Summoned by FCC re byelaw 18 - help needed

[evans1975]

Hi - I'm a first time poster having a problem which seems common judging by the posts on this forum. I have today received a summons for not having a ticket contrary to byelaw 18. When I was stopped, I offered to pay for the ticket and/or pay a fine as I had been unable to purchase a ticket before I started the journey and I thought this would be acceptable. The man who stopped me did not seem interested and proceeded to take my ticket wallet off me and cautioned me. At this point, I had no idea who he was, other than the fact that he had a FCC coat on (he didn't have any ID and I didn't know why he was cautioning me). Despite my offer to pay, I was told I would need to wait until a letter came through the post - this was strange as there were other people who had also been stopped who were being dealt with by means of an on the spot fine.

I have now received a summons saying I am liable for up to £1000 fine and costs.

The statement enclosed is innaccurate and misses out large parts of the conversation, however, it appears from the paperwork that I either have to accept his version and plead guilty or plead not guilty and risk a lot worse. I would apprecate any help anyone can offer as I accept that I did not have a valid ticket but feel like I am being "bullied" into accepting his statement which is innacurate and does not reflect the fact that I did offer to pay. It may also be relevant to say that he was extremely rude and accusing me of all sorts of things which made me feel very confused and almost as if he was trying to trick me into saying the wrong thing. He also snatched my wallet off me and went through all of my receipts and tickets which he also kept (leaving me with no evidence to argue my case).

Sorry for the lengthy post but I'm feeling quite helpless and don't know what to do next so would be really grateful any help or advice.

[Old-CodJA]

I think it very important to stict to the relevent facts in these cases.

 

If you have been charged with an offence contrary to Railways Byelaw 18, this is what is known as a 'strict liability' offence. In other words, the rail company does not need to prove that you intended to avoid paying the fare.

 

Offering to pay a fare after you have been challenged to show a ticket does not prevent the possibility of prosecution. You must pay before boarding where facilities are available to do so.

 

Now the really important bits, In your post you say 'I had been unable to purchase a ticket before I started the journey'

 

In what sense were you 'unable' to buy a ticket?

 

If you are saying that you checked and there were definitely no facilities for you to purchase a ticket, i.e; No booking office, no self service machine and no permit to travel machine and you have evidence to substantiate these claims, then you have a case to challenge their allegation.

 

If on the other hand, you mean you were late for the train, or there was a queue and you didn't want to wait, then these are not reasons for boarding a train without a ticket.

 

Whether you make accusations about the rail staff behaviour or not is a matter entirely for you, but that is really something which should be taken up as a separate issue with the rail company. It may cause them reconsider the case.

 

I understand that you may rightly be upset, but it is you who has been charged with an offence not the rail staff and so far as Magistrates are concerned, they will only be able to ajudicate on the charge before the court.

 

What happened to other people is also irrelevant as all cases are treated on an individual merit basis.

 

The best thing you can do is write to the prosecutor very quickly and see if a resolution can be reached in order to avoid a costly lesson being delivered by a court.

Edited February 27, 2009 by Old-CodJA

[saint-luco]

old-codJA is right in what he says i had the same as you but i only had a cheque book on me, no money or card, i had left my wallet at my girlfriends i could'nt prove this, but i had no way of paying other than cheque before the ticket office was open, i challenged and only had to pay my fare

[Guest mc661]

Contact the FCC prosecutions office ASAP as ask if its possible to settle out of court.

 

Explain the circumstances, and also say your Sorry, and that you dont want one stupid mistake to mess up the rest of your life.

Offer to pay the ticket plus any admin costs in full and final settlement in regards to the matter.

[evans1975]

Thank you so much for your very honest replies - I totally agree with what's being said in the posts and I admit that I was at fault. I have sent a letter to FCC to apologise and ask to see if they would consider settlement out of court. I will keep you updated.

 

Thanks once again for taking the time to get back to me, I really appreciate it.

[blazer666_uk]

I would advise you the same, contact the TOC and state u r very sorry and would like to pay out of court as you realize the severity of it. Most TOC's will accept this as they are greedy and don't care about the law (as they will get less money if you go to court) (I speak from experience = ex revenue employee). It will cost you but its worth it in the end as this is a recordable offence and may pop up if someone does a criminal record check.

Edited March 16, 2009 by blazer666_uk