Learning from the experienced

[Fawkes Cat]

An esteemed moderator (@Cowley ) wrote

This needs to be in a new thread really, otherwise it’ll bog this one down further and be very little use for the OP.

Would someone be able to start one please?

So here goes... It'll take a moment or two as I am on my phone so copying and pasting isn't too easy - please hold on.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jun 2025 ==

@REO Nate wrote

It may well be the case that WMT will settle and I genuinely hope they do. The vast majority of significant fare evaders I dealt with were offered settlements and chose to settle

Many of us here try to give our best advice, but we're outsiders, so an inside voice is helpful.

So on that basis, can @REO Nate (and anyone else who specifically deals with passengers who haven't paid the proper fare) let us know whether they've seen noticeably better results for passengers represented by solicitors against those who go it alone? If so, are there any insights they can share about what solicitors have done which the unrepresented might be able to learn from?

 

[AlterEgo]

I don't think we have ever seen, in the thousands of cases here, any result obtained by a solicitor which couldn't be obtained by just writing a stock letter. Exceptions:

- Very large scale fraud of thousands of pounds outside the scope of railway bylaws/RoRA
- Negotiation of settlement fees (only cost-effective if you're saving more than you're paying a solicitor)
- Making a statutory declaration while avoiding having the case immediately dealt with in court
- Anything involving TfL and high value passes

TOCs make their prosecutions policies mostly quite clear. Where they don't, we can point to patterns of thousands of cases.

 

[REO Nate]

An esteemed moderator (@Cowley ) wrote



So here goes... It'll take a moment or two as I am on my phone so copying and pasting isn't too easy - please hold on.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jun 2025 ==

@REO Nate wrote

Many of us here try to give our best advice, but we're outsiders, so an inside voice is helpful.

So on that basis, can @REO Nate (and anyone else who specifically deals with passengers who haven't paid the proper fare) let us know whether they've seen noticeably better results for passengers represented by solicitors against those who go it alone? If so, are there any insights they can share about what solicitors have done which the unrepresented might be able to learn from?

Most advice is beneficial and people are then free to read and discount it if they choose to do so. Many examples of anecdotal evidence are just as worthy as official advice. But trying to discount other's advice without knowing all the circumstances of a particular case is perilous for all concerned, which is why multiple sources from differeing opinions and perspectives is vaulable. Trying to override someone elses advice because it doesn't align with your own is not within the spirit of these forums.

In my time in rail enforcement I can think of at least two people who were 100% going to court, until such time as solicitors became involved. During both of these legal proceedings it was only due to their expertise, familiarity with law and court procedures that these matters were then dealt with out of court. Both of these matters were people who had previously been through the system, but had continued to regularly fare evade causing thousands of pounds of lost revenue.

As I have previoulsy mentioned elsewhere on these forums (people who 100% need to avoid any kind record for their employment), employing the services of a solicitor can be invaluable. The solicitor is there to represent you, especially if you aren't confident representing yourself and have specialist training we do not. It can be expensive, but some people can afford it and if you can, you should. Legal advice is always best sought at an early stage if you intend to do so.

 

[John R]

I think we have seen a couple of cases where the usual process didn’t work, but the late intervention of a solicitor did. One I recall was GTR case where we were perplexed as to why a settlement was not offered.

However, it’s important to note that in those cases trying to resolve it by the usual means of apologising etc did not preclude the ultimate use of a solicitor, so it still remains best advice to try and negotiate it oneself, and only then incur the cost of a solicitor if that approach fails.