Single Justice Procedure Notice - Expired Railcard

[colt45]

Hello,
I traveled from London Victoria to London Gatwick.
I had purchased a ticket on Trainline.com - Anytime Day Return, Standard.
I purchased this ticket with my Railcard 16-25. Unfortunately, had not realized that that railcard was expired for 11 days.
Tickets were purchased prior to the journey commencing.
I was visibly upset, I have tried to ask if he could spare me as I always travel via train, pay my tickets and this was simply a mistake with no intention but he did not budge. I also bought another railcard in front of him to show that I really did not mean it - that did not work. I may have called him a c-word (not proud of it).

Happy to pay for my mistake but want to keep my record clean.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

 

[jfollows]

Something is missing.

If you were reported for prosecution at the time you were stopped then you would have been written to to explain your side of the story. Did this happen?

Southern/GTR normally settle out of court, but if the letter was missed or ignored then they would move to prosecute.

 

[colt45]

Something is missing.

If you were reported for prosecution at the time you were stopped then you would have been written to to explain your side of the story. Did this happen?

Southern/GTR normally settle out of court, but if the letter was missed or ignored then they would move to prosecute.

Yes, this did happen, but since I do not live here, I did not receive the letter in time. I still sent back a response as soon as I could but outside of the 21 day window as I had gotten back later than that timeframe

 

[jfollows]

The SJPN will have deadlines by which you need to do things.

If you make an effort to contact GTR Prosecutions you can ask to settle, because they would prefer to do this also.

Search this forum for examples and for what to say.

Is that what you want to do? You haven’t asked a question yet!

 

[colt45]

Sorry mate,
How could I try to avoid getting this on my record?

gtr.prosecutions@gtrailway.com - I will send an email to this address, but is there any way I can ring them?

 

[AlterEgo]

Do you know if the inspector made a note of the verbal abuse? Did you make any reference to it in your reply?

 

[colt45]

Do you know if the inspector made a note of the verbal abuse? Did you make any reference to it in your reply?

There is no note of it on the notice. There also was no reference of it in my reply.

 

[jfollows]

gtr.prosecutions@gtrailway.com - I will send an email to this address, but is there any way I can ring them?

Phone won’t work, email or letter only.
To The Prosecutions Department
Eastside offices
King’s Cross Railway Station
London N1C 4AX
See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/i-recieved-a-single-justice-notice.286301/#post-7288270 for examples.

You need to explain that you understand your mistake, have already bought a valid railcard to prevent this from recurring, and offer to pay unpaid fares and their costs in order to avoid being prosecuted. And ask them to withdraw the prosecution.

Feel free to post here for comments on how it looks before sending.

 

[colt45]

Phone won’t work, email or letter only.
To The Prosecutions Department
Eastside offices
King’s Cross Railway Station
London N1C 4AX
See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/i-recieved-a-single-justice-notice.286301/#post-7288270 for examples.

You need to explain that you understand your mistake, have already bought a valid railcard to prevent this from recurring, and offer to pay unpaid fares and their costs in order to avoid being prosecuted. And ask them to withdraw the prosecution.

Feel free to post here for comments on how it looks before sending.

I am sending an email to them right now. text is below. Any thoughts?

"
Hello,

I'm reaching out because I received a Single Justice Procedure Notice for case: GTREMG000864502. I'm hoping we can settle this case without involving the court.

I had received a letter to allow me to explain my side of the story, but since I was out of the country, I returned that letter too late.

What happened on the day of the offence was that I purchased the ticket in a rush and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that.
I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realize that it is under my responsibility to have my railcard up to date.

I have purchased so many tickets and traveled so many miles on your trains. I really appreciate your services and I always make sure to pay.
This was a mistake on my part. With the railcard discount, I paid £16.10 instead of £21.30. £5.20 difference. I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was such a silly mistake on my part.

I am very happy to repay with any extra cost on top that may be necessary for the damage I may have caused.

Please let me know if you can help settle this,
Best,
"

 

[colt45]

Phone won’t work, email or letter only.
To The Prosecutions Department
Eastside offices
King’s Cross Railway Station
London N1C 4AX
See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/i-recieved-a-single-justice-notice.286301/#post-7288270 for examples.

You need to explain that you understand your mistake, have already bought a valid railcard to prevent this from recurring, and offer to pay unpaid fares and their costs in order to avoid being prosecuted. And ask them to withdraw the prosecution.

