Sandwich fare query

[lucyj]

Hi all,

I was caught sandwich faring early January 2024 by a Chiltern officer. No excuses, but I’ve spent a lot of time stressing about the situation, given it appears that Chiltern are more difficult to deal with.

l wanted to check if it’s 6 months to the day that they can prosecute? Aka will the limit be early July, or 6 months generally which would go to the end of the month?

Thank you for any info in advance, hoping to get my head around what to expect.

 

[skyhigh]

l wanted to check if it’s 6 months to the day that they can prosecute?

Yes, it is 6 months to the day to submit to the court.

However, Chiltern have been known to send SJPNs with their initial contact letter if they're getting close to the deadline - so allowing for delays in posting, you could be waiting a couple of weeks over the 6 months and still get a valid SJPN.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@lucyj. Welcome to the forum. Have you received or been handed any correspondence from Chiltern, either at the time you were stopped, or since? Presume you provided the revenue protection staff member with a correct and up-to-date name and address at the time, and haven't moved address in the four or so months since?

 

[lucyj]

Yes, it is 6 months to the day to submit to the court.

However, Chiltern have been known to send SJPNs with their initial contact letter if they're getting close to the deadline - so allowing for delays in posting, you could be waiting a couple of weeks over the 6 months and still get a valid SJPN.

Thank you, so if the letter is dated before the cut off, but gets to me afterwards, its still valid?
Is a SJPNs essentially a court summons?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 May 2024 ==

@lucyj. Welcome to the forum. Have you received or been handed any correspondence from Chiltern, either at the time you were stopped, or since? Presume you provided the revenue protection staff member with a correct and up-to-date name and address at the time, and haven't moved address in the four or so months since?

Hi, thank you. No correspondence since. I gave the address of my family home (which is on my ID they took a photo of) as I live in an apartment block and was worried about it getting lost.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Thank you, so if the letter is dated before the cut off, but gets to me afterwards, its still valid?
Is a SJPNs essentially a court summons?

Essentially Chiltern need to have told the court before the 6 month deadline. They can tell them on deadline day, then write to you with the court paperwork (SJPN) so it can be several days later when you get their letter and become aware of the fact they've got a court date. However, it doesn't mean that an out of court settlement still isn't possible and they'll effectively cancel the court hearing.

This is, of course, an overly simplified summary.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Thank you, so if the letter is dated before the cut off, but gets to me afterwards, its still valid?

As I understand it, the six month time limit is for the prosecutor (i.e. the railway) to advise the court that they want to start a prosecution. For cases heard in the traditional way (you're sent a summons and then have to attend court), the court then needs to send you the summons. So the summons could be dated some days or weeks after the six months limit and still be valid. uUt if you do get a late-dated summons like that, it may be worth starting to ask difficult questions about when the railway notified the court, in case the railway missed the deadline so can't prosecute you.

Is a SJPNs essentially a court summons?

Essentially, yes. It's a 'Single Justice Procedure' Notice: the Single Justice Procedure is that if there's no disagreement between prosecution and defendant over what happened (or to put it another way, if the defendant pleads guilty) then a single magistrate (a Justice of the Peace) will decide the punishment by looking at the papers. The drawback of this is that it's a bit rough and ready (so a defendant has the right to say that they want the case heard face to face in open court by either a district judge or a panel of three magistrates) but the benefit is that it's quicker and easier in that essentially you can plead guilty by post and don't have to turn up to the court. It's also cheaper for the court service - but that's not really your problem.

I hope someone will be along shortly to give a definite answer, but SJPNs seem (in practice) to be issued by the prosecutor (i.e. the railway). I'm not sure what this does to the six month deadline. But again, if you get an SJPN dated more than six months after the offence you should at least check that all the right steps were taken in the time allowed.