i have been stupid stupid stupid

[terrifiedorn]

Guys

 

firstly apologies for the following statement.

 

I know i have been seriously stupid.

 

I got caught with fare evasion in september, (i had been paying a single journey fare for a return journey due to no barriers either end) for little over a week. due to financaial circumstances.

 

I got stopped at a ticket barrier obviously with a oyster card saying incomplete journeys etc etc, and i got detained.

 

i recieved my letter from tfl in october stating my case which i replyed with a very apologetic letter stating it will never happen again (i was and still am all over the place mentally)

 

i have now recieved my court summons which will be in the next few weeks. i can potentially lose my job over this.

 

i accept i am completley in the wrong and am willing to pay any fine that will cover there expenses incurred.

 

I have phoned them up this morning to try to plead my case but they said to confirm in writing either snail mail or email (email is my preference)

 

how can i try to avoid a criminal record?

 

i was at such a low point when i got caught, i had next to no money, the tube line was constantly running late and i was getting in trouble with my work for my time keeping due to the fact that the trains were always running late (i havent mentioned this in my letter or over the phone as i have read her not to say anything bad about the service they run).

 

now since the "act" my wife has been diagnosed with end stage renal failure and her operation is coming up also.

 

I am in a complete state regarding all of this.

 

any advice is welcome..

 

apologies for taking up your time as i appreciate all of you are busy

[rebel11]

Hi ter

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available.

[dx100uk]

write a second pleading letter [have a look at oldcodja's posts in this forum for examples]

 

off er to pay ALL cost and whatever the fine might be IF it did go to court [about £110 i think]

 

might work.

 

dx

[terrifiedorn]

I did when i spoke to them.

 

the cost breakdown when it goes to court will be £120 contribution towards costs, victim surcharge (15 i think) and whatever the fine would be.

 

The lady on the phone was very helpful but coulnd give any advice unfortunatley.

 

If they do decide (and i pray they do) not to proceed with court action the minimum i would be expected to pay would be the court costs which are in the region of £300.

 

as mentioned above luckily the lady gave me this information.

 

she gave me the email address i need to use when liasing with them.

[Old-CodJA]

Realistically, the lady you spoke to on the phone couldn't be expected to tell you what to say, but perhaps if you try something like this, you might get a sympathetic hearing:

 

Dear Sirs,

 

Your Reference >

 

I write regarding the Summons that I have received from you and concerning the occasion on > when I was reported for travelling on your train service from > to > without a valid rail ticket.

 

I wish to offer my unreserved apology for my actions in the hope that you will allow this matter to be resolved without continuing to court action and thereby allowing me to preserve my good name. I have not previously been prosecuted for any offence.

 

I do recognise that I have been very foolish. At the time of the offence I was not acting rationally, my financial situation was very poor and I was under a great deal of pressure at work. Please be assured that I am not seeking to put undue emotional pressure on you, but I hope that you will understand why I am ask that you might be able to show a little compassion. My wife has been recently diagnosed with a serious medical condition for which she is awaiting an operation and I am very concerned that the worry caused by my stupidity leading to the incident report, should not add to her discomfort. Her medical condition can be independently confirmed should you wish.

 

I do understand that fare evasion is a very serious problem and unfair to the vast majority of travellers who pay the correct fare every time, I hope that you will recognise that I acted out of genuine hardship and I am very sorry for having done so. I wish to apologise to the member of staff concerned and to the Rail Company for the extra administration work that my actions have caused.

 

I hope that you can accept my offer to pay the full fare that is due and all of the reasonable costs that have been incurred by the rail company in the hope that you will allow me to make amends for this uncharacteristic act rather than go to Court action.

 

I promise never to travel on a train without a valid rail ticket in future.

 

Yours etc.

 

The foregoing letter is just my suggestion, there are no guarantees it will work and you really should put it in your own words, just using this as a kind of template.

 

Good luck

[terrifiedorn]

Many thanks for you letter. i will also take your advice on board it really is informative.

 

one other quick question.

 

with the court cummons they have put a means testing form in.

