adult travelling on child ticket

[chillibabe]

I am posting on behalf of my daughter who knows she done wrong and was coperative when challenged but has now recieved a court summons I just want to ask is there any way she can settle out of court she has a panic disorder and takes antidepressants for this and feel a criminal record will really effect her future prospect she has just got her edication back on track after suffering from cfs for 4 years ,she did ask for the matter to be settled out of court but heard no more till today when summons recieved ,She is so regetful for her actions and has never done anything like this before or since getting caught was enough for her.She is in a real state,any help appreciated should just add this is swt .

 

[Urban Gateline]

Did your daughter get a letter asking for her version of events? Normally this happens before the court summons being sent out. I would have thought at this point it is too late to settle out of court unless she manages to contact SWT prosecutions and agree a settlement.

Does it say on the court summons which offense SWT are looking to prosecute your daughter under? The more serious is the Regulation of Railways act S5.3 which concerns intending to avoid payment of the fare due. This carries a criminal record and a fine. The less serious is the Railway Byelaws (18) which is not a recordable offence but still leads to a fine.

 

[455driver]

Probably RoRA as it is quite difficult to "accidentally" get a child ticket instead of an adult one, you never know your luck though, it might be just a byelaw offence.

SWT do tend to be quite hot on these easy cases though.

 

[chillibabe]

it is s5.3a ,she did reply to the letter asking to avoid court because of her panic disorder ,I am just realy concerned what effect this is going to have on her mentally I am in no way excusing that she did wrong and neither would she .

 

[DaveNewcastle]

It is always possible, in theory, to reach a settlement right upto and including the date of the Court Appearance. In practice, this becomes difficult and potentially expensive as the Hearing's date approaches.

I'm assuming that it really is Summons that she's received specifying the date of the Hearing and in which Court it will be heard, and not as Urban Gateline asked, just an Investigations letter asking for her version of events (and with grave cautions that legal proceedings may follow).

If an out-of-Court settlement has already been refused, then its going to be tricky, and without all the details (I really mean all the details, including the Stagements which the prosecution intend to produce as Evidence) it's simply not possible to give a single proposal for you to make another attempt at a settlement.
I'm sorry to say that it's alsmost definitely going to benefit from a solicitor's negotiation. If you ask a local law firm specialising in Criminal Defence work for assistance, they can go through the Evidence and look for ways in which it might be possible to make an offer of a settlement plus an argument which might weaken the Prosecution to the point where the offer is attractive. In the event that even this fails, then the solicitor will be in a good position to mitigate the Sentence as vigourously as they can, presenting your daughter's circumstances in the best light.

Such assistance may cost dearly, but it is what I recommend.

 

[chillibabe]

would a mitigation statement help in her case if so any advice on writing one .

 

[bb21]

would a mitigation statement help in her case if so any advice on writing one .

It would be difficult to say. If she has evidence from her doctor which can provide strong proof as to how severely she might be affected by such a conviction, and she appears genuinely remorseful, a court might take a lenient stance, in sentencing if convicted for example.

That said, the court has to rely on facts. I don't know her condition well enough to say whether it could have impaired her judgement on the day of travel. If so, then obtain evidence from the doctor and things might be viewed in a different light as it is a medical condition. I don't think she can be excused travelling on a child ticket because she has a panic disorder, so a conviction is a real possibility, but then again I am not a medical expert.

I offer no guarantees but these are avenues you might wish to explore. If she is desperate to avoid a conviction, then I echo DaveNewcastle's advice that you need to seek legal advice straight away.

 

[Harlesden]

Speaking as an ordinary passenger - who has been an adult for four decades - I really cannot think of any medical condition that would cause an adult individual to consciously choose a child ticket over an adult ticket.
In addition, I don't believe a court would be particularly interested in the after effects of a conviction. They will be more interested in a valid explanation for the act which was committed.

 

[8J]

As mentioned on this thread, the RPI's will see the fact that she purchased a child's ticket as an intent to pay the full adult fare. I wouldn't be able to think of a case previously where someone has got away with something like this unfortunately

 

[maniacmartin]

Surely you meant

As mentioned on this thread, the RPI's will see the fact that she purchased a child's ticket as an intent to not pay the full adult fare

I know adults who suffer from depression and take medication for it, and none of them travel on child travel tickets, so it's a pretty weak and in my opinion irrelevant excuse.

 

[Stigy]

As has been said, she can offer to settle right up to and including the date of the hearing. If it her first offence? This would obviously affect SWT's view on the matter. SWT do usually settle for first offences as long as there was no abuse of staff etc. Did your daughter receive a letter prior to the summons?

 

[chillibabe]

Thanks for all replies it has now reached a satisfactory result for us .With no criminal conviction

 

[Tibbs]

Surely you meant


I know adults who suffer from depression and take medication for it, and none of them travel on child travel tickets, so it's a pretty weak and in my opinion irrelevant excuse.

The plural of anecdote isn't data.

 

[Flamingo]

Thanks for all replies it has now reached a satisfactory result for us .With no criminal conviction

Thanks for coming back to us with the conclusion.

 

[cuccir]

The plural of anecdote isn't data.

Ha, a fantastic response to an idiotic post!

Glad your daughters' case worked out.