Advice re Court Summons please.

[Bonyman]

Hi

My son has just received a Court Summons for travelling on the railway 'without having previously paid and with intent to avoid payment thereof.' The court date is two weeks away.

In February, he travelled on Southern from Moulsecoomb to London Road. He admits to boarding the train without a ticket (there is one machine on each platform, often busy...but no excuse) as he has previously been allowed to purchase a ticket from the conductor. He was met at the next stop by Revenue Officers who did not allow him to make payment and filled out an MG11 under caution, though I don't think my son was too clear on what was happening (he is just 18 and was somewhat bewildered by the experience).

He assures me that there was no correspondence between the offence in February and the Court Summons a few days ago. Should he have been issued with something beforehand or is this standard practice?

I am really asking for best advice here. The fare was £2.60. On the MG11, the revenue officer has written 'Nil' against where it says 'offered/paid'. However, my son assures me he offered to pay and was refused.

Does he just bite the bullet and enter a guilty plea and then get a criminal record (which won't serve him well at his age)? Or is there still room for any appeal process at this stage?

Any advice would be gratefully received. Many thanks.

 

[34D]

Some ramblings:

There is no harm in sending an appropriate letter to the prosecutor (ie at Southern).

As he has been summonsed you may wish to instruct a solicitor - if so any local solicitor specialising in criminal defence work should suffice.

 

[najaB]

My son has just received a Court Summons for travelling on the railway 'without having previously paid and with intent to avoid payment thereof.' The court date is two weeks away.

That language is from the RoRA act, so it's best to see if this can be resolved without going to court.

In February, he travelled on Southern from Moulsecoomb to London Road. He admits to boarding the train without a ticket (there is one machine on each platform, often busy...but no excuse) as he has previously been allowed to purchase a ticket from the conductor. He was met at the next stop by Revenue Officers who did not allow him to make payment and filled out an MG11 under caution, though I don't think my son was too clear on what was happening (he is just 18 and was somewhat bewildered by the experience).

'Just 18' is legally an adult, regardless of his level of maturity. As he now knows, passing the ticket machine and boarding was a mistake. By doing so he was guilty at the very least of a byelaws offence, unless there was a compelling reason to do so - e.g. the machine wasn't working.

He assures me that there was no correspondence between the offence in February and the Court Summons a few days ago. Should he have been issued with something beforehand or is this standard practice?

It depends, most often they will write asking for the passenger's side of the story but there is no requirement to.

I am really asking for best advice here. The fare was £2.60. On the MG11, the revenue officer has written 'Nil' against where it says 'offered/paid'. However, my son assures me he offered to pay and was refused.

There was no obligation to accept the fare at that point, and a minor inconsistency on the form won't make the TOC's case fall apart.

Does he just bite the bullet and enter a guilty plea and then get a criminal record (which won't serve him well at his age)? Or is there still room for any appeal process at this stage?

There's room for appeal right up until the case is called before the magistrate. I suggest you son writes to the TOC's prosecution department and expresses his apologies, also offer to pay the outstanding fare plus the costs they have incurred to date. Don't suggest an amount, but if they accept the offer expect it to be between £200 and £400 considering how far down the road the case has progressed.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

I agree with 34D and najaB almost completely.
There is nothing to be made of the suggestion that there might have been correspondence before now - the evidence gathered at the time of the incident presumably precluded the need to write requesting further information, and we can assume that is so given that the Company has assessed that the strength of that evidence justifies confidence in bringing a Prosecution.

I do not agree that this is the time to write an apology to the Prosecutions Department - a Summons has been issued, and so there are now 3 parties involved: your son, the Railway Company and the Court. All correspondence should be to the two other parties. Any pleas at this stage will be referred on to the hearing in front of the Magistrates.

But it is inconsistent with the advice to instruct a local Criminal Defence Solicitor (with which I agree), to then advise writing a letter direct to the Prosecutor. Leave that to your solicitor, who will be sure to attempt a settlement or withdrawal (probably by phone), who will obtain copies of the Evidence, who, if those attemts fail, will present a Defence in Court, and, if that fails, will offer mitigation before the Court gives sentence to your son. That is the Solicitor's job, and it won't be assisted by a DIY defence letter from your son after a Summons has been issued.

Alternatively, tell him to enter a 'Guilty' plea (if that is the truth of the matter). But make a realistic assesment of his means to pay. The costs for a Guilty plea are significantly lower than for a Not Guilty plea [to the extent that anyone considering contesting a Prosecution really shold think twice].

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Of course we will not know whether this was a silly mistake by Bonyman's son or if he wilfully intended not to pay and hope he wouldn't be caught

But I don't understand, why wasn't he just asked to pay a PF? Is is now standard practice to just go straight to court?

 

[mono1989]

Of course we will not know whether this was a silly mistake by Bonyman's son or if he wilfully intended not to pay and hope he wouldn't be caught

But I don't understand, why wasn't he just asked to pay a PF? Is is now standard practice to just go straight to court?

Depends whether or not he had the means to pay for his journey. Only other thing I can think of is that he may have refused the PF in the first instance.

 

[Bonyman]

Thanks for all the advice, thus far. I can say that this was definitely a silly mistake by my son and he did have the means to pay the fare. He offered to do so, despite the mg11 indicating otherwise but the revenue officer was not interested.

 

[mono1989]

Thanks for all the advice, thus far. I can say that this was definitely a silly mistake by my son and he did have the means to pay the fare. He offered to do so, despite the mg11 indicating otherwise but the revenue officer was not interested.

Generally speaking whenever I've completed an MG11 in would only write nil if the passenger doesn't have any means to contribute towards the fare. Unless he has had previous unpaid PF's or nothing on him to pay I can't really see why he didn't take a PF (that's if it was offered in the first place)

 

[tony6499]

As Moulsecoomb - London Rd is one of the favourites for the one stop jumpers who don't buy a ticket and Conductors don't have time in the 2/3mins to get to anyone to sell a ticket as normally people queue up near them to buy them, so whenever the block is on Mg11's are the way that RPI's deal with ticketless travellers rather than the Penalty Fare.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I suppose the fact that Moulsecoomb is adjacent to the campus at Brighton University has everything to do with students trying their luck then....

If the OP's son is a student at the campus, then why doesn't he have a season ticket? It can be a long walk to the beach from London Road, especially in hot weather...

 

[tony6499]

I suppose the fact that Moulsecoomb is adjacent to the campus at Brighton University has everything to do with students trying their luck then....

If the OP's son is a student at the campus, then why doesn't he have a season ticket? It can be a long walk to the beach from London Road, especially in hot weather...

Unizone tickets for students so no real excuse not to have one