Feel free to post here for comments on how it looks before sending.

I am sending an email to them right now. text is below. Any thoughts?

"
Hello,

I'm reaching out because I received a Single Justice Procedure Notice for case: GTREMG000xxxxxx. I'm hoping we can settle this case without involving the court.

I had received a letter to allow me to explain my side of the story, but since I was out of the country, I returned that letter too late.

What happened on the day of the offence was that I purchased the ticket in a rush and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that.
I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realize that it is under my responsibility to have my railcard up to date.

I have purchased so many tickets and traveled so many miles on your trains. I really appreciate your services and I always make sure to pay.
This was a mistake on my part. With the railcard discount, I paid £16.10 instead of £21.30. £5.20 difference. I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was such a silly mistake on my part.

I am very happy to repay with any extra cost on top that may be necessary for the damage I may have caused.

Please let me know if you can help settle this,
Best,
"

 

[colt45]

Phone won’t work, email or letter only.
To The Prosecutions Department
Eastside offices
King’s Cross Railway Station
London N1C 4AX
See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/i-recieved-a-single-justice-notice.286301/#post-7288270 for examples.

You need to explain that you understand your mistake, have already bought a valid railcard to prevent this from recurring, and offer to pay unpaid fares and their costs in order to avoid being prosecuted. And ask them to withdraw the prosecution.

Feel free to post here for comments on how it looks before sending.

Hello, here it is.

Also, would it help if I showed up in person? The notice was posted on October 22nd so I do not have much time to process this.

Hello,

I'm reaching out because I received a Single Justice Procedure Notice for case: (Case number). I'm hoping we can settle this case without involving the court.

I had received a letter to allow me to explain my side of the story, but since I was out of the country, I returned that letter late.

On the day of the offence, I purchased the ticket in a rush and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that.
I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realize that it is under my responsibility to have railcards up to date.

I have purchased a new railcard and set the date of expiration on my calendar to avoid this from ever happening again.
I am happy to repay any extra cost that may be necessary to compensate for the damage I may have caused.

This was a mistake on my part. With a railcard discount I paid £16.10 instead of the due fare of £21.30. £5.20 difference I believe.
I have purchased so many tickets and traveled so many miles on your trains. I really appreciate your services and I always make sure to pay what is due.
I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was such a silly mistake from my part.

Can you please withdraw the prosecution on this?
Best,

 

[WesternLancer]

Sorry mate,
How could I try to avoid getting this on my record?

gtr.prosecutions@gtrailway.com - I will send an email to this address, but is there any way I can ring them?

You can not phone them about this

If you e-mail them it MAY work but I would also advise printing the e-mail and posting it royal mail next day delivery as well

as per the other recent post - put a draft of what you want to say now on here before sending it so people can help you get this as good as it can be

Key question: when is the deadline by which you have to send the SJPN paperwork back to the court? Hold off as long as possible before sending that, but you must not miss this deadline.

 

[colt45]

You can not phone them about this

If you e-mail them it MAY work but I would also advise printing the e-mail and posting it royal mail next day delivery as well

as per the other recent post - put a draft of what you want to say now on here before sending it so people can help you get this as good as it can be

Key question: when is the deadline by which you have to send the SJPN paperwork back to the court? Hold off as long as possible before sending that, but you must not miss this deadline.

The 12th of November is the last day for them to receive it. I should probably send it by Monday evening latest with next day delivery, right?! I can also deliver it in person today if that helps

 

[WesternLancer]

The 12th of November is the last day for them to receive it. I should probably send it by Monday evening latest with next day delivery, right?!

I can also deliver it in person today if that helps

definitely don't deliver it to the court now - you need to wait as long as possible - you need that time to try to persuade the railway to withdraw the court action before you plead

 

[colt45]

Email/Letter draft:
To Whom It May Concern,

Your REF: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My name is xxxxxxxxxxx,

I am writing this letter in respect to a train ticket offence I committed on the 25th of April 2025. I have just received a single justice notice from the court magistrate that I have been charged for fare evasion.

I previously received a letter from GTR informing me of a notice of intention to prosecute me but first giving me an opportunity to explain my part of the story. Unfortunately, I was out of the country when that happened and returned the letter late.

I purchased the ticket in a rush the morning of and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that.
I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realize that it is under my responsibility to have railcards up to date.

