Practice not theory dont go by the textbook, operationally things can be quite different!

are you a abarrister or do you know any or how the court system works in practice? The barrister may be under instruction but they do advise and often persuade their clients

Actually its not so much about they ie tfl reps it depends very much on the barrister and if the barrister is keen on setting out of court. If thebarrister thinks it will be too much hassle( for whatever reason) than they just might settle out of court. If it was up to tfl they would give you the death penalty.

Hi Django Any developments re soilicter , court case, tf make my blood boil. Unitentional accidents do happen and according to tfl youve got to pay for them for eternity practically Well if I was you I would take all my mitigation to court ( u said u were a carer for your dad innit, all the stress of the carers could have well made you forgetful and I would go to the Carers support group see carers uk and ask them for some letter or something to support that you are carer and can face a lot of stress, stick to your guns as it sounds like you are completely truthful ( why lie) and hopefully Godwilling the judge or whoever will see that tfl are just nonsense. Also in some cases I believe that the barrirsters can do a arrangemnet on the day if they are too busy and you can pay cash fine on the day to settle out of court.

Sorry Django I only just saw your post now, have you been to court yet or did you manage to get out of it. I contacted them on the telephone no provided on the first letter they sent me. But that advice might be too late for you now. Honest these freedom pass prosecutions are a joke considering cautions are only givenfor drug pushing, or hurting people. Its disgusting

The prosecutor told me that they could only go back as far as 4 weeks wiith the freedom pass.

Hi Django I think what will help your case most is that you were not lying when you said it was a one off as your dad hasnt used it for months. Also you should still write that your a carer and lead a hectic life which made you too busy to notice the wrong card, an apology and stressing that this wil never happen again will help things I think. Does your dad have a scoical worker or any professional who can write you a quick letter confirming your a carer and suffer carers stress or something. Dont ask a doctor as they charge a wadful of money. However I wouldnt hold my hopes up, I had medical evidence( a letter confirming I had anxiety issues) which the prosecuter seemed to think was a non issue. He said no even after seeing my personal letters and circumstances but I begged him and he said he would get a coloeugue to review it. It was just praying hard that swung it for me as I managed to speak to the reviewing prosecutor who was more understanding. It was really a last minute thing. Make sure youve got the money in the bank to pay over the phone if they let you.

thanks I can finally concentrate on other things now it was an awful experience. I

Hi again, well I sent my pleas in letter with medical evidence showing my stress levels and suggested that this contributed to my absentmindedness in picking up the pass that day. ( I did have a prepaid pass that day but in panic didnt even tell the inspector that this was mine just in case I had mistakenly taken that on too. The prosecuter wasnt buying it and said that my prepaid card showed limited use compared to the freedom pass even though my mum had definately used it- ( I have another pass which i use more often too but he wasnt buying that as well). He told me firmly that it would go to court but I persisted on the phone as I was in a state and he reluctantly said a colleague would review it in a couple of hours but as the court was tomorrow it would be difficult. Thankfully his colleague showed leniency and seemed to give me the benefit of the doubt and I was fined over 400 and had to pay instantly in one payment too. I was charged for four weeks of fares as well as they only look back at the last 4 weeks of use. It was an awful experience and I really thought I would end up in court today

I meant I have sorted it thanks to something happening last minute

Its sorted now hopefully though something happened

Thanks Old Codja, No I didnt

in his notes otherwise the prosecuters would have really sent her to court

I think it helped that the tfl guard fancied her and didnt write down the deaf drama

yes but she pretended to be deaf to get out of it! Even if I had admitted to something I genuinly feel I diddnt do I was told that it would not make a difference in fcat it would make it more secure for them to prosecute. I cant lie even if it would get me into further trouble, its just not me