Settling case out of court (fare evasion)

[vdishy]

Hello,

 

I have a court case on the 3rd of July regarding fare evasion and due to my career I need advice on the process of how to settle out of court. This is the first time that anything of this sort has happen to me and as things stand I do not have a criminal record and as a graduate aeronautical engineer any convictions will severely effect my career.

 

A little about the incident, it happened on the 5th september 2013, I accidentally picked up my mothers freedom pass while in a rush to go to a interview for a job (my current job), however I realized that I wasn't mine and I didn't use it on the way to the interview (the travel history will show this). But the incident happened on the way back from the interview, I accidentally used her pass without thinking as I was absent minded and very happy at the time because I got the job when a inspector stopped me at the barriers to check the pass which is when I realised that I used the wrong one, again the history of the pass would indicate that I only used it at that barrier (He confiscated the pass from me). I acknowledged that I used it by mistake but I did not intend to dodge the fare on purpose, I told the inspector what happened and I gave him my relevant details with the help of my ID and even offer to pay the fare or any fine in which he told me that if I am to be fine, that I would get it in the post.

 

I fully knowledge that I used it, but I used it by mistake and I fully regret making that mistake as it will have an impact on my employment. I would like to resolve this out of court as I have no prior convictions and this is the first time anything like this has happen to me. Any advice is very much appreciated.

 

Thanks

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG. The transport guys should be along later.

 

Have you had any other correspondence from the train company or did they go straight to summons please?

 

Also, have you used this card in the past?

 

My best, HB

[vdishy]

Hi honeybee,

 

Long story short, any initial correspondence would have been sent to my old address but I got letter from the LCCC at my parents house notifying me of a court fine and after chasing it up I found out that it went to court and they passed a judgement without me being there. So I followed the process that they instructed me to do and I completed a statuary declaration at a magistrates court two weeks ago and they gave me a court date for the 3rd July. please let me know if you need any further infomation.

 

Thanks

[vdishy]

Oh and I have forgot to mention that no I personally have never used that pass and to my knowledge only my mother to whom it belongs to has ever used it. I used my oyster top up on the way to the interview into oxford station but on the way home from the interview I accidentally used it at oxford circus underground station (both have the same covers). I have always topped up or had monthly passes which I have bought since starting work.

[BazzaS]

Oh and I have forgot to mention that no I personally have never used that pass and to my knowledge only my mother to whom it belongs to has ever used it. I used my oyster top up on the way to the interview into oxford station but on the way home from the interview I accidentally used it at oxford circus underground station (both have the same covers). I have always topped up or had monthly passes which I have bought since starting work.

 

Can you tell us more : how is it they both have the same covers ?

[vdishy]

Hi Bazza,

 

I have the standard black Osyter card holder and after some wear and tear my mother replaced her orange one with one that she got from a train station which is the same type. She has card that card for 6 or more years, I can find out exactly if that helps. It was left on the coffee table in the living room where I was preparing for my interview, I had my notes, phone, wallet and keys etc on it too and as I realized I might be getting late for the interview I just grabbed everything off the table as I rushed out of the house forgetting that I left my osyter card in my coat pocket from the previous day where I used it to get to the job center, I just assumed it was mine. I realised it wasnt mine as I got to the bus stop that i had another one in my pocket which is when I used my card for the entire journey, two busses and two trains to the job interview.

 

Thanks

Edited June 11, 2014 by vdishy

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

Have you written to or rung the train company to ask if they would permit you to settle this out of court and pay the fare due plus their reasonable admin costs?

 

If it is as you say, they may agree to this. I think it's worth a try.

 

HB

[vdishy]

Hi Honeybee,

 

I haven't contacted the train company (i guess its TFL, it happen at oxford circus) to settle this out of court, I've only spoke to LCCC and Lavender Hill court court about the case that happened in Feb without me present and to make a statutory declaration. I'm not sure who to contact and what to say and I was hoping to come here and get advice from you guys on how possibly to do so.

 

thanks

[honeybee13]

Thank you for that.

 

I'm not sure either. You don't have any of the correspondence that went to your previous address? That woud normally have a case reference and the name of the person dealing with it.

 

HB

[vdishy]

I don't have any of the initial correspondence and from what I have been told is that they have been destroyed by the current occupants of the address. I do have a LCCC case reference number on the letter that I got at my parents house, is that of any use?

 

Cheers

[rebel11]

They certainly shouldn't have done that, they should have returned it.

 

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_post_e/consumer_problems_with_post_e/consumer_problems_with_post_delivery_e/youre_receiving_someone_elses_mail.htm

 

I don't have any of the initial correspondence and from what I have been told is that they have been destroyed by the current occupants of the address. I do have a LCCC case reference number on the letter that I got at my parents house, is that of any use?

 

Cheers

[vdishy]

Yeah, I guess they threw it in the bin because the incident happen on 5th Sept and the court case happened on 27th Feb and I only found out about it from a letter on 28th March. Not sure when they would have got the first letter(s) but I wouldn't have expected them to hold on to them and ideally they should have returned it to the sender.