I have purchased a new railcard and set the date of expiration on my calendar to avoid this from ever happening again.
I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was my mistake.
I am happy to repay any extra cost that may be necessary to compensate for the damage I may have caused.

This was a mistake on my part. With the railcard discount I paid £16.10 instead of £21.30.

I am deeply sorry about this and it will never happen again,
Hope to hear back from you soon,

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Nov 2025 ==

definitely don't deliver it to the court now - you need to wait as long as possible - you need that time to try to persuade the railway to withdraw the court action before you plead

Yes I would not deliver the Single Justice Procedure Notice. I would be able to physically deliver to them the letter with the text of the email if that helps though.

 

[jfollows]

I would say something like

I am willing to pay any unpaid fares plus your investigation costs in order to reach a settlement out of court.

You need to explicitly ask them to settle out of court now.

 

[colt45]

Should I send the email and physically deliver a letter? That'd probably give them the most processing time right?!

Below is the updated draft. Would probably make that part jfollows mentioned Bold:

To Whom It May Concern,

Your REF: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My name is xxxxxxxxxxx,

I am writing this letter in respect to a train ticket offence I committed on the 25th of April 2025. I have just received a single justice notice from the court magistrate that I have been charged for fare evasion.

I previously received a letter from GTR informing me of a notice of intention to prosecute me but first giving me an opportunity to explain my part of the story. Unfortunately, I was out of the country when that happened and returned the letter late.

I purchased the ticket in a rush the morning of and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that.
I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realize that it is under my responsibility to have railcards up to date.

I have purchased a new railcard and set the date of expiration on my calendar to avoid this from ever happening again.
I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was my mistake.
I am willing to pay any unpaid fares plus your investigation costs in order to reach a settlement out of court.

This was a mistake on my part. With the railcard discount I paid £16.10 instead of £21.30.

I am deeply sorry about this and it will never happen again,
Hope to hear back from you soon,

 

[WesternLancer]

Should I send the email and physically deliver a letter? That'd probably give them the most processing time right?!

Below is the updated draft. Would probably make that part jfollows mentioned Bold:

To Whom It May Concern,

Your REF: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My name is xxxxxxxxxxx,

I am writing this letter in respect to a train ticket offence I committed on the 25th of April 2025. I have just received a single justice notice from the court magistrate that I have been charged for fare evasion.

I previously received a letter from GTR informing me of a notice of intention to prosecute me but first giving me an opportunity to explain my part of the story. Unfortunately, I was out of the country when that happened and returned the letter late.

I purchased the ticket in a rush the morning of and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that.
I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realize that it is under my responsibility to have railcards up to date.

I have purchased a new railcard and set the date of expiration on my calendar to avoid this from ever happening again.
I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was my mistake.
I am willing to pay any unpaid fares plus your investigation costs in order to reach a settlement out of court.

This was a mistake on my part. With the railcard discount I paid £16.10 instead of £21.30.

I am deeply sorry about this and it will never happen again,
Hope to hear back from you soon,

Couple of thoughts on draft

a) don't actively use the word 'offence' (even if technically it is one) - you made a mistake so don't make it look like you are a fare evader. Say something like 'I am writing in respect to the incident when I was unable to present a valid ticket due to my Railcard having expired without me noticing'.. Remember soemone has to read this very quickly - in fact mark it at the top eg 'Urgent request to settle out of court and prevent court action'

b) your bit in bold should be the last thing they read - move it to the end
and

c) add. I would be grateful if you could consider withdrawing the court action at this late stage to allow me to settle the matter out of court

 

[John R]

A few points:-

GTR explicitly say they don't deal with "pleadings" emails, and bin them, so I would recommend not sending by email, as you are effectively ignoring their instructions. So mail only, using guaranteed next day delivery with proof of delivery.

Secondly, what did you say in your first response, and how late was it? GTR normally prefers to settle these cases out of court, and must be used to some people responding slightly late.

Finally, you abused the inspector. There's absolutely no call for that for someone who was simply doing their job having picked you up for an infringement. It may be that that aspect alone has made GTR set on a prosecution. You haven't even apologised for it in your draft above.

 

[WesternLancer]

Give me 10 mins and I'll try and put in my suggestions - might be easier than trying to explain my edits?

 

[colt45]

Give me 10 mins and I'll try and put in my suggestions - might be easier than trying to explain my edits?

