Bus TfL Fare Evasion

[kldsjfdsfh]

Hi,

I was caught using my sister's travel card on the bus (she's 13) and i'm a 19 years old guy. obviously, the inspector knew that it wasn't me, and I've recieved the first letter from TfL.

1) how much of an investigation would tfl do - are they going to cross reference where the card was tapped in with cctv footage?

2) is saying 'i was stupid and don't have a defence', plus an apology and request for a fine going to be enough for no prosecution?

3) anything i should say/shouldn't say? i'm worried if i admit to something they'll use it against me in court

4) why do some people go to court and others with 'worse offences' get fines? is that purely how your lawyer argues it?

5) what do solicitors actually write in their first letter? what supporting documents do people put in?

any help would be appreciated

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Transport for London take misuse of Zip Oyster cards very seriously. What you have been sent is called a Verification Letter which will ask you to confirm or deny the offence and give any mitigation you want TfL to take into consideration when they decide how to proceed. Once you have replied to this letter they will then decide whether to:

1. Drop the case entirely
2. Issue a formal warning
3. Prosecute the matter in the Magistrates Court

There is not really anything to be gained by using a solicitor at this stage, from what you’ve said you are guilty and a solicitor is it going to be able to change that. We cannot be certain what course of action they TfL will decide to take but my view is that they are likely to prosecute you under the TfL Bylaws. If this is what happens then I would expect the court to impose a fine, and you would also be required to pay a victim surcharge, court costs compensation for the fare avoided. A conviction under the Bylaws is normally not recorded on the Police National Computer and I would not expect a conviction of this type to adversely impact future employment prospects, so long as you declare it if required to do so.

We see lots of cases on here that involve National Rail companies, they normally deal with things differently and it’s often possible to avoid a case going to court by paying them some money. This is known as an out of court settlement and although it might appear to be a fine it isn’t - only a court is able to impose a fine as a punishment following conviction. TfL do not normally offer out of court settlements.

Here is a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which might be worth reading.
https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

Feel free to post a copy of your proposed reply to TfL in this thread and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

 

[kldsjfdsfh]

about 80% of caught cases end in fines - is that just for people not paying vs using a zip card/freedom pass?

 

[Hadders]

about 80% of caught cases end in fines - is that just for people not paying vs using a zip card/freedom pass?

I’ve no idea where you’ve got this statistic from but it’s rare for TfL not to prosecute when a Zip Card/Freedom Pass is involved.

 

[kldsjfdsfh]

I’ve no idea where you’ve got this statistic from but it’s rare for TfL not to prosecute when a Zip Card/Freedom Pass is involved.

FOI request detail

FOI request detail

tfl.gov.uk

 

[Hadders]

That’s an interesting FOI request but it doesn’t really tell us anything we don’t already know.

Sometimes inspectors will issue a Penalty Fare (it isn’t really a fine but the FOI refers to it as a fine on the spot). More serious cases (like zip card/Freedom pass abuse) and minor cases where people either refuse a Penalty Fare or otherwise don’t co-operate have their details taken for further investigation. Unsurprisingly most of these cases end up being prosecuted.

As I said upthread TfL take abuse of Zip Oyster cards very seriously and ordinarily I’d expect the outcome to be a prosecution under the TfL Bylaws.

 

[kldsjfdsfh]

i'm worried about what to put in my letter, if they're basically going to take it to court is it worth talking about my career prospects and how i've realised now how serious this is? i don't know if i can say i'm 19/say i'm studying at a competitive uni and if that's got anything to have any impact at all, or do more harm

 

[Hadders]

i'm worried about what to put in my letter, if they're basically going to take it to court is it worth talking about my career prospects and how i've realised now how serious this is? i don't know if i can say i'm 19/say i'm studying at a competitive uni and if that's got anything to have any impact at all, or do more harm

Feel free to post your draft reply in this thread and forum members will be happy to proof read it for you.

Being honest, how bad do you think the level of offending should be before someone is prosecuted? TfL won’t really care about your future career prospects and arguably, if you’re intelligent enough to study at a competitive university, you should be aware of the need to purchase the correct ticket to use public transport.

 

[Watershed]

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