 

how much of that shall i fill out

 

its asks for things like my NI number, my car registration number and my earnings etc, etc.

 

why would they need all of this information, apologies for the questions, and if i dont fill it all in i will be fined.

[Old-CodJA]

IF this goes to Court and IF you are convicted, the one thing you really must fill out is the statement of your income and outgoings.

 

If you fill in false figures and are found out later, you could face a much more serious charge.

[terrifiedorn]

Oldcodja

 

thanks for your useful information..

 

Why would they need my car registration number and NI Number for?

[Maxwell TM]

Possibly, this a way of getting information which will help decide whether it is worthwhile taking an enforcement step; and if so, which of the methods available is most likely to produce results.

 

More information at HM Court Services website, (sorry, I cannot yet post links).

[Wriggler7]

As the offence did not involve 'driving', you do not need to fill in 'vehicle' details, but you do need to put your National Insurance number on. A very high number of defendants in 'minor' matters like this end up with penalties being deducted from benefits.

 

Fine defaulters are costing 'the system' huge amounts. The form MC100 is part of the 'collection' process.

 

It is also very important for it to be filled in correctly such that penalties imposed are 'fair' in relation to the particular defendant.

[terrifiedorn]

HELP

i submitted the latter old-codja supplied i editied it and i received the following

Thank you for your email dated xxxx, I have read and noted your comments in relation to your pending hearing due to be heard

I appreciate your concerns regarding this matter however fare evasion is a widespread problem on the London Underground system and is taken very seriously.

The action of Passengers travelling without a valid ticket for their journey is one of the most common offences of fare evasion on London Underground and contributes greatly to the estimated loss of about £22 million in revenue per year.

It is our view that the decision to prosecute was taken in line with the London Underground Prosecution Policy, after a full examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged offence. It states in the policy that the decision to prosecute is only substituted in exceptional circumstances; we are not persuaded in your case that there are any exceptional circumstances.

Under the circumstances we reject your offer to settle the matter out of court and London Underground intends to proceed with the matter as listed and I would advise you to submit your plea to the court before this hearing.

Any ideas on how i can respond to this ?

Help im getting desperate for such a stupid act.

[terrifiedorn]

also another question.

 

in the court summons they also mentioned that the journey fare was £7. the fact is the fare is actually £6.

 

shall i let them know of this also

 

im just getting desperate

 

apologies

[Wriggler7]

Don't get desparate, it is not the end of the world as we know it if you are convicted.

 

That letter does look a bit 'final', but I suppose that there is no harm in writing a 'thank you for your letter', and point out your remorse. It may also be a 'trick', although others may have different views, to include a cheque to the value of their costs claim and the avoided fare, made payable to LU, which may make it easier for them to accept a settlement than all of the trouble of returning your cheque and still prosecuting.

[Maxwell TM]

OK, you have been caught bilking and by your own admission, this wasn't a one off. Although this crime doesn't rank highly on the Pol Pot scale, it is still an offence and barring a minor miracle, you will be convicted for it.

 

IMO, damage limitation is now the key. You have shown remorse, you have offered to pay and you have promised not to offend again. You also have reasonable mitigating circumstances in your favour. All these elements will strike a chord with the Magistrate(s), almost certainly resulting in a slap on the wrist.

 

Perhaps more importantly, as you are concerned for your job, my advice would be to reveal this to your employer as soon as you know that court action is definitely to go ahead. That way, you will gain points for your candour and present the facts before the gossips, local media etc, do the job for you. You don't mention your profession, but many employers are sympathetic to the odd human failing and a frank and honest admission can be a deciding factor in your favour.

 

I wish you well in the days ahead.

[terrifiedorn]

Thanks for your message..

i currently work within ICT.

I was hoping not to let my employers know as they are going through a major job re-structuring and it MIGHT cost me my job.

At the time of the incident i was under some financial pressure, work were continually on my back as i was always arriving late due to the fact the underground was always playing up. my journeys instead of 1.5 hours each was were taking closer to 2 - 2.5 hours due to late running trains signal failure etc etc. I was completley stressed out not an excuse i know...

