How bad is my fare evasion penalty?

[tkbaek1997]

I plead guilty and didn't appear to court for fare evasion.
I have been fined £180 by Hammersmith Magistrates' Court for:

'1 / Fail / refuse to hand over valid ticket not in a designated compulsory ticket area - railway bye-law'.

Would this affect my:
Uni application?
Travelling to America?
Do i need to disclose this information when travelling abroad?

Thanks for your help

 

[island]

The only thing I can say with reasonable certainty is that it will not come up on a basic or standard DBS check. I can give you my opinion on the rest.

I understand the American application process asks if you have ever been convicted of any offence, so you would need to disclose it in my opinion.

I don't expect it will affect travel for tourism purposes to most other destinations.

As for uni, depends on what you're applying for. In all cases, disclosure is usually the better option, as failing to disclose a conviction may be treated more seriously if it is discovered.

 

[cool110]

With travel to the US only crimes involving moral turpitude need to be declared. The definition is quite vague with some crimes depending on if intent is required or not such as tax evasion. If they apply the same logic to fare evasion then the byelaws being strict liability would not, while the RoRA requiring intent would.

 

[cjmillsnun]

I plead guilty and didn't appear to court for fare evasion.
I have been fined £180 by Hammersmith Magistrates' Court for:

'1 / Fail / refuse to hand over valid ticket not in a designated compulsory ticket area - railway bye-law'.

Would this affect my:
Uni application?
Travelling to America?
Do i need to disclose this information when travelling abroad?

Thanks for your help

1. No

2. No

3. No

You got a byelaw prosecution this time. It's non recordable. You don't have a criminal record.

However there is no reason that a future offence would not be dealt with under the Regulation of Railways Act. Therefore hopefully it is lesson learned.

 

[tkbaek1997]

1. No

2. No

3. No

You got a byelaw prosecution this time. It's non recordable. You don't have a criminal record.

However there is no reason that a future offence would not be dealt with under the Regulation of Railways Act. Therefore hopefully it is lesson learned.

do i need to disclose any information if i go abroad?

 

[island]

do i need to disclose any information if i go abroad?

Depends completely on the country you are planning to travel to. I would suggest you consult that country's embassy.

 

[cjmillsnun]

do i need to disclose any information if i go abroad?

Probably not, as the offence is non recordable, but as others have said, it's worth checking with the individual countries concerned.

 

[Jonny]

I plead guilty and didn't appear to court for fare evasion.
I have been fined £180 by Hammersmith Magistrates' Court for:

'1 / Fail / refuse to hand over valid ticket not in a designated compulsory ticket area - railway bye-law'.

Would this affect my:
Uni application?
Travelling to America?
Do i need to disclose this information when travelling abroad?

Thanks for your help

Possibly your Uni application, but for the USA visa waiver the questions have been changed and it is unlikely to make any difference as a result. IMO the phrase "moral turpitude" in the old questions was too vague anyway.

As for other countries, it depends but Australia and New Zealand aren't too bothered (at least for tourists) if you only got fined and it doesn't involve drugs.

 

[Stigy]

I plead guilty and didn't appear to court for fare evasion.
I have been fined £180 by Hammersmith Magistrates' Court for:

'1 / Fail / refuse to hand over valid ticket not in a designated compulsory ticket area - railway bye-law'.

Would this affect my:
Uni application?
Travelling to America?
Do i need to disclose this information when travelling abroad?

Thanks for your help

If asked quite directly if you have been convicted of any criminal offence in however many months/years, you'd be lying if you said you hadn't. It probably won't come to light, but if it did somehow, then it's an integrity issue on your part and certain employers would frown upon this, as I'm sure would universities. It's best to be open and honest, and if necessary, explain the situation with a cover letter or similar so that they are aware it's not an offence on a par with something far more sinister.