FCC intent to prosecute

[starshell89]

ive been sent a notice of intent to prosecute. and im not sure what to do.

 

i was travelling from hatfield to kings cross with a std ticket and i sat in first class. The only reason I sat in first class was because the train was overcrowded and I had been waiting for the train for over an hour. I walked down to the end of the platform got on the train and sat down. I really wasn't aware that you could be prosecuted for doing so. when the ticket inspector asked to see my ticket i showed it to him and this is when he told me that i would be fined for sitting there. He asked me to pay upfront but i didn't have the money so i asked if he could send it to my house so i could pay it that way. He did caution me and ask me a list of questions which i answered but he didn't say anything about this going to court. However what i did do is give a fake name which the inspector called to check and passed. Im not sure how because that person does not exist in that house. name but my real address. This was not because i didn't have the intention of not paying but because i didn't want to get in trouble when the letter got sent to my house. Im not really sure what to do now. I didnt get on the train with the intention of sitting in first class and not paying i just stupidly sat there. I was just tired and cold and wanted to sit down.

 

any advice would be appreciated as im not sure if i should call them, write to them or to ignore this as its not addressed to me. Im a student with very little money and i accept what i did was very niave but i would really like to settle this out of court.

 

thanks

[Grotesque]

Hi Starshell. This is my THIRD attempt at answering your question. But my post keeps getting removed. That really helps you doesn't it. Sorry you are being treated llike that, I don't know why.

 

Having committed three offences, which one or all of them form the basis of the charge against you? What is it exactly? The letter you received should say explicitly. Tell us what it says, removing your personal details first of course.

 

All the best!

[starshell89]

hi

 

the letter states that the offence is 'remain a reserved seat, berth or train without the appropriate ticket'.

[Grotesque]

Thanks starshell, be interessting to see how long my post stands!

 

But what legislation? Soounds llike Byelaw 19?

[starshell89]

it doesn't say im afraid. it just has another piece of paper attached asking me to write down what happened and to sign it. im not sure what to do as i didnt give my real name. im not sure if i should ignore the letter as it is technically not in name.

[Grotesque]

Well strictly it means you've opened someone elses mail then!!! lol

I can't really condone or advise about giving false names etc; the fact that you gave the right address means it might not be impossible to trace you, especially if you are registered there. So whereas at the moment you might 'only' looking at a conviction for breaking a byelaw (by the looks of the form of words in their letter, which is almost verbatim from the byelaw), by giving a false name you have not only compounded the first offence, but committed a worse one in its own right, as providing false details is an offence under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889.

 

The choice now, I guess, is Hobson's- either own up now and throw yourself on their mercy, or wait for them to catch up with you (which may or may not happen), in which case the chances for 'mercy' will be infintismal...

 

The unfortunate thing is that without this false name business complicating things, your would have had a reasonable expectation of settling the Byelaw offence administratively.

[starshell89]

Thats the problem. I didn't think it would as serious as court. I always buy a valid ticket and have even purchased a student rail card to help with the costs, so when i was giving a false name i didnt think. also i didnt no they called to check you live there so i was shocked they didnt realise this person wasn't real. is there no way they consider letting me settle this, im just very confused as to what to do because if i ask them to let me settle this i would have to continue being this person that doesnt exsist, but if i do that and it doesnt work i can only imagine im in further trouble.

if i do tell them what happened i know im in trouble anyway, but im not sure what kind. I can assume it will be fine and criminal conviction is there a chance of a prison sentence

 

Thanks

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I'm not a forum expert, but prison is not common for railway offences, so I doubt if you need to worry about that.

 

Hopefully other forum members will be along later with views about how you can tackle this. I can't advise because I don't have experience in this area, sorry, but I imagine it may be better to come clean about the false identity before the rail company start checking it all out.

 

My best, HB

[Grotesque]

Prison is a theoretical outcome under the RoRA but for a low level thing like this on a first offence, NO WAY. So don't worry about that. The problem you got is to either ignore it (and hope there's no such thing as Karma, eh! lol), or acknowledge it. But if you do, you can't come clean about just the ticket problem, now it's gotta be the false details too. All or nothing! BUT it would, I think be appreciated; Railway Prosecutors are human (!!!) and you might get some credit for owning up when if you had stayed silent, yes they might still have caught up with you, but it would have taking longer and put them to some expense, which you could save them. Get my drift?

 

Whether they offer to settle 'administratively' or not is completely their decision, but you can make it easier for them to do it with a well-phrased apologetic letter explaining unreservedlly it was a moment of panic-induced madness, promises never to do it again etc etc, and maybe even through in a chceque to cover their expenses up until now. Much easier for the prosecutor to close the case and move on if he has a cheque he can cash (the bird in hand technique).

 

I gotta shoot off for a couple of hours. TTFN.

[Old-CodJA]

It is quite possible that you will be identified, but before I go into that, it seems a bit hard to understand the reasoning behind this,

 

Can you explain why you had been waiting over an hour for a train from Hatfield to Kings Cross please, because there is an average of 5 trains every hour on that route.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Old-CodJA

[starshell89]

it was on a sunday and there were delays and i had just missed the train while buying a ticket. i just didnt want to get in trouble with my parents, i thought if it came in another name i could secretly pay it. ive never been fined before so i dont no how it works, i thought it would be obvious what they had sent me. i think i just panicked at the time because if they had thrown it away thinking it was rubbish i would of really been screwed.

[Grotesque]

It is quite possible that you will be identified, but before I go into that, it seems a bit hard to ubnderstand the reasoning behind this,

 

Can you explain why you had been waiting over an hour for a train from Hatfield to Kings Cross please, because there is an average of 5 trains every hour on that route.

 

Woooah...!!! Gotta go easy here bro; Site Team don't like us saying anything critical of an OP I'm afraid now lol

 

Mind you that is one of the questions I'd have liked to ask, kid gloves or not. But: I ask no questions, and get told no lies. Unlike the Inspector

[Grotesque]

Hopefully other forum members will be along later.

My best, HB

 

Thanks for the support.