URGENT: SHORTENED JOURNEY ISSUE

[MikeWh]

The only thing I'd add to the above post is to start saving anything you can. When Chiltern contact you, assuming they offer a settlement as they usually do, you will only have a short time to pay them what they ask for. It will be less stressful for you if you can quickly access funds to pay them.

 

[unkwnibd]

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your responses and advice, much appreciated. I've contacted some solicitors (as a precautionary measure to keep my options open). I have narrowed it down to two solicitors, Reeds and Gray Hooper Holt. I spoke with a solicitor at Gray Hooper Holt who said he was "confident" he could get an out of court settlement given the circumstances (the entire service, both consultation and representation would cost £1440). I contacted Reeds who said I would have to pay for a consultation after which they could let me know the likelihood of success, but that they were largely successful, and offered me a price of £960 for consultation and representation. I wanted to know if anyone knew anything about these solicitors, which one is better, whether anyone has had previous dealings with them, how likely they are to be able to get me a settlement, and which one I should (potentially) go with. I am not 100% with this decision, but am leaning towards to maintain my clear record and for the peace of mind. Thanks in advance.

 

[Hadders]

My personal view is there really isn't any need to involve a solocitor at this stage. The case is straightforward and the facts are not in dispute. I would wait and see what Chiltern say in response to your reply, if this isn't favourable then that is when I would look to involve a solicitor but Chiltern do normally offer a settlement for this sort of thing.

As you have found out solicitors don't come cheap, and they cannot change what has happened. You will have to pay their fee in addition to the settlement, and they will still want paying even if they can't negotiate a settlement. I'm not aware of either of the solicitors you've mentioned above and I won't recommend anyone but what I will say is if you do use a solicitor it really should be one with experience of dealing with rail fare evasion as this is quite a specialised area.

 

[unkwnibd]

My personal view is there really isn't any need to involve a solocitor at this stage. The case is straightforward and the facts are not in dispute. I would wait and see what Chiltern say in response to your reply, if this isn't favourable then that is when I would look to involve a solicitor but Chiltern do normally offer a settlement for this sort of thing.

As you have found out solicitors don't come cheap, and they cannot change what has happened. You will have to pay their fee in addition to the settlement, and they will still want paying even if they can't negotiate a settlement. I'm not aware of either of the solicitors you've mentioned above and I won't recommend anyone but what I will say is if you do use a solicitor it really should be one with experience of dealing with rail fare evasion as this is quite a specialised area.

I greatly appreciate what you are saying. The primary reason I've considered this step is due to the fact in the email I sent I said it was an accident and this was my first time, which, when they check my ticketing history, will evidently be disproved and I'm concerned that at that stage they will be far more likely to prosecute than offer a settlement. Hence I thought a solicitor would be about to proactively reach out and negotiate a settlement and explain that the email was an out of character statement due to panic.

 

[AlterEgo]

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your responses and advice, much appreciated. I've contacted some solicitors (as a precautionary measure to keep my options open). I have narrowed it down to two solicitors, Reeds and Gray Hooper Holt. I spoke with a solicitor at Gray Hooper Holt who said he was "confident" he could get an out of court settlement given the circumstances (the entire service, both consultation and representation would cost £1440). I contacted Reeds who said I would have to pay for a consultation after which they could let me know the likelihood of success, but that they were largely successful, and offered me a price of £960 for consultation and representation. I wanted to know if anyone knew anything about these solicitors, which one is better, whether anyone has had previous dealings with them, how likely they are to be able to get me a settlement, and which one I should (potentially) go with. I am not 100% with this decision, but am leaning towards to maintain my clear record and for the peace of mind. Thanks in advance.

All of this just makes getting the same result £1440 or £960 more expensive for you. Those figures are on the high side too.

Chiltern settle basically every time. Check the threads in this part of the forum if you don’t believe us. This is a very simple case which they will settle if you write them a letter. A solicitor is not necessary.

 

[unkwnibd]

All of this just makes getting the same result £1440 or £960 more expensive for you. Those figures are on the high side too.

Chiltern settle basically every time. Check the threads in this part of the forum if you don’t believe us. This is a very simple case which they will settle if you write them a letter. A solicitor is not necessary.

I understand your point, but do you think they will still settle even after seeing my email where they will know I'm lying? Also, a solicitor told me not to wait till they send an SJP as that will ruin my record, but that could be them fishing for business? If I were to go with a solicitor would you have any recommendations?

 

[AlterEgo]

I understand your point, but do you think they will still settle even after seeing my email where they will know I'm lying? Also, a solicitor told me not to wait till they send an SJP as that will ruin my record, but that could be them fishing for business? If I were to go with a solicitor would you have any recommendations?

They’ll send a letter asking you to explain yourself first, the SJPN doesn’t come first. You should wait for this to arrive, and then respond to it, and the company will settle. You aren’t the first person to tell a train company a lie or the first person to repeatedly short fare.

