Appealing a single justice procedure court notice by TFL

[Godfavour]

Hey everyone,

I got stopped by a TfL officer for using a Freedom Pass that didn’t belong to me a few months ago.

I later received the letter is a verification letter stating I was caught committing an offence on that specific day and asks whether I agree or disagree with what happened. I was given 10 days to respond which I did acknowledging and apologising for my actions to lAP@tfl.gov.uk.

A few weeks later I received a single justice procedure letter with a court date for prosecution. I am worried because a guilty conviction will result in a criminal record, therefore I am keen to appeal for an out of court settlement / warning.

What is the best contact / email address to respond to with further mitigating evidence requesting an out of court settlement / warning letter before my proposed court date. I have researched and come across a few emails online such as Rule6CPRService@tfl.gov.uk shown on TFL website: https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/

Please can someone help with the best email address to contact. From my research this should be the email address to the TFL appeals and prosecution manager.

Many thanks

 

[AndroidBango]

TFL take a binary approach to fare evasion and abuse of high value passes: they either prosecute or issue a final warning. They don't do out of court settlements (see https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transp.../foi-request-detail?referenceId=FOI-1521-2223).

They have decided to prosecute you. We have sometimes seen final warnings issued, but typically only with the intervention of a specialist solicitor which will cost hundred pounds - and there is no guarantee of success.

What sort of mitigating circumstances would you hope to present? TFL would need to be persuaded that are significant circumstances related to health that prosecution would not be in the public interest, so there is a high bar to clear and you will need legal advice to clear it, I think.

 

[AlterEgo]

Hey everyone,

I got stopped by a TfL officer for using a Freedom Pass that didn’t belong to me a few months ago.

I later received the letter is a verification letter stating I was caught committing an offence on that specific day and asks whether I agree or disagree with what happened. I was given 10 days to respond which I did acknowledging and apologising for my actions to lAP@tfl.gov.uk.

A few weeks later I received a single justice procedure letter with a court date for prosecution. I am worried because a guilty conviction will result in a criminal record, therefore I am keen to appeal for an out of court settlement / warning.

What is the best contact / email address to respond to with further mitigating evidence requesting an out of court settlement / warning letter before my proposed court date. I have researched and come across a few emails online such as Rule6CPRService@tfl.gov.uk shown on TFL website: https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/

Please can someone help with the best email address to contact. From my research this should be the email address to the TFL appeals and prosecution manager.

Many thanks

TfL have *already decided* to prosecute you for the offence and have issued court proceedings. I don’t think we have seen that they have ever rescinded things at this stage. You presumably have already replied to their verification letter with your mitigation and this has been considered, and a decision made to continue the prosecution. This happens in nearly all cases; TfL take about 20,000 people to court each year, so this is entirely normal and exceptional mitigation rendering a prosecution against the public interest is usually the only reason they would decide to issue a warning instead. They really do take the misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously and rightly so.

If you’re serious at this very late stage, you could try the Hail Mary route of appointing a solicitor. This is your only chance of success in my view; it will cost somewhere between £500-1000 and will raise your chances from nearly zero to merely slim.

 

[island]

You cannot "appeal" a SJP letter. A SJP letter means that TfL has decided to take you to court for the offence they say you committed. If you say you didn't commit the offence, you can plead not guilty and you'll receive a summons to attend court in due course. If you did commit the offence, there is no "sorry but I don't want to be prosecuted" option.

Unless you can show you are outside TfL's prosecution policy (e.g. aged under 18 or over 60) it is most unlikely that a prosecution can be stopped, and it will almost certainly require you appointing a solicitor to liaise with TfL on your behalf. And fast.

 

[Hadders]

Welcome to the forum!

Transport for London take misuse of Freedom Passes very seriously and prosecution under the TfL Byelaws is the normal outcome.

Unlike their National Rail counterparts, TfL do not offer out of court settlements although very occasionally they do give a warning instead of prosecution although almost never where the use of a Freedom Pass is involved. TfL use the response to the Verification Letter as part of their decision in how to proceed, based on what you have told us I would say it is highly unlikely that they will withdraw the case from court at this stage.

Hiring a solicitor specialising in rail fare evasion really is your only hope (and I have to say that is a very, very slim hope). Such solicitors do not come cheap and your will have to pay their fee even whether or not they are successful in arguing your case.