To give you an example even now take last thursday for instance It took me nearly 5 hours to get home due to signal failure it just started to get on top of me i guess i know its not an excuse i am just being honest.

Since the incident i have been a nervous wreck if i am completley honest i feel like people are watching me. I have never done anything like this before or will do again i hate it.

I honestly feel all alone my wife has been of some support but she is also in a lot of pain so i am stressed about her.

When the inspector took me to one side we chatted and he never even offered me to pay the penalty charge as i had unfinished journeys on my card, His exact word to me were sorry in this case but i am choosing to be brutal towards you, after the interview he saw my mental state he commented that i will probably only get a warning as i was so co-operative i think he only said that to make a bit easier. I told him at the time im wasnt going to lie to him and each question he asked i gave an honest and truthful answer.

i take the underground as it is the cheaper option for me £60 a week instead of £105 week to take an overground service. the journey each was is £6 so why on the court summons do they say the single journey fare is £7 ?

I was completley honest with the RPI inspector and he also said he would note how co-operative i was but he didnt, im not angry he was probably just trying to keep me calm as i was all over the place.

I know what i did was completley wrong and unjustified and i have had to live with my guilt since the incident took place, i have offered to cover the journey plus costs i am willing to try anything to avoid court action all because I AM SCARED of mentioning it to my job.

I really can’t live with myself at the moment my enthusiasium even for my kids have disappeared because of the worry that i am finding with all of this.

I’m actually the kind of person that gives his seat up to an elderly person, a pregnant person etc.

When I find mobile phone I hand it in.

there was even an instance in the oyster machine I found £8 ish I think was someones change I passed it to the ticket office.

I am not a dishonest person may sounds like closing the door after the horse has bolted but im not it was a genuine genuine mistake which really upsets me at the level of stupidity.

sincere apologies for the above but i have NO-ONE else i can talk to about this.

I am not trying to escape the fine or the costs i am just trying to preserve my name that is all.

so if you have ANY advice what so ever on how i can get through to them i WILL never do it again it will truly help

[Maxwell TM]

FWIW, I don't doubt your sincerity and I have to admit to having a lump in my throat as I read the above. Personally, I think that you have paid and paid again for your indiscretions. Sadly, the prosecutions department don't take the same line. It looks as though they are determined to prosecute, although Wriggler 7 makes a very interesting and possibly effective suggestion above.

 

If it does go to court, you have done "all the right things." I am sure that you will be dealt with leniently. Job wise, there are far worse 'crimes' in many peoples' past and a few moments of madness don't make you a career criminal. Although a frank chat with HR may lead them to view you less favourably, your courage and basic honesty would be in less doubt. Provided that you don't handle sensitive/financial data, a relatively minor offence is possibly not in itself a "deciding" reason to terminate you. Learning of your adventures from the "Neasden Herald" might be.

 

However, you would need to disclose the conviction in every subsequent job application until it is spent. (5 years). That said, a record is not necessarily a bar to employment. Some years ago, the Lib Dems provoked furore when they pointed out that 98 serving police officers had prior convictions for offences of dishonesty. The decision on whether or not to disclose is for you alone and I have no wish to moralise here, although your resolve not to be dishonest again may be called into question if you do not.

 

Good Luck

[terrifiedorn]

again thanks for you comments.

 

I am currently liasing with a trusted work colleague on how we can approach my place of work with all this.

 

I am playing with the idea of actually sending the above to the prosecuters office?? or will that do more harm than good, probably more harm come to think of it.

 

i do apologise my mind is all over the place

[terrifiedorn]

Old -codja and wriggler 7 i have sent you both a PM.

 

i really hope you dont mind.

[Old-CodJA]

Old -codja and wriggler 7 i have sent you both a PM.

 

i really hope you dont mind.

 

No problem, you have a personal reply

[shamsa01]

Could you please update us on your case. Thanks

[Grotesque]

Shamsa.

 

You will never hear from them again.

 

Festive greetings.