 

[unkwnibd]

They’ll send a letter asking you to explain yourself first, the SJPN doesn’t come first. You should wait for this to arrive, and then respond to it, and the company will settle. You aren’t the first person to tell a train company a lie or the first person to repeatedly short fare.

Oh so they won't send me an SJPN despite me already emailing them and lying?

 

[AlterEgo]

Oh so they won't send me an SJPN despite me already emailing them and lying?

No, they’ll probably want you to explain your other transactions as well, for a start.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your responses and advice, much appreciated. I've contacted some solicitors (as a precautionary measure to keep my options open). I have narrowed it down to two solicitors, Reeds and Gray Hooper Holt. I spoke with a solicitor at Gray Hooper Holt who said he was "confident" he could get an out of court settlement given the circumstances (the entire service, both consultation and representation would cost £1440). I contacted Reeds who said I would have to pay for a consultation after which they could let me know the likelihood of success, but that they were largely successful, and offered me a price of £960 for consultation and representation. I wanted to know if anyone knew anything about these solicitors, which one is better, whether anyone has had previous dealings with them, how likely they are to be able to get me a settlement, and which one I should (potentially) go with. I am not 100% with this decision, but am leaning towards to maintain my clear record and for the peace of mind. Thanks in advance.

Just to be clear I totally agree with others (ref solicitors) who have posted since you posted these questions. That you are unlikely to need to use one at this stage, and that if you do use a solicitor it will come at significant cost to you in legal fees - as you have found out by seeking some quotes.

It's a sensible thing to do to get quotes of course.

Ref your specific questions:

I don't know anything about the legal firms mentioned here or other firms, beyond what I read on there - as I've never been accused of fare evasion / ticketing irregularity myself, so I can't make a recommendation based on experience.

However, I did use the search facility on the forum and it brought up a small number of mentions of those firms you have called - so you could do that search and have a read.

I also think it's worth mentioning two other firms that get mentioned on here by people reasonably regularly who have used them, and I think you would find more mentions. You could also search the forum for those examples if you wanted to see what people say.

These are:

Manak Solicitors

Fare Evasion Solicitors

Skilled legal defence for fare evasion cases. Rely on our experienced team to protect your rights, challenge penalties, and guide you through the process.

manaksolicitors.co.uk

Makwanas

Fare Evasion Solicitors UK: Settle Out of Court

Facing a fare evasion prosecution? Our UK fare evasion solicitors help you settle out of court and avoid a criminal record. Speak to us today, free review.

www.makwanas.co.uk

But I would set this against the great many cases on this forum which are resolved with good advice form people here and no solicitor involvement at all. Sometimes this includes quite complicated cases.

 

[unkwnibd]

Just to be clear I totally agree with others (ref solicitors) who have posted since you posted these questions. That you are unlikely to need to use one at this stage, and that if you do use a solicitor it will come at significant cost to you in legal fees - as you have found out by seeking some quotes.

It's a sensible thing to do to get quotes of course.

Ref your specific questions:

I don't know anything about the legal firms mentioned here or other firms, beyond what I read on there - as I've never been accused of fare evasion / ticketing irregularity myself, so I can't make a recommendation based on experience.

However, I did use the search facility on the forum and it brought up a small number of mentions of those firms you have called - so you could do that search and have a read.

I also think it's worth mentioning two other firms that get mentioned on here by people reasonably regularly who have used them, and I think you would find more mentions. You could also search the forum for those examples if you wanted to see what people say.

These are:

Manak Solicitors

Fare Evasion Solicitors

Skilled legal defence for fare evasion cases. Rely on our experienced team to protect your rights, challenge penalties, and guide you through the process.

manaksolicitors.co.uk

Makwanas

Fare Evasion Solicitors UK: Settle Out of Court

Facing a fare evasion prosecution? Our UK fare evasion solicitors help you settle out of court and avoid a criminal record. Speak to us today, free review.

www.makwanas.co.uk

But I would set this against the great many cases on this forum which are resolved with good advice form people here and no solicitor involvement at all. Sometimes this includes quite complicated cases.

Thanks for all your help. I contacted both solicitors as you suggested and spoke with Manak. Samir stated that he believed this was a plain and simple case and he has had a 100% success rate dealing with Chiltern for over 12 years and this would be no different. He said the entire process would be £725. Makwanas said they don't measure their success rate and also wouldn't be able to tell me the likelihood of a successful result of my case till I booked a paid consultation with them. They offered me ~ £1,200 for the entire process. I had a look online and it seems as though generally Manak solicitors are successful and since I'd like this to be dealt with as quickly as possible, I'm inclined to go with them. I will most likely wait a while and continue to follow the advice of this very helpful forum but I do believe that going with Manak for representation (if I decide to use a solicitor) is the best option. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I'd be grateful for any insights or opinions. I understand this can most likely be sorted without a solicitor, I am just considering options not fully committing towards it.