If you plead guilty (or are found guilty if you ask for a trial) then you will have to pay:

- A fine based on your income (normally discounted by a third of you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity)
- A surcharge of 40% of the value of the fine
- A contribution towards TfL's costs
- Compensation for the fares avoided

If you are found guilty then this is a criminal conviction. For most purposes this is considered spent after 12 months. If you are prosecuted under the TfL Byelaws (which is what normally happens) then the conviction isn't normally recorded on the Police National Computer and won't normally appear on Basic DBS checks. A criminal conviction for a railway ticketing matter won't normally affect future career prospects although we always advise people to be honest when asked if they have a conviction.

Here's a link to TfL's Revenue Enforcement & Prosecutions Policy which you might find worth reading, specifically section 8:

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf

 

[spotify95]

Hey everyone,

I got stopped by a TfL officer for using a Freedom Pass that didn’t belong to me a few months ago.

I later received the letter is a verification letter stating I was caught committing an offence on that specific day and asks whether I agree or disagree with what happened. I was given 10 days to respond which I did acknowledging and apologising for my actions to lAP@tfl.gov.uk.

A few weeks later I received a single justice procedure letter with a court date for prosecution. I am worried because a guilty conviction will result in a criminal record, therefore I am keen to appeal for an out of court settlement / warning.

What is the best contact / email address to respond to with further mitigating evidence requesting an out of court settlement / warning letter before my proposed court date. I have researched and come across a few emails online such as Rule6CPRService@tfl.gov.uk shown on TFL website: https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/

Please can someone help with the best email address to contact. From my research this should be the email address to the TFL appeals and prosecution manager.

Many thanks

Truthfully, the best time to come to this forum and ask for advice was when you received the verification letter. When you receive that, you can use a solicitor to deal with things (quite expensive and no guarantee of success) and there is a chance of a warning.

TfL have decided they want to carry on with the prosecution. Once you've got an SJPN from TfL then you might as well just plead guilty and get the biggest fine reduction. There have been instances of other TOCs withdrawing proceedings and settling, but never TfL (who take a robust approach to this)
I reckon that even if you did take out the services of a solicitor now, you'd still have to plead guilty (or be found guilty).

 

[Godfavour]

UPDATE:

I won an out-of court settlement and received a warning from TfL

With less than two weeks to my court date, I contacted solicitors with little hope.

However, once I shared evidence of mitigating circumstances, they quickly prepared a letter of representation and emailed it to TfL on Tuesday, just a week before my hearing. By Thursday (in just 48 hours!), TfL responded and agreed to an out-of-court settlement with a warning instead.

I’m incredibly grateful to the solicitors for their swift action and successful outcome.

All odds were against me and I still beat the case… hope this encourages somebody to not lose hope

 

[Haywain]

TfL responded and agreed to an out-of-court settlement with a warning instead.

You have received a warning, which is what seems to happen when solicitors are involved. Have you really made a payment to TfL in order to achieve this, as this is unheard of?

I’m incredibly grateful to the solicitors for their swift action and successful outcome. I highly recommend them to anyone facing a fare evasion charge.

It would be helpful if you could tell us how much you have paid the solicitors for their services, as this helps us to advise others.

I still beat the case

It's good that you regard spending many hundreds of pounds as "beating the case", but I'm not sure that many would agree that you are a winner in this. TfL have clearly got an outcome that they find satisfactory and will not see this as having lost.

 

[AlterEgo]

This does go to show that appointing a solicitor should be the first advice we give anyone faced with action from TfL. It’s almost pointless trying to do it alone.

 

[Haywain]

This does go to show that appointing a solicitor should be the first advice we give anyone faced with action from TfL.

The first advice should be what will happen, and the process and impact of not spending money they may not have. We should also advise them what a solicitor can achieve and at what cost. I am increasingly of the opinion that TfL are not that bothered whether it goes to court or not, but that they regard the cost of hiring a solicitor as an appropriate financial penalty as an alternative to a conviction and (smaller) fine.

 

[chrisjo]

UPDATE:
However, once I shared evidence of mitigating circumstances......

We don't know what these were. Without this information it's hard to make comparisons.

 

[Godfavour]

You have received a warning, which is what seems to happen when solicitors are involved. Have you really made a payment to TfL in order to achieve this, as this is unheard of?

It would be helpful if you could tell us how much you have paid the solicitors for their services, as this helps us to advise others.

It's good that you regard spending many hundreds of pounds as "beating the case", but I'm not sure that many would agree that you are a winner in this. TfL have clearly got an outcome that they find satisfactory and will not see this as having lost.

You have received a warning, which is what seems to happen when solicitors are involved. Have you really made a payment to TfL in order to achieve this, as this is unheard of?

It would be helpful if you could tell us how much you have paid the solicitors for their services, as this helps us to advise others.