That would be seriously fantastic

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Nov 2025 ==

A few points:-

GTR explicitly say they don't deal with "pleadings" emails, and bin them, so I would recommend not sending by email, as you are effectively ignoring their instructions. So mail only, using guaranteed next day delivery with proof of delivery.

Secondly, what did you say in your first response, and how late was it? GTR normally prefers to settle these cases out of court, and must be used to some people responding slightly late.

Finally, you abused the inspector. There's absolutely no call for that for someone who was simply doing their job having picked you up for an infringement. It may be that that aspect alone has made GTR set on a prosecution. You haven't even apologised for it in your draft above.

Is there any point in delivering a copy in person at King's Cross at all or no?

I sent it back probably 50-60 days after they sent me the first letter. I was out of the country for a long time.

I agree, and I do feel sorry about it. I was taken up by emotion at the moment and that was another mistake of mine.

Updated Draft:
URGENT REQUEST TO SETTLE OUT OF COURT AND PREVENT COURT ACTION.

To Whom It May Concern,

Your REF: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My name is xxxxxxxxxxx,

I am writing this letter I am writing in respect to the incident when I was unable to present a valid ticket due to my Railcard having expired without me noticing on the 25th of April 2025. I have just received a single justice notice from the court magistrate that I have been charged for fare evasion.

I previously received a letter from GTR informing me of a notice of intention to prosecute me but first giving me an opportunity to explain my part of the story. Unfortunately, I was out of the country when that happened and returned the letter late.

I purchased the ticket in a rush the morning of, and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that.
I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realize that it is under my responsibility to have railcards up to date.

I have purchased a new railcard and set the date of expiration on my calendar to avoid this from ever happening again.
I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was my mistake.

This was a mistake on my part. With the railcard discount I paid £16.10 instead of £21.30.

I would be grateful if you could consider withdrawing the court action at this late stage to allow me to settle the matter out of court

I am willing to pay any unpaid fares plus your investigation costs in order to reach a settlement out of court.

I am deeply sorry about this, and it will never happen again,
Hope to hear back from you soon,

 

[WesternLancer]

Consider this as below - make sure it is all true / do not lie / get it formatted up if you are happy with the wording but amend as you wish. Include your postal address / e-mail and phone number - make it as easy as you can for them to contact you if they need to / want to to get this sorted - it's in your interest to do so.
I'll post separately ref your questions about sending it

Subject
URGENT REQUEST TO SETTLE OUT OF COURT AND PREVENT COURT ACTION.

To Whom It May Concern,

Dear Sir / Madam

Your REF: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My name and address is xxxxxxxxxxx,

I am writing this letter in respect of the above incident on 25 April 2025 when I was unable to present a valid ticket due to my Railcard having expired.
I have just received a Single Justice Notice from the magistrate court notifying me that that I have been charged for fare evasion.

I am writing urgently to see if the matter can be resolved without court action even at this late stage.

I previously received a letter from GTR informing me of a notice of intention to prosecute me but first giving me an opportunity to explain my part of the story. Unfortunately, I was out of the country when that happened and returned the letter late.

I purchased the ticket in a rush the morning of my journey and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that. This was a mistake on my part. With the railcard discount I paid £16.10 instead of £21.30.

I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realise that it is my responsibility to have railcards up to date to ensure my ticket is valid.

I have purchased a new railcard and set the date of expiration on my calendar to avoid this from ever happening again.

In addition I am ashamed to say I was rude to the member of staff who questioned me. This was completely unacceptable and I apologise for this profusely.

I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was my mistake. I am deeply sorry about this and it will never happen again,

I would be very grateful if you could consider withdrawing the court action. I am willing to pay any unpaid fares plus your investigation costs in order to reach a settlement out of court.

Due to the impending date for return of court papers I would be very grateful if you could consider this request as quickly as possible.

Yours faithfully

 

[colt45]

Consider this as below - make sure it is all true / do not lie / get it formatted up if you are happy with the wording but amend as you wish. Include your postal address / e-mail and phone number - make it as easy as you can for them to contact you if they need to / want to to get this sorted - it's in your interest to do so.
I'll post separately ref your questions about sending it


To Whom It May Concern,

Dear Sir / Madam

Your REF: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My name and address is xxxxxxxxxxx,

I am writing this letter in respect of the above incident on 25 April 2025 when I was unable to present a valid ticket due to my Railcard having expired.
I have just received a Single Justice Notice from the magistrate court notifying me that that I have been charged for fare evasion.

