Another fare evasion thread

[drinkupretty]

I have had a quick look around here but I cannot find the info I am after. I have had a letter with a £65.50 fine after travelling with the wrong ticket. My mistake entirely, I got mixed up with another similar sounding station, when the error was pointed out I offered to pay the extra 50p but this fell on deaf ears. I want to pay the fine to avoid court action but I need to pay in instalments as I do not have £65.50 as I am a student and have no money now it is the summer. my query is does someone have a template of a letter for this kind of situation? I have come to write to them and have no idea what to put!

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

Would you be able to type up the letter with personal details and staff names omitted please? That way we can advise you on your specific problem.

 

My best, HB

[drinkupretty]

The letter is as follows:

 

Dear xxx,

It has been reported that on Wednesday 11th July 2012 you travelled from xxx to xxx by train without a valid ticket.

 

This is an offence in law. being contrary to section 5(3)a of the Regulations of Railways Acts of 1889, and or Railway Byelaws and we are now preparing the case for court. If convicted of the offence, you could be ordered to pay a fine of up to £1000 and/ or be sentenced to 3 months imprisonment. The Magistrates' court also has the power to order you to pay our costs of bringing the prosecution together with compensation for any outstanding fare.

 

I have reviewed your case and I am, on this occasion, prepared to offer a settlement of this matter upon payment of £65.50 which equates to the outstanding fare owed of £0.50, plus a contribution of £65 towards costs incurred to date. This offer is made without prejudice.

 

Payment should be sent to this office within 10 days, and may be by cheque or postal order. Cheques should be made payable to xxx and crossed account payee. Do not send cash. Please quote the reference number at the top of the letter when sending payment. Should you wish to pay by debit or credit card please call the number at the top of the letter.

 

If you pay this sum by the due date then xxx will give an undertaking not to prosecute you in this instance. Should you fail to respond to this letter within 10 days you may be served with a summons without further notice from ourselves, requesting you to attend court to answer the charge(s). The costs incurred should this happen will increase. If you do not admit the offence, then you will have the opportunity to plead not guilty and ask the magistrate to try the case.

 

Yours Sincerely

xxx

[firstclassx]

I wouldn't push it too much asking for installments. How does the TOC know you are going to maintain them?

 

Out of interest, is this Merseyrail?

 

I might get a bit of a flaming here, but you would be better borrowing the money, is there nothing you can pawn etc?

[drinkupretty]

I do not have £65.50 to pay them though, I cannot go to court as I am a trainee social worker and a conviction would ruin my career.

[firstclassx]

If it is that bad and devastating for your future then you need to consider some of the more extreme alternatives like a PayDayLoan, (although these are horrendous, so only borrow exactly what you need and pay it back ASAP). Not sure if there's such thing as a "best" one.

 

You could ask your bank to extend your overdraft or sell your phone to CEX etc...

 

Is it Merseyrail? If so let me know ASAP.

[drinkupretty]

No it is not mersey rail

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

Please don't take out a payday loan unless it's really really necessary. There are threads and threads here about how bad they can be.

 

But I have read here before that rail companies don't take instalments. Can anyone else help you with the money?

 

Hopefully someone here will take pity on you and tell you what you could write, but you may need to think about how to pay the fine a bit more.

 

HB

[Old-CodJA]

Unfortunately an opportunity to resolve by such a payment to avoid Court action is exactly that.

 

The TOC are tied in to rules that set time constraints for prosecution and they have no obligation to, nor interest in, setting up costly to administer, licenced collection schemes.

 

It is something that many people find embarassing and difficult to deal with, but if possible I would seriously consider approaching your family and explaining your predicament.

 

Maybe they will be able to help before the issue of a summons becomes a pressing reality that you have to deal with instead.

Edited August 15, 2012 by Old-CodJA

[RPI]

Judging by the format of the letter it's either FGW or TPE?

[firstclassx]

It looks almost identical to one our templates, other than the amount. I wonder where my predecessor got the mail merge template from...