It's good that you regard spending many hundreds of pounds as "beating the case", but I'm not sure that many would agree that you are a winner in this. TfL have clearly got an outcome that they find satisfactory and will not see this as having lost.

Hi Haywin,
For me, not having a criminal record was incredibly important. I was prepared to do whatever it took to receive just a warning, even if that meant draining my bank account to cover lawyer fees.

Everyone’s situation is different, and I believe it's important for each person to make the decision that works best for them. But in my case, this was definitely a win because money comes and goes, but a criminal record can follow you for life.

 

[StarCrossing]

UPDATE:

I won an out-of court settlement and received a warning from TfL

With less than two weeks to my court date, I contacted solicitors with little hope.

However, once I shared evidence of mitigating circumstances, they quickly prepared a letter of representation and emailed it to TfL on Tuesday, just a week before my hearing. By Thursday (in just 48 hours!), TfL responded and agreed to an out-of-court settlement with a warning instead.

I’m incredibly grateful to the solicitors for their swift action and successful outcome.

All odds were against me and I still beat the case… hope this encourages somebody to not lose hope

This doesn't seem to make much sense! Could you please confirm the timeline?

On Tuesday, your solicitor wrote to TFL on your behalf, presenting some mitigating circumstances.
On Wednesday, you posted on here, asking for an email address for you to send your mitigating circumstances to, and not mentioning you having a solicitor representing you. Why did you need an email address if your solicitor had already presented your mitigating circumstances to TFL? Did you end up sending them something yourself on Wednesday?

I'm not trying to nit-pick here. At least one forum member has concluded from your account that a solicitor is necessary when dealing with TFL, so we really need to make sure we understand what has happened here.

 

[Godfavour]

This doesn't seem to make much sense! Could you please confirm the timeline?

On Tuesday, your solicitor wrote to TFL on your behalf, presenting some mitigating circumstances.
On Wednesday, you posted on here, asking for an email address for you to send your mitigating circumstances to, and not mentioning you having a solicitor representing you. Why did you need an email address if your solicitor had already presented your mitigating circumstances to TFL? Did you end up sending them something yourself on Wednesday?

I'm not trying to nit-pick here. At least one forum member has concluded from your account that a solicitor is necessary when dealing with TFL, so we really need to make sure we understand what has happened here.

Hi StarCrossing,
Yes you are correct, when I posted on here on Wednesday my solicitor had already submitted a letter of representation to TfL the day before (Tuesday).
I didn’t mention I had a solicitor because from my post I wanted to get advice to see if there’s anything else I could do to speed up the process because honestly I didn’t have hope since it was so close to my court date.
By asking for a contact / email address of the TfL prosecutors I was hoping to also possibly email them as well - don’t do this, I’m just an anxious person who wanted to make sure they reviewed my case asap since my court date was less than a week away.

Looking back, I should’ve mentioned I had a lawyer in the initial post. Hope it makes sense.

 

[StarCrossing]

Hi StarCrossing,
Yes you are correct, when I posted on here on Wednesday my solicitor had already submitted a letter of representation to TfL the day before (Tuesday).
I didn’t mention I had a solicitor because from my post I wanted to get advice to see if there’s anything else I could do to speed up the process because honestly I didn’t have hope since it was so close to my court date.
By asking for a contact / email address of the TfL prosecutors I was hoping to also possibly email them as well - don’t do this, I’m just an anxious person who wanted to make sure they reviewed my case asap since my court date was less than a week away.

Looking back, I should’ve mentioned I had a lawyer in the initial post. Hope it makes sense.

Thank you for clarifying.

 

[skyhigh]

Perhaps I am a little cynical, but - closing the case in record quick time, in a way that we've apparently never seen, with a glowing review of a (now redacted) firm of solicitors but no copies of any correspondence and no mention of solicitors in the opening post?

I'm wondering if this was possibly intended as some kind of advert?

 

[enyoueffsea]

I’m not convinced. It’s difficult because if this is all accurate, it does provide some key pieces of advice that could be taken forward in the future for other posters.

I didn’t mention I had a solicitor because from my post I wanted to get advice to see if there’s anything else I could do to speed up the process because honestly I didn’t have hope since it was so close to my court date.

This still doesn’t correlate to your original post. You weren’t asking on advice on how to speed up a response, you were asking for advice on how to respond.

Do you have a copy of the final outcome from TfL? That would verify your version and improve advice offered to others in the future.

 

[John R]

Like others, when I read the update I was very surprised at the course of events when looking back to the first post, and felt that something didn’t feel quite right in terms of timing.