I am writing urgently to see if the matter can be resolved without court action even at this late stage.

I previously received a letter from GTR informing me of a notice of intention to prosecute me but first giving me an opportunity to explain my part of the story. Unfortunately, I was out of the country when that happened and returned the letter late.

I purchased the ticket in a rush the morning of my journey and I forgot to renew my railcard beforehand. It had been expired for 11 days and I was completely unaware of that. This was a mistake on my part. With the railcard discount I paid £16.10 instead of £21.30.

I am really sorry about my mistake and I completely realise that it is my responsibility to have railcards up to date to ensure my ticket is valid.

I have purchased a new railcard and set the date of expiration on my calendar to avoid this from ever happening again.

In addition I am ashamed to say I was rude to the member of staff who questioned me. This was completely unacceptable and I apologise for this profusely.

I do not want to stain my clear record for something which was my mistake. I am deeply sorry about this and it will never happen again,

I would be very grateful if you could consider withdrawing the court action. I am willing to pay any unpaid fares plus your investigation costs in order to reach a settlement out of court.

Due to the impending date for return of court papers I would be very grateful if you could consider this request as quickly as possible.

Yours faithfully

WesternLancer I cannot express how much I appreciate your help on this matter. That is very well-said and a great reminder I should take up a writing class.
Per your instructions I will add the case numbers, name, a few methods of contact.

Regarding sending this quickly and allowing for the most processing time for them, I have a few options:
1. Send the letter with next day delivery guarantee with proof of delivery
2. Present the letter physically today
3. Send the content via email

I can also do any combinations of these actions.

 

[WesternLancer]

In terms of the actions - anbd with all of this keep copies of every page of everything

1) Sending your reply to GTR
As mentioned they don't accept mitigation by e-mail - if you e-mail them you will get an auto reply saying that so you won't know if they will or will not read the e-mail. Having said that we sometimes see that they do read and act on urgent requests by e-mail but you can't rely on it - so my view is DO e-mail it anyway
BUT
Also be prepared to post it (just print the e-mail ensuring it has your address details in it, sign it and handwrite at the top 'as also sent by e-mail on xx date') - post it guaranteed next day delivery or maybe try to deliver it by hand to their address at Kings Cross
HOWEVER
I don't think we have ever seen anyone who has tried to deliver it by hand come back here and say eg 'yes delivering it by hand was simple, they have a letter box / receptionist where I could hand it in' and you may not get proof of delivery but I guess you can take your own picture which might be better than you get from Royal Mail! - so if you try that be prepared to find a post office near Kings Cross to send it from in case you get to the address and find you can not reliably deliver it by hand....

Up to you what to try... or do all three....(maybe overkill) - definitely do NOT just rely on the e-mail

2) The court papers

Hold of sending them as long as possible but if they need to be back with the court on 12 nov then indeed you need to send that to court on 10th or 11th (or deliver it in person to the court depending on how easy that is for you to get to on 12th).

BUT -and you can get more advice on this after you have dealt with the letter to GTR

It is often said by people on here that in this scenario you could return the SJPN court papers with a 'not guilty' plea and a request for the case to be heard in court in person (even if technically you may be guilty of the offence) - this has the result of a court date being set for in person some time later than if you plead guilty on this paperwork in next few days. That creates longer for GTR to read your letter requesting out of court settlement and to respond to you - ie buys you some time to do more to seek a settlement and the court action withdrawn.

Further to that it is also advised that you can then go to court on the day, seek out the railway company's prosecutor for your case early on in the day, and ask them if they will accept an out of court settlement last minute, We have seen this be achieved.

I suggest using your thread to get more advice on all this later in the week.


== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Nov 2025 ==

WesternLancer I cannot express how much I appreciate your help on this matter. That is very well-said and a great reminder I should take up a writing class.
Per your instructions I will add the case numbers, name, a few methods of contact.

Regarding sending this quickly and allowing for the most processing time for them, I have a few options:
1. Send the letter with next day delivery guarantee with proof of delivery
2. Present the letter physically today
3. Send the content via email

I can also do any combinations of these actions.

see my post 21 above

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Nov 2025 ==

Finally, you abused the inspector. There's absolutely no call for that for someone who was simply doing their job having picked you up for an infringement. It may be that that aspect alone has made GTR set on a prosecution. You haven't even apologised for it in your draft above.

