Help! Very nervous

[chicklet554]

Hello!

About a month ago I bought a ticket at a railcard price without actually having my railcard. I had purchased a rail card and it had not come in the mail yet because of a stupid Bank Holiday. I decided to go ahead and buy a railcard ticket because many of my friends had done it before and not gotten in trouble. I'm not an English citizen and am only here as part of a study abroad program and am leaving to move back to my home country permanently in less than 2 weeks. When the ticket checker checked my ticket I told him the wrong address for the bill to be sent to me because my paycheck from work was a lot less than expected and I was worried about paying my bills. I was led to believe by a number of people (who had dealt with the train companies before) that getting a bill sent to a different address was not a big deal and that people did it all the time. So I was under the impression that it wasn't a big deal. Now I've been informed about being prosecuted. The only thing is that I'm moving back home permanently in two weeks time. I'm a little nervous about what is going to happen. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I hope the industry guys wll be able to get here later. From what I remember, it's possible that the case would go ahead in your absence. What I can't remember is what happens after that.

 

Are you likely to come back to the UK ever? Because I can recall a case when a prosecution caught up with someone years later, but maybe the circumstances were different.

 

My best, HB

[RPI]

It's probably in your interest to offer the TOC the fare plus any admin fees as if you move away ignoring the summons the case will be heard in your absence, now if you are not ever returning to the UK then you MAY get away with it as the courts are unlikely to chase you around the world for the outstanding fine, but it's not impossible. So you could take a risk and ignore it going back to your homeland but that could well be a risky idea, particularly if you plan on returning to the UK at any time.

[chicklet554]

Well I'm likely to come back to the UK but never to live. The only reason for me coming back would be to visit for a short amount of time. I just feel like this has been blown out of proportion and want to know the best way to make it go away. I don't want to get in trouble for not showing up to court, but it's probable I'll be gone before I even get my court summons. Is there some sort of statute of limitations on this ****? It seems a lot absurd that me paying the wrong train fare would classify me as a criminal. At this point, I'm just trying to figure out why I even came to the UK.

[RPI]

At the end of the day you didn't have a valid rail ticket, if there was no punishment then everybody would just buy a railcard ticket with no railcard and the railway would lose 34% of their revenue, you have to stand up to the fact that you did wrong. If you plan on coming back at some point then i strongly suggest that you contact the TOC and explain your situation asap.

[chicklet554]

How would I get in touch with the TOC to offer them the fare and admin fee? I've already sent them the letter explaining my side and said I'd be happy to pay a fine but they kind of disregarded it completely. And to be honest, if the choice was between me never returning to the UK and coming back for a visit but getting arrested, I would choose never to come back. I don't like this country enough for that to be worth the hassle and problems. I just want this to go away. I know that once I get home, it wouldn't be a big deal because I doubt I'd be extradited for a train fare. I know I made the wrong decision and I'm truly sorry, but I had no previous knowledge of travel regulations and how strict they were. I was directly told by English citizens (whom I assumed had a better idea of the things you can get in trouble for in this country than I did) that it wasn't a big deal and all you would have to do is pay a fee. I'm sure the train company thought I was lying because I'm sure they get all kinds of excuses, but I just feel that this is very silly considering my situation. Why aren't they even taking into account that I've never done this before? I'm just so confused as to why they are taking it so seriously.And if I leave before I get my court summons, how is it legal for the case to proceed without me? And I shouldn't get in trouble for not showing up if I don't know when my court date was. I'm just confused to all the workings of the legal system here.

[RPI]

I can't really add to what i've already said.

[chicklet554]

Well I don't even know what the TOC is...What does it stand for? If I don't know what it is, I can't get in touch with them...

[Old-CodJA]

Well I don't even know what the TOC is...What does it stand for? If I don't know what it is, I can't get in touch with them...

 

This makes no sense at all.

 

In one post you say you do not know what TOC means, but in the one immediately before it you say :

 

How would I get in touch with the TOC to offer them the fare and admin fee? I've already sent them the letter explaining my side and said I'd be happy to pay a fine but they kind of disregarded it completely

 

TOC means Train Operating Company. Tell us which one it was and we can help you get in touch with the right office.

 

The best thing that you can possibly do is contact them very quickly and explain the position and ask again if they will let you settle this out of Court. Somehow going on believing that by claiming a discount you are not entitled to is OK, is going to land you in a whole lot of trouble sooner or later.

Edited May 17, 2012 by Old-CodJA

[chicklet554]

Now that I know what TOC means I can get in touch with them. Me not knowing how to get in touch with them was an extension of me not knowing what that means. And I'm going to contact them today by phone to try and get it sorted. I don't think what I did was ok, I know it was wrong. I just feel like they're being a bit harsh given my circumstances. I've never dealt with anything like this before and I"m a bit surprised how seriously this is taken here.

[chicklet554]

I'm sure no one actually cares, but I just wanted to say it's nearly been resolved. Got a lawyer and she said she's pretty sure she can get an out of court settlement for 50 pounds. She's taking care of it.

[assisted blonde]

Thats good, hope it works out for you

[MrGates]

Before you assume you could settle for £50 how much was the original fare?

[Old-CodJA]

Before you assume you could settle for £50 how much was the original fare?

 

Yes, my thought exactly and of course the Lawyer isn't going to be doing it free of charge ( unless you are very fortunate indeed.)

 

Administrative settlements ( that means out of court ) usually consist of at least the single fare due plus the administration costs incurred by the rail company. Good luck though

[chicklet554]

I settled for 50 pounds. I just hope you all know that your advice is fairly useless and only scares the **** out of people. The rail companies are just on a continuous power trip and are way too intense with this ****. It's not important.

[Old-CodJA]

I settled for 50 pounds. I just hope you all know that your advice is fairly useless and only scares the **** out of people. The rail companies are just on a continuous power trip and are way too intense with this ****. It's not important.

 

We are all entitled to opinions. You are very welcome to yours.

 

I think I can say with a fair measure of certainty that the TOC will not be concerned in the slightest. It is almost certain that the only reasons they decided to accept a payment were because you are not permanenlty domiciled here and could show that you were not returning. It was an easy resolution.

 

Don't forget, you also had to pay the Lawyer so that cost must also be taken into account too.

 

I note from your original post that your offence was a clear case of 'intending not to pay'.

 

'I decided to go ahead and buy a railcard ticket because many of my friends had done it before and not gotten in trouble. I'm not an English citizen and am only here as part of a study abroad program and am leaving to move back to my home country permanently in less than 2 weeks. When the ticket checker checked my ticket I told him the wrong address for the bill to be sent to me because my paycheck from work was a lot less than expected and I was worried about paying my bills.'

 

Do remember that there is incredibly unlikely to be a settlement next time so far as any TOC is concerned. In almost all cases, one out of Court settlement includes the fact that a written warning has been given and remains on file with the rail company. I note you don't say which one it was of course and some are much more vigilant than others.

 

If you should return for further study, I hope that the re-education value of your experience isn't wasted.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Old-CodJA

[MrGates]

If it was so useless why ask for advice in the first instance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stigy]

I settled for 50 pounds. I just hope you all know that your advice is fairly useless and only scares the **** out of people. The rail companies are just on a continuous power trip and are way too intense with this ****. It's not important.

So will you be returning to our country? If that's your attitude, I'd think long and hard about it if I were you!

 

Of course it's the TOC's fault that you got yourself in this mess in the first place......Silly me...

 

We volunteer our time here to all intents and purposes (that means we don't get paid.....), therefore the advice we give tends to be accurate as we've got nothing to gain by influencing people otherwise!

 

Have a nice day.