 

Can anyone weigh in on who to contact/write to and what to write given the information that I have given to settle this out of court. With there being only 3 weeks until the case goes to court, I'm getting slightly nervous because I don't know how long this process will take to settle.

 

Thanks

[vdishy]

Just a little update, London underground have sent me a copy of the original court summons as well as a witness statement (there are some things on that that are incorrect) from the revenue control inspector at the time to refresh my memory of the incident.

 

I'm being charged with "attempting to travel on the railway without having previously paid the fare and with intent to avoid payment thereof contrary to s.5(3)(a) of the regulation of Railways Act 1889 as amended by Section 84 (2) of the transport Act 1962 and Section 18 of the British Railways Act 1970"

 

And I am being prosecuted by London Underground, I also have a address and the name of the prosecutions manager.

 

I will be writing to him in the next two days, I would appreciate it a lot if anyone could give me advice in what to write to him to avoid rambling on considering my recollections of the facts that I have provided bellow.

 

Thank you for reading this.

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

The other forum where you asked for advice suggested you speak to a lawyer. Did you do this please?

 

HB

[vdishy]

I have an appointment with a local solicitors tomorrow, however with my current financial constraints, I am not if I would be able to afford legal advice so I would like to cover all my bases. Ideally I would like someone that knows what they are doing to settle this out of court but I might not happen considering what they said the cost might be. I'm in a delicate situation financially being a recent graduate living in London working in a minimum paid job and I'm considering to apply for further loans which my be exhausted.

[rebel11]

You could visit your local CAB, they have access to solicitors.

[vdishy]

Thanks, I totally forgot about citizen's advice bureau, it probably wont be the best option but might be my only option.

[rebel11]

Some towns have Community Law Centres but you will need to check if they can help with this problem.

 

http://www.lawcentres.org.uk/

 

Thanks, I totally forgot about citizen's advice bureau, it probably wont be the best option but might be my only option.

[Sammy13]

Hello there...

 

I was in the same situation as you were....mine was that i used my friends student oyster card....and got into trouble..i managed to settle out of court by writing a letter with these points that i took from their PROSECUTION POLICY...the points are:

 

1.The offender admits the irregular travel and;

2.The risk of re-offending is considered minimal and; (I will never even in think of doing this again even if it is in my dream!!!)

3.The offender agrees to pay the administrative costs incurred in

the processing of the case file.

 

now you have said that you only used the card only once...so you might have a chance...but the only problem is that the card you used was a freedom pass...but anyways right to them with the points that i have mentioned above...I only had to write one letter BTW after i got my court summons...IT is very important what you PUT on the letter...

 

all the best wishes

 

sam

[vdishy]

Hello Sammy13,

 

Thank you for replying, your post is very helpful but I think its better off for me to get someone that knows what they are doing to act on my behalf since even though I did it accidentally, I did something wrong and I am willing to pay for my mistake even if a solicitor will wipe out any savings I have left and will leave me broke, a loss in income in my chosen industry would be far greater. I will never make that mistake again, it just a freak sequence of incidents, nothing like this has happen to me in the 10 years that I have had a oyster card and I've been paying for monthly travel cards since I got the job and incident but not that it matter.

 

I will update in due course once I hear anything but the likelihood is that I'll have to go to court.

 

Thanks

[Sammy13]

Hello

I think it will be harder to get an out of court settlement if you say you did it by mistake...cos remember tfl would have heard that excuse a number of times...I am not accusing you of anytin...it is just my observation reading various threads on here....OH BTW..do you have an oyster of your own..you can show your Oyster history...and write to them that it was an honest mistake..it is very essential to back your claims with evidence...

 

All the best wishes....

 

sammy

[vdishy]

I do have my own oyster card however unfortunately after speaking to the underground staff, they can only look up to 3 months journey usage and the incident happened 10 months ago. That's why I'll leave it up to the professionals, but I appreciate the advice.

 

Many Thanks

[firstclassx]

I do have my own oyster card however unfortunately after speaking to the underground staff, they can only look up to 3 months journey usage and the incident happened 10 months ago. That's why I'll leave it up to the professionals, but I appreciate the advice.

 

Many Thanks

 

Oyster history can go back for years, as it is stored on the central servers for a variety of reasons, one being crime prevention/detection.

[vdishy]

Oh great, I never knew that they stored it for that long, on a side note with the witness statement the London underground sent me, they sent a photo copy of the front and back of the pass but more importantly a print out of the oyster card history, well the last 10 uses and that show one use at oxford circus on that date and the others are for bus journeys in my local area with the next one being a week before the incident. I'm not sure if that will help, I guess I'll have to use that in conjunction with the history of my card and hope for the best.

[king12345]

They can only look at Oyster card history of the last 3 months.

They don't store any longer info than that.

Have you contacted the prosecution dpt?

They are the guys that can settle out of court.

Better if you let a solicitor contact them.