Point very well made that I had not prev noticed. I added a line for the OP to consider including in the edited version I posted as I noticed your post whilst doing that.

 

[colt45]

For everyone’s information,

They only use that address at the station to receive the letters but the place where they actually process them is elsewhere.

The reception confirmed that the office used to be there but “does not know” where their processing office is nowdays - not sure whether this is true or not.

Thought this was interesting intel - hopefully my way to give something back for all the helpful advice I have received today.

I gave the letter to her and she put it where all the other letters were, even showed me the drawer itself.
They had not picked up the letters for the day so perhaps they will come get them tomorrow morning. I hope doing this saved me a precious day but no way to know for sure.

Earlier I sent the email with subject line URGENT: PREVENT COURT ACTION & SETTLE OUT OF COURT. Reason why I did that is because then the message is visible from the subject line in almost any email app/software and hopefully catches someone’s attention quickly.

I like the idea to gain more time and try to fight this all the way to the end, however, given my travel plans it’d be a real shame if they set a court date when I’d be out of the country. For that reason I am a bit hesitant on doing that.

If there’s no answer by Monday, I might just plead guilty and take the loss.

In truth, I am still not sure on what to do when Monday rolls around.

 

[WesternLancer]

For everyone’s information,

They only use that address at the station to receive the letters but the place where they actually process them is elsewhere.

The reception confirmed that the office used to be there but “does not know” where their processing office is nowdays - not sure whether this is true or not.

Thought this was interesting intel - hopefully my way to give something back for all the helpful advice I have received today.

I gave the letter to her and she put it where all the other letters were, even showed me the drawer itself.
They had not picked up the letters for the day so perhaps they will come get them tomorrow morning. I hope doing this saved me a precious day but no way to know for sure.

Thanks - that is helpful intel for future ref - I don't recall anyone ever informing us of this before.

Earlier I sent the email with subject line URGENT: PREVENT COURT ACTION & SETTLE OUT OF COURT. Reason why I did that is because then the message is visible from the subject line in almost any email app/software and hopefully catches someone’s attention quickly.

Hopefully it might work

I like the idea to gain more time and try to fight this all the way to the end, however, given my travel plans it’d be a real shame if they set a court date when I’d be out of the country. For that reason I am a bit hesitant on doing that.

If there’s no answer by Monday, I might just plead guilty and take the loss.

In truth, I am still not sure on what to do when Monday rolls around.

You need to give this some careful thought

There are some court process experts on this forum who will be able to tell you want to expect on this front - you have until Monday to weigh it up

I am guessing you can't opt to appear in court in person and then not show up as that is disrespectful to the court or worse so does not sound like a good idea to me (BUT you may have resolved it all before the court date even from abroad eg bye-mail and GTR do regularly settle out of court with people who co-operate with them so there is a chance - but for that to happen by Monday is less certain IMHO...)

However, I assume courts accept that people go overseas occasionally - maybe they have a process that accommodates that within reason. I don't know - one for the experts or you could potentially phone the court, and ask them about it

alternatively as you say

This can be concluded I guess by pleading guilty on the SJPN with no request to appear in court
But if you do that you will no doubt have to pay more than the out of court settlement (based on what we usually see here) AND have a criminal record against your name that you will have to declare until it is spent etc.

If it goes to court I think you get **
- court fine (with a relation to income if you fill in the correct income paperwork)
- victim surcharge
- costs
- payment of fare owed
(some of that stuff probably detailed on your court paperwork - it will almost certainly be more than what GTR tend to request as a sum for an out of court settlement if they are prepared to offer one)
- plus the criminal record

Its the criminal record most people who come here for help are seeking to avoid even if they have accepted they are going to have to pay some money for what has happened.

Typically settlements are the fare (new ticket at Anytime price) + c£150 admin fee
**Court fines etc might end up being around £450 but I've not checked

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** EDIT
Copied this from another recent thread which would help you with the sums if it went to court:

The Magistrates Courts will typically deal with an offender convicted under byelaw 18 by way of a "band A fine".

The amount of a "band A fine" is:

• 50% of one week's wages, with a maximum fine of £1,000, if the offender has a job and has declared their income on the court paperwork;
• £60, if the offender is a student, or on benefits; or
• £220, if the offender has not engaged with the court case or provided the necessary information.

