show any Magistrate that in addition to your acceptance of guilt by pleading to the charge with mitigation, that you had also made an effort to avoid taking up court time.

When I lost my handbag a few years ago and reported to the Police I got a permit to travel from them to get me home, do the Police not still do this? or did you not report it?

Hi all, thanks for your responses so far...not looking too good for me is it?

Realistically, the likelihood is I'll get convicted, does that give me a criminal record or will I just have to pay the £105 costs they have stated?

Old CodJA, thanks for your advice, I will defo get a letter off to the prosecutors office!

Thanks,

Amy

I think to paraphrase other excellent advice on this thread and elsewhere the 'key' to being 'honest' in the railways and their agents point of view is to NEVER wait until someone challenges you to produce a ticket/pay if you KNOW you have a problem already, i.e. Guard on a busy intercity train may well have 520+ passengers to see to, (s)he is hardly likely to believe someone that has made no effort to come and see them first, especially if its later in the journey, IME.
As O C has already eloquently said -TOCs and their staff hear these tales every day and unfortunately it does mean that honest customers will get treated in the same manner as fare evaders if there is nothing to distinguish them from the latter.
I always thought that if you lost a purse you had to report this to the police as well as the relevant card issuers?

I did report my bankcard lost at 1am that morning and have now managed to get a letter from them confirming this including the time and date. do you think this will be of any use?

thanks again for all the sound advice, I will defintiely contact FCC to see if we can sort this out before it goes to court.

thanks

Amy

Originally Posted by Amy Loo

I did report my bankcard lost at 1am that morning and have now managed to get a letter from them confirming this including the time and date. do you think this will be of any use?

thanks again for all the sound advice, I will defintiely contact FCC to see if we can sort this out before it goes to court.

thanks

Amy

Yes, make a copy of the confirmation and send it to FCC with your letter.

It might seem obvious, but don't forget to obliterate any card details