Well got a conditional discharge and was just asked to pay the court fee. Though should not have pleaded guilty. Anyway my employer was most supportive when I told them. They thought TFL is a bit of an ass and that the whole country's gone crazy with court proceedings etc and criminalizing all.

Well I would say if it can be cloned then it'll probably be free travel for all...

They already pretty much made up their mind and tend to side with the prosecution. There were lots of court summons on the prosecutor's desk but only a handful actually turned up. So don't know what would happen to them. Bet its the only law abiding citizens that came and not the persistent offenders. It is the persistent offenders that causes London Underground to lose their revenue but the only way they can recover that is to bully others...Honestly my employers were saying not worth worrying about - TFL is just court mad as no other countries not even New York do this apart from on the spot fine

12 months not to do it again I think. Thought it was a waste of money getting in a lawyer as I could have got that by myself with the doctor's letters.

Well had a talk with the solicitor I was with today and he advised pleading guilty with mitigating circumstances which I did. Not sure now if I should have done that. Anyway they gave me a conditional discharge but had to pay the court fee but not the fine. Told my employers about it and they were very supportive - just said don't worry. They thought the TFl was a bit of an ass; should have been more useful pursuing real criminals. Quite alot didn't bother to turn up. If you are lucky and are not in certain jobs such as accountant, teacher or working with vulnerable people the criminal record will not show up unlike me. Some at work suggested I should not have pleaded guilty...Hope it help

Hi thanks for that. Have spoken to a solicitor who said its better if he comes along on Monday to persuade them again that its not in the best public interest. He is charging £400 for the service. Is it true that someone from the prosecution will be there? I just thought they sent in the evidence before the judge and one just has to plea guilty or not guilty. Anyway I'll be bringing along some of the documentations about the side effects and testimonials from the Internet of people who had experiences of using the drugs. Do you think this will help my case?

Hi Maursh I have read your thread and was wondering whether another date has to be set when I enter a plea of not guilty on Monday. Do I need to have a solicitor present at this stage if they are going to rearrange the date again? When the inspector stopped me I said I didn't know how much I had on my own oyster card, does that amount to "mens rea" even though in my doctor's letter to TFL it said I was suffering from psychosis and confusion and this accounted for my bizarre state of mind and actions? I just said yes to all questions including birthplace even though it was not correct.

Will do

Yep you get a non recordable record which means that it won't be on the National Police data but will be on the local one. This means that it won't show up on the standard one but will on the enhanced which is normally required in teaching and some other profession such as law I think. Not sure about the £1000 fine but as if I'm not pleading guilty then no need for solicitor yet as they will then rearrange it for another date.

Well the court case is this monday. I sent in the plea yesterday but just called them up to say i want to change my plea to not guilty. So just come in on Monday to say it in person. Apparently its not the duty solicitor but the legal adviser that you can get to see. Yes I used a solicitor called Ruth at Edward Hayes in the first instance when they sent letter requesting information about the incident. She has been very helpful but the fees are very expensive tho. They charge like £200 per hour. Just for the letter and the phone calls were £500.

just been advised by another solicitor to plea not guilty as I've nothing to lose. Will be using the duty solicitor first then will use my own one after. Will let u know what happens. In my case I did admit I deliberately used my mother's freedom pass.

Thanks for that. Didn't realise this but went to the doctor this morning and spoke to him the case again. He will call TFL today to see if they can settle out of court but he also suggested I should contact my union. Having spoken to the legal firm linked to the union they will be sending either a solicitor or barrister to represent me in court on Monday. So hopefully they can advise in more details. So I say if you are in a union go to them first to see if they can help. Do you still think I should plea not guilty?

I signed the second box saying that I will attend so did not put any mitigating circumstances on the form. Was wondering whether I can just call up the court today to say I want to change my plea. Have read the threads and some said they didn't even get a duty court solicitor when requested, is that true? Have never been to court so don't know how it works

the court date is next monday and i sent in the form yesterday.

oh right so is it too late for me to plea from guilty to not guilty now?

Sorry it should be Edwardhayes - can be found on the internet

Well there's a solicitor at Edwarhayes in City of London but they charge like £200 per hour

According to the solicitor its a non recordable offfence which means that it will not show up on the national police record but it will on the enhanced CRB as it will also check for local police record too.

Can the plea be changed on the day?

The solicitor who wrote the letter to TFL explaining my conditions and why they should not initiate court proceeding suggested I should try to go for absolute discharge which means that there are no record. Now should I take a solicitor along or just bring all the paperwork from the doctor, the hospital plus the letter from the solicitor to explain that my action was due to the medication myself?

I am being taken to court next week for attempting to use my mother's oyster card. Admittedly that was wrong but my action was due to the effects of powerful steroids I was taken at the time and this was backed up by my doctor's letters to TFL. My solicitor tried to reason with them stating that I had been in hospital with a debilitating illness and getting C. difficile whilst in there for 18 days, and was under a lot of mental and physical stress and so lacking judgment. Also that it was the first time I had been out in over 6 weeks. However, they think that after 3 weeks out of hospital I would have been fully recovered despite the fact that I was still on very high doses of steroids, had only just completed a course of iron tablets for the anemia and was still signed off work. They feel there is still a case to answer. It seems they don't care much for health professionals' opinions or medical evidence and is just hell bent on indiscriminate prosecuting.

Thought Magistrates can let you off like in speeding fines? Will have to talk to the solicitor again. Will this record be recorded for 3 years? Do you think I can qualify for legal aid being in work?

Does it have to go to trial with a jury if I plea not guilty? Thought you just go back to the same court. Don't get legal aid. All I want to do is to show that it was due to the medications I was taking at the time. Can get doctor's letters to show. Would they take that into consideration when deciding if I plea guilty? What I don't want is to have a criminal record which would result in losing my job or having to declare it for the next job.

Thanks Conniff for the reply. Some thread said its a criminal record others said its non-recorded one. My solicitor hasn't said anything about this at all. Ideally I would like to plea not guilty as I was under enormous stress recovering from the C.diff I caught whilst in hospital and the steroids impaired my judgment as the doctor stated. Still looks like doctor's letters do not amount too much.

Hi just posted a thread on here about fare on the underground : HELP! I had been taking steroids to help with my illness and these caused numerous side effects. I had not been out for nearly 6 weeks when I went out to celebrate it. I knew I was going to be late as I had been sleeping for most of the day and didn't think so I just grabbed my mother's freedom Oyster card. An inspector stopped me at the entrance and asked questions. In my state of mind and being impatient to be there on time I just said 'yes' to his questions even though one or two of them weren't correct. My solicitor and even my doctor to wrote to them to explain the side effects I had due to the medication but they still issued me with a summon. My doctor wrote another letter to see if they could settle out of court but they seemed to ignore it so now I have to attend the hearing next Monday. I need to enter my plea. Can anyone suggest what I should do. Does it mean I get a criminal record if I plead guilty (with mitigating circumstances) or should I not plea guilty and get my solicitor to argue it? I cannot afford a criminal record with my work in education.