The fine would then be adjusted downwards if the offender had pleaded guilty, with a reduction of one-third for a plea at the first opportunity, tapering down to one-tenth for a plea at the start of a trial.

There are also three more amounts to pay:

• A victim surcharge, which is 40% of the fine
• Compensation for the unpaid fare
• The prosecution costs

The amount being claiming for the latter two items should be on your SJP paperwork, but the costs may increase if there has to be a hearing in court.

I say "typically" above for two reasons:

1. There is no entry in the sentencing guidelines for Railway Byelaw offences. This is unfortunate, as they occur very frequently indeed. The court will usually use the section 5 (1) Regulation of Railways Act guideline instead.
2. The court is not rigidly bound to follow sentencing guidelines, and it can raise or lower the punishment due to the specific facts of any individual case.

A fines calculator is at https://sentencingcouncil.org.uk/fine-calculator/

 

[colt45]

If I plead "not guilty" my aim is to put all my eggs in the out of court settlement basket. So except the extra time and possibly seeing the prosecutor early, there is no further benefit that could get me out of this with a settlement, is there?
Another thing I noticed on the SJPN is that it says "There will be an application for a total compensation of £21.30 in respect of the fare avoided". Now I paid £16.10 for the railcard discounted fare, so the infraction should be of £5.20, is that correct? Would this argument ever stand in court as far as "I am not guilty of evading £21.30 fare"? I'm guessing that the answer to this is No?

I'm thinking of hiring a solicitor on this. They could go to court for me and perhaps have ways to reach an out of court settlement before? Saw this one mentioned in another post: https://penmansedgwick.com/fare-evasion/

Any advice on involving solicitors in this?

 

[jfollows]

On the fare avoided, no, they usually charge the full undiscounted fare on the basis that the payment with the railcard was for an invalid ticket. No credit for amount paid, basically. Normal practice. In the context of the total settlement you’d be splitting hairs. If they settle, it’s on their terms.

 

[WesternLancer]

If I plead "not guilty" my aim is to put all my eggs in the out of court settlement basket. So except the extra time and possibly seeing the prosecutor early, there is no further benefit that could get me out of this with a settlement, is there?

Not sure I fully understand your point correctly but I think potentially that is the case.

Having said that from what we see ref GTR they very often settle if you engage with them (some say 'always' but I'm not sure of that - we only see a small percentage of the hundreds of cases I would think) - so the logic being that you just need the time which has been lost so far because you were away when they first wrote and did not get back to them in time before it got escalated to court. Pleading not guilty and asking for an in person hearing buy a lot of time for dialogue with them

Another thing I noticed on the SJPN is that it says "There will be an application for a total compensation of £21.30 in respect of the fare avoided". Now I paid £16.10 for the railcard discounted fare, so the infraction should be of £5.20, is that correct? Would this argument ever stand in court as far as "I am not guilty of evading £21.30 fare"? I'm guessing that the answer to this is No?

as explained - this is standard (theory being if all you have to pay is the difference then no punitive element to make people pay the correct fare every time - they would just chance it) - so they pick a punitive level of fare

I'm thinking of hiring a solicitor on this. They could go to court for me and perhaps have ways to reach an out of court settlement before? Saw this one mentioned in another post: https://penmansedgwick.com/fare-evasion/

Any advice on involving solicitors in this?

Yes, would cost a lot if they actually had to go to court on your behalf as that is potentially time consuming but they may indeed be able to secure settlement before that. Suspect fees would be c£600 + (as well as the settlement of course) - - but you could get quotes

If you were going to use a solicitor I suspect it would be best to instruct them before you send court paperwork back to the court

another firm mentioned on here - Manak Solicitors - have claimed they have a 'fast track' communication channel with GTR to resolve cases / obtain settlements. So you could ask them for a quote too.

That isn't to say other firms do not have similar relationships

list of firms I have noticed on this forum that have been mentioned as specialising in this area are:

Manak Solicitors

Fare Evasion Solicitors | Kent & London | Manak Solicitors

manaksolicitors.co.uk

Makwanas

Fare Evasion Solicitors London | High Success Rate | TFL Solicitors

www.makwanas.co.uk

http://www.grayhooperholt.co.uk/default.asp?id=30

https://penmansedgwick.com/fare-evasion/

 

[Hadders]

GTR usually settle cases like this but if there was abusive language directed towards the member of staff then this might explain why they have gone straight to prosecution.