Attachements of Earnings after multiple offences

[someonein4k]

I’ve received yesterday in my workplace mail this letter which is somewhat surprising to me. I am 20 years of age as of this post, and during my teens (16-18) I have received a certain amount of penalty fares. I was a troubled teenager with serious family problems and financial hardships at the time, and, I am not saying I couldn’t afford every ticket, but skipping a ticket now and then was always an aid for my finances. Nevertheless, I remember paying for those penalty fares, at least the ones that come to my knowledge. The last fare I have received was one regarding a missed railcard, which I appealed for and never heard back from them, therefore I just assumed it was done and over with, that was last year. When I received this letter through my workplace, I immediately contacted the phone number which told me that I had an outstanding debt with southeastern. I was surprised as I had completely forgotten about those fines, and I thought I was square by paying all of them in time.

Regardless of this, I was never notified, whether that was because I had changed a phone number or they sent the letter to the wrong house (which thety may have, and no, I never gave the wrong address to an officer, in fact the address they have under my name is almost right, which shows they may have misunderstood the address I told them). I have also never received an email regading fare evasion, i checked all my mail boxes in three different emails (including the spam) for “southeaster fine”, “penalty fare”, “fine”, etc. Now I am in complete shock as I am currently enrolled in university and facing a criminal record which could jeopardise my entire career. I would like some advice as to whether I email the courts for a statuatory declaration, contact a solicitor or try to settle this out of court with southeastern directly.

 

[Titfield]

You need to get your head around this and take prompt action.

1. You have been convicted, have a criminal record and fine(s) and costs etc to pay.
2. The fine(s) and costs etc are being collected by deductions from your pay.
3. If you genuinely have not received any correspondence relating to this i.e. this is the first you have heard of court proceedings then you can take action to "unwind" this so that you can try and reach an out of court settlement with the train operator.
4. You need to submit a statutory declaration to the court. This is a legal declaration that you were unaware of the legal proceedings. You should do this at a solicitors.
5. This resets the clock to before the court hearing. A new date will be then set for the court hearing. This buys you some time (not much) to reach an out of court settlement with the train operator.
Member @Puffing Devil gives this advice

Here's the guide to completing and submitting a Statutory Declaration for rail matters.

Download a Statutory Declaration form from here. Make sure you fill everything in accurately, but do not sign it yet.

Next, you'll need to get the form witnessed and certified. Contact local solicitors to schedule an appointment. Take your unsigned, completed form along with your photo ID. They will witness your signature for a small statutory fee, which is usually £5 for the declaration. While you're there, ask them to provide you with a certified copy of the signed Statutory Declaration for your records. This is essential proof for you to keep. There will be a small fee for this.

It’s best to prepare a brief cover letter for the court. In this letter, include your full name, address, and the case number. Explain that you are enclosing a Statutory Declaration because you were unaware of the original court proceedings. Include a line to say that if the matter began with a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN), you intend to enter a Not Guilty plea.

Once everything is prepared, submit the documents to the court. Send the original signed Statutory Declaration and your cover letter to the court via a recorded/tracked delivery service. This gives you proof that it was sent and received. Alternatively, you can hand-deliver it to the court office if that's more convenient. Remember to keep your certified copy and proof of postage.

Getting a solicitor to witness your Statutory Declaration is better than going to court, as it avoids the risk of the court immediately reopening your case and resentencing you on the spot, which can happen if you appear in person. You need the time between submitting the SD and getting a new court date to negotiate with the TOC.

With that in mind, contact the train company that initiated the prosecution. Let them know you were unaware of the court case and have now filed a Statutory Declaration to have the conviction set aside. You can then ask if it's possible to resolve the matter directly with them out of court, for example, by paying the original fare and any reasonable administrative costs, before the case is relisted for a new hearing.

 

[island]

I concur with Titfield's excellent advice. I would just add that:

• communication from train companies and the courts about important matters like this will almost always be by post, so I would not be surprised that they haven't come by email
• If you appealed and did not hear definitively that the appeal was cancelled, it was unwise to assume everything was "over and done with"
• once you have completed and served your statutory declaration you can ask for the attachment of earnings to stop, but not before
• a statutory declaration can only be properly completed in person, on a paper form, signed by both yourself and a solicitor, magistrate, or other qualifying witness. It cannot be completed online, over the phone, or by post.
• if you were dealt with by Southeastern, all the statutory declaration paperwork will need to be served on Bromley Magistrates Court, 1 London Road, Bromley BR1 1RA.

 

[30907]

Just to add that a criminal record for fare evasion, if you can't resolve this, is unlikely to have any significant impact on your future.

 

[reb0118]

The quickest way to resolve this might be to pay the outstanding fine & costs. For an offence such as this the requirement to disclose it ceases after a set time. Depending on your date of conviction there may not be much time left before it is spent. Then, to most intents & purposes the matter will be closed.

Otherwise, you will have to make a statutory declaration to get your conviction set aside. This, merely, resets the clock and you can then be prosecuted again.....unless you can arrange an out of court settlement from the prosecuting TOC. This requires a bit more work from you.

Only you can decide what's the best option.

 

[someonein4k]

The quickest way to resolve this might be to pay the outstanding fine & costs. For an offence such as this the requirement to disclose it ceases after a set time. Depending on your date of conviction there may not be much time left before it is spent. Then, to most intents & purposes the matter will be closed.

Otherwise, you will have to make a statutory declaration to get your conviction set aside. This, merely, resets the clock and you can then be prosecuted again.....unless you can arrange an out of court settlement from the prosecuting TOC. This requires a bit more work from you.

Only you can decide what's the best option.

Could you explain it to me a bit clearer please? So if I pay for the fine will I get this off my record immediately? And what exactly do you mean by it being spent? Sorry I am a bit unaware of this terminology

 

[SussexMan]

And what exactly do you mean by it being spent?

This will explain about spent convictions.

 

[someonein4k]

This will explain about spent convictions.

much apreciated

 

[KirkstallOne]

5. This resets the clock to before the court hearing. A new date will be then set for the court hearing. This buys you some time (not much) to reach an out of court settlement with the train operator.

From the description it sounds like this may be another example similar to the two test cases that formed the basis of the Chief Magistrate’s non-binding ruling:

Chief Magistrate ruling on prosecuting appealed Penalty Fares (February 2025)

Pleased to upload the attached ruling for discussion amongst the forum. I have to admit I don't fully follow the logic so I hope some wiser legal heads can clarify the implications. My reading is it doesn't really take us much further and regulation 11 really needs to be tested in court...

www.railforums.co.uk

The point being you may have a defence for what you were charged with, which improves your position whether you seek a settlement or acquittal. Obviously we would need more details on the original prosecution. Submitting a statutory declaration as advised above is still the first step you must take.

 

[someonein4k]

Just to add that a criminal record for fare evasion, if you can't resolve this, is unlikely to have any significant impact on your future.

I have done some research around it and how it can be “taken off your record” after a year according the law. I am currently attempting to break into a finance career. How much do uou reckon this can impact my life?

 

[AlterEgo]

I have done some research around it and how it can be “taken off your record” after a year according the law.

It can't be taken off your record as such, but a conviction can become spent in these circumstances after a year. This means you won't have to disclose it in *most* circumstances in everyday life (eg: applying to work in a coffee shop, taking out phone insurance) and will have legal protection if you withold or conceal it, but...

I am currently attempting to break into a finance career. How much do uou reckon this can impact my life?

You may need to disclose even spent convictions as many roles in finance are not subject to the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Failing to disclose may be a separate offence.

You need to get abreast of this properly and really understand your obligations and rights. Unlock are a charity that can help with this.

 

[island]

You may need to disclose even spent convictions as many roles in finance are not subject to the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Not quite so. The only roles in finance exempt from the ROOA are "senior management roles" which amounts to board of directors and some of the next level down.